1 A parashah is a paragraph in the written Torah according to the Masoretic text These parshiot are either "open" (followed by a blank space which extends to the end of the line) or "closed" (followed by a blank space equal to the width of nine letters) 2 A parashah is also a sidrah ("order"): one of the fifty-four sections into which the Five Books of Moses are divided for the purpose of reading one of them in the synagogue each Shabbat Thus, the entire Torah is read in full in the course of a year (it is sometimes necessary to read two on the same Sabbath) The parshiot are known by one or two of their opening words