WORDS OF TORAH – PARASHAT EMOR
MAY 7, 2020
It’s Thursday.
These days, we may find ourselves needing reminders of what weekday it is. Classes and webinars on my schedule have helped me keep track of the passing of the days, in addition to the coming of Shabbat every week. I hope that you also have indicators that mark the days of the week for you.
The preparation that I do for Shabbat often occurs in earnest on Thursday. With worship and study times approaching, I find myself necessarily engaged with developing interpretations of our portions of the week.
We are looking, these days, perhaps more than ever, for kindness, consideration, support, wisdom, and hope, as well as signposts for keeping time in our lives.
The Torah portion for this week, EMOR, addresses some of those concerns.
Leviticus Chapter 23 presents the Israelite holiday calendar. It includes a description of the “OMER (SHEAF)” 49 day count-up from the second day of Pesach to Shavuot (which begins on May 28 in the evening this year). This chapter is the source of the reason why we build a Sukkah every year.
The passage begins with an announcement of the “fixed” or “appointed” times dedicated to our focus on God as the author of creation and of our very lives. The word for “fixed times,” MOADIM, has a root word (YUD-AYIN-DALET) which can mean “to set a place and time to gather for a special purpose.” The term for congregation, EIDAH, comes from this root. The word YA-AD is related to these terms as well. It means “mission, purpose, objective, or destination.” These terms, taken together, describe when we gather, and, more importantly, they point to the underlying purposes of what we do with our personal, communal and Jewish time.
From the beginning of Chapter 23, we are asked to gain a sense of the “why” of what we do. The chapter reminded the Israelites to help the poor at the time of harvest, so that their observances of the festivals would be acceptable. Those observances were not just about the people celebrating the achievement of fostering growth of crops. It required them to assist others because of their success. This is biblical exhortation that now manifests itself in our Tzedakah donations (righteous giving). We have been doing this for a long, long time. Do give to causes that you believe will help people whose needs for support have increased due to our current challenges.
At the beginning of Chapter 24, the Torah restates the commanded from Exodus to keep lights burning (the Menorah) in their center of worship continually. One rabbinic explanation noted, “As you among humanity shine your light on me [teaching the world the values which God has taught us], I will shine my light on you.” It is that light that we offer to one another, and receive from each other, that can give us strength and hope.
So may we continue to connect, and to give the best of ourselves, in the coming days.
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