Longest Leinings

[Art Roth]

Here's a cute tidbit, which is undoubtedly already known to a lot of the members of this list but new to others.

The following facts are well known.

    1. Naso is the longest single parsha.

    2. Matot-Mas`ei is the longest double parsha.

Less well known are the following facts.

    1. When Vayaqheil-P"qudei is read on either Shabbat Para or Shabbat Haxodesh, the "extra piece" from the second sefer makes it longer than Matot-Mas`ei.

    2. The maftir for Para is slightly longer than the maftir for Haxodesh (by 2 p"suqim and a few lines in the sefer Torah).  Hence this Shabbat's upcoming marathon is a tiny smidgen shorter than the longest possible leining.

Art 

[AMK Judaica]

I made this an off week for the teen minyan. They've gotten spoiled and I figured that after sitting through a shlepped out davening with the second longest leining this week, they'll come back to me on their knees next week and I won't have to chase them for leining.

**************

Ari Kinsberg

Brooklyn, New York

**************

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "leining" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to leining+u...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to lei...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/leining.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[Jay Braun]

But if Rosh Hodesh Nisan falls on the Shabbat on which we read Vayakhel-P'kudei, then we have an even longer total reading, from 3 sifrei Torah.

j

[Jay Braun]

And, of course, we might have even longer readings when Israel and Hutz-laAretz read different portions, and a Hu"L group is headed to Israel the following week, and wishes to be "yotzei" the year's cycle.  There are many ways to do this, including a complete leining of the following week's parasha at Mincha, but one could combine the two at Shacharit, n'est-ce pas?

j

[Nehemiah Klein]

Rosh Chodesh Nisan can't fall on Vayakhel-Pekudei, it can only fall on Vayikra, because Tzav is always Shabbos Hagadol on a non leap-year, and the next week is 8 Nisan which is the last week before Pesach (which is the following Shabbos).  So it is Vayakhel-Pekudei/Parah - which of course happens when Rosh Chodesh Nisan falls on the following Shabbos of Vayikra.

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "leining" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to leining+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[Art Roth]

Jay said

But if Rosh Hodesh Nisan falls on the Shabbat on which we read Vayakhel-P'kudei, then we have an even longer total reading, from 3 sifrei Torah.

Nehemiah beat me to the punch when he answered

Rosh Chodesh Nisan can't fall on Vayakhel-Pekudei, it can only fall on Vayikra, because Tzav is always Shabbos Hagadol on a non leap-year, and the next week is 8 Nisan which is the last week before Pesach (which is the following Shabbos).  So it is Vayakhel-Pekudei/Parah - which of course happens when Rosh Chodesh Nisan falls on the following Shabbos of Vayikra.

For completeness, I'd like to add that in a leap year, Vayaqheiul and P"qudei are always read separately.  (They are sometimes separate even in a non-leap year, although that's pretty rare.)  In addition, they are read near Rosh Xodesh Adar Bet (not near Rosh Xodesh Nisan), so neither Vayaqheil nor P"qudei is anywhere close to either Para or Haxodesh.  Instead, they are close to Sh"qalim --- in fact, one or the other (usually Vayaqheil) is always the parsha that's read on Shabbat Sh"qalim.  When Sh"qalim is read on Rosh Xodesh Adar Bet (entailing three sifrei Torah), the parsha is P"qudei.  Incidentally, when Sh"qalim is read on Rosh Xodesh Adar in a non-leap year (with three sifrei Torah), the parsha can be either Mishpatim or T"ruma.

Art

[Jay Braun]

(blush) I should have realized/remembered that, as I had started to ask myself:  "What circumstances result in reading P' Parah with Vayakhel-P'kudei?".  It's less common than haChodesh; thanks for reminding me why.

Thanks,
j

[MG]

Wait, what?

Vayekhel-Pikudei totals 214 pesukim (122+92).

Matos-Masei totals 244 pesukim (112+132).

Para is 22 pesukim.

The longest possible leining is Matos-Masei which falls out on Rosh Chodesh Av.

But even without that, it's always longer than the longest possible Vayekhel-Pikudei reading?  214 + 22 = 236.

[Art Roth]

IMO, it's completely misleading to measure length by p"suqim.  In this case, for example, the masa`ot in Parshat Mas`ei contain 40 very short p"suqim (33:10-49) in just 34 lines.  Since a column in a "standard" sefer Torah consists of 42 lines, this represents only about 80% of a single column.

