Emor (אֱמֹר — Hebrew for "speak," the fifth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 31st weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the eighth in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes Leviticus 21:1–24:23. Jews in the Diaspora generally read it in late April or early May. Jews also read parts of the parshah, Leviticus 22:26–23:44, as the initial Torah readings for the second day of Passover and the first and second days of Sukkot.
The parshah provides purity rules for priests, recounts the holy days, provides for lights and bread in the sanctuary, and tells the story of a blasphemer and his punishment.
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God told Moses to tell the priests these laws for the priests. (Leviticus 21:1.) None were to come in contact with a dead body except for that of his closest relatives: his parent, child, brother, or virgin sister. (Leviticus 21:1–4.) They were not to shave any part of their heads or the side-growth of their beards or gash their flesh. (Leviticus 21:5.) They were not to marry a harlot or divorcee. (Leviticus 21:7.) The daughter of a priest who became a harlot was to be executed. (Leviticus 21:9.)
The High Priest was not to bare his head or rend his vestments. (Leviticus 21:10.) He was not to come near any dead body, even that of his father or mother. (Leviticus 21:11.) He was to marry only a virgin of his own kin. (Leviticus 21:13–15.)
No disabled priest could offer sacrifices. (Leviticus 21:16–21.) He could eat the meat of sacrifices, but could not come near the altar. (Leviticus 21:22–23.) No priest who had become unclean could eat the meat of sacrifices. (Leviticus 22:1–9.) A priest could not share his sacrificial meat with lay persons, persons whom the priest had hired, or the priest’s married daughters, but the priest could share that meat with his slaves and widowed or divorced daughters, if those daughters had no children. (Leviticus 22:10–16.) Only animals without defect qualified for sacrifice. (Leviticus 22:17–25.)
God told Moses to instruct the Israelites to proclaim the following sacred occasions:
God told Moses to command the Israelites to bring clear olive oil for lighting the lamps of the Tabernacle regularly, from evening to morning. (Leviticus 24:1–4.) And God called for baking twelve loaves to be placed in the Tabernacle every Sabbath, and thereafter given to the priests, who were to eat them in the sacred precinct. (Leviticus 24:5–9.)
A man with an Israelite mother (from the tribe of Dan) and an Egyptian father got in a fight, and pronounced God’s Name in blasphemy. (Leviticus 24:10–11.) The people brought him to Moses and placed him in custody until God’s decision should be made clear. (Leviticus 24:11–12.) God told Moses to take the blasphemer outside the camp where all who heard him were to lay their hands upon his head, and the whole community was to stone him, and they did so. (Leviticus 24:13–14, 23.)
God instructed that anyone who blasphemed God was to be put to death. (Leviticus 24:15–16.) Anyone who killed any human being was to be put to death. (Leviticus 24:17.) One who killed a beast was to make restitution. (Leviticus 24:18.) And anyone who maimed another person was to pay proportionately (in what has been called lex talionis). (Leviticus 24:19–20.)
In Leviticus 21:1–5, God instructed Moses to direct the priests not to allow themselves to become defiled by contact with the dead, except for a mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister. And the priests were not to engage in mourning rituals of making baldness upon their heads, shaving off the corners of their beards, or cutting their flesh. This prohibition of corpse contamination is one of a series of passages in the Hebrew Bible setting out the teaching that contact with the dead is antithetical to purity.
In Numbers 5:1–4, God instructed Moses to command the Israelites to put out of the camp every person defiled by contact with the dead, so that they would not defile their camps, in the midst of which God dwelt.
Numbers 19 sets out a procedure for a red cow mixture for decontamination from corpse contamination.
In its profession associated with tithing, Deuteronomy 26:13–14 instructed Israelites to aver that they had not eaten from the tithe in mourning, nor put away any of it while unclean, nor given any of it to the dead.
In Ezekiel 43:6–9, the prophet Ezekiel cites the burial of kings within the Temple as one of the practices that defiled the Temple and cause God to abandon it.
In the Hebrew Bible, uncleanness has a variety of associations. Leviticus 11:8, 11; 21:1–4, 11; and Numbers 6:6–7; and 19:11–16; associate it with death. And perhaps similarly, Leviticus 13–14 associates it with skin disease. Leviticus 12 associates it with childbirth. Leviticus 15 associates it with various sexuality-related events. And Jeremiah 2:7, 23; 3:2; and 7:30; and Hosea 6:10 associate it with contact with the worship of alien gods.
