This week’s Parsha Preview is co-dedicated to the refuah of Menachem Mendel Ben Faigie Ruchel, Yocheved Bat Leah, Simcha Bat Mazel, Ofek Ben Tali, Shimon Ben Miriam, Sara Bat Hodda, Avraham Moshe Ben Miriam Tova, Baruch Kalman ben Leiben Jacobs, Kyla Chaya Bat Sarah Polson, Rav Moshe Refael Ben Chasiba Halevy, Baruch Ben Faigle, Leiba Bat Devorah Esther, Moshe Avraham Ben Chaya Freidel and Tova Rochel Bat Chaya may Hashem grant them all a speedy recovery and a complete healing.
This week’s Parsha Preview is also dedicated to the memory and Yartzeit of Hana Bat Harav Ehesh Mazaltarim may the Neshama have an aliyah.
Once again, you can have this Parshah Preview dedicated in honour or memory of a loved one, you can ask for a refuah or simply acknowledge a milestone. It does not cost a thing all you have to do is ask. Please update me on the people who we are davening and learning for.
Join my blog @
http://parshapreview.blogspot.com or http://apps.facebook.com/liveblog/entry/
Happy Birthday to my friends who will celebrate Birthday’s this coming week:
Happy Birthday to:
Zev Saban
Frumie Silver
“Ad Meyah Vesrim Shannah”
Parshah Emor
Leviticus 21:1-24:23
Candle Lighting in Toronto 8:01 P.M.
Candle Lighting in Thornhill 8:01 P.M.
Number Of Mitzvot: 63
24 Mitzvot Aseh (Positive Commandment)
39 mitzvah Lo Taaseh (Negative Commandment - Prohibition)
Haftora: (Additional portion, from Prophets, which is read after the Parsha)
After Parshat Emor
Yechezkel / Ezekiel 44:15 - 31
Lag B'Omer is Sunday, May 2, 2010.
This Shabbat we study Chapter 4 of Pirkei Avot - "Ethics of the Fathers."
This week's Torah Parsha, Emor, discusses the laws which pertain to Kohanim (priests), and various laws which relate to Korbanot (sacrifices). These are followed by a lengthy discussion of the festivals. The portion concludes with the story of a blasphemer who was put to death.
This week's Torah reading, Emor, discusses the Kohen's obligation to maintain a high level of ritual purity, and the women he may marry. An ordinary Kohen is prohibited to come in contact with a human corpse except to attend the funerals of his next of kin -- and may not marry a divorcee as well as some other women. The High Priest is not permitted to attend even family funerals, and is required to marry a virgin.
The Torah portion discusses bodily blemishes and ritual impurities which disqualify a Kohen from performing the Beit Hamikdash priestly duties. The Parsha then lays down the rules regarding who in the Kohen's household may eat terumah, the tithe from produce given to the Kohanim.
Blemished animals are disqualified for Korbanot (sacrificial use). Parsha Emor also forbids the castration of animals, sacrificing animals before they are eight days old, and slaughtering a mother animal and her child on the same day. The mitzvah of kiddush Hashem, sanctifying G-d's Name by giving one's life rather than transgressing certain cardinal sins. Idol worship, forbidden sexual relations and murder.
The Torah portion begins a lengthy discussion about the Jewish holidays. After making brief mention of the Shabbat, the Torah talks about the holiday of Passover and the mitzvah of eating matzah. On the second day of this holiday, an "omer" barley offering is brought in the Beit Hamikdash. This is followed by a seven-week counting period that culminates with the holiday of Shavuot. After discussing the Shavuot Temple service, the Torah briefly interrupts the holiday discussion to mention the obligation, when harvesting fields, to leave certain gifts for the poor.
The High Holidays are discussed. We are commanded to hear the shofar (ram's horn) on Rosh Hashanah, and to "afflict" ourselves on Yom Kippur.
The autumn holiday of Sukkot is now introduced. During this seven-day holiday we are commanded to sit in outdoor booths, take the Four Species (citron, palm branch, myrtles, and willows), and rejoice before G-d. The final holiday is Shemini Atzeret, a one-day holiday which immediately follows Sukkot.
