Readings for Saturday, May 2, 2026, and Pirke Avot Chapter 4

Readings for Saturday, May 2, 2026

Emor (Say or Speak)

21:1-24:23 Vayikra (Leviticus)

Emor is the eighth sedrah in Vayikra (Leviticus).  The sedrah takes its name from the opening sentence “The Lord said unto Moshe:  Say (‘Emor’) unto the Kohanim, the sons of Aaron, and thou shalt say unto them.…”  The Hebrew word “Emor” maybe translated in English as “to say.”  The Hebrew root of the word “Emor” is composed of the letters Aleph, Mem, Raysh.  In its various forms, these letters mean, “to say.”  But they also can mean “to command,” “to promise,” “to think,” and “to intend.”  So when God tells Moshe “Emor,” He is telling him to “command” Aaron and his sons to follow certain laws.  But the sedrah also contains laws for all of the Israelites.  We are not to follow the laws blindly because we are commanded to obey them.  We should also “think” about them.  Even when we have not yet followed the law, we should “intend” to follow the law.  And we should always “promise” God and ourselves that we will strive to follow the law.

Emor should be read as a continuation of the Holiness Code that we started reading in the sedrah of Kedoshim.  Previously we have addressed the need for the Israelites to be holy, a concept that includes being separate.  Now the emphasis shifts to rules that make the Kohanim holy or separate.  If the Israelites are to be the exemplars of holiness for all the nations of the earth, then the Kohanim, their anointed leaders, need to be the exemplars of holiness for the Israelites.  As the editors of Etz Hayim point out, this sedrah reinforces the alternative name for Vayikra, which was Torat Kohanim or the Priestly Manual since much of it pertains to rules unique to the lives and ritual practices of the Kohanim.

The material covered in Emor may be divided into three parts:  Laws Directly Related to the Kohanim (21:1-22:33), The Holiday Calendar (23:1-44), and Daily Observance and Blasphemy (24:1-23).  Emor contains another sixty-three commandments.  Why not go through the list and see how many we can observe regardless of where you live?

Laws Directly Related to the Kohanim (21:1-22:33)

Chapter 21 includes a series of laws pertaining to the Kohanim in general and then to the Kohein Gadol in particular.  These laws address the need for ritual purity and the avoidance of contamination or the appearance of contamination.  Thus they include admonitions about staying away from corpses, definition of acceptable marriages and unacceptable physical characteristics for those offering sacrifices as well the sacrifices themselves.  Chapter 22 continues with the theme of the rights and responsibilities of the Kohanim and the need to safeguard the sanctity of the sacrificial system.  In addition to items that we have seen mentioned before, we read of the “Terumah” which the Stone Chumash defines as “the approximately one-fiftieth of a crop that is given to a Kohein.”  Previously we had read about rules concerning consumption of the sacrifices offered on the altar.  Now we read that these rules are extended to cover other offerings brought to the Kohanim.  While much of these two chapters may seem rather arcane, especially since the Sacrificial System stopped with the destruction of the Second Temple, the thirty-second Verse of chapter 22 provides one of the cornerstones of Judaism - Kiddush Ha-Shem or the Sanctification of the Name.  “And you shall not profane My holy name; but I shall be sanctified in the midst of the Children of Israel.”  (See Themes below for further commentary.)

The Holiday Calendar (23:1-44)

The holiday calendar appears four times in the Torah:  Shemot 34, Vayikra 23, Bamidbar 28-29 and Devarim 16.  Each rendering has a slightly different spin and may serve a slightly different purpose.  From an historic perspective, Shemot would be the first time the Israelites hear about all of the holidays.  The rendition in Vayikra might be a reminder to the Israelites and the Kohanim that observing the holidays is a key ingredient to being holy.  The rendering in Bamidbar includes a specific enumeration of the offerings brought for each holiday.  The re-statement in Devarim may be viewed as consistent with the summary nature of the fifth book of the Chumash.

Unlike the first two chapters of Emor where God tells Moshe to instruct Aaron and his sons, here God tells Moshe to speak to all of the Israelites.  In other words, the obligation to observe the holidays falls on each individual and not just on the priestly class.  By beginning with the statement “These are My fixed times…” God is letting us know that we are not to reschedule holiday observances to fit our convenience.  It is also sanctification for the calendar we follow today.  The list begins with Shabbat, which is the anchor of the Jewish people.  It then moves sequentially through the year beginning with Pesach, moving on to Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkoth and Shemini Atzeres.  The commands surrounding the Omer fall between the description of the observance of Pesach and Shavuot.  Unlike other holidays, Shavuot is actually not assigned a date on the calendar.  Rather its observance is to come after counting the Omer for seven weeks.  Hence its name, the Festival of Weeks.  The holiday we call Rosh Hashanah (the New Year) is mentioned but not by that name.  Instead, the holiday that falls on the first day of the seventh month is described as a day of remembrance.  The description of Yom Kippur differs in tone from what we read previously in the sedrah of Acharay Mot.  In Emor, the emphasis is on the role of the individual in observing this day of affliction rather than the role of the Kohanim.  The calendar concludes with Sukkoth and Shemini Atzeres (the Eighth Day of Assembly).  Here we find the commands concerning the Lulav and the Etrog.  We also find the command to dwell in booths, but the real reason for doing this has been lost in the haze of history.

Daily Observance and Blasphemy (24:1-23)

Some commentators view this chapter as a pastiche of unconnected laws and events.  But consider this alternative interpretation.  The first part of the chapter deals with the Menorah (24:1-4) and the Showbread (24:9-5).  The Stone Chumash says that having dealt with special observances in the previous chapter, the Torah now turns to matters of daily spirituality - the on-going kindling of the lamp and the continuing preparation of the “lechem hapanim” or “bread of display.”  So what do these two commands have to do with the story of the blasphemer that follows (24:10-23)?  The act of blasphemy mentioned in Emor follows an ordinary daily event, a fight between men over some supposed but unmentioned insult (think of it as an ancient form of Road Rage).  This mundane event escalates into a level of anger where somebody improperly invokes God’s name, which is a crime punishable by death.  In other words, daily events can elevate us (proper observance of the commands about the Menorah and the Showbread) or they can degrade us (losing control of our emotions to such a degree that we end speaking the unspeakable).  Being holy is a daily event, not just behavior for a few red-letter days on the calendar.

