Wikipedia's first sentence called it “eighth weekly torah portion”. Today it says “eighth weekly torah portion in the annual jewish cycle of torah reading”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Torah portion, Genesis 32–36”. It now reads “Eighth portion in the annual Jewish cycle of weekly Torah reading”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2015
Vayishlach or Vayishlah ( – Hebrew for "and he sent," the first word of the parashah) is the eighth weekly Torah portion ( , parashah ) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading . It constitutes Genesis 32:4–36:43. The parashah has the most verses of any weekly Torah portion in the book of Genesis (but not the most letters or words), and is made up of 7,458 Hebrew letters, 1,976 Hebrew words, and 153 verses, and can occupy about 237 lines in a Torah Scroll ( , Sefer Torah ). (In the book of Genesis, Parashah Miketz has the most letters, Parashah Vayeira has the most words, and Parashah Noach has an equal number of verses as Parashah Vayishlach.) Jews read it the eighth Sabbath after Simchat Torah , in November or December.1 In the parashah, Jacob reconciles with Esau after wrestling with a "man," the prince Shechem rapes Dinah and her brothers sack the city of Shechem in revenge, and in the family's subsequent flight Rachel gives birth to Benjamin and dies in childbirth. Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1855 illustration by Gustave Doré ) "Bereshit Torah Stats" .2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 669353648.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Vayishlach or Vayishlah (וישלח — Hebrew for "he sent,” the first word of the parshah) is the eighth weekly Torah portion ( parshah ) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading . It constitutes Genesis 32:4–36:43. Jews in the Diaspora read it the eighth Sabbath after Simchat Torah , generally in late November or December. Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (illustration by Gustave Doré )
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 363260152.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Torah portion, Genesis 32–36 Not to be confused with Beshalach , Vayeshev , or Vayigash . Vayishlach or Vayishlah ( — Hebrew for "and he sent," the first word of the parashah) is the eighth weekly Torah portion ( , parashah ) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading . In the parashah, Jacob reconciles with Esau after wrestling with a "man". The prince Shechem rapes Dinah , whose brothers sack the city of Shechem in revenge. In the family's subsequent flight, Rachel gives birth to Benjamin and dies in childbirth. The parashah constitutes Genesis 32:4–36:43. The parashah has the most verses of any weekly Torah portion in the Book of Genesis (Parashah Miketz has the most letters, Parashah Vayeira has the most words, and Parashah Noach has an equal number of verses as Parashah Vayishlach ). It is made up of 7,458 Hebrew letters, 1,976 Hebrew words, 153 verses, and 237 lines in a Torah Scroll ( , Sefer Torah ). Jews read it the eighth Sabbath after Simchat Torah , in November or December. Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1855 illustration by Gustave Doré ) "Bereshit Torah Stats" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 956611701.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Eighth portion in the annual Jewish cycle of weekly Torah reading Vayishlach or Vayishlah ( וַיִּשְׁלַח — Hebrew for "and he sent," the first word of the parashah) is the eighth weekly Torah portion ( פָּרָשָׁה , parashah ) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading . In the parashah, Jacob reconciles with Esau after wrestling with a "man." The prince Shechem rapes Dinah , whose brothers sack the city of Shechem in revenge. In the family's subsequent flight, Rachel gives birth to Benjamin and dies in childbirth. The parashah constitutes Genesis 32:4–36:43. The parashah has the most verses of any weekly Torah portion in the Book of Genesis (Parashat Miketz has the most letters, Parashat Vayeira has the most words, and Parashat Noach has an equal number of verses as Parashat Vayishlach ). It is made up of 7,458 Hebrew letters, 1,976 Hebrew words, 153 verses, and 237 lines in a Torah Scroll ( Sefer Torah ). Jews read it the eighth Sabbath after Simchat Torah , in November or December. Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1855 illustration by Gustave Doré ) "Torah Stats for Bereshit" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1172583512.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Eighth portion in the annual Jewish cycle of weekly Torah reading Not to be confused with Beshalach , Vayeshev , or Vayigash . Vayishlach ( וַיִּשְׁלַח — Hebrew for "and he sent," the first word of the parashah) is the eighth weekly Torah portion ( פָּרָשָׁה , parashah ) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading . In the parashah, Jacob reconciles with Esau after wrestling with a "man." The prince Shechem rapes Dinah , whose brothers sack the city of Shechem in revenge. In the family's subsequent flight, Rachel gives birth to Benjamin and dies in childbirth. The parashah constitutes Genesis 32:4–36:43. The parashah has the most verses of any weekly Torah portion in the Book of Genesis (Parashat Miketz has the most letters, Parashat Vayeira has the most words, and Parashat Noach has an equal number of verses as Parashat Vayishlach ). It is made up of 7,458 Hebrew letters, 1,976 Hebrew words, 153 verses, and 237 lines in a Torah scroll ( Sefer Torah ). Jews read it the eighth Shabbat after Simchat Torah , in November or December. Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1855 illustration by Gustave Doré ) "Torah Stats for Bereshit" .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1296824986. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “eighth weekly torah portion”. Today it says “eighth weekly torah portion in the annual jewish cycle of torah reading”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Torah portion, Genesis 32–36”. It now reads “Eighth portion in the annual Jewish cycle of weekly Torah reading”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
eighth weekly torah portion
Now
eighth weekly torah portion in the annual jewish cycle of torah reading
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
