Va'era
Exodus 6:2 – 9:35
God reassures Moses with the fourfold language of redemption, revealing Himself by the name YHVH and reaffirming the covenant with the patriarchs. Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh, and Aaron's staff swallows those of the Egyptian sorcerers. God unleashes the first seven plagues upon Egypt — blood, frogs, lice, wild beasts, pestilence, boils, and hail — each escalating in severity, yet Pharaoh's heart remains hardened and he refuses to release the Israelites.
Key figures
- Moses — God's messenger, demands Pharaoh release the Israelites, brings the plagues
- Aaron — Moses's spokesman, his staff initiates several plagues
- Pharaoh — Repeatedly hardens his heart, refuses to let the people go despite the plagues
Famous verses
- 6:6-7 Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am Hashem, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments;
- 7:17 thus Hashem said: In this you shall know that I am Hashem—behold, I will smite with the rod that is in My hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
- 9:27 And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them: "I have sinned this time; Hashem is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
Haftarah: {'ref': 'Ezekiel 28:25-29:21', 'connection': "Ezekiel prophesies against Pharaoh and Egypt, declaring God's judgment on Egyptian arrogance, directly paralleling God's confrontation with Pharaoh in the parasha."}
Total gematria 434,502 is divisible by 18, the number of life (chai).