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The First Rothschild

(continued from centre)

Emor

ןושאר

: There are specific restrictions on Kohanim asto who they may marry; a Kohen may not marry awidow. A Kohen must also maintain a high level of Taharah and therefore he must be careful aboutcoming into contact with a corpse and he may onlyattend the levayah of his immediate family mem-bers. The Kohen Gadol, however, can’t even go tothe levayas of his immediate family and must marrya virgin.

ינש

: The Halachot with regard to the blemishes thatdisqualify a Kohen from serving in the Bet Hamik-dash are detailed. Also listed are the people whomay eat from a Kohen’s portion of Terumah.

ישילש

: Halachot of blemished Korbanot are detailed.Also, the mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem is mentionedand the 3 Aveirot which you must give up your liferather than do are related: idolatry, forbidden rela-tions and murder.

יעיבר

: The establishment of Shabbat is related.Pesach, the Korban Omer, and the counting of theOmer are all discussed in detail.

ישימח

:The Mitzvot of hearing the Shofar on RoshHashanah and fasting on Yom Kippur are dis-cussed .

ישש

: The Chag of Sukkot is described, with theMitzvot of living in a Succah, the Arbat HaMinim,etc…

יעיבש

: The Halachot of the Ner Tamid in the BetHamikdash are discussed. The punishments for ablasphemer are told along with the punishments formurder and damaging property.

‘Parasha Digest – Emor

and reported it to the police. They in turn found herdigging in the garden, and while she was openingthe purse to extract another coin, the police arrestedher. "There were only four coins missing," the chief remarked, handing the purse to the Rabbi."But you know," he said, "I just can't understandwhat you said. Why did that young man pay for thetheft when he was not guilty? And why didn't heexplain to you that he was not at fault?"The Rabbi shook his head. This was something hecould not explain.The next day the Rabbi travelled to Sniatyn. Herushed out of the wagon, ran up to Anschel Moses,and tearfully asked his forgiveness. "Why did younot tell me that you were innocent?" asked the Rabbiin a trembling voice.Anschel Moses explained that the sadness and worryof the Rabbi had deeply touched him. He knew thatif the truth were told, and he offered to help, theRabbi would have refused to accept it, knowing thatAnschel Moses was far from a rich man. So AnschelMoses and his wife gave everything they owned tothe Rabbi, and for many months they saved everypenny to complete the missing amount.The Rabbi embraced Anschel Moses and blessedhim to have great riches so that he might always beable to help the poor and needy of his people. "Hereis the money you so kindly paid out of your pocket.Go to Frankfurt, Germany, where you will have abetter chance to succeed in business, as well as to dogood deeds. May G-d be with you and your wife andchildren for generations to come."The blessing of Rabbi Hershelle Tschortkower wasfulfilled. Anschel Moses became a successful mer-chant and banker in Frankfurt. His five sons settledin different capitals in Europe, and they carried ontheir banking business in partnership and theirwealth increased from generation to generationSo this was the secret of the Rothschilds' success -the unselfish generosity of an ordinary man, a manwho gave charity without letting anyone know of hisgreat sacrifice.(adapted from chabad.org)The Living Torah Blog:

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Quantity or Quality?

Editorial Team: Eli GaventaAvi GreenbergGeorge KestelRaphy MeyerContributor: AnonymousDirector : Rabbi D Meyer

No.339

ParashatEmor

ע״שת

5770

1stMay2010

ר עמשנ יולעל

ריאמ ןב םימחר והילא

ע דוד

ר ויחאו ה

ריאמ ןב גרפ הללאדבע

ע דוד

ה

Throughout the Torah we find completion and whole-ness taking precedence over quantity. Thus a whole rolltakes precedence over a much larger portion of a loaf of bread, in the recitation of Hamotzi.From this we learn that our avodah is measured not byquantity, but by how close it comes to perfection. SinceHashem is the ultimate perfection, our goal must be toachieve the greatest measure of perfection possible fora human being, and only then can we hope to have arelationship with Hashem.The Kohen, priest, is Hashem's representative and hemust represent perfection, and therefore physical im-perfections render a Kohen unfit for service in theSanctuary. The clearest sign of man's inherent imper-fection is death. As the possuk in Tehillim says (82:6):"I said you are angelic, sons of the most high are youall but like men shall you die." Because man's mortalityconstitutes the greatest denial of his quest for perfec-tion, the Kohen who is meant to signify perfection, isseverely curtailed in his contact with dead bodies.Chazal tell us (Berachos 5b) that whether one doesmore or less is insignificant, the main consideration isthat one direct and concentrate their heart towardsheaven.R' Yitzchak said: "When one does a mitzvah theyshould do so with a complete and happy heart. HadReuven known the Torah would record that he at-tempted to save Yosef, he would have put him on hisshoulders and run home with him. Had Aharon knownthe Torah would record how happy he was when hemet Moshe he would have brought drums. Had Boazknown the Megillah would record that he gave Ruthparched grain to eat he would have made a ban-quet." (Yallkut Shimoni Rus 604)In each of the above cases there was doubt as to whatthe proper conduct really was. Reuven was in doubtabout saving Yosef after the brothers had judged him athreat. If Moshe himself had questioned being ap-pointed as the Redeemer, Aharon likewise had the rightto have reservations concerning his brother's appoint-ment. Similarly, Boaz had doubts about the convertRuth, not knowing her sincerity and character. Hencethey acted without the complete and happy heart thatcould have made their mitzvos perfect, and this blemishwas reflected in the outcome of their actions.After Klal Yisrael were freed from Egypt to serveHashem, the first step in that service was to strive forperfection. That striving took the form of countingforty-nine complete days, until the giving of the Torahon the fiftieth day. Fifty represents perfection, as issignified by the fact that there are fifty gates of wisdomand fifty gates of purity. Our task is to count forty-ninedays. We are not capable of creating perfection; onlyHashem can make something perfect, we can onlystrive towards it. But by counting forty-nine it is as if we have counted the fiftieth, because the fiftieth level isthe automatic result of our efforts in securing the firstforty-nine.This is the significance of Lag Be'Omer as explained bythe Maharsha (Moed Kattan 28a). The majority of theomer count is reached on the thirty-third day. Oncemost of the period has passed successfully, one can beconfident he will be successful in likewise fulfilling theremainder. Lag Be'Omer is a day to rejoice in one'ssuccessful quest for perfection.May we strive for perfection in all that we do, so thatour efforts be crowned by success by Hashem, who willbring us to the ultimate perfection.

Based on a thought from Rabbi Zev Leff Anonymous Contributor - Shabbat Shalom

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ד״סב

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