What is "vayigash"

Vayigash or Vaigash ( — Hebrew for "and he drew near" or "then he drew near," the first word of the parashah) is the eleventh weekly Torah portion (, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes The parashah is made up of 5,680 Hebrew letters, 1,480 Hebrew words, and 106 verses, and can occupy about 178 lines in a Torah Scroll (, Sefer Torah). Jews read it the eleventh Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in December or early January.

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