התחלהStart herethree to begin with
Can even a wicked person draw close to G-d?
Thoughts of return come to every wicked person; the Zohar identifies the three visitors as Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.
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Why did G-d appear to Avraham while he sat at the tent entrance?
Avraham felt unworthy, so the Divine Presence rested only on Mamre, a righteous servant.
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Why does G-d set a constant inner struggle within us?
Keeping G-d before me always, one holds to faith beyond understanding when the evil inclination rises.
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קריאהThe readingGenesis 18:1-22:24 · all of it in the booklet
What each aliyah says, with its page in the booklet. The text itself is on Sefaria.
First Aliyah
G-d appears to Avraham by the terebinths of Mamre as he sits at his tent entrance in the heat. He sees three men standing near him, runs to greet them, and hurries to offer water, rest under the tree, and a meal of bread, cakes, a calf, curds, and milk, which he serves as they eat; they then promise that Sarah will have a son at this season next year, Sarah laughs to herself at the idea of bearing a child in her old age, and G-d asks Avraham why Sarah laughed and affirms that nothing is too wondrous for G-d.
Second Aliyah
Sarah denies laughing and is told, "You did laugh." The LORD says He will go down to see whether Sodom's outcry is true, and Avraham stands before Him and bargains from fifty righteous people down to ten, asking whether the city will be spared for their sake each time, until the LORD departs and Avraham returns to his place.
Third Aliyah
Two angels arrive in Sodom in the evening, and Lot takes them into his house, where the men of Sodom, young and old, surround the door and demand that he bring out his guests so they can be intimate with them. After the angels strike the crowd with blinding light, they tell Lot that G-d has sent them to destroy the city, and at dawn they seize Lot, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and lead them outside the city, where Lot asks to flee to a nearby small town instead of the hills.
Fourth Aliyah
Lot and his daughters flee Sodom as G-d destroys the cities of the Plain, and Lot's wife is turned into a pillar of salt. Avraham then goes to Gerar, where he again says his wife Sarah is his sister, and after G-d warns Abimelech in a dream, Abimelech restores Sarah to Avraham, G-d heals the household, and Sarah bears Yitzchak at the appointed time, whom Avraham circumcises on the eighth day.
Fifth Aliyah
Sarah sees Yishmael playing and asks Avraham to send him and Hagar away so that Yishmael will not share in Yitzchak's inheritance; G-d tells Avraham to do as Sarah says, promising that Yitzchak will carry on his line and that Yishmael will also become a nation. Avraham sends Hagar and the boy into the wilderness of Beer-sheba with bread and water, and when the water runs out, G-d hears the boy's cry, opens Hagar's eyes to a well, and the boy grows up in the wilderness of Paran, where his mother finds him a wife from Egypt.
Sixth Aliyah
Abimelech and his army chief Phicol come to Avraham and ask him to swear that he will deal kindly with them and their descendants, as they have dealt kindly with him. Avraham agrees, reproaches Abimelech over a well his servants had seized, and they make a covenant at Beer-sheba, where Avraham sets aside seven ewes as witness that he dug the well; the place is named for their mutual oath, and Avraham plants a tamarisk there, calls on the name of the LORD, and stays in the land of the Philistines for many days.
Seventh Aliyah
G-d tests Avraham by commanding him to offer his son Yitzchak, his favored and only son, as a burnt offering on a mountain in the land of Moriah; when Avraham is about to slay him, an angel of the LORD stops him, and a ram caught in a thicket is offered in Yitzchak's place, after which G-d renews His promise of blessing and numerous descendants to Avraham.
Maftir
Maftir repeats the closing verses of the Seventh Aliyah.
Haftarah
A widow whose husband, a disciple of the prophets, has died is told by Elisha to borrow many empty vessels and pour her single jug of oil into them until all are full, and the oil then pays her debt so she and her sons can live on the rest. Later, a woman of Shunem who has no son is promised one by Elisha, and when the boy dies, she brings him to Elisha, who prays to G-d, lies over the child, and restores him to life as the boy sneezes seven times and opens his eyes.