Leviticus 23:4–8 refers to the Festival of Passover. In the Hebrew Bible, Passover is called:
Some explain the double nomenclature of “Passover” and “Feast of Unleavened Bread” as referring to two separate feasts that the Israelites combined sometime between the Exodus and when the Biblical text became settled. (See, e.g., W. Gunther Plaut. The Torah: A Modern Commentary, 456. New York: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1981. ISBN 0-8074-0055-6.) Exodus 34:18–20 and Deuteronomy 15:19–16:8 indicate that the dedication of the firstborn also became associated with the festival.
Some believe that the “Feast of Unleavened Bread” was an agricultural festival at which the Israelites celebrated the beginning of the grain harvest. Moses may have had this festival in mind when in Exodus 5:1 and 10:9 he petitioned Pharaoh to let the Israelites go to celebrate a feast in the wilderness. (Plaut, at 464.)
“Passover,” on the other hand, was associated with a thanksgiving sacrifice of a lamb, also called “the Passover,” “the Passover lamb,” or “the Passover offering.” (Exodus 12:11, 21, 27, 43, 48; Deuteronomy 16:2, 5–6; Ezra 6:20; 2 Chronicles 30:15, 17–18; 35:1, 6–9, 11, 13.)
Exodus 12:5–6, Leviticus 23:5, and Numbers 9:3 and 5, and 28:16 direct “Passover” to take place on the evening of the fourteenth of Aviv (Nisan in the Hebrew calendar after the Babylonian captivity). Joshua 5:10, Ezekiel 45:21, Ezra 6:19, and 2 Chronicles 35:1 confirm that practice. Exodus 12:18–19, 23:15, and 34:18, Leviticus 23:6, and Ezekiel 45:21 direct the “Feast of Unleavened Bread” to take place over seven days and Leviticus 23:6 and Ezekiel 45:21 direct that it begin on the fifteenth of the month. Some believe that the propinquity of the dates of the two festivals led to their confusion and merger. (Plaut, at 464.)
Exodus 12:23 and 27 link the word “Passover” (Pesach, פֶּסַח) to God’s act to “pass over” (pasach, פָסַח) the Israelites’ houses in the plague of the firstborn. In the Torah, the consolidated Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread thus commemorate the Israelites’ liberation from Egypt. (Exodus 12:42; 23:15; 34:18; Numbers 33:3; Deuteronomy 16:1, 3, 6.)
The Hebrew Bible frequently notes the Israelites’ observance of Passover at turning points in their history. Numbers 9:1–5 reports God’s direction to the Israelites to observe Passover in the wilderness of Sinai on the anniversary of their liberation from Egypt. Joshua 5:10–11 reports that upon entering the Promised Land, the Israelites kept the Passover on the plains of Jericho and ate unleavened cakes and parched corn, produce of the land, the next day. 2 Kings 23:21–23 reports that King Josiah commanded the Israelites to keep the Passover in Jerusalem as part of Josiah’s reforms, but also notes that the Israelites had not kept such a Passover from the days of the Biblical judges nor in all the days of the kings of Israel or the kings of Judah, calling into question the observance of even Kings David and Solomon. The more reverent 2 Chronicles 8:12–13, however, reports that Solomon offered sacrifices on the festivals, including the Feast of Unleavened Bread. And 2 Chronicles 30:1–27 reports King Hezekiah’s observance of a second Passover anew, as sufficient numbers of neither the priests nor the people were prepared to do so before then. And Ezra 6:19–22 reports that the Israelites returned from the Babylonian captivity observed Passover, ate the Passover lamb, and kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy.
Leviticus 23:15–21 refers to the Festival of Shavuot. In the Hebrew Bible, Shavuot is called:
Exodus 34:22 associates Shavuot with the first-fruits (בִּכּוּרֵי, bikurei) of the wheat harvest. (See also Exodus 23:16; Leviticus 23:17; Numbers 28:26.) In turn, Deuteronomy 26:1–11 set out the ceremony for the bringing of the first fruits.
To arrive at the correct date, Leviticus 23:15 instructs counting seven weeks from the day after the day of rest of Passover, the day that they brought the sheaf of barley for waving. Similarly, Deuteronomy 16:9 directs counting seven weeks from when they first put the sickle to the standing barley.
Leviticus 23:16–19 sets out a course of offerings for the fiftieth day, including a meal-offering of two loaves made from fine flour from the first-fruits of the harvest; burnt-offerings of seven lambs, one bullock, and two rams; a sin-offering of a goat; and a peace-offering of two lambs. Similarly, Numbers 28:26–30 sets out a course of offerings including a meal-offering; burnt-offerings of two bullocks, one ram, and seven lambs; and one goat to make atonement. Deuteronomy 16:10 directs a freewill-offering in relation to God’s blessing.
Leviticus 23:21 and Numbers 28:26 ordain a holy convocation in which the Israelites were not to work.