Themes

Commandments

263-264.            The prohibition against a Kohein (priest) making himself ritually unclean by coming into contact with a corpse, except upon the death of very close relatives, in which case he is commanded to defile himself (21:1-3).

265.                  The requirement that a priest who becomes defiled during the day and who undergoes ritual immersion not serve at the sanctuary until the evening (21:6).

266.                  The prohibition of a priest marrying a harlot (21:7).

267.                  The prohibition of a priest marrying the child of a priest whom entered into a forbidden marriage (21:7).

268.                  The prohibition against a priest marrying a divorcee (21:7).

269.                  The obligation of ordinary Jews to treat Kohanim as holy (21:8).

270.                        The prohibition against the Kohein Gadol (High Priest) entering a place containing a corpse (21:11).

271.                  The prohibition against the Kohein Gadol defiling himself for any corpse including those of his closest relatives (21:11).

272.                  The commandment that the High Priest marry only a virgin (21:13).

273.                  The prohibition against the High Priest marrying a widow (21:14).

274.                  The prohibition against the High Priest having relations with a widow (21:14).

275.                  The prohibition against a priest with a permanent physical blemish serving at the sanctuary (21:17-20).

276.                  The prohibition against a priest with a temporary physical blemish serving at the sanctuary (21:17-20).

277.                  The prohibition against a priest with a physical blemish entering those areas of the sanctuary restricted to priest (21:13).

278.                  The prohibition against a ritually unclean priest carrying out priestly functions (22:2).

279.                  The prohibition against a ritually unclean priest eating “trumah” (22:4).

280.                  The prohibition against a non-priest eating “trumah” (22:10).

281.                  The prohibition against a priest’s Hebrew servant eating “trumah” (22:10).

282.                  The prohibition against an uncircumcised person eating “trumah” (22:10).

283.                  The prohibition against a daughter of a priest who is married to a non-priest eating “trumah” (22:12).

284.                        The prohibition against Israelites eating “tevel” - produced from which the part to be given the priest has not been deducted (22:15).

285.                        The prohibition against a blemished animal being offered as a sacrifice (22:20-21).

286.                        The requirement that, to be sacrificed, an animal must be without disfigurement (22:20-21).

287.                        The prohibition against disfiguring an animal that has been consecrated to be sacrificed (22:21).

288.                        The prohibition against sprinkling the blood of blemished animals on the altar (22:22).

289.                        The prohibition against ritually slaughtering a defective animal for an offering (22:22).

290.                        The prohibition against burning the forbidden parts of blemished animals on the altar (22:22).

291.                        The prohibition against castrating an animal (22:24).

292.                        The prohibition against offering a defective animal brought by a non-Israelite to the sanctuary (22:25).

293.                        The requirement that a sacrificed animal be at least eight days old (22:27).

294.                        The prohibition against slaughtering an animal and its young on the same day (22:28).

295.                        The prohibition against profaning God’s name (22:32).

296.                        The commandment to sanctify God’s name (22:32).

297.                        The obligation to sanctify the first day of Pesach (23:7).

298.                        The prohibition against doing work on the first day of Pesach (23:7).

299.                        The commandment to bring a “Musaf” (additional) offering on each of the seven days of Pesach (23:8).

300.                        The obligation to sanctify the seventh day of Pesach (23:8).

301.                        The obligation against doing work on the seventh day of Pesach (23:8).

302.                        The commandment to bring the priest an omer from one’s new barley harvest on the second day of Pesach (23:10-11).

303-304-305.       The prohibitions against eating cereal grain, roasted grain, or fresh grain until they are brought as an offering (23:14).

306.                        The commandment to count the omer, here meaning the forty-nine days between Pesach and Shavuot (23:15).

307.                        The obligation to make a meal offering of two loaves of bread baked from new wheat on the holiday of Shavuot (23:15).

308.                        The commandment to observe Shavuot as a sacred day (23:21).

309.                        The prohibition against working on Shavuot (23:21).

310.                        The obligation to observe Rosh Hashanah as a day of solemn rest (23:24-25).

311.                        The prohibition against working on Rosh Hashanah (23:24-25).

312.                        The commandment to make a Musaf offering on Rosh Hashanah (23:25).

313.                        The obligation to fast on the tenth day of Tishrei, Yom Kippur (23:27).

314.                        The commandment to make a Musaf offering on Yom Kippur (23:27).

315.                        The prohibition against working on Yom Kippur (23:28-29).

316.                        The commandment to afflict oneself on Yom Kippur (23:28-29).

317.                        The commandment to make Yom Kippur a solemn day (23:28-29).

318.                        The commandment to sanctify the first day of Sukkoth (23:34-35).

319.                        The prohibition against working on the first day of Sukkoth (23:34-35).

320.                        The obligation to bring a Musaf offering on Sukkoth (23:36).

321.                        The commandment to rest from work on Shemini Atzeret (23:36).

322.                        The commandment to bring a Musaf offering on Shemini Atzeret (23:36).

323.                        The prohibition against working on Shemini Atzeret (23:36).

324.                        The specifications of the four species which are to be raised and blessed during Sukkoth (23:40).

325.                        The commandment to dwell in a “Sukkah” (booth) for seven days (23:42-43).

Biblical Literacy by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin (edits by the author of this guide)

Kiddush Ha-Shem (22:32)

Kiddush Ha-Shem means Sanctification of the Name.  The term “the Name” refers to God.  Kiddush Ha-Shem has come to be connected with martyrs - those Jews who accept death rather forsake the name of God.  But Kiddush Ha-Shem means much more than that.  It means living your life in such a way that observance of the commandments is seen as spiritually elevating.  Consider this in the context of the discussion we have been having about being holy.  At the same time, Vayikra (22:32) begins with the admonition “You shall not desecrate My holy Name.…”  Desecration of the Name is the opposite of the Sanctification of the Name.  As can be seen from Vayikra (22:31), at the least Desecration means failure to observe and perform the commandments.  But we can also Desecrate the Name if we appear to follow the commandments, but lead our lives in such a way that others turn away from God because of our poor example.  Why does the command to not desecrate come before the command to sanctify?  Could it be an acknowledgement that some people may not be able to get it right, but everybody should be able to avoid getting it wrong?