מדרשMidrash5 teachings
The classic midrashim on the reading.
Real love and real peace both include honest rebuke
Avraham's rebuke of Avimelekh shows love and peace need correction, not silence.
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Why Jerusalem's name joins two righteous men's names
G-d joins Avraham's Yireh and Shem's Shalem into Yerushalayim, so neither righteous man is slighted.
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Why did G-d ask Avraham to offer Yitzchak if He never meant for him to die?
G-d says 'take him up' meant bringing Yitzchak up the mountain, never slaughtering him, and Yitzchak asked to be bound tightly.
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Yitzchak's soul left him and then returned at the altar
At the voice from between the Keruvim, his soul returned and he blessed G-d who revives the dead.
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G-d judges each person by who they are right now
Angels objected to Yishmael's future, but G-d said: is he righteous today?
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מפרשיםClassical Commentaries4 teachings
The comments on Vayera that teachers cite most, each beside a voice that reads the verse differently.
Why did G-d test Avraham if He knew the outcome?
Ramban: the test turns good intention into deed worthy of reward; Rashbam ties it to Avimelech's covenant.
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A vision could confirm, not command, a righteous deed
Ramban says G-d appeared to Avraham to honor his brit milah, not to prophesy.
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Was Yishmael's mocking malicious, or just childish play?
Sforno hears gossip that Yitzchak was Avimelech's son; Ibn Ezra hears ordinary play and Sarah's jealousy.
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Did Avraham see angels while awake or dreaming?
Sforno says a waking Avraham ran to greet them; Radak says it was a sleep vision.
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חסידותFrom the Chassidic Courts26 teachings · 7 in the booklet
One teaching from each court with something to say on Vayera, many not otherwise available in free English translation.
Can even a wicked person draw close to G-d?
Thoughts of return come to every wicked person; the Zohar identifies the three visitors as Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.
AI translationAI summary
Why did G-d appear to Avraham while he sat at the tent entrance?
Avraham felt unworthy, so the Divine Presence rested only on Mamre, a righteous servant.
AI translationAI summary
Why does G-d set a constant inner struggle within us?
Keeping G-d before me always, one holds to faith beyond understanding when the evil inclination rises.
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Why does Sarah's modesty matter for the news of a son?
Kimchit, who was modest, merited to raise high priests, showing how a mother's modesty shapes her children.
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Why did G-d make Avraham wait three days before the test?
The delay fully separates Avraham from his former nature, as the convert's three-month examination does.
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Why did Avraham have water brought through a messenger?
Avraham used an agent to bring water because he feared being soiled by the idolaters before they were purified.
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Why does G-d personally go down to see the sinners of Sodom?
G-d descends from level to level to stir Sodom's hearts to teshuvah, and even ten penitent individuals would be enough to spare the city.
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Why did Avraham split the wood for the offering?
He acted in the physical world while hinting at a spiritual altar above, as the Alshich reads the verse, and his splitting of the wood hinted at the future Temple offering.
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How G-d's presence with Avraham reaches the world
Avimelech's oath asks that the flow of chesed never fail to bring forth wisdom in the world.
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Giving up one's own standing can bring one closer to G-d
Mamre advised Avraham to circumcise himself, accepting the distance he thought was required.
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Can everyday talk make ordinary food holy?
Eliezer's conversation separated good from evil in his meal, because he drew on the Torah he received from Avraham.
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Whose love was tested at the binding of Yitzchak?
Avraham rejoiced at Yitzchak's return because it was G-d's will, not as his only son.
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Why did Sarah laugh at the promise of a child?
She feared the yichud above was incomplete, not that she doubted, so G-d's words may not have been altered.
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Avraham's circumcision gathers all three Patriarchs' holiness into him
Tradition ties the three visitors to the world's three parts: settled land, wilderness, and sea.
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Why is the Binding credited to Avraham rather than Yitzchak?
Yitzchak wanted his ashes heaped up forever, so Avraham drew him to offer himself with a stronger surge than he had intended.
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Why is a person who prays for another answered first?
A sufferer cannot raise his own dinim (judgments) once his daat (knowledge) is taken from him.
