Parashat Emor – Mentoring Moments

Dear Friends,

I hope that you will join us this Friday night and on Shabbat morning for services as we welcome Cantor Ruth Ross, our High Holiday Cantor, to Rodef Sholom Temple.

I also hope that you will be here this Shabbat morning as Dr. Kim Gipson’s Religious school class will process with their hand-made Torah scrolls along with our full sized Torah scroll!

At Rodef Sholom Temple, we are blessed to be able to offer “mentoring moments” in the form of Jewish education on all levels, beginning with our children and continuing through our adult education programs.

This week’s Torah portion, Emor, has an inspiring message for all who strive to convey their love for Jewish living and their appreciation for Jewish values to others.

Our Parsha opens with the words: “The Lord said to Moses: Emor [speak] to the priests, the sons of Aaron, V’Amarta [and say] to them.” (Leviticus 21:1)

Our Sages ask:  Why does the Torah say: Emor….V’Amarta?  Why does the Torah use two different verbal commands in the opening verse of the Parsah?  Isn’t the second verbal command redundant?

Our Sages suggest to us that words, Emor and V’Amarta, refer to two different modes of communication.  In Hebrew, Emor refers to a gentle, pleasing, fun mode of communication.  V’Amarta stands for a more resolute form of communication.

May we be blessed to know when and how to best communicate our love of Jewish living and appreciation of Jewish values to those around us – whether we are communicating with children or adults.  And may our “mentoring moments” be accepted with an equal measure of love and of appreciation.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Gilah Dror