Omer (23:15)

The command reads, “You shall count for yourselves.…”  This gives rise to the custom in which you are now participating, the Counting of the Omer.  The practice is also referred to “s’firah” which is the Hebrew word for counting.  You do not need a Priest, Rabbi or other official.  You do not need a minyan.  Each Jew can count the Omer by following the simple formula in the prayer book.  See how easy it is to obey a commandment.  The Omer ceremony of ancient times is an example of how something is made holy.  Harvesting, especially when it was a totally manual operation, is one of the most mundane activities imaginable.  In creating the Daily Omer Offering, the Israelites turned a dirty, backbreaking necessity into an event infused with Godliness. There is a controversy as to when to begin counting the Omer.  The text says that the counting is to begin “on the day after the sabbath” (23:11).  In Hebrew the verse uses the term “Shabbat.”  It is only in the English translation that the word is spelled with a lower case “s” to distinguish the term from the Sabbath, the Day of Rest or the Seventh Day of the week.  Some Jews have taken the text literally and count the Omer from the Shabbat that falls during or at the end of Pesach (on Sunday in modern terms) and not on the evening of the second day of the festival.  The origins of this controversy are shrouded in the mists of history since we lack many of the writings of the proponents of the alternative observance.  For more on this and the meaning of the Omer in general you might want to read pages 199 through 205 of Torah Studies, a collection of commentaries by the late Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

Holidays

Obviously we have added to the list - Simchat Torah, Chanukah and Purim being the three most obvious additions.  Rosh Hashanah is described as a Day of Remembrance, but what are we to remember?  On the first day of the seventh month we are to remember our behavior from the past year so that on the tenth day of the month you will know why you are atoning.  All of the holidays call for a cessation from labor but that does not mean the same thing on each holiday.  The rules for permitted work are less stringent on the Festivals than they are for Shabbat and Yom Kippur.  For example you may cook and carry on the Pilgrimage Festivals.  You may not perform these tasks on Yom Kippur or Shabbat.  It would appear that each holiday required a Musaf or additional sacrifice, which is the reason for the Musaf or Additional Service that is part of the Morning Shabbat and Festival Services in Orthodox and Conservative Synagogues.  Of course, we will continue to discuss each holiday in detail as it arises on the calendar.  In the meantime, you might want to read pages 919 through 926 of the Plaut Chumash for a well-written summary of the Jewish Festival Calendar described in this sedrah including a section on the controversy concerning the Counting of the Omer.

Social Justice

In the welter of laws about the holidays, we find a command to leave the corners of the field unharvested and not to pick up the “gleanings of your harvest” (23:22).  These are for the poor and the stranger.  Once again, we see that from the earliest days of the Torah, being holy was a combination of proper ritual combined with proper behavior.  The festivals were observed with sacrifices but with caring for the less fortunate as well.  (We will discuss the particular command in more detail when we study Shavuot in a couple of weeks).

Every Shabbat

In talking about the Sabbath observances the text says, “B’yom Ha-Shabbat, B’yom Ha-Shabbat…or in English, “On the Sabbath Day, On the Sabbath Day” (28:8).  Why not just “On the Sabbath” once?  By repeating the term, the Torah is telling us to observe the ritual, including the lighting of the candles, on each and every Sabbath.

Death

The sedrah contains many references to the dead and dead bodies.  One of the highest levels of mitzvoth are those for which there is no reward.  In Hebrew, they are called “Chesed shel Emet.”  You might remember that “Chesed” (Kindness) and “Emet” (Truth) are two of the Thirteen Attributes of God you read about in Shemot 34:6-7.  (Do you see how all of this studying starts to get interconnected after a while?  Fun, isn’t it!?)  Any way, taking the dead to the cemetery is considered “Chesed shel Emet” since the dead cannot repay you.  Also, there is mitzvah called “Met Mitzvah.”  “Met” is translated as corpse or dead.  “Met Mitzvah” refers to taking care of the burial needs of a person who dies without family.  As part of the daily Shacharit service we recite a section of the Talmud that lists things that we are to “enjoy” doing while awaiting our portion in the “World to Come.”  The list includes obvious sources of pleasure including giving hospitality to guests, studying and providing for a bride.  But it also includes “escorting the dead.”  In God’s scheme, we each play a role.  The Kohanim are critical when it comes to the mitzvoth of the Temple.  But, under most circumstances, it is left to the ordinary Jew to perform “Met Mitzvah” and one of the ultimate forms of “Chesed shel Emet,” caring for the dead.

Disqualifying the Blemished

God forbids the bringing of a blemished animal as a sacrifice (22:17-25).  God also forbids a Kohein with a blemish from offering a sacrifice (21:16-24).  The same Hebrew word, “moom”, is used when speaking of the blemished sacrifice or the blemished one offering the sacrifice.  The reasons for forbidding the use of blemished animals for a sacrifice are almost self-evident.  But why the prohibition against the blemished priest, especially when you look at the description of the blemishes?  There are those who say the prohibition existed so that the people would not be distracted from the sanctity of the sacrifice by staring at the blemished priest.  I do not find this a very satisfactory answer and find the command inconsistent with what we have read in the Torah.  We know from the prohibition about putting a stumbling block in front of the blind, that God wants us to care for those with handicaps.  And Moshe’s speech impediment certainly did not disqualify him from leading us out of slavery or receiving the very law that disqualifies the blemished priest.  Unless you have a found a better explanation, this might just be a “Chukat” which Elijah or the Moshiach will be able to explain.

Contradictions and Confusion

In “Choice and Lineage,” Nessa Raporport’s D’var Torah on Emor we are reminded of just how contradictory and confusing the portion can be for many of us.  It begins with the harsh, strict rules for the Kohanim.  The reading then shifts to the joyful cadence of the holiday calendar.  And then, just as abruptly, the reading shifts again and ends with the stoning of the blasphemer.  The blasphemer who dies so violently has an Egyptian father and an Israelite mother.  The mother’s name is Shlomit, which is a form of the Hebrew for “wholeness” and “peace.”  What does all of this mean?  For once, I will take refuge in the words of Rashi, “of this I do not know.”

