parshat Emor

The conviction that being a Jew involves the pursuit of justice and the practice of compassion is what led our ancestors to stay loyal to Judaism despite all the pressures to abandon it.

Not every kohen was necessarily fit for the task, nor did he live up to the responsibilities of the priesthood. However, as a group it is obvious the family of Aaron is deservedly held in high regard throughout Jewish society.

Why don’t we just make one bracha at the beginning of the count, on the first night, & then say a closing bracha on the last night? Why are there 49 separate brachot recited?!

Is it permitted to violate the laws of Shabbat in the process of sanctifying the new month? Why does the Torah repeat the introductory terms about the mo’adim and mention Shabbat in the middle?

Looking into this week's Parshat Emor to discover the definition of Hilul HaShem [desecration of G-d's Name] in a national sense and what it means with regards to living in the Diaspora.

The two commands are respectively the prohibition against desecrating God’s name, Chillul Hashem, and the positive corollary, Kiddush Hashem, that we are commanded to sanctify God’s name. But in what sense can we sanctify or desecrate God’s name?

Democracy is a wonderful institution, but it's not infallible.

The list of holidays is repeated numerous times in the Torah. Since there are no needless repetitions in the holy text of the Torah, commentators over the ages have offered many explanations as to why this calendar is repeated so many times.

he term “zichron teruah” in describing Rosh Hashana among the holidays in our parasha, is a special term, which very likely refers to shofar blowing. But zichron, meaning remembrance, does not, at first glance, have a clear meaning.

This week's Torah reading of Emor discusses Kiddush Hashem and Chilul Hashem (sanctifying and desecrating G-D's name). The Navi Yechezkel explains how the entire nation is able to sanctify and desecrate G-d's name.