It is customary for religiously practicing Jews to read from an annual cycle of weekly Old Testament readings called Torah Portions. This is said to be the same reading schedule that was taught every Sabbath in the Synagogues during the times of Jesus in the first century.

As Christians who profess our faith in Jesus, we study the Old Testament to understand the historical, cultural, and contextual background of the history of our heritage in Jesus. This is commonly known as the Messianic teachings of Christianity and is a part of our Saturday Church in Norman, Oklahoma, and Dallas, TX.

While customs are not commandments there is beauty for believers in Jesus (Yeshua) to understand their identity as grafted into the covenants with Israel. As descendants of Abraham, all Christians are heirs according to the promise given to Abraham even before Sinai. Christians should study and learn the Torah and show respect for their Jewish brothers and sisters. It is through the study of the law that we see another level of greatness in Jesus who is the lawgiver and the greatest Torah teacher of all time.

Vayechi is the Hebrew title for “And He Lived” and is the name for the weekly Torah portion reading for the Book of Genesis starting in chapter 47 verse 28 and going through chapter 50 verse 26.

It is also important to point out that along with the Torah portion readings and teachings, there are what are called Haftarah portions which are readings from the Bible in the books of the prophets. This week’s haftarah readings come from the book of 1 Kings in chapter 2 verse 1 through 12.

The gospel readings incorporated with the weekly Torah portion readings come from the book of John in chapter 13 with verses 1 through 19.

As Christians exploring the Torah portion cycle we must maintain a balance of including the Old Testament, the prophets, and the gospels in our weekly bible study.

Torah Portion Overview-

The twelfth Torah Portion reading is called Vayechi. Vayechi means “and He lived.” The Torah Portion name derives from the first verse in this Torah Portion reading, which says, “Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years.” The Torah Portion looks at Jacob and his life as he prepares for his death. Jacob then prophetically blesses each of his sons, while Joseph gets a double portion of inheritance. This Torah Portion ends the readings in the book of Genesis with the death of Jacob, the death of Joseph, and the promise of redemption from Egypt.

Torah Portion Scriptural Highlights-

• Genesis 47:27 Jacob’s last days

• Genesis 48:1 Joseph’s sons are blessed by Jacob

• Genesis 49:1 Jacob’s last words to his sons

• Genesis 49:29 The burial and death of Jacob

• Genesis 50:15 Joseph forgives his brothers

• Genesis 50:22 The last days and death of Joseph

Haftarah (Prophets) Scriptural Highlights-

• 1 Kings 2:1 Solomon receives instructions from David

• 1 Kings 2:10 The death of David

Brit (Gospel) Scriptural Highlights-

• John 13:1 Jesus’ hour had come

• John 13:5 Jesus washes the disciples feet

• John 13:7 Jesus speaks prophetically to the disciples

The Book of Genesis “B’reisheet” which means “In the Beginning.”

The Old Testament is commonly referred to as the Torah. It is the most sacred of all of Israel’s Scriptures. Most of our modern Bibles include the Old Testament “Torah” as the first five books in the Bible. The name in Hebrew of the first book of the Bible (Genesis) is B’reisheet. The name “B’reisheet” comes from one of the opening phrases in the book of Genesis which means “In the Beginning.”

The Greek Septuagint is where we find the English name for “The Book of Origins” called “Genesis.”

The Book of Genesis is the story of the origin of creation. Through creation, we learn about the nature of God and His intentions for creation. In the book of B’reisheet we learn about the creation of the universe, the creation of human beings, the creation of living creatures, and then the covenants leading to the creation of the nation of Israel before the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.

The first book in the Torah and the Christian Bible also have different spellings that derive from the different sects of Judaism and the Hebrew language. Bereshit, or Bereishith are also common spellings for Genesis “B’reisheet.”

As Messianic Christians, we find the book of Genesis and the stories therein, as a historical account of how we as believers are grafted into the covenants and promises of God with our forefathers and how we can learn to walk and learn from their actions.

To Watch an overview of this week’s Torah Portion CLICK HERE