Priestly Purity

This week’s reading with its list of acceptable characteristics for the Kohanim including permissible marriages reminds again of the importance that God placed on the purity of the Priestly class.  The priests were entrusted with the performance of the sacrifices which for our ancestors was the key to making expiation for our sins so of course they would have to be pure in the truest sense of the word.  As uncomfortable as it may be for us to admit, the Jewish people lost the Temple long before the Romans sacked it in 70 AD.  For decades prior to that event, the Priestly class had been compromised by Jewish leaders more concerned with conquest and grandeur than following the words in Leviticus in which God not only describes the qualifications for priestly acceptability but also says that He wants us to be “a nation of Priests.”  This should serve as a reminder that there is more to being Jewish than holding on to territory or participating in ritual that is unacceptable because it lacks the underlying level of morality.

Haftarah

44:15-31 Ezekiel

The Man:  Ezekiel is one of the Three Major Literary Prophets; the other two being Isaiah and Jeremiah.  Ezekiel lived in the last days of the First Temple and was among those exiled to Babylonia.  He probably was sent to Babylonia with the first wave of exiles about ten years before the actual destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem.  He is a younger contemporary of Jeremiah, who also lived during the last days of the First Temple.  (I have not been able to find a record of the two of them ever having met.  Maybe one of you has come across such a mention in your studies.)  The Book of Ezekiel is comprised of forty-eight chapters, half of which were written before the destruction of the Temple and half of which were written after the destruction of the Temple.  You have already read several summaries about Ezekiel since his writings provide at least ten of the haftarot during the course of the year.

The Message:  This week’s haftarah comes from the second half of the book which means it was written once the prophet was living in Babylonia.  In an amazing act of specificity, the commentators for Etz Hayim report that this was written “in the beginning of year 572 B.C.E., fourteen years after the fall of Jerusalem.”  These sixteen verses are a small portion of Ezekiel’s grand design for the new Temple, which is to be built at some future date.  They describe the role of the Kohanim including matters of lineage, attire and ritual practices.  There are discrepancies between Ezekiel’s Temple and the practices described in the Torah concerning the First Temple.  Some of the sages did not want to include Ezekiel’s writings in the TaNaCh because they seemed to contradict the Torah.  At the same time, Ezekiel’s writings concerning a future Temple were not consistent with the reality of the Second Temple built after the Babylonian Exile.  This could have made him a “false prophet.”  The inconsistencies between Ezekiel’s writings about the Temple and the realities of the First and Second Temple led other commentators to conclude that Ezekiel was really writing about the Temple that would be built at the time of the coming of the Moshiach.  This interpretation kept Ezekiel in the TaNaCh because it explained away inconsistencies with the Torah and any claim that he was a false prophet since the future he described had not yet come to pass.

Theme-link:  The first part of the Sedrah deals with the rules pertaining to the Kohanim.  The haftarah contains a shortened version of rules pertaining to the roles and practices of the Kohanim

Pirke Avot - (Sayings of the Fathers) is a collection of sayings, teachings, and ethical maxims.  A popular and eminently quotable work, it is one of the sixty-three tractates of the Mishnah.  The Mishnah, consisting of centuries of oral teachings passed down from one generation to the next, was finally codified by Rabbi Yehudah Ha-Nasi in 200 C.E.  Pirke Avot is unique among the tractates of the Mishnah in that it doesn't contain any halachah (law), only aggadah (stories or legends).  Its popularity is reflected in the fact that it is included in most prayer books (including, in part, in Gates of Prayer).

Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut one of the great teachers of the Reform Movement suggests that Pirke Avot "teaches us the essentials of what life might be at its best."  It deals with some of life's most basic and important questions:  What is our purpose and destiny?  What is sin, and how do we conquer it?  What is wisdom?  What is my relationship to God?  Pirke Avot is divided into chapters, and each chapter is further divided into individual statements, each called a Mishnah.  It is customary to study a chapter of Pirke Avot starting with the first Shabbat after the end of Pesach (Passover).  Since Pirke Avot consists of six chapters, the work may be completed by the start of Shavuot.  However, other groups of Jews follow a cycle where they study and re-study each of the chapters until the last Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah.  Regardless of the format you choose, each week the Torah page will include one verse from the chapter of the week with a few comments from a variety of sources.)

Excerpts from Chapter 4

4:3 “He would say:  ‘Be not scornful of any person and be not dismissive of anything; for there is no person who does not have his hour and there is no thing that does not have its place.’”

This is a teaching in humility and modesty.  Since every person and everything is created by God, then there is nothing that is not without value.  If we do not see its value, then we must look again and again and again until we do.  Of course, this is consistent with the motif for study – look at each text over and over again to make sure that you capture all of the meaning.  The “He” is Ben Azzai or more accurately, Shimon ben Azzai, who lived during the second century.  He was a younger contemporary of Rabbi Akiva and is variously reported to have been engaged to or married to Akiva’s daughter.  According to those who believe the former, Azzai was criticized for not marrying to which he responded that he was too overwhelmed by his love of Torah to seek a wife.  According to those who believe the latter, Akiva’s daughter sent her husband away so that he could increase his study.  Like mother like daughter.  Unlike some of his contemporaries, Azzai believed women should be taught Torah.  “A man is required to teach his daughter Torah.”  Ben Azzai met a tragic end when his studies in mysticism led to an untimely death.  According to some, he was scholar who ensured that Ecclesiastes and the Song of Songs would be included in the TaNaCh.  He is the one who said, “The reward of virtue is virtue and the wages of sin is sin.”  He also believed that the fifth chapter of Bereshit was “of fundamental importance” because it taught that all men were united because they were made in the image of God and that all men had value because they had a soul given to them by God.  The statement quoted above serves to reinforce his belief that everything and every person has value and importance.  We have all heard the line about “For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.  For want of shoe the horse was lost.  For want of a horse, the kingdom was lost.”  And most of us know the story of the humble Jew whose recitation of the alphabet opened the gates of prayer for all the Jews on Yom Kippur. It is easy to be a snob.  The trick is to find the value in each person and to value each person just for his or her humanity.

