Parashah 04 / Reading of Vayera (the birth of Isaac) / Genesis 18:1 to 22:24 (VIDEO + Audiobook)

First Aliyah, First Reading

18:1. Hashem appeared to him in the oak groves of Mamre, while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent, in the heat of the day.

18:2. He looked up and saw three men standing in front of him. Seeing them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed down to the ground.

18:3. He said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your sight, I beg you not to pass by your servant.

18:4. Bring some water; wash your feet and rest under the tree.

18:5. I will bring you a morsel of bread so that you may regain your strength; then you may continue on your way, for that is why you have come to your servant.” They replied, “Do as you have said.”

18:6. Abraham hurried into the tent where Sarah was and said, “Quick! Take three measures of fine flour, knead it, and make cakes.”

18:7. Abraham ran to the cattle, took a tender and good calf and gave it to the boy, who hurried to prepare it.

18:8. He took curds, milk, and the calf he had prepared and set them before them. He stood beside them under the tree while they ate.

18:9. They asked him, "Where is Sara, your wife?" He replied, "She's at the store."

18:10. And he said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah, your wife, will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him.

18:11. Abraham and Sarah were old, of advanced age; Sarah had already stopped menstruating.

18:12. Sara laughed to herself, saying, "After I have withered away, will I have any pleasure, now that my lord is also old?"

18:13. Hashem said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I really bear a child, being now an old woman?’

18:14. Is anything too extraordinary for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.”

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Second Aliyah, Second Reading

18:15. Sara denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh,” because she was afraid. But He said, “No; you did laugh.”

18:16. The men got up and looked towards Sodom. Abraham walked with them to see them off.

18:17. Hashem said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”

18:18. Abraham will certainly become a great and powerful nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed.

18:19. For I have chosen him to direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord may fulfill for Abraham what he has promised him.”

18:20. Hashem said: “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very grave.

18:21. I will go down and see if they have acted entirely in accordance with the outcry that has reached me; and if not, I will know.

18:22. The men turned away from there and went towards Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before Hashem.

18:23. Abraham approached and said, “Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked?”

18:24. Perhaps there are fifty righteous people within the city. Will you also destroy it and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?

18:25. Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous fare the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

18:26. Hashem answered: “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

18:27. Abraham answered and said, “Look, I have dared to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes.

18:28. Perhaps there are five fewer than fifty righteous people. Will you destroy the whole city for the sake of those five?” He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

18:29. He spoke to him again and said, "Perhaps forty will be found there." He replied, "I will not do it for the sake of the forty."

18:30. Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, and I will speak. Perhaps thirty will be found there.” He replied, “I will not speak if I find thirty there.”

18:31. He said, “Look, I have dared to speak to my Lord. Perhaps twenty can be found there.” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

18:32. He said, “May my Lord not be angry; I will speak just this once. Perhaps ten will be found there.” He replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

18:33. Hashem left when he had finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

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Third Aliyah, Third Reading

19:1. The two angels arrived in Sodom at sunset, while Lot was sitting at the gate of Sodom. When he saw them, Lot got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

19:2. He said, “Please, my lords, turn aside to your servant’s house, spend the night, and wash your feet. Then you can get up early in the morning and continue on your way.” They replied, “No, we will spend the night in the square.”

19:3. But he insisted greatly, and they turned aside to him and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them, baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

19:4. Before they went to bed, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from the young to the old, all the people without exception.

19:5. They called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may have relations with them.”

19:6. Lot went out to them at the entrance and shut the door behind him.

19:7. He said, "Please, my brothers, do not do this evil.

19:8. Look, I have two daughters who have never been with a man. Let me bring them out to you and you can do with them as you please. But do nothing to these men, for they have come to take refuge under my roof.”

19:9. They said, “Get out of the way!” And they added, “This fellow came here as a foreigner, and now he wants to be a judge. Now we will treat you worse than them.” They pressed hard against Lot and came near to break down the door.

