Old/New Testament

Parashat Emor

Holiness Code for Kohanim

21 Then Adonai said to Moses, “Speak to the kohanim, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: A kohen is not to allow himself to become unclean for the dead among his people, ² except for his relatives that are nearest to him—his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, his brother, ³ or his virgin sister who is near to him, who has had no husband. For her he may allow himself to become unclean. ⁴ But he is not to defile himself—a husband among his people—and so profane himself.

⁵ “Kohanim are not to shave their heads, nor shave off the corners of their beards, nor make any cuttings in their flesh. ⁶ They are to be holy to their God, and not profane the Name of their God, for they present the offerings of Adonai made by fire, the bread of their God. Therefore they are to be holy. ⁷ They are not to marry women who are defiled as prostitutes, or profane. Neither should they marry women divorced from their husbands, for a kohen is holy to his God. ⁸ Therefore you are to sanctify him, because he offers the bread of your God. He shall be holy to you, for I, Adonai, who sanctifies you, am holy.

⁹ “The daughter of any kohen, if she profanes herself by playing the prostitute, profanes her father. She is to be burned with fire.

¹⁰ “He who is the kohen gadol among his brothers, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured and is consecrated to put on the garments, is not to let the hair of his head hang loose or tear his clothes, ¹¹ nor should he go near any dead person, defiling himself, even for his father or his mother. ¹² He is not to go out of the Sanctuary or profane the Sanctuary of his God—for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him. I am Adonai.

¹³ “He should take a wife in her virginity. ¹⁴ A widow, or one divorced, or one who has been defiled as a prostitute, he is not to marry. He is to take a virgin from his own people as a wife, ¹⁵ so as not to corrupt his offspring among his people. For I am Adonai who sanctifies him.”

¹⁶ Adonai spoke to Moses saying: ¹⁷ “Say to Aaron: None of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect may approach to offer the food of his God. ¹⁸ Any man who has a defect is not to draw near: no one blind or lame or disfigured or deformed, ¹⁹ or a man who has a crippled foot or crippled hand ²⁰ or a hunchback or dwarf, or who has an eye defect or a rash or scabs, or who has damaged testicles. ²¹ None of the offspring of Aaron the kohen who has a defect should come near to present the offerings of Adonai made by fire. Since he has a defect, he is not to come near to offer the food of his God. ²² He may eat the food of his God, both from the most holy and the holy. ²³ But he is not to approach the curtain or come near the altar, because of the defect on him, so that he may not desecrate My sanctuaries, for I am Adonai who sanctifies them.”

²⁴ So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons, and to all Bnei-Yisrael.

22 Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: ² “Tell Aaron and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of Bnei-Yisrael, which they consecrate to Me, so that they would not profane My holy Name. I am Adonai. ³ Tell them, if anyone of all your offspring throughout your generations approaches the holy things, which Bnei-Yisrael consecrate to Adonai, while in a state of uncleanness, that soul will be cut off from before Me. I am Adonai.

⁴ “None of the offspring of Aaron who has tza’arat or has a discharge should eat of the holy things until he is clean. Whoever touches anything that is unclean by the dead or a man whose seed discharges from him ⁵ or who touches any creeping thing that may make him unclean or a person who is unclean—whatever his uncleanness— ⁶ the person who touches any such thing will be unclean until the evening, and is not to eat of the holy things, unless he has bathed his body in water. ⁷ When the sun sets, he will become clean, and afterward he may eat of the holy things, because it is his food. ⁸ A carcass or what is torn by beasts he is not to eat, becoming unclean by it. I am Adonai.

⁹ “Therefore kohanim shall keep My charge, so that they do not become guilty of sin and die should they profane it. I am Adonai who sanctifies them.