This week’s Parsha Preview is also dedicated to the memory and Yartzeit of Hana Bat Harav Ehesh Mazaltarim may the Neshama have an aliyah.
Once again, you can have this Parshah Preview dedicated in honour or memory of a loved one, you can ask for a refuah or simply acknowledge a milestone. It does not cost a thing all you have to do is ask. Please update me on the people who we are davening and learning for.
Join my blog @
http://parshapreview.blogspot.com or http://apps.facebook.com/liveblog/entry/
Happy Birthday to my friends who will celebrate Birthday’s this coming week:
Happy Birthday to:
Zev Saban
Frumie Silver
“Ad Meyah Vesrim Shannah”
Parshah Emor
Leviticus 21:1-24:23
Candle Lighting in Toronto 8:01 P.M.
Candle Lighting in Thornhill 8:01 P.M.
Number Of Mitzvot: 63
24 Mitzvot Aseh (Positive Commandment)
39 mitzvah Lo Taaseh (Negative Commandment - Prohibition)
Haftora: (Additional portion, from Prophets, which is read after the Parsha)
After Parshat Emor
Yechezkel / Ezekiel 44:15 - 31
Lag B'Omer is Sunday, May 2, 2010.
This Shabbat we study Chapter 4 of Pirkei Avot - "Ethics of the Fathers."
This week's Torah Parsha, Emor, discusses the laws which pertain to Kohanim (priests), and various laws which relate to Korbanot (sacrifices). These are followed by a lengthy discussion of the festivals. The portion concludes with the story of a blasphemer who was put to death.
This week's Torah reading, Emor, discusses the Kohen's obligation to maintain a high level of ritual purity, and the women he may marry. An ordinary Kohen is prohibited to come in contact with a human corpse except to attend the funerals of his next of kin -- and may not marry a divorcee as well as some other women. The High Priest is not permitted to attend even family funerals, and is required to marry a virgin.
The Torah portion discusses bodily blemishes and ritual impurities which disqualify a Kohen from performing the Beit Hamikdash priestly duties. The Parsha then lays down the rules regarding who in the Kohen's household may eat terumah, the tithe from produce given to the Kohanim.
Blemished animals are disqualified for Korbanot (sacrificial use). Parsha Emor also forbids the castration of animals, sacrificing animals before they are eight days old, and slaughtering a mother animal and her child on the same day. The mitzvah of kiddush Hashem, sanctifying G-d's Name by giving one's life rather than transgressing certain cardinal sins. Idol worship, forbidden sexual relations and murder.
The Torah portion begins a lengthy discussion about the Jewish holidays. After making brief mention of the Shabbat, the Torah talks about the holiday of Passover and the mitzvah of eating matzah. On the second day of this holiday, an "omer" barley offering is brought in the Beit Hamikdash. This is followed by a seven-week counting period that culminates with the holiday of Shavuot. After discussing the Shavuot Temple service, the Torah briefly interrupts the holiday discussion to mention the obligation, when harvesting fields, to leave certain gifts for the poor.
The High Holidays are discussed. We are commanded to hear the shofar (ram's horn) on Rosh Hashanah, and to "afflict" ourselves on Yom Kippur.
The autumn holiday of Sukkot is now introduced. During this seven-day holiday we are commanded to sit in outdoor booths, take the Four Species (citron, palm branch, myrtles, and willows), and rejoice before G-d. The final holiday is Shemini Atzeret, a one-day holiday which immediately follows Sukkot.
We are instructed to use the purest of olive oils for the daily kindling of the menorah in the Beit Hamikdash, and to arrange twelve "showbreads" on the Shulchan (Temple Table) every Shabbat. The Torah then tells the story of a Jewish man who was put to death for blaspheming G-d. The portion concludes with the penalties for committing murder, property damages, and personal injury.
Parshat Emor
The parsha begins with laws relating to kohanim, describing which blemishes make a Kohen unfit for Temple service. Included in this discussion are the laws governing the Kohen Gadol (the High Priest), whose central role demanded an even higher level of purity, and less involvement in the mundane aspects of daily life. Logically, the Torah concludes with details of the blemishes that make animals unfit for sacrificing.