2 Chronicles 8:13 reports that Solomon offered burnt-offerings on the Feast of Weeks.
Levitcus 23:23–25 refers to the Festival of Rosh Hashanah. In the Hebrew Bible, Rosh Hashanah is called:
Although Exodus 12:2 instructs that the spring month of Aviv (since the Babylonian captivity called Nisan) “shall be the first month of the year,” Exodus 23:16 and 34:22 also reflect an “end of the year” or a "turn of the year" in the autumn harvest month of Tishrei.
Levitcus 23:23–25 and Numbers 29:1–6 both describe Rosh Hashanah as an holy convocation, a day of solemn rest in which no servile work is to be done, involving the blowing of horns and an offering to God.
Ezekiel 40:1 speaks of "in the beginning of the year" (בְּרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, b’Rosh HaShanah) in Tishrei, although the Rabbis traditional interpreted Ezekiel to refer to Yom Kippur.
Ezra 3:1–3 reports that in the Persian era, when the seventh month came, the Israelites gathered together in Jerusalem, and the priests offered burnt-offerings to God, morning and evening, as written in the Law of Moses.
Nehemiah 8:1–4 reports that it was on Rosh Hashanah (the first day of the seventh month) that all the Israelites gathered together before the water gate and Ezra the scribe read the Law from early morning until midday. And Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites told the people that the day was holy to the Lord their God; they should neither mourn nor weep; but they should go their way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those who had nothing. (Nehemiah 8:9–12. HE)
Psalm 81:4–5 likely refers to Rosh Hashanah when it enjoins, "Blow the horn at the new moon, at the full moon of our feast day. For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob."
Levitcus 23:26–32 refers to the Festival of Yom Kippur. In the Hebrew Bible, Yom Kippur is called:
Much as Yom Kippur, on the 10th of the month of Tishrei, precedes the Festival of Sukkot, on the 15th of the month of Tishrei, Exodus 12:3–6 speaks of a period starting on the 10th of the month of Nisan preparatory to the Festival of Passover, on the 15th of the month of Nisan.
Levitcus 16:29–34 and 23:26–32 and Numbers 29:7–11 present similar injunctions to observe Yom Kippur. Levitcus 16:29 and 23:27 and Numbers 29:7 set the Holy Day on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishrei). Levitcus 16:29 and 23:27 and Numbers 29:7 instruct that “you shall afflict your souls.” Levitcus 23:32 makes clear that a full day is intended: “you shall afflict your souls; in the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening.” And Levitcus 23:29 threatens that whoever “shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from his people.” Levitcus 16:29 and Levitcus 23:28 and Numbers 29:7 command that you “shall do no manner of work.” Similarly, Levitcus 16:31 and 23:32 call it a “Sabbath of solemn rest.” And in 23:30, God threatens that whoever “does any manner of work in that same day, that soul will I destroy from among his people.” Levitcus 16:30, 16:32–34, and 23:27–28, and Numbers 29:11 describe the purpose of the day to make atonement for the people. Similarly, Levitcus 16:30 speaks of the purpose “to cleanse you from all your sins,” and Levitcus 16:33 speaks of making atonement for the most holy place, the tent of meeting, the altar; and the priests. Levitcus 16:29 instructs that the commandment applies both to “the home-born” and to “the stranger who sojourns among you.” Levitcus 16:3–25 and 23:27 and Numbers 29:8–11 command offerings to God. And Levitcus 16:31 and 23:31 institute the observance as “a statute forever.”
Levitcus 16:3–28 sets out detailed procedures for the priest’s atonement ritual during the time of the Temple.
Levitcus 25:8–10 instructs that after seven Sabbatical years, on the Jubilee year, on the day of atonement, the Israelites were to proclaim liberty throughout the land with the blast of the horn and return every man to his possession and to his family.
In Isaiah 57:14–58:14, the Haftarah for Yom Kippur morning, God describes “the fast that I have chosen [on] the day for a man to afflict his soul.” Isaiah 58:3–5 make clear that “to afflict the soul” was understood as fasting. But Isaiah 58:6–10 goes on to impress that “to afflict the soul,” God also seeks acts of social justice: “to loose the fetters of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke,” “to let the oppressed go free,” “to give your bread to the hungry, and . . . bring the poor that are cast out to your house,” and “when you see the naked, that you cover him.”