19:10. But the men reached out their hands, brought Lot into the house with them, and shut the door.

19:11. The men who were at the entrance of the house were struck with blindness, from the youngest to the oldest, so that they became exhausted trying to find the entrance.

19:12. The men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone else you have in the city—bring them out of this place.

19:13. "Because we are going to destroy this place, for the outcry against its inhabitants has become great before Hashem, and Hashem has sent us to destroy it."

19:14. Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, “Get up! Leave this place, because the Lord is going to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

19:15. As dawn broke, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Get up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, so that you will not be swept away by the punishment of the city.”

19:16. Since he was delayed, the men took him by the hand, along with his wife and two daughters, out of God's compassion for him. They led him out and left him outside the city.

19:17. When they had brought them outside, one said, “Flee for your life! Don’t look behind you or stop anywhere in the plain. Flee to the mountains, so that you will not be destroyed.”

19:18. Lot said to them, "Please, no, my lord.

19:19. Your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness by sparing my life. But I cannot flee to the mountains, lest disaster overtake me and I die.

19:20. Look, this city is close enough to flee to, and it's small. Let me escape to it—isn't it small?—and my life will be saved.

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Fourth Aliyah, Fourth Reading

19:21. He said to him, “I will grant you this request also: I will not destroy the city you have spoken of.

19:22. Hurry, flee there, because I can do nothing until you arrive." That is why that city was called Zoar.

19:23. The sun had risen over the earth when Lot arrived at Zoar.

19:24. Hashem rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah from Hashem out of the heavens.

19:25. He destroyed those cities and the entire plain, all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the land.

19:26. Lot's wife, who was walking behind him, looked back and became a pillar of salt.

19:27. Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had stood before Hashem.

19:28. He looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the plain, and he saw that the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace.

19:29. When God destroyed the cities of the plain, he remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the midst of the destruction, by destroying the cities where Lot had lived.

19:30. Lot went up from Zoar and settled in the mountains with his two daughters, because he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave.

19:31. The older one said to the younger one: "Our father is old, and there is no man on earth to join us, as is the custom throughout the land.

19:32. Come, let us give wine to our father and lie with him, so that we may preserve offspring through our father.”

19:33. That night they gave wine to their father. The older daughter went in and lay with her father, and he was unaware of when she lay down or when she got up.

19:34. The next day, the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s give him wine again tonight; you go in and sleep with him, so that we may preserve offspring through our father.”

19:35. That night they also gave wine to their father. The younger daughter got up and lay with him, and he was not aware of when she lay down or when she got up.

19:36. Lot's two daughters became pregnant by their father.

19:37. The eldest daughter gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the ancestor of the Moabites to this day.

19:38. The younger woman also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-Ammi. He is the ancestor of the Ammonites to this day.

20:1. Abraham left there for the land of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. He lived as a foreigner in Gerar.

20:2. Abraham said of Sarah, his wife, “She is my sister.” Then Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

20:3. God came to Abimelech in a night dream and said to him, "You will die for the woman you have taken, for she is married."

20:4. Abimelech had not approached her, and said, “My lord, will you kill even an innocent nation?”

20:5. Didn't he tell me, "She is my sister"? And she also said, "He is my brother." With integrity of heart and innocent hands I have done this."

20:6. God said to him in the dream, “I also know that you have done this with integrity of heart, and I myself have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not allow you to touch her.

20:7. Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet; he will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not return her, you will certainly die, you and all who belong to you."

20:8. Abimelech got up early in the morning, called all his servants together, and told them all these things. The men were very afraid.

20:9. Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you, that you have brought such great sin upon me and my kingdom? You have done to me things that should not be done.”

20:10. Abimelech said to Abraham, "What did you see to do this?"

20:11. Abraham replied, “Because I thought, ‘Surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’”

20:12. Furthermore, she is actually my sister, my father's daughter, although not my mother's daughter, and she became my wife.

