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Torah
Stories By Hannah Parasha Emor |
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This
week’s Parasha begins with laws for the priests: No priest shall defile himself
for any dead person among his
family, except for the relatives closest to him: his mother, his father, his
son, his daughter, and his brother; also a virgin sister who is close to him
because she has not married. But he is not to defile himself as a family member
by marriage, and so profane himself.
Aharon and his sons,
the priests shall not shave smooth any part of their heads or cut the side
growth of their beards or make gashes in their flesh. They shall be holy to
their G-d and not profane the name of their G-d; for they offer HaShem’s
offerings by fire, the food of HaShem, and so they must be holy.
They
shall not marry a woman defiled by harlotry, nor shall they marry one divorced
from her husband. For they are holy to their G-d and you shall treat them as
holy, since they offer the food of your G-d; they shall be holy to you, for
HaShem who sanctify us is holy.
When
the daughter of a priest defiles herself through harlotry, it is her father
whom she defiles; she shall be put to the fire.
The priest who
is exalted above his fellows, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured
and who has been ordained to wear the vestments, shall not bear his head or
rend his vestments. He shall not go in where there is any dead body; he shall
not defile himself even for his father or mother. He shall not go outside the
sanctuary and profane the sanctuary of his G-d, for upon him is the distinction
of the anointing oil of his G-d. He may
marry only a woman who is a virgin. A
widow or a divorced woman or one who is degraded by harlotry - such he may not
marry. Only a virgin of his own people
may he take as wife - that he may not profane his offspring among his people,
for HaShem has sanctified him.
The
next few laws that HaShem gave to Moshe deals with which of Aharon’s offspring
may or may not offer to HaShem: Those of his offspring who has any defect shall
not be qualified to serve HaShem by offering to Him: No man who is blind, or
lame, or has a limb too short or too long, no man who has a broken leg or a
broken arm; or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, or who has a growth in his eye,
or has a boil scar, or scurvy, or crushed testes. No man among the offspring of
Aharon the priest who has a defect shall be qualified to offer. He may eat of
the food of HaShem, of the most holy as well as the holy; but he shall not
enter behind the curtain or come near the altar, for he has a defect. He shall
not profane these places sacred to HaShem, for HaShem has sanctified them.
After
these laws are the laws of donations. Aharon and his sons have to be scrupulous
about the sacred donations that the Yisraelite people consecrate to HaShem,
lest they profane His holy name. Throughout the ages, if any man among Aharon’s
offspring, while in a state of uncleanness, partakes of any sacred donation
that the Yisraelite people may consecrate to HaShem, that person shall be cut
off from among his people. No man of
Aharon’s offspring who has an eruption or a discharge shall eat of the sacred
donations until he is clean. If one
touches anything made unclean by a corpse, or if a man has an emission of
semen, or if a man touches any swarming thing by which he is made unclean or
any human being by whom he is made unclean – whatever his uncleanness – the
person who touches such shall be unclean until evening and shall not eat of the
sacred donations, for they are his food. He shall not eat anything that died or
was torn by beasts, thereby becoming unclean: They shall keep the commandments
of HaShem lest they incur guilt thereby and die for it, having committed
profanation.
No lay person
shall eat of the sacred donations. No bound or hired labourer of a priest shall
eat of the sacred donations; but a person who is a priest’s property by
purchase may eat of them; and those that are born into his household may eat of
his food. If a priest’s daughter marries
a layman she may not eat of the sacred gifts; but if the priest’s daughter is
widowed or divorced and without offspring, and is back in her father’s house as
in her youth, she may eat of her father’s food.
No lay person may eat of it; but if a man eats of a sacred donation
unwittingly, he shall pay the priest for the sacred donation, adding one fifth
of its value. But the priests must not
allow the Yisraelites to profane the sacred donations that they set aside for
HaShem, or to incur guilt requiring a penalty payment, by eating such sacred
donations: for it is HaShem who made them sacred.
When
any man of the house of Yisrael, or of the strangers in Yisrael presents a
burnt offering as his offering for any of the votive or freewill offerings that they offer to HaShem; it must, to be
accepted, be a male without blemish, of the cattle or sheep or goats. You shall
not offer any with a defect for it shall not be accepted. And when a man offers
from the herd or the flock a sacrifice of well-being to HaShem for an explicit
vow or a freewill-offering, it must, to be acceptable be without blemish. There
must be no defect in it. Anything blind, or injured, or maimed, or with a wen,
boil-scar or scurvy - such you shall not offer to HaShem, nor make an offering
by fire of them on the altar to HaShem. You may, however, present as a freewill
offering either a bullock or a lamb that hath any limb too long or too short,
but for a vow it shall not be accepted. You shall not offer to HaShem anything
with its testes bruised or crushed or torn or cut. You shall have no such
practices in your land, nor shall you accept such animals from a foreigner for
offering as food for your G-d, for they are mutilated, they have a defect, they shall not be accepted.
When
an ox or a sheep or a goat is born it shall stay seven with its mother, but
from the eighth day on it shall be accepted as an offering by fire to HaShem.
However no animal from the herd or from the flock shall be slaughtered on the
same day with its young.
When
you sacrifice a thanksgiving offering to HaShem, sacrifice it so that it may be
acceptable. It shall be eaten on the same day; you shall not leave any of it
until morning. You shall faithfully observe HaShem’s commandments. You shall not profane His holy name, that He
will be sanctified among the children of Yisrael: for HaShem sanctifies you.
These
are the fixed times of HaShem, which you shall proclaim as sacred occasions. On
six days work may be done but on the seventh day there shall be a sabbath of complete rest, a sacred occasion. You shall do no work; it is a sabbath of HaShem throughout your settlements.