¹⁰ “No layman is to eat from the holy offering. A foreigner living with the kohanim or a hired servant is not to eat from the holy offering. ¹¹ But if a kohen buys a slave purchased by his money, that one may eat from it. Also those born in his house may eat his food. ¹² If a kohen’s daughter is married to a layman, she is not to eat from the gifts of the holy offerings. ¹³ But if a kohen’s daughter is a widow or divorced, and has no child and has returned to her father’s house as in her youth, she may eat from her father’s food. But no layman may eat any of it.

¹⁴ “If anyone eats something holy unwittingly, then he is to add a fifth to it and give the holy offering to the kohen. ¹⁵ They are not to profane the holy offerings of Bnei-Yisrael, which they lift up to Adonai, ¹⁶ so causing them to bear the iniquity that brings guilt when they eat the holy offerings. For I am Adonai who sanctifies them.”

¹⁷ Adonai spoke to Moses saying: ¹⁸ “Speak to Aaron and to his sons, and to all Bnei-Yisrael, and say to them: Whoever is from the house of Israel, or one of the outsiders in Israel who brings his offering, whether it be any of their vows or any of their freewill offerings that they present to Adonai for a burnt offering— ¹⁹ for you to be accepted—you are to offer a male without blemish, from the bulls, the sheep or the goats. ²⁰ But whatever has a blemish you are not to present, for it will not be acceptable on your behalf. ^{[a] 21} Whoever brings a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to Adonai to fulfill a vow or for a freewill offering, either from the herd or the flock, it must be unblemished to be accepted—there must be no defect on it. ²² The blind, injured, maimed, having an abnormal growth or festering or a running sore are not to be offered to Adonai, or given as an offering by fire on the altar to Adonai. ²³ For a freewill offering you may present a bull or a lamb that has any deformity or lacking in its parts, but for a vow it will not be accepted. ²⁴ Whatever has its testicles bruised, crushed, broken or cut, you are not to offer to Adonai, nor are you to do so in your own land. ²⁵ Moreover, you are not to offer the food of your God from the hand of an outsider from any of these animals. For their corruption is within them—they have a defect. They will not be accepted on your behalf.”

²⁶ Adonai spoke to Moses saying: ²⁷ “When a bull, a sheep or a goat is born, then it is to remain seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day onward it will be accepted as the gift of an offering made by fire to Adonai. ²⁸ If it is a cow or ewe, you are not to slaughter it along with its young, both in one day. ²⁹ When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving to Adonai, you are to present it so that you may be accepted. ³⁰ It is to be eaten on the same day. You are to leave none of it until the morning. I am Adonai.

³¹ “So you are to keep My mitzvot and do them. I am Adonai. ³² You must not profane My holy Name, for I will be made holy among Bnei-Yisrael. I am Adonai who makes you holy, ³³ who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. I am Adonai.”

The Son Is Risen!

28 Now after Shabbat, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Miriam of Magdala and the other Miriam came to look at the tomb. ² And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of Adonai descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning,^[a] and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ And those keeping watch were shaken for fear of him and became like dead men.

⁵ But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know you are looking for Yeshua who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He^[b] was lying. ⁷ Go quickly now and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead. And behold, He’s going before you to the Galilee. There you will see Him. See, I have told you!” ⁸ They quickly left the tomb, with fear yet with great joy, and ran to bring news to His disciples.

The Good News Cannot Be Hidden

⁹ And behold, Yeshua met them. “Shalom!” He said. They drew near, grasped his feet, and worshiped Him. ¹⁰ “Don’t be afraid,” Yeshua said to them. “Go tell My brothers to head for the Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

¹¹ Now while they were going, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the ruling kohanim all that had happened. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of silver to the soldiers, ¹³ saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we were sleeping.’ ¹⁴ And if this is heard by the governor, we’ll appease him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story was spread among the Judeans to this day.

Authority to Make Disciples Everywhere

¹⁶ Now the eleven disciples went to the Galilee, to the mountain Yeshua had designated. ¹⁷ When they saw Him, they worshiped; but some wavered. ¹⁸ And Yeshua came up to them and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. ^{[c] 19} Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, immersing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Ruach ha-Kodesh, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And remember! I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”