Va'etchanan (וָאֶתְחַנַּן — Hebrew for “and I pleaded,” the first word in the parshah) is the 45th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the second in the book of Deuteronomy. It constitutes Deuteronomy 3:23–7:11. Jews in the Diaspora generally read it in late July or August. It is always read on the special Sabbath Shabbat Nachamu, the Sabbath immediately after Tisha B'Av.
The parshah tells how Moses asked to see the Land of Israel, puts forth arguments to obey the law, recounts the setting up of the Cities of Refuge, recites the Ten Commandments and the Shema, and gives instructions for the Israelites’ conquest of the Land.
As the parshah describes how the Israelites would sin and be banished from the Land of Israel, Jews also read part of the parshah, Deuteronomy 4:25–40, as the Torah reading for the morning (Shacharit) prayer service on Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem.
Read more about Va'etchanan: Readings, In The Liturgy, The Weekly Maqam, Haftarah