Weekly Torah readings in Av

44th weekly parsha in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah readings

thumb|300px|right|Moses Pleading with Israel (illustration from a Bible card published 1907 by the Providence Lithograph Company) '''Va'etchanan' (—Hebrew for "and I will plead," the first word in the parashah) is the 45th weekly Torah portion (, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the second in the Book of Deuteronomy. It comprises Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11. The parashah tells how Moses asked to see the Land of Israel, made arguments to obey the law, recounted setting up the Cities of Refuge, recited the Ten Commandments and the Shema'', and gave instructions for the Israeli

thumb|right|350px|The Golden Calf (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot) Eikev, Ekev, Ekeb, Aikev, or ʿEqeb (—"if [you follow]," the second word, and the first distinctive word in the parashah) is the 46th weekly Torah portion (, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the third in the Book of Deuteronomy. It comprises Deuteronomy 7:12–11:25. The parashah tells of the blessings of obedience to God, the dangers of forgetting God, and directions for taking the Land of Israel. Moses recalls the making and re-making of the Tablets of Stone, the incident of the Golden Calf,

right|thumb|300px|The hills of Gilead (current day Jal'ad, Jordan) Matot, Mattot, Mattoth, or Matos (—Hebrew for "tribes", the fifth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 42nd weekly Torah portion (, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the ninth in the Book of Numbers. It comprises Numbers 30:2–32:42. It discusses laws of vows, the destruction of Midianite towns, and negotiations of the Reubenites and Gadites to settle land outside of Israel.

thumb|right|500px|Encampment of Israelites, Mount Sinai (1836 intaglio print after J. M. W. Turner from Landscape illustrations of the Bible)

thumb|300px|right|An artist's impression of Solomon's Temple from the [[Nordisk familjebok. Some see the centralization of Jewish worship in Jerusalem as the intention of Deuteronomy 12.]]