Sedra-Stats
4th of the 54 sedras; 4th of 12 sedras in B'reishit
Written on 252 lines in a Sefer Torah, ranks 5th
6 Parshiyot; 4 open, 2 closed (pssppp)
147 p'sukim - ranks 7th (4th in B’reishit)
2085 words - ranks 2nd (first)
7862 letters - ranks 3rd (2nd)
P'sukim above average in length (words and letters), explaining its rise in
rankings from p'sukim to words (and letters). Vayeira actually 2nd largest sedra
in the Torah. (Naso, is #1 with no rival - Bamidbar, Pinchas, and R'ei all take
up more lines than Vayeira, but those sedras each have many parshiyot, which
means a lot of blank space which adds to the number of lines.)
MITZVA WATCH Although none of the 613 mitzvot are counted from Vayeira, there is
a wealth of mitzva-lessons to be found in the sedra. We do not learn how to be
good Jews only from the 613 mitzvot. Hospitality, for example, is usually
considered part of the mitzva of G'milut Chasadim. But many of the details are
derived from the behavior of Avraham Avinu. Similarly, Bikur Cholim is part of
G'milut Chasadim as well as being part of the mitzva to emulate G-d. The
connection is contained in the Midrashim on Vayeira (and other sources). Some
mitzva-counters do count some individual forms of Chesed as mitzvot among TARYAG.
[The Parshat
Vayeira Homepage]
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