And Leviticus 23:33–42 refers to the Festival of Sukkot. In the Hebrew Bible, Sukkot is called:
Sukkot’s agricultural origin is evident from the name "The Feast of Ingathering," from the ceremonies accompanying it, and from the season and occasion of its celebration: "At the end of the year when you gather in your labors out of the field" (Exodus 23:16); "after you have gathered in from your threshing-floor and from your winepress." (Deuteronomy 16:13.) It was a thanksgiving for the fruit harvest. (Compare Judges 9:27.) And in what may explain the festival’s name, Isaiah reports that grape harvesters kept booths in their vineyards. (Isaiah 1:8.) Coming as it did at the completion of the harvest, Sukkot was regarded as a general thanksgiving for the bounty of nature in the year that had passed.
Sukkot became one of the most important feasts in Judaism, as indicated by its designation as “the Feast of the Lord” (Leviticus 23:39; Judges 21:19) or simply “the Feast.” (1 Kings 8:2, 65; 12:32; 2 Chronicles 5:3; 7:8.) Perhaps because of its wide attendance, Sukkot became the appropriate time for important state ceremonies. Moses instructed the children of Israel to gather for a reading of the Law during Sukkot every seventh year. (Deuteronomy 31:10–11.) King Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem on Sukkot. (1 Kings 8; 2 Chronicles 7.) And Sukkot was the first sacred occasion observed after the resumption of sacrifices in Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity. (Ezra 3:2–4.)
In the time of Nehemiah, after the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites celebrated Sukkot by making and dwelling in booths, a practice of which Nehemiah reports: “the Israelites had not done so from the days of Joshua.” (Nehemiah 8:13–17.) In a practice related to that of the Four Species, Nehemiah also reports that the Israelites found in the Law the commandment that they “go out to the mountains and bring leafy branches of olive trees, pine trees, myrtles, palms and [other] leafy trees to make booths.” (Nehemiah 8:14–15.) In Leviticus 23:40, God told Moses to command the people: “On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook,” and “You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” (Leviticus 23:42–43.) The book of Numbers, however, indicates that while in the wilderness, the Israelites dwelt in tents. (Numbers 11:10; 16:27.) Some secular scholars consider Leviticus 23:39–43 (the commandments regarding booths and the four species) to be an insertion by a late redactor. (E.g., Richard Elliott Friedman. The Bible with Sources Revealed, 228–29. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.)
Jeroboam son of Nebat, King of the northern Kingdom of Israel, whom 1 Kings 13:33 describes as practicing “his evil way,” celebrated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, one month after Sukkot, “in imitation of the festival in Judah.” (1 Kings 12:32–33.) “While Jeroboam was standing on the altar to present the offering, the man of God, at the command of the Lord, cried out against the altar” in disapproval. (1 Kings 13:1.)
According to the prophet Zechariah, in the messianic era, Sukkot will become a universal festival, and all nations will make pilgrimages annually to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast there. (Zechariah 14:16–19.)
Rabbi Tanhum son of Rabbi Hannilai taught that Leviticus 21 was one of two sections in the Torah (along with Numbers 19, on the Red Cow) that Moses gave us in writing that are both pure, dealing with the law of purity. Rabbi Tanhum taught that they were given on account of the tribe of Levi, of whom it is written (in Malachi 3:3), “he [God’s messenger] shall purify the sons of Levi and purge them.” (Leviticus Rabbah 26:3.)
The Gemara noted the apparently superfluous “say to them” in Leviticus 21:1 and reported an interpretation that the language meant that adult Kohanim must warn their children away from becoming contaminated by contact with a corpse. But then the Gemara stated that the correct interpretation was that the language meant to warn adults to avoid contaminating the children through their own contact. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 114a.) And a Midrash explained the apparent redundancy by teaching that the first expression of “speak” was intended to intimate that a priest may defile himself on account of an unattended corpse (met mitzvah), while the second expression “say” was intended to intimate that he may not defile himself on account of any other corpse. (Leviticus Rabbah 26:8.)
The Mishnah taught that the commandment of Leviticus 21:1 for Kohanim not to become ritually impure for the dead is one of only three exceptions to the general rule that every commandment that is a prohibition (whether time-dependent or not) governs both men and women. The other exceptions are the commandments of Leviticus 19:27 not to round off the side-growth of one’s head and not to destroy the corners of one’s beard. (Mishnah Kiddushin 1:7; Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 29a.)
The Mishnah employed the prohibitions of Leviticus 21:1 and 23:7 to imagine how one could with one action violate up to nine separate commandments. One could (1) plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together (in violation of Deuteronomy 22:10) (2 and 3) that are two animals dedicated to the sanctuary, (4) plowing mixed seeds sown in a vineyard (in violation of Deuteronomy 22:9), (5) during a Sabbatical year (in violation of Leviticus 25:4), (6) on a Festival-day (in violation of, for example, Leviticus 23:7), (7) when the plower is a priest (in violation of Leviticus 21:1) and (8) a Nazirite (in violation of Numbers 6:6) plowing in a contaminated place. Chananya ben Chachinai said that the plower also may have been wearing a garment of wool and linen (in violation of Leviticus 19:19 and Deuteronomy 22:11). They said to him that this would not be in the same category as the other violations. He replied that neither is the Nazirite in the same category as the other violations. (Mishnah Makkot 3:9; Babylonian Talmud Makkot 21b.)
