Vayeshev, Vayeishev, or Vayesheb (—Hebrew for "and he lived," the first word of the parashah) is the ninth weekly Torah portion (, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. The parashah constitutes . The parashah tells the stories of how Jacob's other sons sold Joseph into captivity in Egypt, how Judah wronged his daughter-in-law Tamar who then tricked him into fulfilling his oath, and how Joseph served Potiphar and was imprisoned when falsely accused of assaulting Potiphar's wife. The parashah is made up of 5,972 Hebrew letters, 1,558 Hebrew words, 112 verses, and 190 lines in a Torah Scroll (, Sefer Torah). Jews read it the ninth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, in late November or December. Readings In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , aliyot. In the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Parashat Vayeshev has three "open portion" (, petuchah) divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (peh)). Parashat Vayeshev has one further subdivision, called a "closed portion" (, setumah) division (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (samekh)) within the second open portion . The first open portion spans the first three readings. The second open portion spans the fourth through sixth readings. And the third open portion coincides with the seventh reading. The single closed portion division sets off the fourth reading from the fifth reading. First reading—Genesis 37:1–11 In the first reading, Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, and this is his family's story. When Joseph was 17, he fed the flock with his brothers, and he brought Jacob an evil report about his brothers. Because Joseph was the son of Jacob's old age, Jacob loved him more than his other children, and Jacob made him a coat of many colors, which caused Joseph's brothers to hate him. And Joseph made his brothers hate him more when he told them that he dreamed that they were binding sheaves in the field, and their sheaves bowed down to his sheaf. He told his brothers another dream, in which the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to him, and when he told his father, Jacob rebuked him, asking whether he, Joseph's mother, and his brothers would bow down to Joseph. Joseph's brothers envied him, but Jacob kept what he said in mind. The first reading ends here. Second reading—Genesis 37:12–22 In the second