Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Emor, In a Nutshell
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IN A NUTSHELL Emor focuses on two kinds of holiness: that of people and of time. Chapter 21 relates to holy people: priests, and above them, the high priest. Because the priests serve in the Mishkan (the portable Temple), there are certain things they are forbidden from doing. For example, they are not allowed to come into contact with a dead body, and they cannot marry whomever they like.
Chapter 22 reminds us of similar laws relating to ordinary Israelites when they wish to enter the Mishkan, and then lists which imperfections would prevent an animal from being offered as a sacrifice.
Chapter 23 is all about holy time, and discusses the festivals of the year, including the three pilgrimage festivals (the shalosh regalim) of Pesaḥ, Shavuot, and Sukkot.
Chapter 24 speaks about the Menora, which was lit every day, and the show bread, which was renewed every week. The parasha ends with a story – one of the only two stories in the book of Vayikra – about a man who cursed during a fight.
QUESTION TO PONDER
What are we celebrating on each of the three pilgrimage festivals?