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Perashat Emor

Home > Rabbi's Weekly Message > Perashat Emor

Perashat Emor

Friday, May 08, 2015 Author: Rabbi Elie Abadie

Every faith has its own calendar and a cycle of holidays attached to it. Usually, the most prominent personalities involved in the observance and ceremonial part of the holiday are the Priests – Kohanim. 

This week’s Perasha begins speaking about the Kohanim and their special status among our People. Even their personal lives are meticulously regulated. As the Perasha concludes the admonition to the Kohanim, it moves into the topic of the Holidays and their ceremony.  It outlines the details and practices of our major Holidays.  

Initially many of our festivals revolved around an agricultural happening, and were celebrated with the appropriate offerings to the Mishkan and subsequently to the Temple.  In our time the holidays have taken on a different meaning and practice.  For the most part Jews are no longer agriculturally based and there is no more Temple for sacrifices and offerings, yet these Holidays’ loom large in the modern day practice of Judaism. 

In a sense, our calendar binds us as a people and sets a tone of anticipation and excitement for our people.   This past Thursday we celebrated Lag L’Omer.  Our Perashat Emor mentions the counting of the Omer, the seven weeks in between Pesah and Shabuot.  The Omer was a perfect example of an occasion that initially had an agricultural meaning, a rest from toiling the soil prior to the Harvest, yet it took on a new meaning as a result of historical consequences.  

In modern practice the Omer is associated with a sorrowful time when many Jewish tragedies occurred. The most famous being the death of Rabbi Akiba’s students from a plague.  We take this period of time to mourn, and not to celebrate events such as weddings.  Lag L’Omer marks the 33 day of this time period, and it is our custom to stop the mourning period after this day.  The evolution of the Omer helps us to understand the ability for Judaism to transcend its many generations despite changes in our environment, and tragedies that befell us throughout history.

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