20:13. When God made me wander from my father's house, I said to him, “This is the kindness you will show me: In every place we go, say of me, 'He is my brother'.”

20:14. Abimelech took sheep, cattle, male and female servants and gave them to Abraham. He also returned Sarah, his wife, to him.

20:15. Abimelech said, “My land is before you; dwell wherever you please.”

20:16. To Sarah he said, “I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. This will be a reparation for you in the sight of all those who are with you; before them you are vindicated.”

20:17. Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his servants, and they were able to give birth.

20:18. Because Hashem had completely closed up every womb in the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham's wife.

21:1. Hashem attended to Sarah as he had said, and did for Sarah what he had promised.

21:2. Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him.

21:3. Abraham named the son who was born to him, whom Sarah had borne to him, Isaac.

21:4. Abraham circumcised his son Isaac eight days after he was born, just as God had commanded him.

Fifth Aliyah, Fifth Reading

21:5. Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

21:6. Sarah said, "God has given me cause for laughter; everyone who hears it will laugh with me."

21:7. And she said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age!”

21:8. The child grew and was weaned. Abraham prepared a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned.

21:9. Sarah saw Hagar's son, the Egyptian woman she had borne to Abraham, laughing.

21:10. Then he said to Abraham, “Get rid of this slave woman and her son, because the son of this slave woman will not inherit with my son Isaac.”

21:11. This greatly distressed Abraham because it involved his son.

21:12. God said to Abraham, “Do not worry about the boy or your servant. Listen to everything Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.

21:13. "I will also make a nation of the son of the slave woman, because he is your offspring."

21:14. Abraham got up early in the morning, took bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, placing them on her shoulder. He also gave her the child and sent her away. She left and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.

21:15. When the water in the skin ran out, he left the child under one of the bushes.

21:16. She walked away and sat opposite him, about a bow shot away, saying, "I don't want to see the child die." Sitting some distance away, she raised her voice and wept.

21:17. God heard the boy's voice, and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the boy's voice where he is.

21:18. "Get up, lift the boy up and hold him firmly in your hand, for I will make him into a great nation."

21:19. God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.

21:20. God was with the boy, and he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer.

21:21. He lived in the desert of Paran, and his mother got him a wife from the land of Egypt.

Sixth Aliyah, Sixth Reading

21:22. At that time, Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything you do.

21:23. Now, swear to me here by God that you will not act falsely against me, nor against my son, nor against my grandson. In accordance with the kindness I have shown you, you will act toward me and toward the land where you have resided as a foreigner.”

21:24. Abraham replied, "I will swear."

21:25. Abraham complained to Abimelech about the well of water that Abimelech's servants had seized.

21:26. Abimelech replied, “I don’t know who did this. You didn’t tell me either, and I hadn’t heard about it until today.”

21:27. Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.

21:28. Abraham set apart seven ewe lambs from the flock.

21:29. Abimelech asked Abraham, “What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?”

21:30. He answered, “You will accept these seven lambs from my hand, so that they may serve as a witness to me that I dug this well.”

21:31. That is why he called that place Beer Sheva, because there they both took an oath.

21:32. They made a covenant at Beersheba. Then Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines.

21:33. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba and called there on the name of Hashem, the eternal God.

21:34. Abraham lived as a foreigner in the land of the Philistines for many days.

Seventh aliyah, Seventh reading

22:1. After these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham.” He answered, “Here I am.”

22:2. He said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will show you.”

22:3. Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He cut the wood for the burnt offering, got up, and set out for the place God had shown him.

22:4. On the third day, Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place in the distance.

22:5. Abraham said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there, bow down, and come back to you.”

22:6. Abraham took the wood from the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac. He took the fire and the knife in his hand, and they both walked together.

22:7. Isaac spoke to Abraham, his father, and said, “My father.” He answered, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

22:8. Abraham replied, “God will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them walked on together.

22:9. They arrived at the place God had indicated. Abraham built the altar there, arranged the wood, bound his son Isaac, and placed him on the altar, on top of the wood.

