Parsha Emor: A Torah on Speaking

Tonight is a peaceful night after a beautiful day here in Eugene.  This shabbat (Saturday)  we read a parsha (weekly Torah portion) called Emor which means, “Tell.”  Why?  Because the parsha begins with haShem (god) telling Moshe (Moses) to TELL to the priests, the sons of Aharon a whole lot of things such as not to become tamae (mixed) by the soul of a member of the nation.  The implication here is that the soul means when a person dies … Continue reading

Parsha Emor: Paying Attention Now or Pay Later

This week’s parsha (Torah portion) is an interesting one.  It starts off talking about all the restrictions to a Cohen (priest), like who they can marry, who they can bury, or that only an unblemished Cohen can actually perform the sacrificial service.  It talks about how pure a Cohen must be in order to eat from the sacred food (here are my ideas on “pure and impure” from a parsha we read a few weeks ago ), and to bring … Continue reading