AZAMRA UNIVERSAL TORAH: EMOR By Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum
AZAMRA UNIVERSAL TORAH: EMOR By Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum UNIVERSAL TORAH: EMOR By Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum Torah Reading: Parshas EMOR, Leviticus 21:1-24:23 SAY TO THE PRIESTS As discussed in Universal Torah #20 TETZAVEH, the Torah conception of the priests and their relationship with the people is radically different from the conception of the priesthood in other traditions. The Cohen of the Torah does not absolve the Israelite of his obligation to forge his own personal relationship with G-d. The Cohen is not an intermediary who performs mysterious rituals that magically guarantee that all will be well for the ignorant worshipper who stands by watching. In many religions, the priests held or hold a monopoly on religious knowledge, often actually discouraging the pursuit of such knowledge by the masses, whose very ignorance i