parasha

Alternative Spellings

parsha, parasha, parashah, parshah, parshe

Definitions

• Selection of the Pentateuch read publicly on the Sabbath.
• period of dating for marriage (Orthodox Jews)
• conversation (Weiser)
• general realm of feasibility, ballpark (Weiser)
• a tedious, lengthy enumeration or account, litany (Weiser)

Example Sentences

• "The Parshah this week is Chayei Sarah."
• "Do you know what her bat mitzvah parsha is?"
• "Shidduchim are only valid the first year you are "in the parsha" so every 19 year girl gets matched with a 23 yr old boy and no other boy or girl could possibly be a match!" (http://orthonomics.blogspot.com/2013/05/fear-mongering-guilt-tripping-and.html)
• "You're not even in this parsha, so don't offer your opinions." (Weiser)
• "Don't give up trying to win the contest; you're still in the parsha." (Weiser)
• "Rebbe gave me a whole parsha for coming late." (Weiser)

Languages of Origin

Textual Hebrew

Etymology

פּרשה parasha

Who Uses This

Religious: Jews who are engaged in religious observance and have some Jewish education
Orthodox: Jews who identify as Orthodox and observe halacha (Jewish law)

Regions

North America

Dictionaries

The JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words, by Joyce Eisenberg and Ellen Scolnic, (Philadelphia, 2001).
The Joys of Hebrew, by Lewis Glinert (New York, 1992).
Frumspeak: The First Dictionary of Yeshivish, by Chaim Weiser (Northvale, 1995).
Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Popular Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms, by Sol Steinmetz (Lanham, MD, 2005).

Notes

Generally pronounced PAR-sha or par-a-SHA. Plural parshas or parshiyot. Also used in the phrase parashat hashavua / parashat hashavua (the reading of the week).