These are the
set times of HaShem, the sacred occasions which you shall celebrate each at its
appointed time: In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at
twilight, there shall be a Passover offering to HaShem, and on the fifteenth
day of that month is HaShem’s feast of unleavened bread. You shall eat
unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you shall have a sacred occasion;
you shall not work at your occupations. Seven days you shall make offerings by
fire to HaShem; the seventh day shall be a sacred occasion; you shall not work
at your occupations.
When you enter
the land that HaShem is giving you, and you reap its harvest, then you shall
bring the first sheaf of your harvest to the priest. He shall elevate the sheaf
before HaShem for acceptance on your behalf; he shall elevate it on the day
after the Sabbath. On the day when you elevate the sheaf, you shall offer as a
burnt-offering to HaShem a lamb of the first year without blemish. The
meal-offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah of choice flour with oil
mixed in, an offering by fire of pleasing odour to HaShem; and the drink-offering with it shall
be of wine; a quarter of a hin. Until this day you shall not eat bread nor
parched corn or fresh ears; it is a law for all times throughout the ages in
all your settlements.
And
from the day that on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering – the day
after the Sabbath – you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete: you
must count until the day after the seventh week - fifty days; then you shall
bring an offering of new grain to HaShem. You shall bring from your settlements
two loaves of bread as an elevation offering. Each shall be made of two tenths
of a measure of choice flour, baked with leaven, as first-fruits to HaShem.
With the bread you shall present seven yearling lambs without blemish, and one
bull of the herd, and two rams; with their meal-offerings and their
drink-offerings, an offering by fire of a pleasing odour to HaShem. You shall
also offer one he-goat as a sin-offering and two yearling lambs as a sacrifice
of well-being. The priest shall elevate them with the bread of the first-fruits
as an elevation-offering before HaShem, with the two lambs; they shall be holy
to HaShem for the priest. On that same day you shall hold a celebration; it
shall be a sacred occasion to you, you shall not work at your occupations; it
is a law for ever in all your settlements throughout your generations.
And
when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the
corner of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest;
you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger.
In the seventh month, in the first day of the
month, you shall observe complete rest, a sacred occasion commemorated with
loud blasts. You shall not work at your occupations; and you shall bring an
offering by fire to HaShem.
Mark, the tenth
day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a sacred
occasion for you, you shall practice self-denial; and you shall bring an
offering by fire to HaShem. You shall do no work throughout that day. For it is a Day of Atonement, on which atonement is made on your
behalf before HaShem your God.
Indeed, any person who shall not practice
self-denial shall be cut off from his people. And whoever does any work on that
day, HaShem will cause that person to perish from among his people. Do no work
whatever; it is a law for all time throughout the ages in all your settlements.
It shall be a Sabbath of complete rest for you and you shall practice
self-denial; in the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening,
you shall observe this your Sabbath.
On
the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days
to HaShem. The first day shall be a sacred occasion; you shall not work at your
occupations. Seven days you shall bring offerings by fire to HaShem; on the
eighth day you shall observe a sacred occasion; and bring an offering by fire
to HaShem; it is a solemn gathering; you shall not work at your occupations.
These
are the set times of HaShem, that you shall celebrate as sacred occasions,
bringing offerings by fire to HaShem - burnt-offerings, meal-offerings,
sacrifices, and drink-offerings, each on its proper day; apart from the
Sabbaths of HaShem, and apart from your gifts, and your votive offerings, and
from all your freewill-offerings, that you give to HaShem.
Mark,
on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the yield
of your land, you shall keep the Festival of HaShem for seven days; a complete
rest on the first day; and a complete rest on the eighth day shall be a solemn
rest. On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of
palm-trees, and boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall
rejoice before HaShem your God seven days. And you shall observe it as a
festival to HaShem seven days in the year; you shall observe it in the seventh
month as a law for all time. You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens
of Yisrael shall dwell in booths; in order that future generations may know
that HaShem made the children of
The children of
Yisrael should bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a
lamp to burn continually. Aharon shall set them up in the Tent of Meeting,
outside the curtain of the 
Covenant to
burn from evening to morning before HaShem continually; it shall be a law for
all time throughout the ages.
He
shall set up the lamps on the pure lamp stand before HaShem continually.
You
shall take choice flour, and bake of it twelve loaves: two tenths of a measure
for each loaf. Place them on the pure table before HaShem in two rows, six to a
row. With each row you shall place pure frankincense, which is to be a token
offering for the bread as an offering by fire to HaShem. He shall arrange them before HaShem
regularly, every Sabbath day – it is a commitment for all time on the part of
the Yisraelites. They shall belong to Aharon and his sons who shall eat them in
the sacred precinct; for they are his as most holy things from HaShem’s
offerings by fire, a due for all time.
(The
two photos above is taken from www.templeinstitute.org and shows the lamp stand and the table for
the showbread)
There
came out among the Yisraelites one whose mother was Yisraelite woman, and whose
father was Egyptian. And a fight broke out in the camp between that
half-Yisraelite and a certain Yisraelite. The son of the Yisraelite woman
pronounced the Name in blasphemy and he was brought to Moshe – now his mother's
name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan - and he was placed in
custody, until the decision of HaShem should be made clear to them.
And
HaShem spoke to Moshe saying: “Take the blasphemer outside the camp and let all
that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let the whole community stone
him. And you shall speak to the children of
If anyone kills any human being, he shall be
put to death. One that kills an animal shall make restitution for it: life for life. If anyone maims his fellow; as
he has done, so shall it be done to him:
fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for
tooth; the injury he inflicted on another shall be inflicted on him. One who
kills an animal shall make restitution for it; and he that kills a human being
shall be put to death. You shall have one standard for stranger and citizen
alike: for I am HaShem your God.”
And
Moshe spoke to the children of