4:11 Rabbi Jonathan said:  “Whoever fulfills the Torah despite poverty, will ultimately fulfill it in wealth; but whoever neglects the Torah because of wealth, will ultimately neglect it in poverty.” Rabbi Jonathan or Yonatan in Hebrew is the epitome of the humble spirit mentioned by Rabbi Meir.  We have no reliable biographic information about Yonatan, yet his colleagues thought enough of him to include his teaching in this Mishnah.

4:12 Rabbi Meir said:  “Reduce your business activities and engage in Torah study.  Be of humble spirit before every person.  If you should neglect the study of Torah, you will come upon many excuses to neglect it; but if you labor in the Torah, God has ample reward to give you.”  Contrary to the popular stereotype, business is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.  This pair of sayings serves as pithy reminders that study of Torah is the “business” of the Jew but studying Torah is not a commercial enterprise nor is it a substitute for earning a living Rabbi Meir was a well-known sage, one of the most famous disciples of Rabbi Akiva.  His compilations of Rabbi Akiva’s teachings was a major step in the creation of the Mishnah and therefore of the Talmud.

4:14 Rabbi Yochanan ha-Sandelar said:  “Every assembly that is dedicated to the sake of Heaven will have an enduring effect, but one that is not for the sake of Heaven will not have an enduring effect.”  Yochanan ha-Sandelar was a student of Rabbi Akiva.  He lived during the Bar Kochba rebellion.  According to some, he was trying to encourage the Jewish people after the defeat by the Romans.  Since the rebellion was done in the name of God, ultimately the Jewish people would triumph.  The real reason for including this particular verse is because of the teacher to whom it is attributed, Yochanan ha-Sandelar, which translates at Yochanan the Sandal Maker.  In other words, he was a common shoemaker.  The sages were not paid clergy.  They were not cloistered in some Ivory Tower.  For the most part they worked for a living.  This helped make their wisdom both pithy and useful.  In addition to which, it should remind us that if men who labored from dawn to dusk at often menial jobs could find time to study maybe we could too.

Copyright, May 2026; Mitchell A. Levin

 

 

Readings for Saturday, April 25, 2026 and Pirke Avot Chapter 3

Readings for Saturday, April 25, 2026

(Editor’s Note: Because 5783 is not a leap year, this week we read two portions – Acharay Mot and Kedoshim)

Acharay Mot (After the death)

16:1-18:30 Vayikra (Leviticus)

The sedrah takes its name from a reference to the deaths of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu that we read about in chapter 10 of Vayikra (Leviticus).  “The Lord spoke to Moshe after the death (“Acharay Mot”) of the two sons of Aaron who died when they drew too close to the presence of the Lord.”  This explication will follow the scheme of Etz Hayim in which each of the three chapters that make up Acharay Mot is seen as dealing with a separate issue.

Chapter 16 - Yom Kippur

The sedrah describes the elaborate rituals surrounding Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  The rituals begin with the Kohein making atonement for his own sins and for those of his household.  This is followed by the ceremony of the goats where one goat is selected for God and the other for Azazel or Scapegoat.  The chapter ends with what the editors of the Stone Chumash call the “Eternal Commandment of Yom Kippur.”

Chapter 17 - Holiness Code

This marks the start of what some call the Holiness Code.  It will run through chapter 26 of Vayikra, which is the last chapter of the third book of the Torah.  As can be seen from the wording of 17:2, the rules that follow apply to the whole House of Israel, not just to Aaron and the Priestly Class.  This chapter contains a series of commandments (see Themes below) concerning proper ritual behavior outside of the Tabernacle.  Once again, we see strong emphasis on the prohibition against consuming blood.

Chapter 18 - Definition and Protection of the Family

This chapter contains a rather lengthy list of prohibited sexual relations (see Themes below).  Why does God prohibit these incestuous relationships?  Why does God prohibit sodomy and bestiality?  Why does He order us to avoid the practices related to Molech?  This is part of God’s plan to make us separate from other nations.  He tells us in 18:3 that we are not to be like the Egyptians among whom we have lived.  Nor are we to be like the inhabitants of Canaan, the land to which we are going.  As He says in 18:4, we are His people, which mean we follow His laws.  We may not like the laws.  We may not understand the laws.  But at least this time we know the reason for the laws.

Themes

Commandments

184.       The commandment that priests should enter the inner sanctuary only when it is necessary for them to do so (16:2-3).

185.       The specification of the Temple rituals to be performed by the High Priest on Yom Kippur (16:3ff.).

186.       The prohibition against offering a sacrifice outside the sanctuary (17:3-4).

187.       The commandment to cover the blood of a permissible wild animal or fowl after it has been slaughtered (17:13).

188.       The general prohibition against incest (18:6).

189.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with one’s father (18:7).

190.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with one’s mother (18:7).

191.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with your father’s wife, even if she is not your mother (18:8).

192.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with one’s full or half-sister.

193.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with granddaughters born of one’s son (18:10).

194.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with granddaughters born of one’s daughter (18:10).

195.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a daughter (18:6).

196.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a half-sister (18:11).

197.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a paternal aunt (18:12-13).

198.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a maternal aunt (18:12-13).

199.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with an uncle (18:14).

200.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with an aunt through marriage.

201.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a daughter-in-law (18:15).

202.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with sister-in-law (18:16).

203.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a woman and her daughter (18:17).

204.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a woman and her paternal granddaughter (18:17).

205.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a woman and her maternal granddaughter (18:17).

206.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with two sisters while both are alive and if the man is married to one of them (18:18).

207.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual period (18:19).

208.       The prohibition against sacrificing one’s child to the idol known as Moloch (18:21).

209.       Prohibition of male homosexuality (18:22).

210.       Prohibition of male bestiality (18:23).

211.       Prohibition of female bestiality (18:23).

From Biblical Literacy by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

Yom Kippur

Obviously, our concept of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, has grown and developed since the words of Vayikra 16:1-34 were written.  We will discuss the holiday in greater detail again next fall when we celebrate it.  However, the core of Yom Kippur is found in this sedrah.  Yom Kippur is to be observed for all times on the tenth day of the seventh month.  It is to be a day of complete rest and complete self-denial.  It is an annual Day of Atonement for sins that have been committed.  Aaron’s need to offer sacrifices of atonement for himself and his household probably provide the origin of the confessional apology offered by the Rabbi and Cantor before they begin the Kol Nidre Service on Yom Kippur.