22:10. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slit his son's throat.

22:11. An angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” He replied, “Here I am.”

22:12. He said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

22:13. Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket behind him. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

22:14. Abraham called that place "Hashem will provide," as it is said to this day: "On the mountain of Hashem it will be provided."

22:15. The angel of Hashem called to Abraham a second time from heaven.

22:16. He said, “By myself I have sworn,” declares the Lord, “because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,

22:17. I will surely bless you and multiply your descendants abundantly, like the stars of heaven and like the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gate of their enemies.

22:18. Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.”

22:19. Abraham returned to his servants. They got up and went together to Beersheba, and Abraham stayed in Beersheba.

22:20. After these things, Abraham was told, “Milcah has also borne children to your brother Nahor:

22:21. to Utz, his firstborn; to Buz, his brother; and to Kemuel, the father of Aram;

22:22. and Chesed, and Jazo, and Pildash, and Yidlaph, and Bethuel.

22:23. Bethuel was the father of Rebekah. These eight sons Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

22:24. His concubine, named Reuma, also gave birth to Tevaj, Gaham, Tahash, and Maakha.

Maftir of Vayera

22:20. After these things, Abraham was told, “Milcah has also borne children to your brother Nahor:

22:21. to Utz, his firstborn; to Buz, his brother; and to Kemuel, the father of Aram;

22:22. and Chesed, and Jazo, and Pildash, and Yidlaph, and Bethuel.

22:23. Bethuel was the father of Rebekah. These eight sons Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham's brother.

22:24. His concubine, named Reuma, also gave birth to Tevaj, Gaham, Tahash, and Maakha.

Haftarah of Vayera according to Sephardic custom — Melachim Bet (II Kings) 4:1–23

4:1. A woman, the wife of one of the disciples of the prophets, cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant, my husband, is dead. You know that your servant feared the Lord, and the creditor has come to take my two sons as slaves.”

4:2. Elisha said to her, “What can I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” She replied, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.”

4:3. He said, “Go and borrow empty vessels from all your neighbors; do not ask for just a few.

4:4. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your children. Pour the oil into all those jars and set aside the ones that are full.”

4:5. She turned away from him and closed the door behind her and her children. They brought the jars to her, and she poured the oil.

4:6. When the jars were full, he said to his son, “Bring me another jar.” He replied, “There are no more jars.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

4:7. She went and told the man of God. He said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt. You and your children will live on what is left.”

4:8. One day, Elisha passed through Shunem. There lived a distinguished woman who insisted he eat. From then on, whenever he passed by, he stopped to eat.

4:9. She said to her husband, "Now I know that this man who always passes by our house is a holy man of God."

4:10. Let's make a small room upstairs, with walls, and put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp there for him. That way, when he comes to us, he can stay there.

4:11. One day, he arrived there, retired to the upstairs room, and lay down.

4:12. He said to Gehazi, his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her, and she came to him.

4:13. Elisha said to his servant, “Please tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you? Do you want us to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She replied, “I live among my own people.”

4:14. He asked, “What can we do for her?” Gehazi replied, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”

4:15. He said, "Call her." He called her, and she stood in the doorway.

4:16. Elisha said, “About this time next year, you will embrace a son.” She replied, “No, my lord, man of God; do not deceive your servant.”

4:17. The woman conceived and gave birth to a son at that time, the following year, just as Elisha had told her.

4:18. The boy grew up. One day he went out to where his father was, with the reapers.

4:19. He said to his father, “My head, my head!” His father said to the servant, “Take him to his mother.”

4:20. He picked him up and carried him to his mother. The child remained on her lap until noon and died.

4:21. She went upstairs, laid him on the man of God's bed, closed the door, and left.

4:22. She called to her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so that I may go quickly to the man of God and return."

4:23. He asked, "Why are you going to see him today? It's not a new moon or Shabbat." She replied, "Everything is fine."