The Gemara taught that where Leviticus 21:1–2 prohibited the priest from defiling himself by contact with the dead “except for his flesh, that is near to him” the words “his flesh” meant to include his wife in the exception. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 22b.)
The Mishnah interpreted Leviticus 21:7) to teach that both acting and retired High Priests had to marry a virgin and were forbidden to marry a widow. And the Mishnah interpreted Leviticus 21:1–6) to teach that both could not defile themselves for the dead bodies of their relatives, could not let their hair grow wild in mourning, and could not rend their clothes as other Jews did in mourning. (Mishnah Horayot 3:4; Babylonian Talmud Horayot 11b.) The Mishnah taught that while an ordinary priest in mourning rent his garments from above, a High Priest rent his garments from below. And the Mishnah taught that on the day of a close relative’s death, the High Priest could still offer sacrifices but could not eat of the sacrificial meat, while under those circumstances an ordinary priest could neither offer sacrifices nor eat sacrificial meat. (Mishnah Horayot 3:5; Babylonian Talmud Horayot 12b.)
Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba cited Leviticus 21:8 to support the proposition that a Kohen should be called up first to read the law, for the verse taught to give Kohanim precedence in every matter of sanctity. And a Baraita was taught in the school of Rabbi Ishmael that Leviticus 21:8 meant that Jews should give Kohanim precedence in every matter of sanctity, including speaking first at every assembly, saying grace first, and choosing his portion first when an item was to be divided. (Babylonian Talmud Gittin 59b.) The Mishnah recognized the status of the Kohanim over Levites, Levites over Israelites, and Israelites over those born from forbidden relationships, but only when they were equal in all other respects. The Mishnah taught that a learned child of forbidden parents took precedence over an ignorant High Priest. (Mishnah Horayot 3:8; Babylonian Talmud Horayot 13a.)
The Gemara interpreted the law of the Kohen’s adulterous daughter in Leviticus 21:9 in Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 50a–52a.
Interpreting the words “the priest that is highest among his brethren” in Leviticus 21:10, a Midrash taught that the High Priest was superior in five things: wisdom, strength, beauty, wealth, and age. (Leviticus Rabbah 26:9.)
Rabbi said that a priest with a blemish within the meaning of Leviticus 21:20 who officiated at services in the Sanctuary was liable to death at the hands of Heaven, but the Sages maintained that he was merely prohibited. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 83a.)
The Mishnah taught that a priest whose hands were deformed should not lift up his hands to say the priestly blessing, and Rabbi Judah said that a priest whose hands were discolored should not lift up his hands, because it would cause the congregation to look at him during this blessing when they should not. (Mishnah Megillah 4:7; Babylonian Talmud Megillah 24b.) A Baraita stated that deformities on the face, hands, or feet were disqualifying for saying the priestly blessing. Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said that a Kohen with spotted hands should not say the blessing. A Baraita taught that one whose hands were curved inwards or bent sideways should not say the blessing. And Rav Huna said that a man whose eyes ran should not say the blessing. But the Gemara noted that such a Kohen in Rav Huna’s neighborhood used to say the priestly blessing and apparently even Rav Huna did not object, because the townspeople had become accustomed to the Kohen. And the Gemara cited a Baraita that taught that a man whose eyes ran should not lift up his hands, but he was permitted to do so if the townspeople were accustomed to him. Rabbi Johanan said that a man blind in one eye should not lift up his hands. But the Gemara noted that there was one in Rabbi Johanan’s neighborhood who used to lift up his hands, as the townspeople were accustomed to him. And the Gemara cited a Baraita that taught that a man blind in one eye should not lift up his hands, but if the townspeople were accustomed to him, he was permitted. Rabbi Judah said that a man whose hands were discolored should not lift up his hands, but the Gemara cited a Baraita that taught that if most of the men of the town follow the same hand-discoloring occupation, it was permitted. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 24b.)
Rav Ashi deduced from Leviticus 21:20 that arrogance constitutes a blemish. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 29a.)
The Mishnah reported that when a priest performed the service while unclean in violation of Leviticus 22:3, his brother priests did not charge him before the bet din, but the young priests took him out of the Temple court and split his skull with clubs. (Mishnah Sanhedrin 9:6; Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 81b.)
