This coming Shabbat, May 7-8, 2004 – Iyar 17, 5764 we will read Parshat Emor (annual cycle Leviticus 21:1-24:23; triennial cycle Leviticus 23:23-24:23).

The Haftarah reading is from Ezekiel 44:15-31.

The opening verse of this week’s Torah portion, Leviticus 23:1 begins with an apparently innocuous statement:

“And the Lord said to Moses: speak (say-emor) to the priests, the sons of Aaron and say-(v’amarta) to them….”

First of all, the word “emor” which is translated above as “speak” really means “say.” In English, the verse reads better as “speak to the priests … and say to them ….” But that misses an important point from the Hebrew text. The Hebrew word for speak is dabayr. Yet the verse above uses the word emor, which means say. As indicated above, the verse uses a form of the word emor-say twice when the English might read better were we to translate the first usage as speak.

Why the repetition? Why doesn’t the verse just state “say to the priests the descendants of Aaron” or, why doesn’t the verse just say “say to them….”? Why do we need this double reference of “say to the priests…” and “say to them…” in the same verse?

One commentary offers an insightful explanation to the apparent redundancy. Moses is commanded to instruct, to “say” what he needs to say to the priests (Cohaneem) on two levels.

First he must speak/say-emor to them as “b’nay Aharon,” as descendants of Aaron. Moses should speak to the priests from the perspective of their lofty status which is derived from being descendants of Aaron. In other words, all priests are part of a special family, so when Moses begins to speak with them, he in essence is reminding them “remember first, that you are descendants of Aaron. That is how you first came to this position of importance.”

However, as Moses continues, he must speak to the priests on a different level. As important as “yihus – pedigree” is, it’s not enough. Being a descendant of Aaron the high priest is a great honor, but it may not be enough to convince all current and future priests of their lofty positions in the community of Israel. Therefore, Moses had to speak/ say- v’amarta to them, and remind them of their own worth and accomplishments. They had their own contributions to make which were separate and independent from being a descendant of Aaron the high priest.

This is an important lesson for all of us. Often we wish to promote the value of observing Judaism because by doing so we add a link to the chain of previous generations. We inherit the faith of our fathers and our mothers, our ancestors, and if it was good enough for them, it should be good enough for us. How emotional we become when we sing “L’dor va-dor nagid godlecha – from generation to generation we will declare Your greatness.”

But I believe that for most people, that’s just not enough of a draw any longer. Judaism is wonderful not only because it is the faith of my mother and father. It’s not enough that the teachings of Judaism, presented by Moses and Aaron, and all other teachers since them, “spoke” to my parents in a meaningful way. It has to also “speak” to me, in a meaningful way. And I have a responsibility to help find meaningful ways for Judaism to “speak” to my children. I am grateful to have received the tools and the opportunity to investigate the wonderful religion of my ancestors. Therefore I have been able to determine whether indeed the religion speaks to me, impacts upon me in ways that are similar to the impact it had upon my parents, grandparents and other ancestors.

That is what we try to do at Congregation B’nai Shalom of Olney. We trust and have faith that our religion should be a most meaningful part of our lives. But we don’t expect our congregants to accept this assumption at face value. We encourage investigation and we help to provide the means of investigation. We study together, we live Judaism together, and we share its beauty with one another. We are aware that it is special and holy. Then we are reassured to know that not only does the faith speak to us, now, today, but that our parents, grandparents and other ancestors were able to enjoy a similar connection and sense of value of what it means to be a Jew.

Candle lighting time is 7:47 p.m.

Our Friday night Family/Birthday/Anniversary and Hagigat Siddur service will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Our Shabbat morning service will begin at 9:00 a.m. During this service we will celebrate the B’nai Mitzvah of Aaron Krens and Zachary Schoengold. Mazel Tov!

Our service on Sunday morning, May 9 will begin at 8:45 a.m.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Philip Pohl