Parasha Vaera (וארא) — Shemot 6:2 – 9:35. Read on Shabbat, January 9, 2027.
Summary of Parasha Vaera
G-d speaks to Moshe, recalls that He appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, and that He has heard the groaning of the children of Israel. He announces the deliverance through a series of expressions: I will bring you out, I will save you, I will redeem you, I will take you as a people, and I will bring you to the promised land. Moshe conveys these words, but the people do not listen to him, because of their impatience and the harshness of their labor. The Torah presents the genealogy of the tribes of Reuven, Shimon and Levi, down to Moshe and Aharon. G-d announces that He will harden Pharaoh’s heart and multiply His signs. Before Pharaoh, Aharon’s staff turns into a serpent and swallows the staffs of the magicians. Then the plagues begin: the water of the river turned to blood, the frogs, the lice, the wild beasts, the death of the livestock, the boils, and the hail mingled with fire. The magicians imitate the first two plagues, then acknowledge before the lice: “It is the finger of G-d.” For several of these plagues, the Torah stresses that the children of Israel are spared. Time and again, Pharaoh promises to let the people go when the plague strikes him, then goes back on his word as soon as it ceases. The parasha ends with the hail and with Pharaoh’s heart hardening yet again.
The Themes
- The expressions of deliverance
- The first seven plagues
- Pharaoh’s hardened heart
Rav Raphaël Benizri’s Lectures on Vaera
Study booklets for each lecture: questions for the Shabbat table
A Question for the Shabbat Table
Pharaoh makes promises, then retracts them as soon as the hardship passes: why is it so hard to keep our good resolutions?
← Parasha Shemot · All the parashiot · Parasha Bo →
Summary by the Pensées Juives editorial team. The Rav’s teachings are found in his lectures, linked above.