A Baraita interpreted the words “there shall be no blemish therein” in Leviticus 22:21 to forbid causing a blemish in a sacrificial animal even indirectly. (Babylonian Talmud Bekhorot 33b–34a.)
Ben Zoma interpreted the words “neither shall you do this in your land” in Leviticus 22:24 to forbid castrating even a dog (an animal that one could never offer as a sacrifice). (Babylonian Talmud Chagigah 14b.)
The Gemara interpreted what constitutes profanation of God’s Name within the meaning of Leviticus 22:32. Rab said that it would profane God’s Name if a Torah scholar took meat from a butcher without paying promptly. Abaye said that this would profane God’s Name only in a place where vendors did not have a custom of going out to collect payment from their customers. Rabbi Johanan said that it would profane God’s Name if a Torah scholar walked six feet without either contemplating Torah or wearing tefillin. Isaac of the School of Rabbi Jannai said that it would profane God’s Name if one’s bad reputation caused colleagues to become ashamed. Rav Nahman bar Isaac said that an example of this would be where people called on God to forgive so-and-so. Abaye interpreted the words “and you shall love the Lord your God” in Deuteronomy 6:5 to teach that one should strive through one’s actions to cause others to love the Name of Heaven. So that if people see that those who study Torah and Mishnah are honest in business and speak pleasantly, then they will accord honor to the Name of God. But if people see that those who study Torah and Mishnah are dishonest in business and discourteous, then they will associate their shortcomings with their being Torah scholars. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 86a.)
Rav Adda bar Abahah taught that a person praying alone does not say the Sanctification (Kedushah) prayer (which includes the words from Isaiah 6:3: קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת; מְלֹא כָל-הָאָרֶץ, כְּבוֹדוֹ, Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Adonai Tz'vaot melo kol haaretz kevodo, “Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord of Hosts, the entire world is filled with God’s Glory”), because Leviticus 22:32 says: “I will be hallowed among the children of Israel,” and thus sanctification requires ten people (a minyan). Rabinai the brother of Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba taught that we derive this by drawing an analogy between the two occurrences of the word “among” (תּוֹךְ, toch) in Leviticus 22:32 (“I will be hallowed among the children of Israel”) and in Numbers 16:21, in which God tells Moses and Aaron: “Separate yourselves from among this congregation,” referring to Korah and his followers. Just as Numbers 16:21, which refers to a congregation, implies a number of at least ten, so Leviticus 22:32 implies at least ten. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 21b.)
Tractate Beitzah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws common to all of the Festivals in Exodus 12:3–27, 43–49; 13:6–10; 23:16; 34:18–23; Leviticus 16; 23:4–43; Numbers 9:1–14; 28:16–30:1; and Deuteronomy 16:1–17; 31:10–13. (Mishnah Beitzah 1:1–5:7; Tosefta Yom Tov (Beitzah) 1:1–4:11; Jerusalem Talmud Beitzah 1a–49b; Babylonian Talmud Beitzah 2a–40b.)
Tractate Pesachim in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of the Passover in Exodus 12:3–27, 43–49; 13:6–10; 34:18; Leviticus 23:4–8; Numbers 9:1–14; 28:16–25; and Deuteronomy 16:1–8. (Mishnah Pesachim 1:1–10:9; Tosefta Pisha (Pesachim) 1:1–10:13; Jerusalem Talmud Pesachim 1a–; Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 2a–121b.)
The Gemara noted that in listing the several festivals in Exodus 23:15, Leviticus 23:5, Numbers 28:16, and Deuteronomy 16:1, the Torah always begins with Passover. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 2b.)
Tractate Peah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of the harvest of the corner of the field and gleanings to be given to the poor in Leviticus 19:9–10 and 23:22, and Deuteronomy 24:19–21. (Mishnah Peah 1:1–8:9; Tosefta Peah 1:1–4:21; Jerusalem Talmud Peah 1a–73b.)
The Mishnah taught that the Torah defines no minimum or maximum for the donation of the corners of one’s field to the poor. (Mishnah Peah 1:1; Tosefta Peah 1:1; Jerusalem Talmud Peah 1a.) But the Mishnah also taught that one should not make the amount left to the poor less than one-sixtieth of the entire crop. And even though no definite amount is given, the amount given should accord with the size of the field, the number of poor people, and the extent of the yield. (Mishnah Peah 1:2; Jerusalem Talmud Peah 10b.)
Rabbi Eliezer taught that one who cultivates land in which one can plant a quarter kav of seed is obligated to give a corner to the poor. Rabbi Joshua said land that yields two seah of grain. Rabbi Tarfon said land of at least six handbreadths by six handbreadths. Rabbi Judah ben Betera said land that requires two strokes of a sickle to harvest, and the law is as he spoke. Rabbi Akiba said that one who cultivates land of any size is obligated to give a corner to the poor and the first fruits. (Mishnah Peah 3:6.)
