The Torah Portion – Wk 31 Emor – Say

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Emor
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אמור

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Overview

In this week’s Torah portion we are looking at Leviticus 21:1–24:23

The first part of Emor teaches about the special laws pertaining to the priests, the High priest, and the Temple service.

A priest may not become ritually impure through contact with a dead body, except on the occasion of the death of a close relative.
A priest may not marry a divorcee, or a woman with a promiscuous past;
A High priest can marry only a virgin.
A priest with a physical deformity cannot serve in the Holy Temple, nor can a deformed animal be brought as an offering.

A newborn calf, lamb or kid must be left with its mother for seven days before being eligible for an offering; one may not slaughter an animal and its offspring on the same day.

The second part of Emor teaches about the Appointments of the Lord:

The weekly Shabbat;
The Passover on Aviv 14
The Feast of Unleavened Bread – seven day festival beginning on Aviv 15;
The Day of the bringing of the Omer – the offering from the first barley harvest on the second day of Passover – Aviv 16 and the commencement, on that day, of the 49-day Counting of the Omer, culminating in …
The festival of Shavuot on the fiftieth day;

The ‘remembrance of shofar blowing’ on Tishrei 1;
The solemn fast day of Yom Kippur on Tishrei 10;
The Sukkot festival—during which we are to dwell in huts for seven days and take the “Four Kinds” – beginning on Tishrei 15;
The ‘eighth day’ of Sukkot (Shemini Atzeret).

Lastly Emor teaches about the lighting of the menorah in the Temple, and the showbread (lechem ha panim) placed weekly on the table there.

Emor concludes with the incident of a man executed for blasphemy, and the penalties for murder (death) and for injuring one’s fellow or destroying his property (monetary compensation).