Priests and sacred offerings. Disability and defect. Also, the death penalty. These are the themes of Parshat Emor, this week’s Torah reading. Emor may seem straightforward. But its view of disability is strange. Because it seems to contradict last week’s parsha. Last week, Parshat Kedoshim said: make sure everyone counts. Rich and poor. Native and immigrant. Mother and father. Landed and landless.…
Month: May 2019
Leviticus: Love of neighbour is love of self
Leviticus. Vayikra. Not the easiest book of Torah. Five years ago, I started to teach at the Vancouver School of Theology. Naturally, our Dean asked which Hebrew Bible elective I would like to teach. “That’s easy!” I said. “Learning to Love Leviticus.” “Um…” said our Dean. “How about Wisdom Literature instead?” Because, she said, students…
Spiritual Discipline: A Simple, Beautiful Start
“Rabbi, I’d like to follow a Jewish spiritual practice. How do I start?” The answer is simple. Begin each day with gratitude. End with forgiveness. You may find that this pattern follows your natural daily rhythm. Imagine: you wake up in the morning, after a good sleep. You feel refreshed. The new day has so much potential. There’s so much to…