Vayakhel

Vayakhel, Wayyaqhel, VaYakhel, Va-Yakhel, Vayak'hel, Vayak'heil, or Vayaqhel (וַיַּקְהֵל‎—Hebrew for "and he assembled," the first word in the parashah) is the 22nd weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה‎, parashah) in the weekly Torah portion and the 10th of the Book of Exodus. The parashah tells of the making of the Tabernacle and its sacred vessels. It constitutes Exodus 35:1–38:20. The parashah is made up of 6181 Hebrew letters, 1,558 Hebrew words, 122 verses, and 211 lines in a Torah scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה‎, Sefer Torah).^[1]

Rabbinic Jews read it on the 22nd Shabbat after Simchat Torah, generally in March or rarely in late February. The lunisolar Hebrew calendar contains up to 55 weeks, the exact number varying between 50 in common years and 54 or 55 in leap years. In leap years (for example, 2024 and 2027), Parashat Vayakhel is read separately. In common years (for example, 2023 and 2026), Parashat Vayakhel is usually combined with the next parashah, Pekudei, to help achieve the number of weekly readings needed (although in some non-leap years, such as 2025, they are not combined).^[2]