Parashat Vayera — And He appeared

וַיֵּרָא

Torah portion 4 of 54 · Book of Genesis · pronounced vah-yay-RAH

Vayera (וַיֵּרָא) means "and He appeared" — taken, as every parashah name is, from the portion's opening words in the Hebrew.

Next read: October 31, 2026 · then November 20, 2027

The Readings

What Happens in Vayera

YHVH appears to Avraham by the oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day — and the appearance takes the form of three men standing before his tent. Avraham runs, bows, and pours himself out in hospitality: water for feet, fresh-baked bread, a tender calf, curds and milk. Tradition learns from here that receiving guests is greater than receiving the presence itself, for Avraham does both at once. Over the meal the promise turns personal and datable: at the appointed time I will return, and Sarah shall have a son. Listening at the tent door, worn-out Sarah laughs within herself — and is answered with the question that haunts all of Scripture: is anything too hard for YHVH?

As the visitors rise toward Sodom, YHVH asks, shall I hide from Avraham what I am doing? What follows is the Torah's boldest intercession: shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? Avraham bargains from fifty righteous down to ten, and YHVH concedes every step. But ten cannot be found. Two messengers reach Sodom at evening; the men of the city surround Lot's house demanding his guests; and at dawn the angels drag the lingering family out by the hand. Brimstone and fire fall on the cities of the plain, Lot's wife looks back and becomes a pillar of salt, and Avraham looks down at the smoke of a land like a furnace. In a cave, Lot's daughters despair of the future and father Moav and Ammon by their own father.

Then, at the appointed time, laughter is redeemed: Sarah conceives and bears Yitzchak — 'he laughs' — and Sarah says, God has made laughter for me. The house cannot hold two heirs; Hagar and Yishmael are sent away, and God hears the boy crying in the wilderness and opens his mother's eyes to a well. The portion crests on Moriah, where God tests Avraham: take your son, your only son, whom you love. Three days' journey, wood laid on the son's back, and Yitzchak's piercing question — where is the lamb? Avraham's answer carries the whole gospel in seed form: God will provide Himself the lamb. The knife is raised, heaven cries stop, and a ram caught in the thicket dies in the son's place. Avraham names the place YHVH Yireh, and YHVH swears by Himself: in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

Main Themes

Hospitality as covenant character Nothing is too hard for YHVH Intercession for the wicked city The provided substitute on Moriah Testing that proves and refines faith

Key Events

· Three visitors and the promise of a son

· Avraham pleads for Sodom

· The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; Lot's escape

· The birth of Yitzchak

· Hagar and Yishmael sent away and rescued

· The binding of Yitzchak on Moriah

Key People

Avraham Sarah Yitzchak Lot Lot's wife Hagar Yishmael Avimelech

Key Verses

← Parashat Lech-Lecha  ·  Parashat Chayei Sara →

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