פָּרָשַׁת וָאֵרָא

Parshat Vaeira tells of the first seven plagues, by which Hashem begins to break Mitzrayim and make His name known. Hashem tells Moshe that He appeared to the Avot as Kel Shakkai but is now revealing Himself by His name Hashem, and gives him the four expressions of redemption: I will bring you out, I will save you, I will redeem you, I will take you as My people — and I will bring you to the land. The people cannot hear it for shortness of breath. After the family line of Levi, through Amram and Yocheved to Aharon and Moshe, the two brothers go before Pharaoh, and Aharon's staff swallows the magicians' serpents.

Then the plagues, each announced and each met by Pharaoh's hardened heart: the Nile turned to blood; frogs in every house and bed; lice from the dust, which the magicians cannot copy — "it is the finger of G-d"; wild beasts that spare only Goshen; pestilence that kills the livestock of Mitzrayim and not one animal of Yisrael; boils that leave the magicians unable to stand; and hail with fire inside it, which strikes down man, beast and crop everywhere but Goshen. Pharaoh admits that Hashem is righteous and he is wicked, and as soon as the hail stops, hardens his heart again. Hashem tells Moshe why He lets Pharaoh stand: to show him His power and make His name known in all the earth. The parsha ends with three plagues still to come.