TORAH: Leviticus 21:1-24:23
HAFTARAH: Ezekiel 44:15-31
GOSPEL: Matthew 26:59-66
Portion Summary
The thirty-first reading from the Torah is called Emor (אמור), a title that comes from the first verse of the reading, which says, “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Speak (emor) to the priests, the sons of Aaron …'” (Leviticus 21:1). Emor begins with special laws of sanctity, propriety and purity for the priesthood. Leviticus 23 provides an overview of the biblical calendar, a listing of the LORD’s appointed times.
Portion Outline:
Torah
Leviticus 21:1 | The Holiness of Priests
Leviticus 22:1 | The Use of Holy Offerings
Leviticus 22:17 | Acceptable Offerings
Leviticus 23:1 | Appointed Festivals
Leviticus 23:3 | The Sabbath, Passover, and Unleavened Bread
Leviticus 23:9 | The Offering of First Fruits
Leviticus 23:15 | The Festival of Weeks
Leviticus 23:23 | The Festival of Trumpets
Leviticus 23:26 | The Day of Atonement
Leviticus 23:33 | The Festival of Booths
Leviticus 24:1 | The Lamp
Leviticus 24:5 | The Bread for the Tabernacle
Leviticus 24:10 | Blasphemy and Its Punishment
Prophets
Eze 44:15 | The Levitical Priests
Portion Commentary:
Ten Reasons to Blow the Shofar
The Torah commands us to hear the sound of the shofar blown on Rosh Hashanah, but what does the blowing of the trumpet symbolize?
The festival of Rosh HaShanah arrives on the first day of the seventh month with a “reminder by blowing of trumpets.” In the synagogue, the we mark the occasion with one hundred trumpet blasts on the ram’s horn (shofar).
The Torah commands the Jewish people to blow the shofar on Rosh HaShanah as a memorial, but it does not indicate what the blowing of the shofar memorializes. The sages offered various attempts to explain the festival. They searched through the Scriptures for references to shofars and trumpet blasts and derived a plethora of different remembrances. The early medieval sage Rav Sa’adiah Ga’on codified the various explanations along with traditional themes associated with the festival and produced a list of ten primary remembrances for which the shofar is blown on Rosh HaShanah. Each of these remembrances highlights a unique aspect of the festival.
Each of these remembrances highlights a unique aspect of the festival:
1. The Coronation of the King
2. The Call to Repentance
3. The Giving of the Torah at Sinai
4. Warning of Impending Judgment
5. The Destruction and Future Rebuilding of the Temple
6. The Binding of Isaac
7. Fear of God
8. The Day of Judgment (Yom Kippur)
9. The Ingathering of Israel
10. The Resurrection of the Dead
Read complete commentary at First Fruits of Zion.