The Mishnah taught that the poor could enter a field to collect three times a day — in the morning, at midday, and in the afternoon. Rabban Gamliel taught that they said this only so that landowners should not reduce the number of times that the poor could enter. Rabbi Akiba taught that they said this only so that landowners should not increase the number of times that the poor had to enter. The landowners of Beit Namer used to harvest along a rope and allowed the poor to collect a corner from every row. (Mishnah Peah 4:5.)
The Mishnah taught that if a wife foreswore all benefit from other people, her husband could not annul his wife’s vow, but she could still benefit from the gleanings, forgotten sheaves, and the corner of the field that Leviticus 19:9–10 and 23:22, and Deuteronomy 24:19–21 commanded farmers to leave for the poor. (Mishnah Nedarim 11:3.)
Tractate Rosh Hashanah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of Rosh Hashanah in Leviticus 23:23–25 and Numbers 29:1–6. (Mishnah Rosh Hashanah 1:1–4:9; Tosefta Rosh Hashanah 1:1–2:18; Jerusalem Talmud Rosh Hashanah 1a–; Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 2a–35a.)
A Baraita taught that on Rosh Hashanah God remembered each of Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah and decreed that they would bear children. Rabbi Eliezer found support for the Baraita from the parallel use of the word “remember” in Genesis 30:22, which says about Rachel, “And God remembered Rachel,” and in Leviticus 23:24, which calls Rosh Hashanah “a remembrance of the blast of the trumpet.” (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 11a.)
Tractate Yoma in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of Yom Kippur in Leviticus 16 and 23:26–32 and Numbers 29:7–11. (Mishnah Yoma 1:1–8:9; Tosefta Kippurim (Yoma) 1:1–4:17; Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 1a–57a; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 2a–88a.)
Rav Mana of Sha'ab (in Galilee) and Rav Joshua of Siknin in the name of Rav Levi compared repentance at the High Holidays to the case of a province that owed arrears on its taxes to the king, and the king came to collect the debt. When the king was within ten miles, the nobility of the province came out and praised him, so he freed the province of a third of its debt. When he was within five miles, the middle-class people of the province came out and praised him, so he freed the province of another third of its debt. When he entered the province, all the people of the province — men, women, and children — came out and praised him, so he freed them of all of their debt. The king told them to let bygones be bygones; from then on they would start a new account. In a similar manner, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the leaders of the generation fast, and God absolves them of a third of their iniquities. From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, private individuals fast, and God absolves them of a third of their iniquities. On Yom Kippur, everyone fasts — men, women and children — and God tells Israel to let bygones be bygones; from then onwards we begin a new account. From Yom Kippur to Sukkot, all Israel are busy with the performance of religious duties. One is busy with a sukkah, one with a lulav. On the first day of Sukkot, all Israel stand in the presence of God with their palm-branches and etrogs in honor of God's name, and God tells them to let bygones be bygones; from now we begin a new account. Thus in Levitcus 23:40, Moses exhorts Israel: "You shall take on the first day [of Sukkot] the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God." Rabbi Aha explained that the words, "For with You there is forgiveness," in Psalm 130:4signify that forgiveness waits with God from Rosh Hashanah onward. And forgiveness waits that long so (in the words of Psalm 130:4) "that You may be feared" and God may impose God's awe upon God’s creatures (through the suspense and uncertainty). (Leviticus Rabbah 30:7.)
Tractate Sukkah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of Sukkot in Exodus 23:16; 34:22; Leviticus 23:33–43; Numbers 29:12–34; and Deuteronomy 16:13–17; 31:10–13. (Mishnah Sukkah 1:1–5:8; Tosefta Sukkah 1:1–4:28; Jerusalem Talmud Sukkah 1a–33b; Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 2a–56b.)
The Mishnah taught that a sukkah can be no more than 20 cubits high. Rabbi Judah, however, declared taller sukkot valid. The Mishnah taught that a sukkah must be at least 10 handbreadths high, have three walls, and have more shade than sun. (Mishnah Sukkah 1:1; Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 2a.) The House of Shammai declared invalid a sukkah made 30 days or more before the festival, but the House of Hillel pronounced it valid. The Mishnah taught that if one made the sukkah for the purpose of the festival, even at the beginning of the year, it is valid. (Mishnah Sukkah 1:1; Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 9a.)
The Mishnah taught that a sukkah under a tree is as invalid as a sukkah within a house. If one sukkah is erected above another, the upper one is valid, but the lower is invalid. Rabbi Judah said that if there are no occupants in the upper one, then the lower one is valid. (Mishnah Sukkah 1:2; Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 9b.)
