Emor

Leviticus 21:1−24:23

Sanctifiers Of Time

The commandment to proclaim the festivals includes concepts of communal responsibility and imitating God.

By Rabbi Avraham Fischer, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

In the midst of a book devoted to kedusha (sanctity), the apex of the Torah’s value system, we revisit the subject of the festivals:

And Hashem spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: The festivals of Hashem which you will proclaim (tikr’u otam) as holy convocations, these are My festivals.

For six days shall work be done, and on the seventh day is the Shabbat of complete rest, a holy convocation, all work shall you not do, it is Shabbat to Hashem in all your dwellings.

These are the festivals of Hashem, the holy convocations which you will proclaim (tirkr’u otam) at their occasion. (Vayikra 23:1-4)

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Acharei Mot / K’doshim

Leviticus 16:1-20:27

The Limits Of Spirituality

Nadav and Avihu died in an act of sanctification; our goal should be to sanctify God through our lives, not our deaths.

By Rabbi Moshe Morduchowitzprovided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

Nadav and Avihu, two of Aaron‘s four sons, were killed, the Torah states, "when they came close before God." The Torah then goes on to describe the service performed by Aaron on Yom Kippur.

Who were Nadav and Avihu, and what do their deaths have to do with Yom Kippur?

Furthermore, why were they killed? Is it not the duty of every Jew to strive to come close to God?

Nadav and Avihu died during the sanctification of the Mishkan (Tabernacle). "They offered before the Lord an alien fire, which He had not commanded… and a fire came forth and consumed them."

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Tazria/Metzora

Leviticus 12:1-15:33

By Rabbi Joseph Ozarowski, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com
The opening verses of Tazria deal with the various rituals a woman undergoes after childbirth. After the birth of a child she brings two offerings: a year-old lamb or a turtledove or a pigeon as an olah, a burnt offering; and a turtledove or a pigeon as a chatas, a sin offering.

The Talmud questions the order of the offerings as they are described in the Torah, pointing out that when these two offerings are brought as a pair, the chatas is always offered first. Yet in these verses about childbirth, the olah is listed first.

Raba maintains that, in fact, the chatas is brought first. Why, then, is it listed second?

The late Rabbi Menachem Sacks of Chicago, in his wonderful homiletic work, Menachem Tzion, views this sequence as a message on how we ought to view our children’s future.

Parents continually sacrifice for their offspring, with their efforts, funds and time spread out on the altar of child development. The olah and the chatas symbolize the dual nature of parenting.

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Shemini

Leviticus 9:1-11:47

By By Rabbi Avraham Fischer, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

The Role Of The Elders

Several commentators discuss the relationship of the elders to the priests, the people, Moses, and God.

The great day has finally arrived! All that preceded this day--the Exodus from Egypt, the Revelation at Sinai, and the building and dedication of the Mishkan (Tabernacle)--was a process designed to bring Hashem’s uninterrupted Presence into the camp of Israel.

 The shameful sin of the golden calf nearly brought about the destruction of the people of Israel.

However, after much painful soul-searching, Hashem and His people are reconciled. For seven days, Aaron and his sons have trained to serve as the Kohanim (priests); now, on the eighth day, nearly one year since the Exodus on the first of the month of Nisan, the moment of Divine union is here:

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8th Day of Passover

Deuteronomy 14:22 - 16:17 & Numbers 28:19 - 28:25; maf: Numbers 28:19-25

Haftarah: Isaiah 10:32 - 12:6 

From Temple B'nai Emet

Words of Torah for the End of Passover

At the end of the Passover holiday two significant customs are observed. One is the Torah reading about the crossing of the Red Sea. Tradition teaches that this happened on the 7th day of the Exodus.

The other tradition is reciting the Yizkor memorial service at the end of the holiday.

While there is no obvious connection between these two customs, I believe if we read the Torah text along with the Rabbinic commentary as brought by Rashi, perhaps we will understand how these two customs are connected.

We read in the Book of Exodus, in the section (Parasha) called “B’shallach,” the story of when the Israelites left slavery in Egypt, actually, when they were sent out of Egypt by Pharaoh.

The text reads: “Moses took Joseph's bones with him, for he [Joseph] had adjured the sons of Israel, saying, God will surely remember you, and you shall bring up my bones from here with you” Exodus 13:19

Rashi, the medieval Biblical commentator, has two interesting comments on two phrases found in this verse:

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Passover Torah Readings

First Day Passover: Exodus 12:21 - 12:51 & Numbers 28:16 - 28:25

Second Day Passover: Leviticus 22:26 - 23:44 & Numbers 28:16 - 28:25

On the FIRST DAY OF PASSOVER we read from the book of Exodus (12:21-51) of the bringing of the Passover Offering in Egypt, the Plague of the Firstborn at the stroke of midnight, and how "On this very day, G-d took the Children of Israel out of Egypt."


The reading for the SECOND DAY OF PASSOVER, Leviticus 22:26-23:44, includes: a list of the moadim -- the "appointed times" on the Jewish calendar for festive celebration of our bond with G-d; the mitzvah to Count the Omer (the 49-day "countdown" to the festival of Shavuot which begins on the 2nd night of Passover); and the obligation to journey to the Holy Temple to "to see and be seen before the face of G-d" on the three annual pilgrimage festivals -- Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot.

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Shabbat HaGadol/The Great Sabbath; Tzav

Leviticus 6:1-8:36

by Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Nothing in Judaism has proved more complex or internally controversial than the biblical approach to sacrifices.

On the one hand they occupy a key position in the Mosaic books. Their laws are set out in great detail. No less significant is where these laws are to be found. As I have suggested elsewhere in these studies, one of the most characteristic features of the Torah’s literary style is the chiasmus: a pattern of words, phrases or verses that have the form ABCBA. This focuses attention on the middle element of the literary unit. The climax is not at the beginning or end, as in other literary forms, but in the centre. This becomes the turning point, at which the direction changes from departure (A-B) to the beginning of return (B-A).

The entire Pentateuch (the five Mosaic books) forms a chiasmus. From the perspective of the Israelites in the wilderness, Bereishith looks back to the pre-history of Israel, while Devarim turns to the future, as Moses’ prophetic vision scans the far horizons of hope and expectation. Shemot and Bamidbar are a matched pair, telling the story of the present – Israel’s journey from Egypt into the desert and to the brink of the promised land.

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