Bulletin Emor

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Shabbat Shalom • ouka ,ca
Shabbat Emor
6 Iyar 5782 • May 7, 2022
Via
Please join us for Minyan
Monday, May 9 th - 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 10 th - 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 31 st - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday morning minyanim 9:00 a.m.
Kiddush Sponsors
The Synagogue Board
In Honor of The State of Israel's
74 th Independence Day
_____ _____
Kiddush Maven: Linda Scheinberg
Assisted by: Judy Adelman, Nancy Garfinkel, Elaine Kamin
& Shep Scheinberg
To sponsor a kiddush, please contact Linda Scheinberg
missus205@gmail.com

Yahrtzeiten
May 8 • Iyar 7
May 9 • Iyar 8
May 10 • Iyar 9
May 11 • Iyar 10
May 12 • Iyar 11
May 13 • Iyar 21
Birthdays
May 8
Aniversaries
Lewis Grimley – Father of Susan Hammerman
Bernard Wreschner – Father of Herbert Wreschner
Joseph Mehlman – Father-in-law of Judith Mehlman
Louis Ripps – Grandfather of Steven Chizzik
Mark Lawrence – Nephew of Herbert Wreschner
Barney Applebaum – Father of Heidi Gilbert
Miriam Barber – Mother of Martin & Barry Barber
Morton Macks – Father of Lawrence Macks
Harry Hoffman – Father of Marcia Danoff
Rose Goldenberg – Sister of Alan Rosenberg
Marian Engel, Barrett Burka
jna ,skuv ouh
May 9 Jay rnt
& Stuart Kaye (29)
,arp
Torah & Haftarah Readings:
Shabbat Emor: Lev. 23:23-24:23 (Etz Hayim p. 727)
1. 23:23-25 2. 23:26-32 3. 23:33-44 4. 24:1-4
5. 24:5-9 6. 24:10-12 7. 24:13-23 M. 24:21-23 (p 733)
Haftarah: Ezekiel 44:15-31 (Etz Hayim p. 735)
Torah / Haftarah Summary
D'var Torah:
Power & Responsibility – Josh Cohen
Parshat Emor, contains a variety of laws and prohibitions concerning Kohanim
and dead bodies, his physical appearance, who he can marry, and when a Kohen
is unfit for service. There are laws regarding the requirements and suitability of
sacrifices, who may eat them and when, instructions for the Ner Tamid, as well as an
overview of the obligations and schedule for Shabbat, Pesach, Sefirat HaOmer, Rosh
Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. The parsha concludes with a story about the
son of an Israelite woman who, in the heat of a fight, profaned the name of God and
is sentenced to death by stoning. This event prompts God to deliver the final laws of
the parsha which deal with civil restitution, wherein the famous phrase is recorded
"eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth." (VaYikra 25:20).
What connects this long and seemingly unrelated list of laws is the central value of
holiness/sanctity, and the dual imperative to sanctify and NOT defile/profane. At the
end of Chapter 22 Bnei Yisrael is instructed to observe these laws so that "You shall
not profane My holy name, that I may be sanctified in the midst of the
Israelite people - I the Lord who sanctify you." (VaYikra 22:32) This echoes back
to last week's parsha, when God tells Bnei Israel that they "shall be holy, for I, the
Lord your God, am holy." (19:2).
But parshat Emor takes this further, exploring what holiness means through detailed
rules regarding holy people (Kohanim/Priests), holy places (Mishkan/ Tabernacle),

