After a few weeks of double parshiot we are given a small reprieve with this week’s portion of Parshat Emor. Emor continues the topic of kedusha, holiness, this time within the office of the Kohanim. Emor is also known as the central source for the major holidays that create the Jewish calendar: Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot. As we learn from the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, the order and manner in which laws are presented in the Torah are purposeful and with great meaning. What, then, is the hidden message that we are meant to hear in how our parsha lays it all out?
The 23rd chapter outlines the pivotal holidays and celebrations in the following order:
- Shabbat
- Pesach
- Shavuot
- Rosh HaShanah
- Yom Kippur
- Sukkot
Each of the p’sukim of this chapter outlines the holiday, its central expression, and main artifacts that correlate to the foundational meaning the holiday has in our religious yearly cycle. Except for one phrase…
וּֽבְקֻצְרְכֶ֞ם אֶת־קְצִ֣יר אַרְצְכֶ֗ם לֹֽא־תְכַלֶּ֞ה פְּאַ֤ת שָֽׂדְךָ֙ בְּקֻצְרֶ֔ךָ וְלֶ֥קֶט קְצִירְךָ֖ לֹ֣א תְלַקֵּ֑ט לֶֽעָנִ֤י וְלַגֵּר֙ תַּעֲזֹ֣ב אֹתָ֔ם אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
And when you gather the produce of your land do not completely harvest the corners of the field and do not collect the leket as that should be left for the poor and converts amongst us, I am Hashem your God - Vayikra 23:22
The phrase references the mitzvah known at leket, shechacha and peah which are rules around how we are to treat the harvesting of one’s field so that items left behind along with reserved sections of the field can be provided to support those in need. This mitzvah has no place in our lists of Jewish yearly religious experiences. Why is it here and what does it have to do with our chapter?
It all has to do with the placement of where this phrase is located. The phrase is located between the mentioning of Shavuot and Rosh HaShanah essentially dividing the 6 holidays into two groups. The first group - Shabbat, Pesach and Shavuot - are the holidays that represent the national religious identity of Jewish people as a whole.
- Shabbat is the culmination of the act of creation, Hashem’s setting up of our religious identity
- Pesach represents the desire to formulate a religious nation of free willed people dedicated to something bigger than themselves
- Shavuot is the formalization of the act of creation and Pesach journey in the receiving of the Torah, our religious core values.
There is a central theme that runs through all of these holidays. It focuses on the larger whole, the we over the I, the congregation over the individual. These are major messages within the Torah, and, yet, if we focus only on the we the individual is lost. Our relationship to the other is forgotten and not given the right focus.
- Rosh HaShanah is the beginning of the repentance process where we look deep inside to see our inadequacies in our interpersonal relationships and how we model for others
- Yom Kippur is where that process is culminated and where we lean into the vulnerability as human beings and recognize the humanity of those around us
- Sukkot is where we welcome and gather with all members of our community to celebrate in unison as we celebrate the dignity of diversity
After Shabbat, Pesach and Shavuot we would be lost sinking into the we mentality losing the sensitivity to the others, to the individuals amongst us. We are thus reminded of the laws around sharing our harvest with the less fortunate and redirecting us to open ourselves to the challenges of the others thus preparing us to be ready to lean into the vulnerability that is Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot.
We are a people that celebrates the we and the I in all its beauty and splendor. We are a people that believes that it is a Jewish value to make sure each of our community members feel welcome, feel loved and cared for. Whether it is inviting everyone from our children’s class to a celebration, being on call for someone in need of a meal, thinking about the feelings of others before saying something that could hurt, we are a people that is there for the other because we value the individual.
During Sefirat HaOmer and as we are a few weeks away from receiving the Torah this is a wonderful time for us to double down on our commitment to the Torah and the values we cherish.