It invalidates a sukkah to spread a sheet over the sukkah because of the sun, or beneath it because of falling leaves, or over the frame of a four-post bed. One may spread a sheet, however, over the frame of a two-post bed. (Mishnah Sukkah 1:3; Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 10a.)
It is not valid to train a vine, gourd, or ivy to cover a sukkah and then cover it with sukkah covering (s’chach). If, however, the sukkah-covering exceeds the vine, gourd, or ivy in quantity, or if the vine, gourd, or ivy is detached, it is valid. The general rule is that one may not use for sukkah-covering anything that is susceptible to ritual impurity (tumah) or that does not grow from the soil. But one may use for sukkah-covering anything not susceptible to ritual impurity that grows from the soil. (Mishnah Sukkah 1:4; Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 11a.)
Bundles of straw, wood, or brushwood may not serve as sukkah-covering. But any of them, if they are untied, are valid. All materials are valid for the walls. (Mishnah Sukkah 1:5; Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 12a.)
Rabbi Judah taught that one may use planks for the sukkah-covering, but Rabbi Meir taught that one may not. The Mishnah taught that it is valid to place a plank four handbreadths wide over the sukkah, provided that one does not sleep under it. (Mishnah Sukkah 1:6; Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 14a.)
The Gemara taught that the words “eye for eye” in Leviticus 24:20 meant pecuniary compensation. Rabbi Simon ben Yohai asked those who would take the words literally how they would enforce equal justice where a blind man put out the eye of another man, or an amputee cut off the hand of another, or where a lame person broke the leg of another. The school of Rabbi Ishmael cited the words “so shall it be given to him” in Leviticus 24:20, and deduced that the word “give” could apply only to pecuniary compensation. The school of Rabbi Hiyya cited the words “hand for hand” in the parallel discussion in Deuteronomy 19:21 to mean that an article was given from hand to hand, namely money. Abaye reported that a sage of the school of Hezekiah taught that Exodus 21:23–24 said “eye for eye” and “life for life,” but not “life and eye for eye,” and it could sometimes happen that eye and life would be taken for an eye, as when the offender died while being blinded. Rav Papa said in the name of Raba that Exodus 21:19 referred explicitly to healing, and the verse would not make sense if one assumed that retaliation was meant. And Rav Ashi taught that the principle of pecuniary compensation could be derived from the analogous use of the term “for” in Exodus 21:24 in the expression “eye for eye” and in Exodus 21:36 in the expression “he shall surely pay ox for ox.” As the latter case plainly indicated pecuniary compensation, so must the former. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Kamma 84a.)
According to the Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are 24 positive and 39 negative commandments in the parshah:
(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 3:163–363. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1984. ISBN 0-87306-297-3.)
The haftarah for the parshah is Ezekiel 44:15–31.
Some Jews refer to the 24 priestly gifts deduced from Leviticus 21 and Numbers 18 as they study chapter 6 of Pirkei Avot on a Sabbath between Passover and Rosh Hashanah. (Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals with an Interlinear Translation, 587. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-697-3.)
The laws of a priest’s family eating meat from sacrifices in Leviticus 22:11–13 provide an application of the eleventh of the Thirteen Rules for interpreting the Torah in the Baraita of Rabbi Ishmael that many Jews read as part of the readings before the Pesukei d’Zimrah prayer service. The eleventh rule provides that any item that was included in a generalization but was then singled out to be treated as a special case is not governed by the generalization unless Scripture explicitly returns it to the generalization. Leviticus 22:11 states the general rule that a priest’s entire household could eat meat from sacrifices. But Leviticus 22:12 then says that if a priest’s daughter married a non-priest, then she could no longer eat meat from sacrifices. What if she was then widowed or divorced without children and returned to live with her father’s household? Reading Leviticus 22:12, one might think that she still could not eat meat from sacrifices, but Leviticus 22:13 explicitly returns her to the general rule that she could eat meat from sacrifices. (Davis, Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals, at 245–46.)
The Passover Haggadah, in the concluding nirtzah section of the Seder, ties together a reference to Abraham’s hospitality to his visitors in Genesis 18:7 with the reading for the second day of Passover that includes in Leviticus 22:27 a discussion of a bullock offering. The Haggadah reports that Abraham ran to the cattle to commemorate the ox in the reading for Passover, deducing the season from the report in Genesis 19:3 that Lot fed his visitors matzah. (Joseph Tabory. JPS Commentary on the Haggadah: Historical Introduction, Translation, and Commentary, 126. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2008. ISBN 978-0-8276-0858-0.)
The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:
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