ON THE PARSHA Parshas Emor by Dovid Lipman, Jerusalem The World Of The Supernatural (22:15) "...the ones which they are going to uplift to Hashem..." The gemara (Yevamos 86a) describes the punishment for transgressing 284) One may not eat produce from which Terumah, etc., have not yet been separated ("Tevel"). as coming from the unseparated Terumah, which itself has the mitzvah 280) A non-Kohain may not eat Terumah (or Bikkurim). Tosfos explains that we need a special pasuk (see there) to teach us that eating Tevel has the same punishment as eating Terumah, for if it were simply because the Terumah is INCLUDED in the Tevel, a Kohain should be permitted to eat Tevel, just as he can eat Terumah! However, the gemara implies a connection between the prohibition of Tevel and its potential Terumah within (and so does the pasuk Tosfos mentions, our pasuk), so what IS the difference between the two? The answer may lie in the pasuk "to separate between the holy and the profane". No one may eat Tevel, for it is a mixture of holiness and unsanctified food, and one may not sanction such a mixture. It is a crucial act - to perform the separation, to show the difference. A Time To Laugh (22:21) "...it must be perfect, to be acceptable, there may not be any blemish in it." Once the Torah tells us the mitzvah 286) All sacrifices brought on the altar must be perfect (unblemished)= . why does it need to redundantly add another mitzvah 285) One may not sanctify a blemished animal (for the altar). Doesn't a perfect korban have no blemishes? Maybe not. When Kayin sacrificed "some produce", his spoiled veggies were, in his eyes, the perfect offering - exactly what he was willing to give up. So we need to be told that "perfection" here does not mean doing the mitzvah exactly how WE like it, but how it was MEANT to be done. Worthy Of Note (23:15) "...from the day after the Shabbos..." The gemara (Menach. 65b) links three mitzvos to explain what "Shabbos" means here: 297) One must stop doing "work" on the first day of Pesach. 306) One must count seven weeks, and each of the forty-nine days, from the day of the "omer" sacrifice. 308) One must stop doing "work" on the day of Shavuos. Just as the counting ends next to the beginning of a holiday, it starts next to the beginning of Pesach, so that's what "Shabbos" is. The Chinuch explains the mitzvah of counting is to show our feeling of anticipation for receiving the Torah, like a prisoner who counts the days when waiting for his freedom. Asks R' Shlomo Brevda, didn't we just become free from Egypt? Why are we like prisoners? But the idea is that by counting the days from "Shabbos" to "Shabbos", we show that it is all one long holiday - the purpose of that freedom was to get the Torah, so, until we did, we weren't really free. From the Gemara (21:14) Kiddushin 87a - If one woman becomes the subject of 273) The High Priest may not marry any widow. and, AFTER that, is divorced from someone, she is included also in 268) A Kohain may not marry and/or have relations with a divorcee. becuase new people are involved in the new mitzvah (regular Kohanim). (23:10) Rosh HaShanah 16a - Why do we have these two mitzvos? 302) We must bring a special flour-offering made from barley (the "omer") on the second day of Pesach. 307) We must bring a special wheat-bread-offering on Shavuos. Pesach is a time of grain, so we bring from our grain, and it is blessed; Shavuos is a time of fruit trees, so we bring from our wheat [see Bera. 41a, where wheat is called a tree], and it is blessed. (23:39) Pesachim 5a - This repetition of the two mitzvos 318) One must stop doing "work" on the first day of Succos. 321) One must stop doing "work" on Sh'mini Atzeres. teaches that the days in between, Chol HaMoed, one may do "work". Rare And Unusual Words (23:27) "V'Inisem". This means "afflict [yourselves]", and thus: 313) One must fast on Yom Kippur. This unusual term for eating/drinking is used by the gemara to derive many of the laws of Yom Kippur, but it also creates a snag in deriving 316) One may not eat or drink on Yom Kippur. because a negative language is needed to derive a prohibition, and our term is positive; so the gemara (Yoma 81a) learns it by inference. Mitzvah Digest 263) A Kohain may not become impure from a dead body, except in the case of his closest relatives. 264) A Kohain (and any Jew) must become impure through the death of his closest relatives, when the deceased requires it. 265) A purified Kohain must wait for sunset before performing Service. 266) A Kohain may not marry and/or have relations with a woman who has reduced status through relations ("Zonah"). 267) A Kohain may not marry and/or have relations with a woman who has reduced status (with respect to the priesthood) from birth. 269) One must respect the sanctity of the Kohanim (Aharon's family). 270) A High Priest may not be in a room with ANY dead body. 271) A High Priest may not touch or lift ANY dead body. 272) A High Priest must marry a woman who is a virgin. 274) A High Priest may not have relations with any widow. [Overflow, week 1 of 5 (Kedoshim)] 212) One must revere ones parents (and never shame them). 213) One may not give any attention to false gods. 214) One may not make an idol, even for a non-Jew. 215) One may not eat from a sacrifice after its time limit passes. 218) One may not gather in grain which falls during the harvest. 219) One must leave those sheaves behind for the poor. 220) One may not gather in ALL the fruit of a grape vine. 221) One must leave the unusual grapes (and a corner) on the vine. 222) One may not gather in the unclustered grapes from the vine. 223) One must leave unclustered grapes for the poor. 224) One may not steal another's property deceitfully. 225) One may not falsely deny that one owes something to someone. 226) One may not swear to back up such a false denial. 227) One may not swear falsely. 228) One may not withhold property from its owner. 229) One may not steal another's property by force.