A logically much more useful measure of length is number of columns (or number of lines or number of whole columns plus additional lines [between 0 and 41]) in the sefer Torah.  Of course, this can be misleading, too --- for example, all of the blank space in the shira of B"shalax and Ha'azinu make these two sidrot seem longer than they actually are using this measure of length.  There is also a slight distortion due to p"tuxot and s"tumot, which cause some lines to be shorter than others (i.e., more blank space).  But the p"tuxot and s"tumot generally have a relatively minor effect --- so except for B"shalax and Ha'azinu, I consider this measure of length to be fairly accurate, and it's certainly much more accurate than p"suqim.  

Upon request, I can supply anyone who is interested with an Excel spreadsheet that indicates for each parsha its length and its rank (from 1 to 54) using each of the two measures of length (columns/lines and p"suqim).  In general, the correlation between the two sets of ranks is good --- and those cases where the two ranks are far apart are obviously parashot with exceptionally short or exceptionally long p"suqim (on average).  

Matot-Mas`ei is 9 columns and 1 line.  

The maftir for Shabbat Rosh Xodesh is 13 lines --- so Matot-Mas`ei on Rosh Xodesh Av is 9 columns and 14 lines. 

Vayaqheil-P"qudei is 8 columns and 29 lines, which is only 14 lines (1/3 of a column) shorter than Matot-Mas`ei.  

Para is 1 column and 1 line --- so Vayaqheil-P"qudei-Para is 9 columns and 30 lines.   

Haxodesh is 39 lines (just short of a full column) --- so Vayaqheil-P"qudei-Haxodesh is 9 columns and 26 lines.

One last comment, which I never realized before the discussion of this current thread.  Vayaqheil-P"qudei is ALWAYS accompanied by either Para or Haxodesh since they are read separately in all leap years.  So Vayaqheil-P"qudei is ALWAYS a longer leining than Matot-Mas`ei even though the actual double parsha is shorter.

Art

[AMK Judaica]

Agreed, I always look at column size rather than pasuk count.

**************

Ari Kinsberg

Brooklyn, New York

**************

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "leining" group.

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to leining+u...@googlegroups.com.

[Jay Braun]

All very interesting, leading to the question of which is more difficult to lein with 100% accuracy (pronunciation and trope).

I have been asked this, and have said that it's a wash.  MM has the masa'ot, which are pretty simple, thereby reducing the number of challenging p'sukim.  VP has much material that was already ready 2 and 3 weeks prior, but with subtle differences that require attention.  Both have numerous occurrences of same-word/different-trope, which are far easier to get right if you have a sense of the "rules" that we often discuss here and the upcoming content. 

Shabbat shalom, and hatzlacha to all who are leining tomorrow.

j

[Art Roth]

Speaking of difficult things to lein, I gnash my teeth every year over NEXT week's parsha (Vayiqra), which I consider FAR more difficult than any other parsha in the Torah.  There's not even a close second.  After almost 50 years of leining fairly often (if not always every week), Vayiqra is the only parsha that I can't prepare comfortably in an hour or less --- it takes me at least 2 hours and sometimes as much as 3 hours.  In comparison, neither VP nor MM presents any particular difficulty for me --- they both flow just as easily for me as would be typical for the same number of pages elsewhere in the Torah.  Do I have an atypical mental block against Vayiqra, or do others also find it particularly difficult?   

[Zev Sero]

On 24/03/17 13:37, Art Roth wrote:
> Do I have an atypical mental block against Vayiqra, or do others also
> find it particularly difficult?

I don't find Vayikra particularly difficult, but I dread sheni of
Tetzaveh, and the name lists at the ends of Noach and Vayishlach.

--
Zev Sero May 2017, with its *nine* days of Chanukah,
z...@sero.name be a brilliant year for us all

[Avram Herzog]

Hi,

To me, Matot/Masei is hardest k'riah to prepare.  I find Vayakheil difficult, especially in a year that I just leined T'rumah, but P'kudei isn't harder for me than any other parashah.  Vayikra is right behond Vaykheil.

Shabbat Shalom,

Avi Herzog

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to leining+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.

[jecg...@aol.com]

I also find Vayikra particularly difficult, but for me I think Tazria is the hardest.

Ephraim

[Yisroel D. Berger]

Add me to the Vayikra-challenged list, though V'aera with the many different sequences of Vayomer Hash-em I would put second, and Tazria-Metzora third. (My first Bar Mitzvah student was MM, so I've no problems there.)

YD Berger

To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to leining+unsubscribe@ googlegroups.com.

To post to this group, send email to lei...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/ group/leining.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/ optout.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "leining" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to leining+u...@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to lei...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/leining.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.