Following in the "footsteps" of the above discussion of sacrifices, this week's parsha instructs regarding sacrifices related to the different chagim (holidays). These parshiot will probably seem familiar, because they were read on the second day of Yom Tov on Pesach, and they are the reading for both days of Yom Tov during Sukkot.
Mixed within these paragraphs is the mitzvah of the Omer-Offering, and the counting of the Omer, something we have been doing each evening since the second night of Pesach, and which we will continue to do until the night before Shavuot-forty-nine days in total. Normally, this period between Pesach and Shavuot, during which the omer is counted, is often viewed mainly in terms of its halachic status as a period of aveilut-mourning. For thirty-three days of this period, we are told, twenty-four thousand students of Rebbi Akiva died, because they didn't sufficiently honor one another. After all, it was their rebi who emphasized that a "main principle of Torah is, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " (The First Mishna in Pirkei Avot tells us that The Anshei Knesset Hagedolah said three things: Be deliberate in Judgment, develop many disciples and make a fence for the Torah. It is my opinion that Rebbi Akiva held this precept in very high esteem and was able to develop 24,000 students and it was not until after their destruction that he changed his ideals to “Love your neighbor as yourself”-however this is whole drash on its own).
Parshat Emor
The parsha begins with laws relating to kohanim, describing which blemishes make a Kohen unfit for Temple service. Included in this discussion are the laws governing the Kohen Gadol (the High Priest), whose central role demanded an even higher level of purity, and less involvement in the mundane aspects of daily life. Logically, the Torah concludes with details of the blemishes that make animals unfit for sacrificing.
Following in the "footsteps" of the above discussion of sacrifices, this week's parsha instructs regarding sacrifices related to the different chagim (holidays). These parshiot will probably seem familiar, because they were read on the second day of Yom Tov on Pesach, and they are the reading for both days of Yom Tov during Sukkot.
Mixed within these paragraphs is the mitzvah of the Omer-Offering, and the counting of the Omer, something we have been doing each evening since the second night of Pesach, and which we will continue to do until the night before Shavuot-forty-nine days in total. Normally, this period between Pesach and Shavuot, during which the omer is counted, is often viewed mainly in terms of its halachic status as a period of aveilut-mourning. For thirty-three days of this period, we are told, twenty-four thousand students of Rebbi Akiva died, because they didn't sufficiently honor one another. After all, it was their rebi who emphasized that a "main principle of Torah is, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " (The First Mishna in Pirkei Avot tells us that The Anshei Knesset Hagedolah said three things: Be deliberate in Judgment, develop many disciples and make a fence for the Torah. It is my opinion that Rebbi Akiva held this precept in very high esteem and was able to develop 24,000 students and it was not until after their destruction that he changed his ideals to “Love your neighbor as yourself”-however this is whole drash on its own).
However, Sefirat HaOmer is significant more because these forty-nine days bind Pesach to Shavuot, and are a build-up to Kabballat HaTorah-the receiving of Torah. In a sense, Pesach and Shavuot are like the first and last days of a chag, and the period of the omer is like the chol hamoed in-between the two.
If so, then why did Hashem choose this period to punish the students of Rebbi Akiva? Isn't chol hamoed a time meant for joy, and not for mourning? Was this the only period during which Rebbi Akiva's talmidim failed to show the proper respect for one another?
The answer is, no. However, the period of the omer, according to our tradition, is a unique time of the year for achieving a special level of clarity, for revealing that which is hidden within the Torah-and the person (which is why each day of the omer is associated with a particular middah, or character trait). In the case of the talmidim who perished, their inner derision of their colleagues was revealed through their deaths.
This is why it is also the period during Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai revealed the hidden teachings of the Zohar and Kabballah. For many, this historic day of Torah revelation, commonly referred to as Lag B'Omer (i.e., the thirty-third day of the omer), also marks the day on which Rebbi Akiva's talmidim ceased dying.
Thus Sefirat HaOmer represents a crucial period of the year to reach into the depths of Torah, which in turn, helps us to better understand ourselves. For, Torah is like a mirror that reflects our inner essence, and the better we understand it, the clearer the vision of us it can reflect. Ultimately, the Kabballists teach us that the "soul" of the Torah and the "soul" of the Jew are the same.
