Articles with the tag: emor
Don’t Be a Jewish Humpty Dumpty
Counting can be the most boring, exciting, or worrying activity I can think of. Boring, if you’re counting sheep; exciting, if it is the lottery prize money you’ve just taken home; and worrying, if you’re tallying your bills. One aspect shared by all counting is that they inform you of movement. Sometimes the count broadcasts your progress, other times it sadly reports your regression.
Between the festivals of Pesach and Shavuos, Jews count the Omer. For many years, I viewed this ritual as a way of marking not just time, but spiritual development. Every day, a Jew had to move further away from the constraints of his personal Egypt and advance towards his appointment with destiny, Torah and Sinai. It…
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A Mitzvah, a Map
The human body consists of 100 trillion cells. Within each is a nucleus containing a personalized genetic code, the blueprint of our entire body. In simple words, the microcosm is a map of the macrocosm. Does this apply to Judaism? Can one mitzvah, a single fragment of a highly complex structure, reveal the totality of Judaism? If so, we might view the Bible as more than a series of unconnected laws, but as a unified spiritual response to a very un-spiritual world.
We are presently in the midst of fulfilling one of the commands from this week’s reading, the counting of the Omer, “From the day after the Shabbat (Pesach)...count seven complete weeks…count fifty days.” During the period of the…
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Every Day Counts
The Jewish calendar is a wonderful thing. Sometimes, before you’ve even finished one holiday, the calendar reminds you to prepare for the next. Such is our case. With the taste of matzah still fresh on our palate, we begin counting 49 days in anticipation of Shavuot and the Giving of the Torah.
This counting brings to mind how God himself, had dramatically plucked the former slaves out of Egyptian bondage. Still, two hundred and ten years of merciless oppression had taken its toll. Physically and spiritually they were clearly unfit as well as unprepared to receive the Torah.
As they inched their way closer to Mt. Sinai the slow process of rejuvenation began. Each day they grew in health becoming…
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By Day and by Night
In recounting the travels of the Jewish people across the Sinai desert, the Torah clearly states that, “They went by day and by night.” However, according to the Midrash, their travels could be more accurately characterized as being “Borne on the wings of eagles.” In fact, some of our Sages have no problem asserting that their journey was indeed nothing short of miraculous, in that they covered a distance of 120 mil in the brief span of one hour. Which of course leaves us with the question, what need was there then for nocturnal travel?
The trek across the hot sands was more than a geographical excursion. It was the physical manifestation of a spiritual journey. Each day elevated the…
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In Pursuit of Happyness
If He is truly capable of anything, then why can’t He provide good without the bad?
The moral from Job: Only G-d is perfect. When mere human beings go through pain - as we all do – we can be overwhelmed. G-d understands.
WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN?
The answer is simple: Bad things simply don’t happen.
Two possible explanations:
Define happen. They are here for a reason; as a punishment, to purify man for the next world, to protect our freedom of choice, etc.
Define bad: For most, the working definition of bad is pain.
A BROKEN LEG. Good or bad?
Obviously, it’s bad. But there he meets his future wife. Pain is not always bad.
THE JEWISH DEFINITION…
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The “holy” Truth
To the Kohanim: “Each of you shall not contaminate himself…They shall be holy to their G-d.” To the Children of Israel: “Hashem’s appointed festivals that you are to designate as holy.” The two dominant themes of this week’s reading repeatedly refer to a particular class of people and specific days as holy. What exactly is holy? What makes one group of individuals or dates holier than others?
I remember the first time I went to Israel. It was the holiday of Succos, or as the Torah titles it, the Season of our Rejoicing. It was with great anticipation that we left our hotel and walked through the old Jewish quarter. Our first glimpse of the Wall was magnificent. I could…
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You Are Not Always a Rabbi
The third Book of Leviticus, like all of its Biblical partners, possesses more than one name. Since time immemorial, Rabbinic tradition has referred to this book as Toras Kohanim, the Laws of the Priests. The reason for this is obvious. A great part of this work deals with the service in the Sanctuary; the sacrifices and various Temple ritual all attended to by the Kohanim. Indeed, the very law that distinguishes the priests from the rest of the nation is enshrined in this Book of Va-yikrah.
In consistency, this week’s Torah reading of Emor spells out the specific obligations and prohibitions pertaining to the priests in perpetuity. None of theses laws have any Halachic governance over Levites or Israelites, just…
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Blood, Worms & Holiness
A commitment to education stems from the recognition that perfection of self is insufficient. For the Jew, this means enlightening other Jews with the divine wisdom of Torah and prevailing upon him to implement its precepts in his daily life. On three separate occasions, the Torah emphasizes that, “The great are to be charged regarding the small” obligating the older generation to pass on their knowledge and experience.
It is noteworthy that these three particular mitzvot exemplify areas in which we tend to doubt our ability to influence. Indeed, this is why the Torah chooses them as the contexts in which to establish the responsibility of education. The first time we are enjoined to teach the small is by the…
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You Can't Say It Enough
The Torah’s economy of words is legendary. Entire laws are derived at times from one extra letter. Unnecessary repetitions are thus suspect, and usually lead to volumes of commentary and interpretation. In this week’s Biblical reading, one need not look too far to experience this phenomenon. “Hashem said to Moshe: Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: To a dead person he shall not become impure.”
