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Emor

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Emor (אמור — 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. (In 2007, it falls on the 5th of May.)

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.

Summary

Rules for priests

God told Moses to tell the priests these laws for the priests. (Lev. 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. (Lev. 21:1–4.) They were not to shave any part of their heads or the side-growth of their beards or gash their flesh. (Lev. 21:5.) They were not to marry a harlot or divorcee. (Lev. 21:7.) The daughter of a priest who became a harlot was to be executed. (Lev. 21:9.)

The High Priest was not to bare his head or rend his vestments. (Lev. 21:10.) He was not to come near any dead body, even that of his father or mother. (Lev. 21:11.) He was to marry only a virgin of his own kin. (Lev. 21:13–15.)

No disabled priest could offer sacrifices. (Lev. 21:16–21.) He could eat the meat of sacrifices, but could not come near the altar. (Lev. 21:22–23.) No priest who had become unclean could eat the meat of sacrifices. (Lev. 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. (Lev. 22:10–16.) Only animals without defect qualified for sacrifice. (Lev. 22:17–25.)

a shofar

Holy days

God told Moses to instruct the Israelites to proclaim the following sacred occasions:

Lights and bread in the sanctuary

God told Moses to command the Israelites to bring clear olive oil for lighting the lamps of the Tabernacle regularly, from evening to morning. (Lev. 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. (Lev. 24:5–9.)

A blasphemer

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. (Lev. 24:10–11.) The people brought him to Moses and placed him in custody until God’s decision should be made clear. (Lev. 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. (Lev. 24:13–14, 23.)

God instructed that anyone who blasphemed God was to be put to death. (Lev. 24:15–16.) Anyone who killed any human being was to be put to death. (Lev. 24:17.) One who killed a beast was to make restitution. (Lev. 24:18.) And anyone who maimed another person was to pay proportionately (in what has been called lex talionis). (Lev. 24:19–20.)

In classical rabbinic interpretation

Leviticus chapter 21

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 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.)

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 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.)

Leviticus chapter 22

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.)

Leviticus chapter 23

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; 34:25; Leviticus 23:4–8; Numbers 9:1–14; 28:16-25; and Deuteronomy 16:1–8. (Mishnah Pesachim 1:1–10:9; Tosefta Pisha 1:1–10:13; Jerusalem Talmud Pesachim 1a–; Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 2a–121b.)

Tractate Peah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of the harvest of the corners of fields in Leviticus 23:22. (Mishnah Peah 1:1–8:9; Tosefta Peah 1:1–4:21; Jerusalem Talmud Peah 1a–73b.)

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–; Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 2a–56b.)

Leviticus chapter 24

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.)

Commandments

According to the Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are 24 positive and 39 negative commandments in the parshah:

