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
The parsha (weekly Torah portion) is called Tzav which is the verb, “To command,” and one of the roots of the word mitzvah (or commandment). The parsha starts with god telling Moshe (Moses) to command Aharon and his sons on the laws of the olah offering – the olah offering on the flame of the altar all night until morning. The priests, who are Aharon and his sons, are then told how to deal with the ashes from the altar, … Continue reading
Being a Cohen or priest in the family tradition of the sons of Yisrael, or what is commonly referred to as Judaism, blessings are a favorite topic of mine. Back when I lived in Jerusalem, orthodox Jews, when they found out I was a Cohen, would ask my to bless them. Also, every day, during the morning prayers, the Cohanim would bless the congregation. And at the Kotel (the western wall), during the week of Pesach (Passover) and Succot, hundreds … Continue reading
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
This week we have a double parsha (weekly Torah portion) which deals with purity. (For those who don’t know, the Jewish calender is lunar based and needs to add an extra month every other year or so to keep the month of spring in the springtime. When that extra month is not there, like this year, we have to double up some of the parshas. And this week is one of those times.) The first parsha talks about the purity … Continue reading
At last we are getting to the weekly Torah portion (parsha) called Shmini. I say, “At last,” because our parsha has been preempted, for the last two shabbats, by the holy days involved with our becoming a people: Pesach (Passover). Shmini is an interesting parsha, recounting the first sacrifices made by the newly anointed priests in the newly created mishcan (tabernacle). At the climax, after haShem (god/dess) comes down on the people and eats the sacrifices, two of Aharon’s … Continue reading
This coming shabbat is called Shabbat Gadol (big or great shabbat), and I am hearing a lot about why this shabbat is called Shabbat Gadol. I am also hearing a lot about Pesach (Passover) which is less than 2 weeks away. I am hearing so much that I feel our poor little parsha (weekly Torah portion) is being left out in the cold. After all, it is kind of boring compared to Pesach. Pesach has lots of nooks and … Continue reading
This week, we start the 3rd book of the Torah: Vayikra (Leviticus). This week’s parsha (Torah portion) gets into the blood and guts of sacrifices. It is not one of the prettier parshas, but it is an important one nevertheless because it tells us how we can redeem ourselves when we sin, not just as a person, but also as a community or a community leader, including the high priest and the king. One of the things I like about … Continue reading
Hello everyone, Once again it is time for our visit with the week’s parsha (Torah portion). This week’s parsha is called T’tzveh which can mean you will command and/or you will join. The parsha starts with haShem (god) talking to Moshe (moses) and saying, “atah t’tzveh” or, “You will command/connect the children of Yisrael and they will take to you pure pressed olive oil for lighting the eternal candle.” Someone, once pointed out to me that this is a unique … Continue reading