The name of the Parshah, “Emor,” means “speak” and it is found in Leviticus 21:1.
The
Torah section of
Emor (“Speak”) begins with the special laws pertaining to the
kohanim (“priests”), the
kohen gadol (“high priest”), and the Temple service: A kohen may not become ritually
impure through contact with a dead body, save on the occasion of the
death of a close relative. A kohen may not marry a
divorcee, or a woman with a
promiscuous past; a kohen gadol can marry only a virgin. A kohen with a
physical deformity cannot serve in the
Holy Temple, nor can a deformed animal be brought as an
offering.
A newborn calf, lamb or kid must be left with its mother for seven days before being eligible for an offering; one may not
slaughter an animal and its offspring on the same day.
The second part of Emor lists the annual Callings of Holiness—the festivals of
the Jewish calendar: the weekly
Shabbat; the bringing of the
Passover offering on 14
Nissan; the seven-day Passover festival beginning on 15 Nissan; the bringing of the
Omer offering from the first barley harvest on the second day of Passover, and the commencement, on that day, of the
49-day Counting of the Omer, culminating in the festival of
Shavuot on the fiftieth day; a “remembrance of
shofar blowing” on 1
Tishrei; a solemn
fast day on 10 Tishrei; the
Sukkot festival—during which we are to
dwell in huts for seven days and take the “
Four Kinds”—beginning on 15 Tishrei; and the immediately following holiday of the “eighth day” of Sukkot (
Shemini Atzeret).
Next the Torah discusses the lighting of the
menorah in the Temple, and the
showbread; (lechem hapanim) placed weekly on the
table there.
Emor concludes with the incident of a man executed for blasphemy, and the penalties for murder (death) and for injuring one’s fellow or destroying his property (monetary compensation).
Learn:
Emor in Depth
Browse:
Emor Parshah Columnists
Prep:
Devar Torah Q&A for Emor
Read:
Haftarah in a Nutshell
Play:
Emor Parshah Quiz
