The Torah selection for this Shabbat, Parashat Emor, continues to discuss the regulations of the priesthood. The kohanim are prohibited from any contact with the deceased except for their immediate kin. The kohen is prohibited from shaving the corners of his beard, which is the origin of the peyot, the side curls, of later Judaism. The kohen is not permitted to marry a divorced woman. This prohibition is extended to include a widow in the case of the kohen gadol. The kohen may not have any physical disability. These regulations assert the spiritual purity of the kohen in his priestly functions.

The kohen must be in a state of ritual purity to partake of the sacred food of the sanctuary. The kohen may not eat any animal that dies of natural causes or a limb that is torn from an animal.

The daughter of a kohen must marry within the priestly lineage in order to partake of the sacred food. However, if the daughter of the kohen is divorced or widowed and childless, she may eat of the sacred meal.

The free-will offerings that are brought by the Israelites must be free of any blemish. The perfection of the animal shares the belief in the ritual purity of the gift. A newborn animal must remain with its mother for seven days before it is offered as a sacrifice. The rituals of the priesthood are associated with purity and holiness.

"You shall not profane My holy name; but I will be sanctified among the children of Israel: I am the L-rd who makes you holy, that brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your G-d; I am the L-rd.

Leviticus chapter 23 shares the sacred calendar of Israel. The Biblical calendar begins in the spring with the observance of Passover. The fifteenth day of the first month of the ancient calendar is known as the "Festival of Matzot". The first and seventh days of the festival are full holy days when work is prohibited

The offering of the sheaf of the barley harvest marks the period of the omer. In rabbinic interpretation, the omer is counted from the second evening of Passover. In contemporary Judaism, the omer is considered to be a period of semi-mourning. Traditionally, no weddings or musical events were held during some part of the omer period. The thirty-third day of the counting of the omer, "Lag BaOmer", was a respite from the semi-mourning of the period. This day commemorated the yahrzeit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai in Jewish mystical thought. The day also commemorated the devotion of Rabbi Akiva and his students to Jewish scholarship despite the edict of Emperor Hadrian.

The fiftieth day of the counting marks the Festival of Shavuot. The sacrificial gift offerings of Shavuot are presented along with the first fruits of the summer harvest. The offering is comprised of two loaves, seven lambs, one bull, and two rams. During the harvest, the gleanings of the fields are to be left for the poor as well as the corners of the field. Compassion for the poor and the stranger is mandatory.

The first day of the seventh month is the sounding of the ram's horn. This observance marks the very beginning of the origins of the rabbinic celebration of Rosh Hashanah. The tenth day of the seventh month is known as Yom Kippur. The origin of fasting as an "affliction of the soul" derives from the Torah. The Day of Atonement is referred to as "Shabbat Shabbaton", a Sabbath of Sabbaths.

The fifteenth day of the seventh month is the Festival of Sukkot. The first and eighth days of the festival are full holy days. The intermediate days are semi-holy days. The eighth days is actually regarded as the independent festival of the Eighth Day of Assembly or Shmini Atzeret. The Torah is the source of the four agricultural species utilized on Sukkot. The palm and willow are explicitly mentioned; the myrtle and the citron are interpreted from the text. G-d commands the Israelites to dwell in the harvest huts, the sukkot, for the seven days of the holy period. The huts are said to be a reminder of Israel's migration in the wilderness.

G-d commands the Israelites to utilize pure olive oil for lighting the lamp of the sanctuary. This teaching is the source of the Eternal Light of the contemporary synagogue. The showbread is placed in two rows, each with six loaves. The showbread is offered every Sabbath as part of the covenant of G-d and Israel.

Leviticus re-turns to narrative. An Israelite of mixed background is guilty of blaspheming the name of G-d. His mother is an Israelite; his father an Egyptian. The blasphemer is stoned to death.

The Torah asserts capital punishment for murder. The famous law of talion is presented here. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." The law is presented as compensation and justice, not as revenge. In rabbinic Judaism, compensation is understood as monetary damages.

Justice underscores the moral code of the Torah. Whether the individual is Israelite or stranger, there is to be one law for all.