Parshat Vaeira is the 2nd parsha in Sefer Shemot (also known as Exodus).
This parsha is verses Exodus 6:2 – 9:35, or a total of 121 verses.
Here is a brief summary for each aliyah.
Aliyah 1: Exodus 6:2 – 6:13, 12 verses
Parshat Exodus ended with Moses asking God, “Why have you sent me?” Now God explains to Moses that He knows the plight of the Jewish people in Egypt. He remembers His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and He is going to redeem His people.
Aliyah 2: Exodus 6:14 – 6:28, 15 verses
The Torah presents the family lineage of the tribes of Reuvain, Shimon, and Levi. Moses and Aaron are descended from Levi. This is the first time we learn the names of Moses’s parents.
Aliyah 3: Exodus 6:29 – 7:7, 9 verses
Moses again complains that he’s not a fluent speaker. (He’d raised a similar argument at the burning bush, Exodus 4:10). God appoints Aaron to speak for Moses when they go to Pharaoh.
God also tells Moses that He will need to harden Pharaoh’s heart.
Aliyah 4: Exodus 7:8 – 8:6, 28 verses
Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh in the palace. Aaron throws his staff on the ground and it turns into a snake. Pharaoh’s sorcerers did a similar “trick.” As a result, Pharaoh was not convinced that Moses and Aaron were speaking for God.
Plague #1: At Moses’s command, Aaron raises his staff over the Nile River. God turns all of the Egyptian’s water into blood.
Plague #2: God causes the Nile to bring a frog infestation over the land of Egypt.
Aliyah 5: Exodus 8:7 – 8:18, 12 verses
The plagues continue.
Plague #3: God turns the dust of Egypt into lice. The Egyptian magicians are unable to duplicate this with their magic. They proclaim this plague to be “the finger of God.”
Plague #4: God sends a swarm of wild beasts to harass the Egyptians.
Aliyah 6: Exodus 8:19 – 9:16, 26 verses
Pharaoh asks Moses to remove the wild beasts from the land. Even though the beasts are gone, Pharaoh still does not recognize that it is God Who is causing the plagues.
Plague #5: The next plague is an epidemic of disease against the Egyptian’s livestock. The livestock of the Jews was not affected at all.
Plague #6: This plague is an affliction of boils on the skin of men and animals.
Aliyah 7: Exodus 9:17 – 9:35, 19 verses
Plague #7: This is a plague of hail, but not ordinary hail. This time it was a combination of thunder, hail, and fire.
Again, Pharaoh asks Moses to end the plague. The hail ends exactly as Moses said it would. Pharaoh remains obstinate in his refusal to let the Jewish people go.
Haftarah Summary
This week the haftarah comes from Ezekiel 28:25 – 29:21.
The prophet Ezekiel is commanded by God to speak against Egypt. In Verse 6 we read, “Then all who dwell in Egypt will know that I am Hashem…”
In the parsha, Exodus 6:7, says, “and you [the Jewish people] shall know that I am Hashem your God.”
And then in Exodus 7:5 “And Egypt shall know that I am Hashem …” So we see part of the reason that God sends afflictions into the world is so that people will know that God rules over the entire world.
Further Reading
I have an article that goes into more detail about Aaron’s staff turning into a serpent and what we can learn from the miracle.