Vayigash

Vayigash or Vaigash (Hebrew: וַיִּגַּשׁ, romanized: wayyiggaš, lit. 'and [then] he drew near', the first word of the parashah) is the eleventh weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה‎, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 44:18–47:27.

In this parashah, Judah pleads on behalf of his brother Benjamin, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, Jacob comes down to Biblical Egypt, and Joseph's administration of Egypt saves lives but transforms all the Egyptians into serfs.

The parashah is made up of 5680 Hebrew letters, 1480 Hebrew words, 106 verses, and 178 lines in a sefer Torah.^[1] Jews read it the eleventh Shabbat after Simchat Torah, generally in December or early January.^[2]