When Is Vayeira Read?
/ 17 Heshvan 5786
/ 20 Heshvan 5787
/ 20 Heshvan 5788
Summary
- Abraham welcomes three visitors, who announce that Sarah will soon have a son. (18:1-15)
- Abraham argues with God about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. (18:16-33)
- Lot's home is attacked by the people of Sodom. Lot and his two daughters escape as the cities are being destroyed. Lot's wife is turned into a pillar of salt. (19:1-29)
- Lot impregnates his daughters, and they bear children who become the founders of the nations Moab and Ammon. (19:30-38)
- Abimelech, king of Gerar, takes Sarah as his wife after Abraham claims that she is his sister. (20:1-18)
- Isaac is born, circumcised, and weaned. Hagar and her son, Ishmael, are sent away; an angel saves their lives. (21:1-21)
- God tests Abraham, instructing him to sacrifice Isaac on Mount Moriah. (22:1-19)
More Vayeira Commentaries
- Abraham’s Test and Recognizing Our Need to Change
- Cultivating Hope
- Angel Spotting
- Letting Abraham's Example Guide Us, During Election Season and Beyond
- The Mitzvah of Lying
- Sacrifice My Son? What Was I Thinking?
- Judge a Society by Its Hospitality
- Vayeira for Teens: Shabbat Sha-raps
- Covenantal Models of Protest and Submission
- Hearing the Cries of Mothers and Children
Video: Learn About Parashat Vayeira with Bim Bam
Listen to Podcasts About Parashat Vayeira
Listen to Rabbi Rick Jacobs discuss Parashat Vayeira in these episodes of his podcast, On the Other Hand: Ten Minutes of Torah.
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Ten Minutes of Torah: Vayeira Commentary
A Test of Fear, a Quest for Love
By: Rabbi Dr. Wendy Zierler
The Akeidah story opens with a description of Isaac as the son "asher ahavta" (whom you love) but concludes by lopping off the modifier "whom you love." This suggests a quelling of familial love during Abraham and Isaac's hike up Mount Moriah.
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