Acharay Mot

Why begin the sedrah with a reminder of the death of Aaron’s two sons?  There can be several reasons.  One is that God wants to impress upon Aaron the importance of following the rituals exactly as outlined.  Failure to do so could lead Aaron to the same fate as his sons.  Another may be that God wanted to remind Aaron to make sure that he had a way back from the spiritual ecstasy that he would experience during the Yom Kippur rituals.  According to some commentators, the sons perished because they sought to reach God at a level of spiritual ecstasy without any thought of maintaining contact with the world of man - the world in which they had responsibilities as Kohanim.  While the Jew may reach toward God, he is not to forget the work that he is to do in the world, which is to help make it a Godly or holy place.

Acharay Mot II

According to Rabbi Jonathan Blass, Nadab and Abihu, the two sons of Aaron, were slain because they represented an old style of Israelite religious practice and they were incapable of adjusting to the new regime.  Prior to the giving of the law, people were free to sacrifice in any place of their choosing; or in modern parlance wherever and whenever the spirit moved them.  Under the law, the people were to bring sacrifices to the Mishkan.  Sacrifices were now a part of a social and moral system that acknowledged the supremacy of the Lord and His ways.  In other words, Nadab and Abihu were stressing the “spontaneous aspect of worship, preferring it to a fixed routing of Tabernacle service dictated from above.”  The problem with sacrifices brought based on human impulse is that they are just that, the product of human impulse.  In other words, they individual is the central figure, not God.  In addition to which, religious observance based on human impulse relies on a level of emotionalism that is not sustainable.

Blood

“And if anyone of the house of Israel…partakes of any blood, I will set My face against the person who partakes of the blood” (17:10).  This is not the first or the last time that we are commanded not to consume blood.  Kosher meat does not contain blood.  After being properly slaughtered the meat is salted and soaked to ensure that the blood is removed.  Beef or calves liver must be broiled if it is to be considered kosher.

Sexual Orientation

“Do not lie with a male as one lies with a woman; it is an abhorrence” (18:22).  This prohibition concerning homosexual behavior was later enlarged to include lesbian relations.  According to some this prohibition really was part of Torah’s anti-idolatry stance.  Homosexual practices were tied to certain idolatrous cults and one of the themes of the Torah is that whatever idolaters do, we do the opposite or at least refrain from doing ourselves.  Both Reform and Conservative Judaism welcome all Jews regardless of sexual orientation.

Assimilation

“You shall not copy the practices of the land of Egypt…or of the land of Canaan…nor shall you follow their laws.  My rules alone shall you observe, and faithfully follow my laws…” (18:3-4).  Assimilation is the great challenge for the Jew.  These verses have provided several different interpretations.  There are those commentators who take them literally and say that God was only talking about Egypt and Canaan.  There are those who view the mention of these two nations as a metaphor.  To them these words are a clarion call to avoid any contact with learning that is not Jewish.  And then there is the middle ground, which allows us to learn from the civilizations in which we live so long as those teachings do not compromise our Judaism.  There are those who would say that American Jews in the middle of the twentieth century went too far in their zeal to become Americanized.  Recently we have seen reaching out for more tradition or the updating of those traditions to ensure that our lives are rich as both Americans and as Jews.

The Land of Israel

“For all those abhorrent things were done by the people who were in the land before you, and they became defiled.  So let not the land spew you out for defiling it, as it spewed out the nation that came before you” (18:27-28).  This sedrah reminds of the uniqueness of the Promised Land.  Nations outside of the land of Canaan sinned in the same manner, as did the Canaanites.  But those people were not exiled.  What may be tolerable in other places will not be allowed in what is supposed to be a Holy Land.  According to some interpreters of these verses, the ultimate punishment is not death, but exile from the land.  To be in exile from the land is thought to be a form of exile from God.

Quick Quiz

1.             What is the origin of the English Term “scapegoat?”  In Leviticus 16:22, the Torah describes the goat on which all the sins of the Israelites were placed.  The scapegoat is the innocent individual on whom unfair blame is placed for myriad of individual or social ills.

2.             What two offenses carried the punishment of being “cut off from one’s people?”  According to Leviticus 17:8-10, sacrificing at a place other than the Mishkan and the eating of blood would be punished in the manner.  Note that being cut off from the house of Israel, what we call excommunication or ostracism, was seen as a severe punishment - a form of spiritual and social death that could be more painful than capital punishment.

3.             What reason does God give for driving out the current inhabitants of the Promised Land?  According to Leviticus 18:24, the Canaanites would lose possession of their land because of their sexual excesses.

(Questions inspired by Nelson’s Amazing Bible Trivia)

Kedoshim (Holy)

19:1-20:27 Vayikra (Leviticus)

Kedoshim is certainly the best sedrah in Vayikra (Leviticus) and some say in the entire Torah.  It contains sixty-one commandments, all of which are listed under Themes below.  There are so many of them and so many of them are so rich in meaning that there will be no attempt to discuss them all.  Some commentators consider that Chapter 19 stands alone as the Holiness Code.  Regardless, Chapter 19 includes a restatement of the Ten Commandments although not in the order found in Shemot or Devarim.  It also contains the first statement of what is now called the Golden Rule (19:18).  The Sedrah takes its name from the opening words, “You shall be holy (“Kedoshim tihyu”), for I, the Lord your God, am Holy.”