Therefore, though the importance of Sefirat HaOmer may be somewhat overlooked today, it cannot be downplayed in terms of the opportunity it presents for deepening and solidifying one's connection to Torah. This is the main preparation for Kabballat HaTorah, and really, one of the most important rectifications of the Jewish people in advance of Moshiach's coming. For, it was at Har Sinai, during the period of the Omer that the Jewish nation reached the historical level of total unity, of ke'ish echad b'leiv echad-a single (man) person with a single heart-something that can only be achieved through the level of clarity provided by constant Torah learning.
On a deeper level, the Omer-Offering represents more. The actual offering, as prescribed in this week's parsha (23:9), was an omer (about 2 quarts) of barley from the first reaping of that year's yield on the second day of Pesach. This was brought to the Kohen officiating in the Beit Hamikdash, who then waved it in the appropriate way. This procedure made the crops of that year permissible to consume, transforming them from chadash (new) to yashan (old). If you go to your local kosher bakery, you may find a sign stating that their products are baked with yashan; certainly that which is produced from flour made in Eretz Yisrael must be made from yashan.
The effect of the Omer-Offering was to unify all of creation. The omer was a mitzvah to trigger a purification process in order to elevate all aspects of creation from impurity to holiness. The perfection of creation was in its imperfection, since it was G-d's will that man, through the use of his free-will, put the "finishing touches" on creation himself. Thus, the words "Holy to G-d" written on the headplate worn by the Kohen Gadol (Shemot 28:36) was not meant only as a reminder to the Kohen Gadol of his mission in the Temple and on behalf of the Jewish people, but as a reminder to all of us of our mission on earth to purify creation.
This process is more a function of din than chesed, of judgment than of kindness. Like any process of selection and refinement, scrutiny and judgment is necessary. Chesed overlooks weaknesses, but din seeks them out, reveals them, and then tries to change them. This is why it was specifically during this period, until Lag B'Omer, that Rebbi Akiva's students were killed by the plague. As we approach Shavuot, the time the Torah was given, we move towards a period of chesed, symbolized by the transition from barley first brought for the omer to the wheat-loaves brought on Shavuot; wheat symbolizes mercy.
Thus the Omer-period is one during which refinement occurs. It is a time to separate out externalities, to reduce one's dependency on aspects of life that don't necessarily promote spiritual growth. Sefirat HaOmer is a sieve of sorts through which we all pass in order to become more spiritually-refined beings. This is why the rabbis teach that the end of the redemption process, which begins at Pesach time, in the future, will end with Shavuot.
Knowing this, we can understand why the last portion of this week's parsha deals with the Blasphemer, who, Rashi tells us, was the son of a Jewish woman and the Egyptian whom Moshe killed in Egypt (Shemot 2:12). What is unusual is the fact that the mother's name is mentioned in the Torah (Shelomit bat Divri), which usually constitutes loshon hora-evil talk.
However, Rashi is quick to explain why. Singling out Shelomit bat Divri is an indirect way of telling us that, in spite of the Egyptians' best efforts, the Jewish women stayed loyal to their husbands throughout their long servitude, that is, with the exception of Shelomit bat Divri. Furthermore, Rashi explains, the Torah mentions her name to emphasize what led to her unfaithfulness: she was always talking and saying "Shalom" to everyone. In other words, Shelomit' lack of modesty, something we learned from last week's parsha, is the basis of a loss of holiness.
They say that the problem with talking too fast is that you might say something that you haven't thought of yet; you can add to this that the problem of talking too much is that you can say things that can lead to the unthinkable! Perhaps this is why coupled with the mitzvah of the Omer-Offering is the mitzvah to verbally count the omer as well. This reminds us that "there is nothing better for the body than silence," and nothing better for the soul than holy speech. This is true accountability.
If you need a place for Shabbat Meals or you would like to experience a more traditional Shabbat experience please do not hesitate to call. 416-829-1761.
Shabbat Shalom Umevorach-A peaceful and Blessed Shabbat
Yitzchak Alloul
This Parshah Preview is sponsored by Cars And Trucks 4 Less, Sales, Leasing and Financing. If you are in the market for a New or Used Vehicle give us a call “we will steer you in the right direction”. Please call 416-829-1761.
No comments:
Post a Comment