What is "vayetze"

Vayetze, Vayeitzei, or Vayetzei ( — Hebrew for "and he left," the first word in the parashah) is the seventh weekly Torah portion (, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes . The parashah is made up of 7,512 Hebrew letters, 2,021 Hebrew words, and 148 verses, and can occupy about 235 lines in a Torah Scroll (, Sefer Torah). Jews read it the seventh Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in November or December.

The parashah tells of Jacob's travels to, life in, and return from Haran. The parashah recounts Jacob's dream of a ladder to heaven, Jacob's meeting of Rachel at the well, Jacob's time working for Laban and living with Rachel and Leah, the birth of Jacob's children, and the departure of Jacob's family from Laban.