Chapter 19 - Holiness Code

Restatement of the Ten Commandments (Plaut)

1.             I the Lord am your God (v. 4,end);

2.             You shall have no other gods (v. 4, beginning);

3.             You shall not swear falsely (v. 12);

4.             Remember the Sabbath (v. 3);

5.             Honor your father and your mother (v. 3);

6.             You shall not murder (v. 16);

7.             You shall not commit adultery (v. 29);

8.             You shall not steal (v. 11);

9.             You shall not bear false witness (v. 16);

10.         You shall not covet (v.18).

As you can see from the list above, the commandments cover a wide range of human emotions and needs from the mundane to the most noble.  And just in case anything specific was left out, the injunctions to not deal deceitfully or falsely with each other covers all of the bases.  This chapter is very popular with a significant segment of American Jewry because it deals with a whole host of what are popularly called Social Justice Issues.  Responding to these issues has been one of the way that many American Jews express their belief in Judaism and make it a living, vital part of their existence.

It includes everything from rules about paying workers on time to using honest weights and measures to providing for the needs of the less fortunate.  In fact, the origin of much of what we call modern social welfare legislation can be found in this chapter.  For example:

·         Americans with Disabilities Act - Do not put a stumbling block before the blind.

·         Fair Labor Standards Act - Do not hold the wages of the hired man overnight.

·         Bureau of Standards - You shall have an honest balance, honest weights, etc.

·         Welfare Reform creating Workfare Programs - Leaving the corners of your fields, etc. for the poor.  In other words, the needs of the poor were to be cared for, but the poor were to be workers not beggars.

Chapter 20 - Punishment

The Stone Chumash takes the view that this chapter contains the punishments for violating many of the laws given in chapters 18 and 19 of Vayikra.  The sedrah would seem to be reinforcing the notion that there is a connection between what was considered sexual degeneracy and idolatry.  We have said repeatedly that many practices were forbidden to the Israelites because they corresponded to pagan rituals.  In 20:24, we are told why should obey all of these laws.  The Jew is different not because he wants to be different but because God has commanded him to be different, “I the Lord am your God who has set you apart from other peoples.”  And just as the sedrah begins with the term “holy,” its penultimate statement returns to the same term, “You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy and I have set you apart from other peoples to be Mine” (20:26).

Themes

Commandments

212.        To have reverence for one’s parents (19:3).

213.        Prohibition against turning to idol worship (19:4).

214.        Prohibition against making an idol (19:4).

215.        Prohibition against eating meat of a sacrificed animal on the third day after the sacrifice was brought (19:5-8).

216.        Prohibition against reaping to the very end of one’s field (19:9-10).

217.        Instead, one must leave a portion of one’s harvest for the poor and the stranger (19:9-10).

218.        Prohibition against gathering the gleanings (19:9-10).

219.        Instead, they are to be left for the poor (19:9-10).

220.        Prohibition against reaping all the fruit of one’s vineyard (19:10).

221.        Instead, one must leave part of the vineyard unreaped, and available for the poor (19:10).

222.        Prohibition against gathering the fallen fruit of one’s vineyard (19:10).

223.        Instead, the fallen produce should be left for the poor and the stranger (19:10).

224.        The prohibition against theft (19:11).

225.        The prohibition against acting deceitfully (19:11).

226.        The prohibition against taking an oath over a false denial (19:12).

227.        The prohibition against taking any other kind of false oath (19:12).

228.        The prohibition against cheating another person (19:13).

229.        The prohibition of robbery (19:13).

230.        The prohibition against delaying payment to a day laborer (19:13).

231.        The prohibition against cursing the deaf (19:14).

232.        The prohibition against tripping the blind (19:14).

233.        Directive to judges not to pervert justice (19:15).

234.        Directive to judges not to favor an eminent person (19:15).

235.        Directive to judges to render fair judgments (19:15).

236.        The prohibition against spreading malicious gossip (19:16).

237.        The obligation to defend victims of violence or any person whose life otherwise is in danger (19:16).

238.        The prohibition against nurturing a silent hatred against another (19:17).

239.        – 240. The obligation to rebuke, but not shame, a person who is behaving wrongly.

241.        The prohibition against taking revenge (19:18).

242.        The prohibition against bearing a grudge (19:18).

243.        The Commandment to love one’s fellow human being “as yourself” (19:18).

244.        The prohibition against mating animals of different species (19:19).

245.        The prohibition against sowing together different kinds of seed (19:19).

246.        The prohibition against eating a fruit tree’s produce during its first three years (19:23).

247.        The obligation to set aside as sacred the fruit of the fourth year (19:24).

248.        The prohibition against eating blood (19:26).

249.        The prohibition against practicing divination (19:26).

250.        The prohibition against soothsaying (19:26).

251.        The prohibition against a man shaving the hair from his temples (19:27).

252.        The prohibition against a man shaving the hair from the corners of his beard (19:27).

253.        The prohibition against tattooing oneself (19:28).

254.        The obligation to show respect for the sanctuary (19:30).

255.        The prohibition against acting as a medium (19:31).

256.        The prohibition against acting as a wizard (19:31).

257.        The obligation to show respect to the elderly (19:32).

258.        The prohibitions against using dishonest weights (19:35).

259.        The obligation to use honest weights (19:35).

260.        The prohibition against cursing one’s parents (20:9).

261.        The obligation to execute one convicted of marrying a woman and her mother (as well as the two women) (20:14).

262.        The prohibition against following the customs practiced by the idolatrous nations living in Canaan in biblical times (20:23).

From Biblical Literacy by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin 

Thou Shalt Not Steal

We read this injunction as part of the Decalogue (Shemot 20:13) and as part of the Holiness Code (Vayikra 19:11).  In Shemot the command is written in the singular and is interpreted to be a prohibition against kidnapping.  In Vayikra it is written in the plural and is interpreted to mean stealing goods or objects.

Stumbling Blocks

The command against putting a stumbling block before the blind (19:13) goes beyond the obvious of somebody with a visual impairment.  The command also means that you are not allowed to take advantage of somebody’s ignorance.  Full disclosure is the rule of the day.  The concept of Let the Buyer Beware is not part of Jewish ethical behavior (i.e., slick business dealings are not holy).

Fairness

“Do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich.”  Both halves of this injunction would seem to be in jeopardy today.  There are those wits that talk about the Golden Rule - he who has the gold makes the rules.  At the same time, there are those who use the lack of material wealth as an excuse for a variety of criminal and/or depraved behavior.  As Jews, our Torah tells us that favoritism based on either consideration moves away from a just society and away from God.

