Weekly Torah Portion: Emor (Leviticus 21:1-24:23)

In this Torah portion, God describes the restrictions related to priests’ sexuality and marriage. God then describes a variety of holidays, including Passover, Shabbat, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. God outlines the omer period, asking the Israelites to bring food offerings to the priests for seven weeks. Read an extensive summary in My Jewish Learning

Related D’var Torah

“The traditions (and reasons for them) vary a lot for lag b’omer, and that fact alone issues an invitation to us to follow that very Jewish tradition of creating holy days and ways to commemorate things that are important to us.” – Rabbi Lisa Edwards in 2013. Read the full drash

“Perhaps the same story of partnership is required not only to make our days holy, but also to make our texts and our stories scared too.” – Rabbi Lisa Edwards in 2001. Read the full drash

“To be a Jew means to understand that every moment of life represents an opportunity that will not come again” – Michael Main in 1999. Read the full drash

Torah Verse of the Week*

“When you reap the harvest of your Land, you shall not completely remove the corner of your field during your harvesting, and you shall not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. [Rather,] you shall leave these for the poor person and for the stranger. I am the Lord, your God.”(Leviticus 23:22; Parashat Emor)