The beginning of our parasha, Emor, focuses upon a variety of laws that pertain solely to the kohanim. From a halachic perspective, they have little to do with the majority of the Jewish people, as … more

It was our first masah , our first forced march. We were barely two weeks in the army and Itzik, a sadistic little first sergeant who had made it his mission to break us into soldiers, owned us for … more

Dead. Unburied. Abandoned. Forgotten. What can be a worse fate? I once read a very moving novel about the events immediately preceding World War I and the fate of those who were caught up in the … more

A longside the holiness of place and person is the holiness of time, something parshat Emor charts in its deceptively simple list of festivals and holy days (Lev. 23:1-44). Time plays an … more

One of the most celebrated mitzvot of our parasha, Kedoshim, is “v’ahavta l’reicha kamocha (and you shall love your fellow Jew like yourself).” Rashi, citing the Midrash … more

I love visiting residences for senior citizens. For one thing, being around older people invariably helps me feel young by comparison. Recently, I was a weekend guest scholar at such a … more

The nineteenth chapter of Vayikra, with which our parsha begins, is one of the supreme statements of the ethics of the Torah. It’s about the right, the good and the holy, and it contains some … more

Our natural inclination at this time of the year is to focus upon the phrase, zacher l’yetziat Mitzraim (a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt. This is the case, since one of the major mitzvot … more

There are many steps that we ascend on our journey towards the holiday of Passover, including the special Sabbaths that precede it. holiday. I fondly remember the wise old rabbi whose little … more

One wonders whether the Mashiach and the redemption he is meant to bring still have not come because we are still waiting for him, or because he is still waiting for us. There is a story … more