parshat Emor

This week, I did not hear the beracha of Borei Pri Hagafen during Havdala. Was I required to hear Havdala again?

It once happened that a man’s wife died and left a baby who needed to be nursed. He did not have the funds to hire a nursemaid. A miracle happened, and he grew breasts and nursed his son. Rav Yehuda said: come and see how difficult it is to earn a living. For this person had a miracle done for him (by growing breasts), instead of receiving money in a miraculous way.

The first half of our parasha is dominated by the special laws that apply to the kohanim. The heart of these laws is summed up: “It shall be holy for you, for I am holy, I am Hashem who makes you holy” (Vayikra 21:8). This follows Parashat Kedoshim, where the entire nation is commanded to act in holiness since Hashem sanctified the entire nation (ibid. 19:2). Thus, the kohanim have an even higher level of sanctity and expectations for appropriate behavior than the rest of the holy nation.

A brief Dvar Torah on the Parsha, based on R. Samson Raphael Hirsch’s Torah Commentary

A brief Dvar Torah on the Parsha, based on R. Samson Raphael Hirsch’s Torah Commentary

Even more than Shabbat, the Holidays are a time in which families get together and strengthen the bonds of love.