Parashat Emor 5782
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
A D’var Torah for Parashat Emor
By Rabbi Cantor Sam Levine (’19)
You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy (Lev. 19:2)
This is the thesis statement of what Bible scholars call “the Holiness Code” (Lev. 17-26). It is also, arguably, the thesis statement of the Book of Leviticus, and, one might further argue, of the entire Torah.
Of course the statement begs the question, what does it mean to be holy?
An ox or a sheep or a goat, when it is born, shall remain seven days under its mother, and from the eighth day and forward it will be accepted as a near-offering, as a fire-offering to YHWH. And an ox or a sheep—it and its young you are not to slaughter Read More >