  • A Kohen must not defile himself for anyone except certain relatives. (Lev. 21:1.)
  • To mourn for a close relative (Lev. 21:3.)
  • An impure Kohen, following immersion, must wait until after sundown before returning to service. (Lev. 22:7.)
  • A Kohen must not marry a woman who had forbidden relations. (Lev. 21:7.)
  • A Kohen must not marry a woman born from a disqualified marriage. (Lev. 21:7.)
  • A Kohen must not marry a divorcee. (Lev. 21:7.)
  • To dedicate the Kohen for service (Lev. 21:8.)
  • The High Priest must not enter under the same roof as a corpse. (Lev. 21:11.)
  • The High Priest must not defile himself for any relative. (Lev. 21:11.)
  • The High Priest must marry a virgin. (Lev. 21:13.)
  • The High Priest must not marry a widow. (Lev. 21:14.)
  • The High Priest must not have sexual relations with a widow even outside of marriage. (Lev. 21:15.)
  • A Kohen with a physical blemish must not serve. (Lev. 21:17.)
  • A Kohen with a temporary blemish must not serve. (Lev. 21:17.)
  • A Kohen with a physical blemish must not enter the sanctuary or approach the altar. (Lev. 21:23.)
  • Impure Kohanim must not do service in the Temple. (Lev. 22:2.)
  • An impure Kohen must not eat terumah. (Lev. 22:4.)
  • A non-Kohen must not eat terumah. (Lev. 22:10.)
  • A hired worker or a Jewish bondsman of a Kohen must not eat terumah. (Lev. 22:10.)
  • An uncircumcised person must not eat terumah. (Lev. 22:10.)
  • A woman born from a disqualified marriage must not eat terumah. (Lev. 22:12.)
  • Not to eat produce from which the tithes have not been separated (Lev. 22:15.)
  • Not to dedicate a blemished animal for the altar (Lev. 22:20.)
  • To offer only unblemished animals (Lev. 22:21.)
  • Not to wound dedicated animals (Lev. 22:21.)
  • Not to sprinkle the blood of a blemished animal (Lev. 22:24.)
  • Not to slaughter a blemished animal for an offering (Lev. 22:22.)
  • Not to burn the fat of a blemished animal on the altar (Lev. 22:22.)
  • Not to castrate animals (Lev. 22:24.)
  • Not to sacrifice blemished animals even if offered by non-Jews (Lev. 22:25.)
  • To offer only animals which are at least eight days old (Lev. 22:27.)
  • Not to slaughter an animal and its offspring on the same day (Lev. 22:28.)
  • Not to profane God’s Name (Lev. 22:32.)
  • To sanctify God’s Name (Lev. 22:32.)
  • To rest on the first day of Passover (Lev. 23:7.)
  • Not to do prohibited labor on the first day of Passover (Lev. 23:8.)
  • To offer the musaf offering all seven days of Passover (Lev. 23:8.)
  • To rest on the seventh day of Passover (Lev. 23:8.)
  • Not to do prohibited labor on the seventh day of Passover (Lev. 23:8.)
  • To offer the wave offering from the meal of the new wheat (Lev. 23:10.)
  • Not to eat bread from new grain before the omer (Lev. 23:14.)
  • Not to eat parched grains from new grain before the omer (Lev. 23:14.)
  • Not to eat ripened grains from new grain before the omer (Lev. 23:14.)
  • To count the omer (Lev. 23:15.)
  • To bring two loaves to accompany the Shavuot sacrifice (Lev. 23:17.)
  • To offer the musaf offering on Yom Kippur (Lev. 23:27.)
  • To rest on Shavuot (Lev. 23:21.)
  • Not to do prohibited labor on Shavuot (Lev. 23:21.)
lulav and etrog
Ezekiel (painting by Michelangelo)

(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 3:163–363. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1984. ISBN 0-87306-297-3.)

Haftarah

The haftarah for the parshah is Ezekiel 44:15–31.

Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

Biblical

Early nonrabbinic

Classical rabbinic

  • Mishnah: Peah 1:1–8:9; Demai 1:1–7:8; Sheviit 2:1; Terumot 3:9, 6:6–7:4; Challah 1:1; Bikkurim 1:8; Pesachim 7:4; Yoma 7:1; Rosh Hashanah 1:9, 2:9; Megillah 3:5–6; Yevamot 2:4, 6:2–5, 7:1–8:2, 8:6, 9:2, 9:4–6, 10:3; Kiddushin 1:7, 1:9; Sanhedrin 2:1, 4:1, 6:1, 7:4–5, 9:1, 6; Makkot 3:8–9; Zevachim 9:5, 14:2; Menachot 2:2–3, 3:6, 4:2–3, 5:1, 5:3, 5:6–7, 6:2, 6:5–7, 8:1, 9:4, 10:1–11:2, 11:4–5, 11:9; Chullin 4:5, 5:5; Bekhorot 6:1–7:7; Keritot 1:1; Meilah 2:6; Parah 2:1. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 14–36, 41, 70, 100, 108, 148, 168, 242, 276, 301, 303, 321, 340, 352–54, 358, 360, 489, 585, 589, 593, 602, 604, 618, 720, 730, 735–36, 739–45, 748, 752, 755, 757, 774–75, 777, 800, 802, 836, 854, 1014. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4.
  • Tosefta: Peah 1:1–4:21; Demai 1:28; Challah 2:7; Bikkurim 2:4; Shabbat 15:7, 17; Kippurim 1:6, 4:9; Sukkah 2:7, 3:1; Rosh Hashanah 2:10, 13; Megillah 3:5–6, 8; Yevamot 10:3, 5; Sanhedrin 4:1, 12:1; Makkot 5:4; Shevuot 1:6, 3:8; Eduyot 3:4; Shechitat Chullin 4:5; Menachot 7:7, 20, 10:26, 11:15; Bekhorot 2:3–4, 7–10, 17–19, 3:2, 6, 20, 24–25; 4:1–5:9; Temurah 1:10–11. Land of Israel, circa 300 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:47–76, 83, 339, 349, 414, 419, 542, 564, 572, 574, 613, 615, 645, 718; 2:1156, 1185, 1215, 1221, 1233, 1259, 1388, 1435, 1438, 1455, 1459. 1483, 1485, 1521. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2.
  • Sifra 211:1–244:1. Land of Israel, 4th Century C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Sifra: An Analytical Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 3:161–290. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988. ISBN 1-55540-207-0.
  • Jerusalem Talmud: Berakhot 4b, 57b, 75b; Peah 1a–73b; Sheviit 5b, 27b–28a, 83a. Land of Israel, circa 400 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 1–3, 6a–b. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
  • Leviticus Rabbah 7:2; 10:3; 24:6; 26:1–32:8. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon, 4:92, 124, 309, 325–417. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
Talmud
  • Babylonian Talmud: Shabbat 65a; Eruvin 105a; Pesachim 72b, 75a; Rosh Hashanah 16b; Yoma 13b, 18a, 73a; Megillah 29a; Chagigah 13a, 14b; Mo’ed Katan 14b, 20a–b, 28b; Yevamot 5a, 6a, 15b, 20a–b, 22b, 24a, 37a, 44a, 52a, 55a–b, 56b, 58b–60a, 61a–b, 66a, 69a, 77b, 84a–85b, 86b, 87b, 88b, 89b, 90b–91a, 92a–b, 94a, 99b, 100b, 108a, 114a–b, 120a; Ketubot 14b, 26a, 29b–30a, 36b, 51b, 53a, 70a, 72b, 81a, 89b, 97b–98a, 100b–101b; Nedarim 10b, 62a; Nazir 38a, 40b–41a, 42b–44a, 47b–49a, 52b, 58a–b; Sotah 3a, 6a, 23b, 26b, 29a, 44a; Gittin 24b, 59b–60a, 82b; Kiddushin 10a, 13b, 18b, 35b–36a, 64a, 68a, 72b, 74b, 77a–78a; Bava Kamma 84a, 109b–110a, 114b; Bava Metzia 10b, 18a, 30a; Bava Batra 32a, 160b; Sanhedrin 4a, 5b, 18a–19a, 28b, 46a, 47a, 50a–52a, 53b, 66b, 69b, 76a, 83a–84a; Makkot 2a, 13a, 15a, 16a, 20a, 21a–b; Horayot 9a, 11b, 12b; Zevachim 13a, 15a–16a, 17a, 100a, 101b; Menachot 6a, 109a; Chullin 24a–b, 72a, 134b; Bekhorot 29a, 43a–45a, 56b; Temurah 5b, 29b; Keritot 7a; Niddah 8b, 69b. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.

Medieval

  • Saadia Gaon. The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, 3:1, 5; 5:1, 8. Baghdad, Babylonia, 933. Translated by Samuel Rosenblatt, 139, 154, 205, 234. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1948. ISBN 0-300-04490-9.
  • Rashi. Commentary. Leviticus 21–24. Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 3:261–315. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1994. ISBN 0-89906-028-5.
  • Judah Halevi. Kuzari. 2:20, 26, 50; 3:41, 46–47; Conclusion:27. Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 94, 102, 115, 173, 175, 295. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
File:Rambam.jpg
Maimonides
  • Maimonides. Mishneh Torah, Structure. Cairo, Egypt, 1170–1180.
  • Maimonides. The Guide for the Perplexed, 1:64; 3:17, 41, 43, 46, 47, 48, 49. Cairo, Egypt, 1190. Reprinted in, e.g., Moses Maimonides. The Guide for the Perplexed. Translated by Michael Friedländer, 96, 287, 344, 346, 353, 360, 369, 371, 379. New York: Dover Publications, 1956. ISBN 0-486-20351-4.
  • Zohar 1:65a, 112a, 166b, 181a; 2:39b, 40b, 95a, 101a, 108b, 121b, 129b, 133a, 153b, 183a–b, 215a, 216b, 231a, 237a; 3:7a, 67a, 69b, 73b, 88a–107b. Spain, late 13th Century. Reprinted in, e.g, The Zohar. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1934.

Modern

  • Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, 3:40, 42. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 503–04, 572. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
  • Louis Ginzberg. Legends of the Jews, 3:238–42. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1911.
  • Thomas Mann. Joseph and His Brothers. Translated by John E. Woods, 131–32. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
  • Jacob Milgrom. Leviticus 17–22, 3A:1791–1892. New York: Anchor Bible, 2000. ISBN 0-385-41255-X.
  • Jacob Milgrom. Leviticus 23–27, 3B:1947–2145. New York: Anchor Bible, 2000. ISBN 0-385-50035-1.

Texts

Commentaries


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