Shabbat Emor 5782

From the moment we began reading about the building of the Mishkan, we have been immersed in a pursuit of orderliness. That is the primary fascination of the Priestly strand of the Torah, and it continues to dominate this week’s Torah portion, Emor. Our portion can be divided into three units. The first two are laws governing the priesthood–where maintaining order is critical–and the organization of sacred time, the calendar of festivals. Then, at the end of the parshah, we get miscellaneous laws, most notably how to deal with blasphemy. Even the seemingly haphazard collection in this last section is about maintaining order, for any blasphemous utterance of God’s name threatens the delicate balance between heaven and earth.

My goal in offering the weekly musical scavenger hunt is to entice people to read the Torah portion carefully, as well as to have some fun with music. Even if you don’t care for the video clips, it’s worthwhile to read the parshah anyway. For those who want to play along, why did I think of these songs?
 
David Crosby’s whimsy
 
Dorothy’s new friends
 
If you eat these, you won’t get that
 
Famous before the Geico spot
 
The forlorn Shangri-las
 
Florence and the Machine sympathize
 
The King
 
Answers will be revealed after Shabbat minhah, which begins this week at 7:30 PM, at Seudah Shelishit.
 
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and happy listening,
 
Rabbi David Wise
 
Candle lighting: 7:45 PM
Torah Reading: Leviticus 21:1-24:23
Haftarah: Ezekiel 44:15-31