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Parasha #14: Va’era (וָאֵרָא‎)

Reading passages

Torah: Exodus 6:2-9:35 (Hebrew: פָּרָשַׁת וָאֵרָא)
Haftarah: Ezekiel 28:25-29:21

Summary

Parasha Va’era (“I appeared”) details God’s reaffirmation of His covenant with the Israelites and the beginning of the plagues in Egypt. God reveals Himself to Moses, promising to deliver the Israelites from slavery and demonstrate His power through a series of miraculous signs. The narrative progresses with the first seven plagues—blood, frogs, gnats, flies, livestock disease, boils, and hail—striking Egypt as Pharaoh’s heart remains hardened against letting the Israelites go.

Parasha statistics

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Parasha Data Sheet

Verse	Query	Description
Ex. 6:3	Made know to them	God will make His Name know to them.
Ex. 6:5	The groaning of the people	Where else is groaning found?
Ex. 6:16	These are the names	Find other occurences of the phrase “these are the names”

GitHub	NBviewer	Short description
hapax	hapax	Find unique words (hapax legomena) in this parasha.
Lexical parallels	Lexical parallels	Find lexical parallels between verses.
Delta SP and MT	Delta SP and MT	Identify differences between the Samaritan Pentateuch (SP) and Masoretic Text (MT).
Parasha statistics	Parasha statistics	Create graphical statistics for this parasha.

Hebcal

Additional details about Jewish calendar and holiday information, offering users a resource for tracking Hebrew dates, candle lighting times, and other relevant information in the Jewish calendar. Hebcal entry for parasha Va’era.

AI generated image

This image was generated by DALL.E based upon the name of this parasha. The following prompt was auto generated: “A biblical scene from the Torah portion Va’era, set in ancient Egypt. Depict Moses and Aaron standing before Pharaoh in a grand Egyptian palace, with Pharaoh seated on a golden throne surrounded by his advisors. Moses is holding a staff, and Aaron is gesturing as he speaks. In the background, one of the early plagues is starting—perhaps the Nile turning into blood, with red water flowing through the palace or riverbanks. The setting should be dramatic and filled with tension, reflecting a historical and spiritual atmosphere with warm desert tones and Egyptian architecture.”