The Derusha Update
This Weekend's Portion:
"Declare to the Priests..."
[ Lev 21:1-24:23 ]
read on Sat May 7, Shabbath Iyyar 3
Shalom to all,
On the 27th of Nissan (this past Monday) many Israelis observed a day of remembrance to honor the memory of all those who experienced the Holocaust - those who survived, those who did not, and those who risked their lives to save other human beings. Many people are unaware that the original proposed date of the remembrance was thirteen days earlier (Nissan), to commemorate the start Warsaw ghetto uprising. The uprising, spurred by efforts to transfer the population of Warsaw to a death camp, ended tragically but left a lasting impression on humanity: we are all made in the image of God, and every life is precious and worth defending, in the face of any catastrophe, no matter what the odds. What an inspiration!
This week's Torah portion, "Declare to the Priests," contains 63 precepts, ranging in subject from the requirements for spiritual service in the Sanctuary to the cycle of celebrations connecting every participant to the natural world of God's creation. These two themes comprise the majority of the Torah portion, and yet seem - at first blush - entirely unrelated. They are relevant to two very different groups of people - the ministers and the laborers - working in two very different domains - the Sanctuary and the field. Moreover, the closing episode of this week's portion - a tragic tale of unnecessary alienation and its social consequences - seems equally unconnected to either the priestly service or the agricultural cycle. Why did the members of the Great Assembly teach that these three narratives together form a single unit? Click here for an answer.
Wishing you a Shabbath Shalom,
Gil & Elana
Derusha Publishing LLC
www.DerushaPublishing.com
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News and Views
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[ speculation @ 972mag ]
Remembrance
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