Parshat Emor

10 myths

Laws for the priests, the festivals and holy days of the Jewish calendar, and the incident of the blasphemer. Leviticus 21:1-24:23.
Parshat Emor 5 min

Shelomith's Son Was Refused a Tent in Dan, Then Cursed the Name

Dan's camp rejects a man with an Egyptian father. He utters the Name in rage, while Shelomith's old wound still burns under the sand.

ShelomithBlasphemyMosesEgyptCampDanShelomitJudgment
Parshat Emor 6 min

The Evil Inclination Asked Who Fed God Before the Altar

A voice at the ramp asks who set God's table before Israel existed. The answer is a man of bread who spent a hundred and twenty days where nothing eats.

Yetzer HaraMosesAaronSacrificeMenorahSinaiMidrash Tanchuma
Parshat Emor 7 min

Binah Appointed Satan Plaintiff and God Filed His Own Suit

Understanding knew the truth already and still refused to rule, so Satan was sworn in as plaintiff and the eyes of God entered as witnesses.

Heavenly CourtHa SatanJudgmentHidden SinRosh HashanahEgypt Firstborn
Parshat Emor 5 min

God Seated the Bull First to Clear Israel's Name

Nations pointed at the golden calf. Heaven investigated, cleared Israel, and set the bull first among every offering on the altar.

Golden CalfBullAltarIsraelPatriarchs
Parshat Emor 5 min

Alexander Watched Justice That Would Not Kill

A man bought a ruin and found gold buried in it. He said the gold was the seller's. The African king told the two of them to marry their children.

AlexanderJusticeAfricaTreasureHeaven
Parshat Emor 6 min

A Mother Brings Her Son Before the Judge

The onlookers told each other she had come to have the boy killed. She heard them. Then she stood up and told the judge he had kicked her.

IsraelJudgmentRepentanceNationsMercyGolden CalfMotherTanchuma
Parshat Emor 5 min

Sukkot Dawned as First Day After the Debt

A king forgave a province's taxes in stages as crowds met him on the road, mapping Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur so Sukkot could open as a true first day.

SukkotRepentanceYom kippurRosh hashanahPorticoMercyJusticeDebt
Parshat Emor 5 min

The Stolen Lulav That Testified Before the King

A bandit returned a rug to buy a defender and met that defender as his accuser. So a stolen lulav (palm branch) testifies on Sukkot.

RepentanceCommandmentsDivine JusticeSukkot
Parshat Emor 6 min

North Wind Played David's Lute at Midnight

Disciples slept near the threshold and woke to the scrape of the king's feet. No herald, no procession. They lit lamps and read until the morning star.

DavidLuteMidnightPsalmsTorah StudyHarpNorth Wind
Parshat Emor 4 min

Ruth in the Fields of Boaz and the Prophecy She Received

Ruth gleaned only two stalks at a time even when starving. Boaz watched her restrain herself and understood that he was looking at something extraordinary.

RuthBoazChesedProphecyConversionWomen