Shabbat – Parshat Vayakhel – Parah
Vayakhel is the 10th parsha in sefer Shemot / Exodus.
Moses gathers the people together. He explains to them God’s commandments about observing the Shabbat and building the Tabernacle. He tells them what items are needed for the construction project. The people donate all of the necessary items and start building the Tabernacle.
Parshat Vayakhel is 122 verses from Shemot / Exodus 35:1 – 38:20.
Click here for a summary of Parshat Vayakhel.
Regular Haftarah for Parshat Vayakhel
Ashkenazi tradition: 1 Kings 7:40-50.
Sephardi tradition: 1 Kings 7:13-26.
These verse relate details about King Solomon building the Temple in Jerusalem. The verses in the two traditions focus on different aspects of the building project.
Special Haftarah for Parah
However, this Shabbat is also known as Parshat Parah. Therefore there is a special Haftarah.
First there is an extra Torah reading from Bamidbar / Numbers 19:1 – 22. The Jewish people are commanded to take a red cow that has no blemishes and that has never been used for work. They are to slaughter it and burn it along with some cedar wood, hyssop, and a crimson thread. The ashes when mixed with water are sprinkled on a person to cleanse the person from corpse impurity.
Then the Haftarah is read from Ezekiel 36:16 – 38. Sephardim only read until verse 36. The prophet speaks of a time when God will cleanse His people from all of their contaminations and idols.