Parasha Vayera (וירא) — Bereshit 18:1 – 22:24. Read on Shabbat, October 31, 2026.
Summary of Parasha Vayera
G-d appears to Avraham at the oaks of Mamre. Sitting at the entrance of his tent, Avraham sees three men and hurries to welcome them. The visitors announce that Sarah will have a son within a year; Sarah laughs to herself. G-d tells Avraham of His plan to destroy Sodom and Amorah, and Avraham pleads for the cities, until he secures the promise that ten righteous people would be enough to save them. Two angels arrive in Sodom, where Lot takes them in; the townspeople besiege his house. Lot and his daughters are saved, his wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt, and the cities are destroyed. Lot’s daughters give birth to Moav and Ammon. In Gerar, Sarah is taken by King Avimelech, who is warned in a dream to return her. Yitzchak is born as promised; Avraham circumcises him on the eighth day. At Sarah’s request, and at G-d’s command, Hagar and Yishmael are sent away; in the desert, an angel shows them a well. Avraham makes a covenant with Avimelech at Beer Sheva. G-d then tests Avraham by asking him to offer Yitzchak on a mountain in the land of Moriah: this is the akedah (the binding of Yitzchak). At the last moment, an angel stays his hand, and a ram is offered in his place. The parasha closes with the descendants of Nachor, among them Rivkah.
The Themes
- Hospitality toward strangers
- Pleading on behalf of others
- The trial of the akedah
Rav Raphaël Benizri’s Lectures on Vayera
Study booklets for each lecture: questions for the Shabbat table
A Question for the Shabbat Table
Avraham argues with G-d to save Sodom: how far may one go in defending even those who have done wrong?
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Summary by the Pensées Juives editorial team. The Rav’s teachings are found in his lectures, linked above.