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Why Avraham ran to greet the visitors without being told to
The repeated "and he saw" shows he perceived the sacred letters for running before acting.
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Why hold back even when you feel ready
Fear of E-lohim restrains from inner lack; fear of YHVH restrains for others' sake.
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Why G-d goes down to see rather than hear
Seeing reaches the poor and rich alike, while hearing reaches only the especially worthy.
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Why did the angels withdraw when they saw Avraham?
He forbade himself even what the law permitted, so the angels learned abstinence from him.
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Why can Sarah still give birth in old age?
The author reads alef in pele, wonder, as understanding, the mother's aspect enabling birth.
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Why did Avraham and Yitzchak disagree about how the world should be run?
Avraham sought the world's conduct through chesed, Yitzchak through gevurah, and each doubted the other until the Akedah.
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Why did Avraham keep the sun out of his house?
Rashi's words about dust on travelers' feet show that the ground itself is permitted, but bowing to dust lifted from it makes that dust prohibited and idolatry.
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Why Avraham feared his circumcision would separate him from people
Avraham, now above nature, asked Aner and the others how the circumcision appeared to them.
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How Avraham tried to soften judgment with kindness
The letters of G-d's Name equal "tree" in value; fulfilling Torah sweetens them.
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Why does the Torah call Avraham merely 'him' here?
Newly circumcised, Avraham is between his old and fully realized spiritual identity, so no name.
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בני זמננוModern Commentaries2 teachings
Rabbi Sacks's essay on Vayera, and the Netziv on its verses.
Why a rare note in Genesis signals inner ambivalence
Lot hesitates to leave Sodom, while Avraham, a stranger, is honored as a prince of G-d.
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Why did G-d test Avraham after all his earlier blessings?
Avraham's binding of Yitzchak completed his greatness, so G-d spoke to him no further after it.
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הלכה יומיתDaily HalachaKitzur Shulchan Aruch Yomi · Sunday to Shabbat
A few paragraphs of practical law a day: the whole Kitzur in a year, with each festival’s laws learned before it.
The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch was written in 19th-century Hungary. Times and directions of prayer reflect the author's location; ask your rabbi for local practice.
Laws of Mezuzah
If the doorway has two doorposts without a lintel, but there is above them an arched top, like a bow or even if there are no doorposts at all but rather the arch itself extends upward from the ground in a curve, if the entrance has a height of ten tefachim and a width of four tefachim it requires a mezuzah. In the case of stores where one doorpost is made to reach from the ground until the lintel, and another doorpost that does not reach until the lintel but rather the wall above that post is cut out approximately an amah or more, as illustrated in the diagram: if the doorpost which extends to the lintel is to the right of the entrance, the mezuzah is placed on that doorpost. If the smaller doorpost is on the right side of entry, if it is ten tefachim high the mezuzah is placed on it, and if it is not ten tefachim high it is affixed to the wider part of the wall.
Laws of Mezuzah · Preparation of the Body for Prayer and the Places in Which it is Fitting to Pray
If you rent a house outside of Eretz Yisrael you are exempt from mezuzah for thirty days. because it is not considered a permanent dwelling [during this time].
Preparation of the Body for Prayer and the Places in Which it is Fitting to Pray
The hands must be washed with water until the wrist, before praying. Therefore, even though you washed your hands in the morning, if your hands touched an unclean spot i. e., parts of the body that are normally covered, where there is an accumulation of sweat, or if you scratched your head, or if you did not wash them until the wrist [in the morning], you must wash them again before praying. If there is no water available you must attempt to acquire some; even traveling four mil (72 minutes) or backward one mil. If you are afraid that meanwhile the time limit for prayer will elapse, you may clean your hands on a rock or earth or with any other substance that cleans and then pray, as it is written: "I will wash my hands in purity etc." "I will wash," with water if possible, and if not "with nikayon," with any substance that cleanses.