holy things (Kodshim/Sacrificial Gifts) and holy time (Moadim/ Holidays). Since the
Kohanim "are holy to your God" (21:7), a Kohen must observe the laws pertaining
to cemeteries, shaving, and marriage so that "...he shall not defile himself...and so
profane himself." (21:4). The holy people (Kohanim) must be careful about who
enters the Mishkan lest, "He profane these places sacred to Me..." (21:23). Again And
they must "be scrupulous about the sacred gifts that the Israelite people consecrate
to Me, lest they profane My holy Name." (22:2).
But parshat Emor takes this further, exploring what holiness means through detailed
rules regarding holy people (Kohanim/Priests), holy places (Mishkan/ Tabernacle),
holy things (Kodshim/Sacrificial Gifts) and holy time (Moadim/ Holidays). Since the
Kohanim "are holy to your God" (21:7), a Kohen must observe the laws pertaining
to cemeteries, shaving, and marriage so that "...he shall not defile himself...and so
profane himself." (v.4). The holy people (Kohanim) must be careful about who enters
the Mishkan lest, "He profane these places sacred to Me..." (v.23). Again And they
must "be scrupulous about the sacred gifts that the Israelite people consecrate to Me,
lest they profane My holy Name." (v.:2).
Chapter 23's instructions regarding the Moadim are not accompanied by a charge
against profanation, but as mikraei kodesh (holy occasions) reflecting this duality.
Their sanctity calls not only to perform holy acts (sacrifices and other rituals), but
also to refrain from mundane activities (work/melacha).
Parshat Emor teaches that the holiness with which we are charged is not a stable state of
being, it is an elevated status that requires perpetual safeguarding and sanctifying. Bnei
Yisrael is holy so long as they behave accordingly: so long as the Kohanim honor and
maintain their own holiness, so long as the Mishkan is protected from defilement, so long as
the sacrifices are suitable and significant, and so long as the holidays are celebrated at their
appointed times and in the proper manner. With the great power to sanctify, comes the great
responsibility not to defile/profane.
But what of the final laws of the parsha? Why does profaning God's name (in
essence, using God's name to curse and not bless) require putting someone to death,
and how does that connect to "an eye for an eye"? The overall message seems to
be the reflexive nature of profanation and sin. Profane the holy, and you profane
your own holiness. Violate someone's sanctity, and your sanctity is violated. Fail to
protect God, and you forfeit God's protection.
But there seems to be another level here as well. Verse 24:14 states that "all those
who heard him should lay their hands on his head." This laying of hands,
reminiscent of what is done with a sin offering, communicates that it is not only
the blasphemer, but all those who heard him, who need expiation before God.
Having heard someone profane God's name, their connection to God, indeed their
very lives, are at risk. As we know from elsewhere in the Torah, when Israelites
spurn God, people die. By laying hands on the blasphemer and then stoning him,
the hearers purge themselves of their sin, and the community purges itself of the
defilement in its midst, returning the community to the level of holiness needed
to maintain God's protective presence. In essence, the blasphemer's life is forfeit
because he made their lives forfeit. It's just that in this instance, God gave them a
chance to fix things first.

D'var Haftorah:
To Judge the Judge
– Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein
Ostensibly Ezekiel's message in the haftarah is part of a larger vision of the role of
priests in the restored Temple. Ezekiel, who prophesied soon after the destruction
of the first Temple, envisioned a priesthood with expanded responsibilities and
regulations. He clearly saw the kohanim as both the spiritual and the temporal
leadership of the nation. The kohanim were accorded, among their many roles,
judicial responsibility: "In lawsuits, too, it is they who shall act as judges, they shall
decide them (qere: yishpetuhu) in accordance with My rules." (Ezekiel 44:24).
This translation is based on what we call the "qere" or "read tradition" of the Biblical
text. It is to be contrasted with the "ketiv" or "written tradition" of the text. The "ketiv"
represents the text as it is found written in the Bible itself. The "qere", on the other
hand, is a parallel tradition of how the text is to be read. It is usually found in the
margins of the Biblical text. The "pshat" or plain meaning of the text that Jews accept
as authoritative usually follows the "qere" reading. Consequently, the verse quoted
above, refers to the judicial responsibilities of the priests as leaders of the people.
Rabbi Meir Simcha Hacohen from Dvinsk, the prominent 19 th -20 th century
Lithuanian Talmudist, chose, however, to interpret the "ketiv" tradition of this text.
Instead of reading the text as "they shall decide them", he adopts the reading "and
be judged" (ketiv: v'shaphtuhu). According to this interpretation the verse reads: "In
a lawsuit, they too shall stand trial, and they shall be judged according to my rules."
This leads him to discuss the idea that no legal system should hold its leaders to
a different standard of laws. Rather, when they need to be judged they should be
tried by the same standards as everyone else. (See Meshech Hochmah Parshat Emor). This
interpretation conforms to the following teaching from the Mishnah: "A High Priest
(kohen gadol) may judge and be judged." (Sanhedrin 2:1)
The Jewish tradition holds its leadership responsible not only as leaders but also as
human beings. Position does not carry with it exemption from the consequences of
the law. Rather, each of us is responsible for his/her actions, no matter what position
one holds.
IN ADDITION TO VACCINATIONS,
MASKS ARE REQUIRED
AT ALL TIMES
“...rautn vhfnu`u vc ohehzjnk thv ohhj Jg”
“She is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
Remember
those who
Lunch-N-Learn
hold her tight are happy…”
with
Rabbi Chorny Tuesdays at 12:15 P.M.
Dedicate new leaves in commemoration of
life’s joys & celebrations
Please contact Linda Scheinberg: MISSUS205@GMAIL.COM or
Harvey Rosenthal: HAROSENTHAL80@GMAIL.COM
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