Shabbat Emor 5783
Every Pesah, I hear this refrain from at least a couple of people: “Oh, I like matzah. I eat it all year round.” For those who enjoy matzah “off-season,” Friday is good news. It’s Pesah Sheini, the make-up Passover that the Torah ordains for those who were ritually ineligible to observe the Pesah sacrifice at its proper time. Some people observe the custom of eating matzah on Pesah Sheini. I am not one of those people.
It’s particularly odd to be eating matzah on the 29th day of the ‘Omer. Of course, the ‘Omer is a journey from Egypt to Sinai. But it’s not just a physical excursion. If we read the Torah carefully, we will see this to be the case. And when I say carefully, I mean it–even the parts that we usually skim over because sacrificial details are boring.
For example, check out the instructions for the sacrifices of the 50th day, or what we call Shavu’ot, as found in this week’s Torah portion, Emor:
“You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering; each shall be made of two-tenths of a measure of choice flour, baked after leavening, as first fruits to the LORD” (Leviticus 23:17).
On Shabbat morning, I’ll talk about what’s included in this sacrifice, what’s not included, and the message about the journey from Pesah to Shavu’ot.
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David Wise
Candle lighting: 7:37 PM
Torah Reading: Leviticus 21:1-24:23
Haftarah: Ezekiel 44:15-31
