Emor – Say: a command for Moses to speak to the Kohanim, the priests. Moses is to provide instructions as to the sacredness of their duty to the people Israel.
But the job description of the Kohanim changed post destruction of the Second Temple. Even biblically, as the Kohanim served the people of Israel, with that historic challenge we all became a necessary component of avodah, the duty of service.
Shavua tov, dear friends.
We are in the middle of the middle as I said on Friday night – not the middle of the muddle, as COVID may make us feel. We are in the very centre of Vayikra, the Book of Leviticus, and in the central readings of that book. This week we are reading Emor – speaking about some of the Biblical rituals that pertained whilst the Temple stood, but don’t apply today. Why do we still learn about these rituals? Why haven’t we issued a new and revised Torah? (Actually, apparently the Danish Lutheran Church has just done so, eliminating all mention of “Israel” from their revised New Testament).
Recently I attended a workshop on the Jewish soul, led by one of our esteemed congregants, Dr. Elior Kinarthy. After Elior provided descriptions of the reality of the soul, he invited us into a guided meditation, a visualization of our soul.
My role was primarily that of time-keeper, but I joined the group as we closed our eyes, to find that centre of our being. At first pinpricks of light filtered through the heavy darkness, and then the most extraordinary image came into mind. I saw first an aleph and then a lamed, and eventually the other letters forming Elohim. Each letter was “skating” if you will across the surface of my soul, inscribing God’s Name, God’s Self into my soul and I recognized again in that breath-moment that Torah is truly meant to be inscribed on us – not stone, not words on a page – but on us, for our souls to be, as the V’ahavta teaches, circumcised.More
Emor
May 12, 2024 by Rabbi Lynn Greenhough • From the Rabbi's Desk Tags: emor •
Summer has arrived! Peonies, magnolia, azaleas -all in glorious full colour, even as the bluebells have faded. Such is life. What a blessing it is to live where there are so many gardens, hummingbirds, eagles soaring – life winging all around us. Many of you will have seen or attempted to see the glory of the Northern Lights last Friday evening. A blessing every day.
Emor teaches us about the counting of the Omer, the counting of the days between Pesach and Shavuot. We do a lot of counting of days in our tradition. Days before, days of, days after. Counting towards Shabbat. Days of Shiva. When is the Brit Milah? There is an element of precision in this accounting/counting that we may take for granted but the counting is core to who we are.
As this season of weddings approaches, I imagine the brides, the grooms counting down the days before they will stand under the chuppah. The singing of the Sheva Berachot – 7 Blessings filled with such joy, and love, and obligation. Because every blessing is an acknowledgement of our responsibility to each other and of gratitude to God. May we all be blessed to see the miracles around us every day – be it the Northern Lights or a sliver of a silvery moon.
With love,
Rabbi Lynn