The redundancy is immediately obvious by the double usage of the term, “Say… and say to them.” Rashi, quoting the Talmud understands this to mean that the elder Kohanim must expend extra effort teaching their youngsters that they not defile themselves to a dead person.
Although this is certainly…
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You Can't Say It Enough
The Torah’s economy of words is legendary. Entire laws are derived at times from one extra letter. Unnecessary repetitions are thus suspect, and usually lead to volumes of commentary and interpretation. In this week’s Biblical reading, one need not look too far to experience this phenomena. “Hashem said to Moshe: Say to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: To a dead person he shall not become impure.”
The redundancy is immediately obvious by the double usage of the term, “Say… and say to them.” Rashi, quoting the Talmud understands this to mean that the elder Kohanim must expend extra effort teaching their youngsters that they not defile themselves to a dead person.
Although this is certainly…
Continue reading You Can’t Say It Enough
Second Chance
The Talmud, basing itself on the very first verse in this week’s Torah portion of Emor, tells us about responsibilities. According to our Sages the “great” (adults) have the obligation to instruct the “small” (children) in the observance of mitzvot.
In Chassidic philosophy these terms are not limited to interpersonal relationships. Just as there are “the great” and “the small” in the world at large, within the microcosm of man these concepts also exist. The great, meaning the mind and intelligence, are there to guide and teach the small - the limbs, the practical implementation. Does one learn only in order to know, or also to do? Assuredly, the greatness of Torah study is that it brings about Torah action….
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Blood, Worms & Holiness
A commitment to education stems from the recognition that perfection of self is insufficient. For the Jew, this means enlightening other Jews with the divine wisdom of Torah and prevailing upon him to implement its precepts in his daily life. On three separate occasions, the Torah emphasizes that, “The great are to be charged regarding the small” obligating the older generation to pass on their knowledge and experience.
It is noteworthy that these three particular mitzvot exemplify areas in which we tend to doubt our ability to influence. Indeed, this is why the Torah chooses them as the contexts in which to establish the responsibility of education.
The first time we are enjoined to teach the small is by the…
Continue reading Blood, Worms & Holiness
You Are Not Always a Rabbi
The third Book of Leviticus, like all of its Biblical partners, possesses more than one name. Since time immemorial, Rabbinic tradition has referred to this book as Toras Kohanim, the Laws of the Priests. The reason for this is obvious. A great part of this work deals with the service in the Sanctuary; the sacrifices and various Temple ritual all attended to by the Kohanim. Indeed, the very law that distinguishes the priests from the rest of the nation is enshrined in this Book of Va-yikrah.
In consistency, this week’s Torah reading of Emor spells out the specific obligations and prohibitions pertaining to the priests in perpetuity. None of theses laws have any Halachic governance over Levites or Israelites, just…
Continue reading You Are Not Always a Rabbi
The “holy” Truth
To the Kohanim: “Each of you shall not contaminate himself…They shall be holy to their G-d.” To the Children of Israel: “Hashem’s appointed festivals that you are to designate as holy.” The two dominant themes of this week’s reading repeatedly refer to a particular class of people and specific days as holy. What exactly is holy? What makes one group of individuals or dates holier than others?
I remember the first time I went to Israel. It was the holiday of Succos, or as the Torah titles it, the Season of our Rejoicing. It was with great anticipation that we left our hotel and walked through the old Jewish quarter. Our first glimpse of the Wall was magnificent. I could…
Continue reading The “holy” Truth
Don’t Be a Jewish Humpty Dumpty
Counting can be the most boring, exciting, or worrying activity I can think of. Boring, if you’re counting sheep; exciting, if it is the lottery prize money you’ve just taken home; and worrying, if you’re tallying your bills. One aspect shared by all counting is that they inform you of movement. Sometimes the count broadcasts your progress, other times it sadly reports your regression.
Between the festivals of Pesach and Shavuos, Jews count the Omer. For many years, I viewed this ritual as a way of marking not just time, but spiritual development. Every day, a Jew had to move further away from the constraints of his personal Egypt and advance towards his appointment with destiny, Torah and Sinai. It…
Continue reading Don’t Be a Jewish Humpty Dumpty
By Day and by Night
In recounting the travels of the Jewish people across the Sinai desert, the Torah clearly states that, “They went by day and by night.” However, according to the Midrash, their travels could be more accurately characterized as being “Borne on the wings of eagles.” In fact, some of our Sages have no problem asserting that their journey was indeed nothing short of miraculous, in that they covered a distance of 120 mil in the brief span of one hour. Which of course leaves us with the question, what need was there then for nocturnal travel?
The trek across the hot sands was more than a geographical excursion. It was the physical manifestation of a spiritual journey. Each day elevated the…
Continue reading By Day and by Night