Parshah Summary – P’sha
The parshah opens with special laws for the kohanim (priests) and sacrificial offerings, including laws about ritual impurity, marriage, and the animals that may be offered. Included are the laws that a newborn calf, lamb or kid must be left with its mother for seven days before being eligible as an offering, and that one may not slaughter an animal and its offspring on the same day. The second part of Emor lists the festivals: the weekly Shabbat; the bringing of the Passover offering on the 14th of Nissan; the seven-day Passover festival beginning on 15 Nissan; the bringing of the Omer offering from the first barley harvest on the second day of Passover, and the 49-day “Counting of the Omer,” culminating in the festival of Shavuot on the fiftieth day; a “remembrance of shofar blowing” on the 1st of Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah); a solemn fast day on the 10th of Tishrei (Yom Kippur); the festival of Sukkot, beginning on the 15th of Tishrei, which involves the practices of dwelling in huts for seven days and the ritual of the “Four Species”; and finally the holiday of the eighth day of Sukkot, called Shmini Atzeret.
The parshah then discusses the lighting of the menorah and the lekhem hapanim (the “showbread”), which is placed on a special table each week. Emor concludes with the penalties for murder and for injuring one’s fellow or destroying their property.
Torah of Awakening | Jewish Meditation Teaching
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְי אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֱמֹ֥ר אֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים בְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹ֑ן וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ לֹֽא־יִטַּמָּ֖א בְּעַמָּֽיו׃ כִּ֚י אִם־לִשְׁאֵר֔וֹ הַקָּרֹ֖ב אֵלָ֑יו... Hashem said to Moses, ‘Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and tell them that they should not defile themselves for a (dead) person among their people, except for close relatives…’ - Vayikra (Leviticus) 21:1-2; Parshat Emor
There is a story that Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev was visiting Rabbi Shmelke of Nikolsburg. They had both been students of the great Maggid of Mezritch, but Rabbi Shmelke was older, and Levi Yitzhak considered him to be his teacher as well. On the first morning, Levi Yitzhak came down from the guest room with his tefillin and tallis on, ready to go to shul to daven, when he stopped in the kitchen and began conversing with the cooks. (Rabbi Shmelke was apparently quite well off and had his own cooks.) He asked them what they were making, and questioned them about their methods as if he were concerned that the food wouldn’t be good enough. When some disciples stopped by on their way to shul and overheard all this, they frowned in disapproval.
At the synagogue, Levi Yitzhak didn’t pray, but spent all his time talking loudly in the back of the sanctuary to a man who was considered to be annoying and unlearned. Eventually, one of the hasidim couldn’t take it anymore. “You mustn’t have conversation in here!” But, Levi Yitzhak simply went on talking loudly and disturbing everyone. Later, when all the hasidim gathered for lunch, Rabbi Shmelke treated Levi Yitzhak with the utmost honor, giving him food to eat from his own bowl. Later, the hasidim asked their rebbe about this strange man who talked so obnoxiously about such mundane things. Why did the rebbe honor him so? Rabbi Shmelke replied, “In the Talmud, the rabbi known as Rab (Abba Areka) is praised for never engaging in worldly speech. How could it be that this is what he was praised for? Does this mean that the other rabbis did engage in worldly speech? Rather, it means that when he engaged in worldly speech, he did so with such kavanah that Divine blessings flowed into this world with every word. Other rabbis could accomplish this for a short time, but eventually their worldly speech would drag them down. It is the same with Levi Yitzhak and myself. What I can do for a short time, he can do all day long; with his seemingly mundane conversations, he is bringing heaven down to earth.” Generally speaking, it is better not to blabber on loudly in synagogue; that is obviously the right and good way to behave. But, we also need to know how to leave the normative box of the obvious good in order to access the hidden good. לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ לֹֽא־יִטַּמָּ֖א בְּעַמָּֽיו׃ – they should not defile (yitama) themselves for a (dead) person among their people. On one hand, it is beneficial to be know what makes us tamei, that is, spiritually “dead” inside, and avoid those things. Is it too much news or social media? Is it dealing with particularly difficult people? Is it your job, or certain kinds of entertainment, or some addictive substance? To be on the spiritual path means we have to take responsibility for what experiences we take in, just as those on a path of physical health must take responsibility for what food they take in. This is לֹֽא־יִטַּמָּ֖א lo yitama – don’t pollute yourself with dangerous experiences… כִּ֚י אִם־לִשְׁאֵר֔וֹ הַקָּרֹ֖ב אֵלָ֑יו... – except for close relatives… At the same time, we also need to sometimes do the opposite, because if we try to avoid it completely, we can never grow spiritually in our ability to be at peace in the midst of disturbance. Furthermore, on a deeper level, the avoidance itself can become a kind of defilement. Guarding ourselves from disturbances is necessary, but it can also become a neurotic attempt to control our experience; life happens and we must meet it, not avoid it. הַקָּרֹ֖ב אֵלָ֑יו... – those close to him… In general, we should do what we can to live in a spiritually conducive environment. But when disturbance comes along, we need to know how to be קָּרֹ֖ב karov – how to come close, meaning be present – with whatever has arisen. In the state of Presence, the disturbance is felt to come and then go; we deal with whatever we need to deal with and then let go of it. In this way, we strengthen our connection with that which remains through all of it: the inner spaciousness of consciousness in which all experience arises. לֹֽא־יִטַּמָּ֖א – they should not defile (yitama) themselves… The word for “defilement” or “spiritual impurity” is טוּמאָה tumah, and one who is “impure” is טָמֵא tamei. These words begin with the letter ט tet, which also begins the word טוֹב tov, “good.” The letter ט tet is shaped in such a way that it points into itself – thus symbolizing the “goodness” that is hidden within. How do we access this hidden goodness? We do it by becoming קָּרֹ֖ב karov, bringing our awareness into close connection with whatever messiness we are dealing with. And so this is our paradoxical task: to guard ourselves against things that drag us down spiritually, but also to sometimes transform those things into vehicles for the spirit. How do you know when to take which approach? The key is Presence; life itself conveys to us which path to take if we are listening.
Read past teachings on Emor HERE
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