Torah Readings: Discover the Hebrew Roots of Your Faith
By Karen Engle, ICEJ USA Managing Editor
For centuries, Jewish communities around the world have studied the Torah—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—in bite-sized sections, called “portions.” (or parasha in Hebrew). The biblical text is divided into 54 weekly sections read over a Jewish calendar year, and together they tell the story of the beginnings of the Jewish people and nation.
However, these weekly portions were never read in a vacuum; they were studied alongside other sacred texts from the Hebrew Scriptures. The rabbis of antiquity and sages of the Middle Ages carefully paired each weekly Torah reading with passages from the Nevi’im (the Prophets, the second major division of the Hebrew Bible) that were deemed particularly relevant to the Torah portion, a particular holiday, or a historical event’
- Torah (Parasha): The primary reading selected from Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—the Five Books of Moses
- Haftarah (from Nevi’im): A complementary passage from the Prophets that echoes themes, covenants, or historical events from the weekly Torah readings
These weekly readings—called Parashat Hashavuah—guide the Jewish people in God’s instruction in synchrony with Jewish communities around the world.
In Messianic Judaism, this tradition is expanded into a threefold cycle that reflects God’s progressive revelation. It includes the Torah and Haftarah portions alongside selected passages from the Gospels and Epistles that show how the week’s themes, figures, and laws appeared in Jesus’ life and ministry, and was foundational to the faith of His disciples. In Hebrew, these New Testament Scriptures are called the Brit Chadashah (taken from Jeremiah 31:31), or the “new covenant.”
This weekly reading cycle is not meant to be an exercise in legalism or a requirement for salvation.1 Rather, it is a spiritual discipline and a beautiful act of worship. Reading the Torah, Haftarah, and New Testament passages together aligns believers with each other and with the Jewish community around the world in a beautiful, unified rhythm of studying God’s Word every single week.
The New Testament Connection: How Jesus and the Early Church Read the Torah
The New Testament affirms that reading weekly portions was central to first-century synagogue life. Consider Luke 4:16–21:
So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. 17 And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus often used the Old Testament (the Tanakh—the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings) when teaching His disciples, debating religious leaders, resisting temptation, and, most importantly, validating His identity as the Messiah.
We also see that the apostles used the Torah readings as the primary text for preaching the gospel—at that time, the New Testament had not yet been penned. These early believers were living it!
But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.” (Acts 13:14–15)
Because the Torah and the Prophets were paramount for Jesus and the disciples, they should be important to us too. The best part is that reading sections of the Torah alongside portions from the Prophets and the new covenant unlocks hidden depth, idioms, and allusions in the New Testament we might otherwise miss—ultimately, deepening your devotional time with the Lord.
Benefits of Following Torah Readings for Christians
There are many benefits from reading the weekly Torah portions alongside the Prophets and the New Testament, but here are just a few:
- It guarantees reading through all five books of Moses every year rather than skipping hard chapters.
- It helps bridge the gap between the Old and New Testaments, revealing one continuous story of redemption
- It connects Jesus as the fulfillment of the patterns, sacrifices, feasts, and prophecies introduced in the Torah
- It reveals how Jewish people in the past understood Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers
Plus, the paired readings highlight meanings that might seem insignificant on their own, aiding in understanding the first five books of the Bible.2 Ultimately, following the weekly Torah readings provides a predictable, structured weekly rhythm for individual and family reflection, prayer, and discussion.
Conclusion
Following the weekly Torah readings isn’t about striving to keep rules—in fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s about deepening your love for God and His Word while discovering the deep foundations of faith upon which Jesus and the disciples built the early church.
Download our FREE 2026–2027 Torah reading schedule to follow along with the new Torah reading cycle. In it you’ll find the weekly Torah portion, the Haftarah portion, and the corresponding New Testament passages for each week.
Join ICEJ USA President Dr. Susan Michael for her year-long Shabbat Shalom podcast series beginning Friday, October 9, as she provides deeper insights to these weekly Torah readings.
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