Preparation of the Body for Prayer and the Places in Which it is Fitting to Pray · Laws Concerning the Sanctity of the Synagogue and the Beis Midrash
It is a mitzvah to rush when going to the synagogue, or to the Beis Midrash, or to perform any other mitzvah as it is said: "Let us run to know God." It is also written: "In the way of Your commandments I will run." Therefore, even on Shabbos it is permissable to run in order to do a mitzvah. However, in the synagogue or in the Beis Midrash, it is forbidden to run. Upon arriving at the entrance (of the synagogue), it is proper to pause slightly in order not to enter suddenly. You should tremble with awe before the splendor of His glory, Blessed be His Name, and recite the verse: "As for me, through Your abundant kindness etc. which is like a request for permission to enter; and then you should enter and walk with reverence and fear as one who walks before a king. In those communities where the Jewish people have their own streets, it is a mitzvah to put on the tzitzis [talis] and tefillin at home, and proceed to the synagogue [in that attire.] In a place where they reside among the gentiles, or if a person must walk through filthy alleys, it is preferable to put on the tzitzis and tefillin in the corridor of the synagogue, because it is of great merit to enter the synagogue enwrapped in tzitzis and crowned with tefillin.
Laws Concerning the Sanctity of the Synagogue and the Beis Midrash · The Laws of Pesukei D'zimrah
Before entering you should wipe the mud off your shoes, and you should be careful that there is no dirt on your person or on your clothing. It is permissible to expectorate [if you must], but it must be rubbed out with your feet immediately.
The Laws of Pesukei D'zimrah
[The Psalm] Mizmor Lesodah should be said while standing and with joy for [this psalm] represents the Thanksgiving sacrifice. Similarly, from Vayevarach David until atah hu Hashem Ha'elokim, should be said while standing. The Shirah, too, should be said while standing, with concentration and with joy. During the berachah—Yishtabach, you should also stand.
The Laws of Kaddish, Barechu, Requirements of Minyan, and the Laws of the Chazzan
After [completing] Yishtabach the chazzan says half-Kaddish. Kaddish, Barechu and Kedushah cannot be said and the Torah cannot be read unless there are ten adult men present. If ten men were not present when Yishtabach was said but, the minyan was completed afterwards, then, the chazzan may not say Kaddish, because Kaddish is said only following something that was said by ten men. They should, therefore, wait to say Yishtabach until ten [men] arrive. They may wait until almost a half-hour. They should not wait longer, but, rather, they should say Yishtabach and then wait. When ten [men] arrive they should first say a few verses, and afterwards the chazzan says half-Kaddish.
Sources & translations
| Bereshit Rabbah | The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah, 2022 |
| Ibn Ezra | Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004 |
| Kedushat Levi | Kedushat Levi translated by Rb. Eliyahu Munk |
| Mei HaShiloach | Living waters, the Mei HaShiloach. Trans. and edited by Betsalel Philip Edwards, Jerusalem, J. Aronson 2001 [Revised digital edition, 2021] |
| Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer | Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer, trans. Rabbi Gerald Friedlander, London, 1916 |
| Radak | Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash |
| Ramban | Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976 |
| Rashbam | Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash |
| Rashi | Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934 |
| Sforno | Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash |
| Steinsaltz | The Steinsaltz Tanakh - English |
| Torah and Haftarah | Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, published by JPS |
| Woodcut illustrations | drawn by AI in the style of a woodcut |
| Kitzur Shulchan Aruch | Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, trans. Rabbi Avrohom Davis, Metsudah Pub., 1996 (CC-BY), via Sefaria |
| Translated by AI | Arvei Nachal, Avodat Yisrael, Ba'al Shem Tov, Bat Ayin, Beit Aharon, Beit Yisrael (Ruzhin), Chiddushei HaRim on Torah, Degel Machaneh Ephraim, Divrei Emet, Irin Kadishin, Maor VaShemesh, Mareh Yechezkel on Torah, Me'or Einayim, Noam Elimelekh, Ohev Yisrael, Ohr HaMeir, Peri Tzadik, Sefat Emet, Shem MiShmuel, Tiferet Shlomo, Toldot Yaakov Yosef, Torah Ohr, Yismach Moshe, Zera Kodesh (how) |