by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 11, 2022 | Emor, Marriage and Relationships, Purity, Temple
Until the Exodus from Egypt, the patriarchs had an individual relationship with God, bringing sacrifices wherever and whenever they felt the calling. But when God brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt, what had been a clan, a loose conglomeration of individuals,...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 9, 2022 | Emor, Kindness and Compassion
The Torah contains many commandments pertaining to eating animals; which animals are permitted and how to slaughter them. In the context of verses pertaining to Temple offerings, the Torah adds the prohibition against slaughtering an animal and its offspring on the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 8, 2022 | Emor, God, Leadership, Miracles, Temple
By the time we read the Torah portion of Emor (Leviticus 21-24), the Tabernacle has been built along with all of its necessary utensils. The Kohanim (priests) stand at the ready in the Biblically mandated clothes. But some necessary elements are still missing. God,...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2022 | Counting the Omer, Emor, Passover, Shavuot (Pentecost), Temple
On the night after the Passover Seder, the second night of Passover (the 16th of Nisan), Jews begin to perform the commandment of counting the seven complete weeks of the Omer which culminates in the pilgrimage festival of Shavuot on the 50th day. This commandment is...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 13, 2022 | Emor, Nisan, Passover, Temple
The Omer, a biblical measurement of approximately 43 ounces, refers to the wave offering of barley that was brought to the Temple along with a sacrifice of a lamb. Before Passover, emissaries of the Sanhedrin would go out to the field of barley and tie the grain into...
