Vayikra

Vayikra (Hebrew: ויקרא‎) is a Hebrew word, which is the first word of the book of Leviticus, the third book of the Torah (the first five books of the Tanach, or Hebrew Bible). It means "And He [God] called".

When used as a noun, Vayikra might refer to:

Vayikra (parsha)

Vayikra, VaYikra, Va-yikra, or Vayyiqra (וַיִּקְרָא – Hebrew for "and He called," the first word in the parashah) is the 24th weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the first in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes Leviticus 1:1–5:26. The parashah has the most letters and words of any of the weekly Torah portions in the book of Leviticus (although not the most verses), and is made up of 6,222 Hebrew letters, 1,673 Hebrew words, and 111 verses, and can occupy about 215 lines in a Torah scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, Sefer Torah). (Parashah Emor has the most verses of any Torah portion in Leviticus.)

Jews read it the 23rd or 24th Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in March or early April.

The parashah lays out the laws of sacrifices (קָרְבָּנוֹת, korbanot).

Readings

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or עליות, aliyot.

First reading – Leviticus 1:1–13

In the first reading (עליה, aliyah), God called to Moses from the Tabernacle and told him the laws of the sacrifices.Burnt offerings (עֹלָה, olah) could be bulls, rams or male goats, or turtle doves or pigeons, which the priest burned completely on wood on the altar.