Beshalach, Beshallach, or Beshalah (בְּשַׁלַּח‎—Hebrew for "when [he] let go" (literally: "in (having) sent"), the second word and first distinctive word in the parashah) is the sixteenth weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה‎, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the Book of Exodus. It constitutes Exodus 13:17–17:16. In this parashah, Pharaoh changed his mind and chased after the Israelites, trapping them at the Sea of Reeds. God commanded Moses to split the sea, allowing the Israelites to escape, then closed the sea back upon the Egyptian army. The Israelites also experience the miracles of manna and clean water. And the Amalekites attacked, but the Israelites were victorious.

The parashah is made up of 6,423 Hebrew letters, 1,681 Hebrew words, 116 verses, and 216 lines in a Torah Scroll (Sefer Torah).

Jews read it the sixteenth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, in January or February. As the parashah describes God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt, Jews also read part of the parashah, Exodus 13:17–15:26, as the initial Torah reading for the seventh day of Passover. And Jews also read the part of the parashah about Amalek, Exodus 17:8–16, on Purim, which commemorates the story of Esther and the Jewish people's victory over Haman's plan to kill the Jews, told in the book of Esther. Esther 3:1 identifies Haman as an Agagite, and thus a descendant of Amalek. Numbers 24:7 identifies the Agagites with the Amalekites. A midrash tells that between King Agag's capture by Saul and his killing by Samuel, Agag fathered a child, from whom Haman in turn descended.

The parashah is notable for the Song of the Sea, which is traditionally chanted using a different melody and is written by the scribe using a distinctive brick-like pattern in the Torah scroll. The Sabbath when it is read is known as Shabbat Shirah, as the Song of the Sea is sometimes known as the Shirah (song). Some communities' customs for this day include feeding birds and reciting the Song of the Sea out loud in the regular prayer service.

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or עליות‎, aliyot. In the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), Parashat Beshalach has eight "open portion" (פתוחה‎, petuchah) divisions (roughly equivalent to paragraphs, often abbreviated with the Hebrew letter פ‎ (peh)). Parashat Beshalach has four further subdivisions, called "closed portion" (סתומה‎, setumah) divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter ס‎ (samekh)) within the open portion divisions. The first open portion divides the first reading. The second open portion covers the balance of the first and all of the second readings. The third open portion is coincident with the third reading. The fourth open portion covers the fourth and fifth readings. The fifth open portion is coincident with the sixth reading. The sixth and seventh open portion divisions divide the seventh reading. And the eighth open portion is coincident with the maftir (מפטיר‎) reading that concludes the parashah. Closed portion divisions separate the fourth and fifth readings and divide the fifth and sixth readings.

In the first reading, when Pharaoh let the Israelites go, God led the people roundabout by way of the Sea of Reeds.

Moses took the bones of Joseph with them. God went before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. The first open portion ends here with the end of chapter 13.

In the continuation of the reading in chapter 14, God told Moses to tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp by the sea, so that Pharaoh might think that the Israelites were trapped and follow after them. When Pharaoh learned that the people had fled, he had a change of heart, and he chased the Israelites with chariots. The first reading ends here.