Parashat Vaera: Trials That Shape Us

January 24, 2025
BBYO Weekly Parsha

AZA & BBG

Read more from this author →

This week 's Parsha is Parshat Vaera. The Hebrew word Vaera means appeared. In this week’s Parsha G-d appears to Moses as he did many years earlier to our forefathers,  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This time around, G-d is appearing to Moses in a redeeming way and is commanding Moses to tell the pharaoh to let the Israelis free.

Different plagues are mentioned on several occasions in this parasha place such as thick darkness and wild animals among others but even with all the rough signs, the pharaoh is insisting not to let the children of Israel get out of slavery from Egypt. 

At the end of this Parsha, as well as throughout the book of Exodus, we see a redeeming miracle happening with the help of G’d, as the children of Israel will finally experience  the miraculous exodus from Egypt.

Some of the lessons we could learn from this week’s Parsha are:

  1. We should be G-d fearing, because G-d can do anything.
  2. We should not use fellow people as slaves.
  3. G-d does not forget the Jewish people, although the Jewish people sometimes forget G-d.
  4. G-d fulfills G-d’s promises even if it takes a while. 
  5. Blessings can come from anywhere in the world at any given moment.
  6. We should always have faith, even when it seems difficult.

Shabbat Shalom,

Matan from BBYO Uganda

Read commentary on this week's Parsha from BBYO teens around the world.

All views expressed on content written for The Shofar represent the opinions and thoughts of the individual authors. The author biography represents the author at the time in which they were in BBYO.

Explore More Stories

Get The Shofar blasted to your inbox

Subscribe
Subscribe