Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Vol. 6 Num. 31
This issue of Toronto Torah is sponsored by Esther and Craig Guttmann and Family
Do we believe in inclusion?
Over the last couple of weeks, we have
been inundated with images of rioting
and protest. From protesters decrying
racial profiling and inequality in
Baltimore, to Ethiopian Jewry
demanding equal and fair treatment in
Tel Aviv, the message is a call for
inclusion. This resonates with us; the
Torah continually teaches us to
remember our mistreatment in Egypt,
and be mindful of it in the way we
treat vulnerable people.
Parshat Emor, though, presents a
problem. After prohibiting kohanim
from interacting with the dead, the
Torah then prohibits any kohen with a
physical blemish from serving, and
considers the blemish cause to
invalidate the performance of priestly
duties. (Rashi to Vayikra 21:23) We
must ask: what qualifies as a blemish,
and why should a physical deformity
be a cause for exclusion?
The Torah itself lists a number of
physical deformities, ranging from
blindness to asymmetrical eyes to a
unibrow to a broken hand or foot.
What correlates all of these things is
that they are external. Could it be that
external appearance that is cause of
the Kohens disqualification? Is the
Beit haMikdash so vain as to remove
someone from holy work because of
their appearance?
From the words of Ramban (Vayikra
21:18), it seems so. He even states that
there is a progression in the verses,
from a malfunction, such as blindness,
to oddly shaped or sized limbs, to
internal blemishes such as broken
bones, and then skin imperfections.
This emphasis upon the external is
We are grateful to
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26 Iyar is Friday
Ever since Israels establishment in 1948, tensions had
been high between Israel and its neighbouring Arab states,
but they reached a breaking point in the early parts of 1967.
Syria, who controlled the Golan Heights, shelled northern
Israel on many occasions, making life miserable for Israelis
settling in the Galil. Israel launched a retaliatory strike
against Syria on April 7, 1967, which led to the mobilization
of the Syrian army to prepare for war against Israel. Syria
invoked a defense treaty with Egypt, which led Egypt to also
mobilize its troops in preparation for war against Israel.
Egypt further escalated the situation by provoking Israel
with two more actions. They expelled UN peacekeeping
forces who had been stationed in the Sinai as a buffer
between Egypt and Israel since the 1956 Sinai Campaign.
They also shut off the Straits of Tiran from all Israeli
shipping, which blocked Israels path to Asia on the water.
As the situation grew more precarious for Israel, and with the
anticipation that a war would begin in the near future, Israel
decided to launch a pre-emptive strike against its enemies. On
June 5, 1967 (26 Iyar, 5717) the Israeli Air Force (IAF)
launched an attack against Egypt. The IAF sent almost its
entire fleet of planes to attack the Egyptian Air Force and
destroyed over three hundred Egyptian aircrafts. This strike
marked the beginning of the Six Day War.
Though Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol pleaded with
Jordan not to join Egypt and Syria in the war, the Jordanian
army attacked Israel that same day. Thus Israel began a war
against three nations, and ultimately met great military
success on all three fronts.
jgutenberg@torontotorah.com
Speaker
Topic
Location
Special Notes
May 8-9
Fri. 6:45 PM
10:00 AM
5:00 PM
7:15 PM
Shaarei Tefillah
8:00 PM
Growing Emunah
Shaarei Tefillah
R Mordechai Torczyner
Daf Yomi
BAYT
Rabbis Classroom
After minchah
R Mordechai Torczyner
BAYT
8:45 AM
R Josh Gutenberg
Contemporary Halachah:
Stem Cell Research
BAYT
Third floor
8:45 AM
R Mordechai Torczyner
BAYT
Breakfast served
CPD credit for lawyers
Open to non-lawyers
9:15 AM
R Shalom Krell
Kuzari
Zichron Yisroel
BAYT
Shaarei Shomayim
10:00 AM
R Mordechai Torczyner
Adath Israel
1:30 PM
R Mordechai Torczyner
Shaarei Shomayim
Business Ethics:
Zeifmans
R Mordechai Torczyner
49 Michael Ct.
Thornhill
Advanced Shemitah
Yeshivat Or Chaim
Shaarei Tefillah
Shaarei Tefillah
Sun. May 10
10:00 AM11:20 AM
8:30 PM
Tues. May 12
Wed. May 13
12:30 PM
R Mordechai Torczyner
Thu. May 14
1:30 PM
Fri. May 15
10:30 AM
Lunch served