Mothers and Fathers

The Decalogue and the Holiness Code call upon us to honor or revere our mothers and fathers.  (Note - it does not say parents.  This would indicate that in Judaism a child specifically gets a mother and a father).  Children may disobey their mothers or fathers if they command them to do something in violation of the Torah.  As we can see from the daily recitation of the Shema and the commandments about Pesach, mothers and fathers have an obligation to train and teach their children.  It is not a one-way street.

The Golden Rule

The so-called Golden Rule is found in the Torah.  “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (19:18).  Do not feel bad if you thought it originated elsewhere.  No less a scholar than the English philosopher John Stuart Mill did not know it was in the Torah.  There are those who contend that the law as stated in Vayikra refers only to Jews and that it took others to turn it into a universal expression.  The Hebrew word for neighbor is “rea.”  As Rabbi Hertz points out, the term “rea” is used in Shemot 11:2 when talking about the Egyptians.  This command should not be read on its own.  Rather, it should be seen as a continuation of the early writings, “You shall not take vengeance or bear grudge against your countrymen.”  There is a famous story about Hillel concerning this statement.  It is too long for this Guide, but I am sure you can find it in the notes of most Chumashim.  Hillel does add a slight twist to the command by restating it as “What is distasteful to you, don’t do it to another person.”  He then says that all the rest of it (the Torah) is commentary and go study it.  In other words, accomplishing this lofty goal is based on the whole corpus of Torah law and its attendant commentary.

The Whole Torah

“You shall observe My laws” or “You shall observe My decrees.” (19:19).  God does not say we should observe “some of My laws.”  God does not say you should observe the laws you like or the laws that make sense to you.  This statement would seem to go along with others we have seen about not adding to or subtracting from, the Law.  Missing the mark is one thing.  Denying the target exists is another matter entirely.

Holy

“You shall be holy” (19:2).  We are commanded to be holy, but what does it mean to be holy?  "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts.  The whole earth is full of His glory.”  God is holy.  So for us to be holy may mean that we should try to emulate God as exemplified by the laws He has given us.  But while the laws may be a first step towards reaching holiness, observing them in a superficial, rote manner will not bring us to that level of elevation we are seeking.  As far back as the 13^th century, the Ramban (Moses Nachmanides) cautioned against those who followed the letter of the law without letting it shape their lives in a meaningful manner.  When we pray, one of the things we pray for is that our prayers not just become rote and repetitious for this would make them unacceptable; make them unholy.  There is tons of material on this topic that we can pursue over the years.  So for now, let us leave it at this.  To be holy may mean the work of elevating the mundane to the level of the spiritual.  The commandments provide us with the guide for the work of that elevation.  Holiness may also be that sensation we experience when we appeal to the best in ourselves and see the best in others.  Since God is all that is truly holy, then for man being holy is more of a trip than a destination.

Predicting the Future

In this portion we read, “Neither shall you practice divination or soothsaying” (16:26).  As Rabbi Micha Odenheimer, a Jerusalem journalist and the Director of the Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews wrote in “Not In The Stars,” “Jewish tradition prohibits the use of the stars, omens and signs to predict the future.…  They believed that human beings, through their actions, could raise themselves beyond the jurisdiction of the stars.…  The Torah prohibits divination not only because the message of soothsayers sets limits on our freedom, but because for Jews, the future itself is holy.  Rather than speak of heaven as the eventual place of bliss and reward, Jews speak of ha’olam haba - the rectified world of the future.  Ha’olam haba is usually translated as ‘the world to come,’ but a more precise translation is ‘the world that is coming.’  The promised, perfected future is speeding toward us at the same rate, at least, that we are rushing toward it.  The future has an existence that stands independent of whatever the signs and omens of the present indicate.  Hidden away in inner dimensions of reality where the astrologer’s eye does not reach, the light of that future is already shining.  (On the Sabbath, ‘the fountain of the world to come,’ this light is partially revealed.)  According to Abraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook…the task of a righteous Jew is to draw the light of that rectified future into the reality of the present.  ‘To the extent that the light of the coming world shines into this world everything is raised up…In order to love this world properly, one must sink oneself deeply into the love of the world to come.’  The Jewish love affair with the future has the power to transform our concept of time and change our experience of the present.”

Haftarah

9:7-15 Amos

The Man:  Amos was probably the first of the literary prophets, even though his book has been placed third among the so-called Twelve Minor Prophets.  Unlike other prophets we have studied, we know a fair amount about him from the text itself.  He was from Tekoa, a small town near Bethlehem in Judah, the Southern Kingdom.  He was “a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees” and not a professional seer.  He only assumed the role of prophet because God said, “Go prophesy unto My people Israel.”  Although Amos lived in the Southern Kingdom, he preached in Israel, the Northern Kingdom.  The text says that he lived at the time of the King Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam II, King of Israel.  The text also references an earthquake and an eclipse.  Therefore we can safely assume that Amos preached from 765 B.C.E. to 750 B.C.E.  For the Northern Kingdom, this was a period of great wealth and prosperity.  But it was also a time of increasing income disparity with the newly emerging rich exploiting the ever-growing number of poor people.  It was this lack of social and economic justice that would animate the preaching of Amos.  Trouble came when he predicted the death of the king and the destruction of the kingdom.  It was at this point that the Amaziah, the “false priest” at the shrine of Beth-el condemned the prophet for treason.  However, instead of being put to death, Amos was banished and forced to return to Judah.  This lenient treatment may have hinted at his popularity.  We do not know how Amos met his death.

The Message:  The verses found in this haftarah are the final lines in the Book of Amos.  He reminds the Israelites that they are not the only nation God has brought forth (9:7).  But in mentioning the liberation from Egypt, he is reminding the Israelites that their liberation was different.  It took place so that they could go to Sinai and receive the commandments.  The Israelites have forgotten this part of the unique relationship.  Since they have turned their back on God’s laws, the will be punished.  God will destroy “the sinful monarchy” (referring to the monarchs of the Northern Kingdom) and punish the whole house of Israel.  There is hope.  “I will not utterly destroy the House of Jacob.” (9:8).  The haftarah and the book itself end with a majestic vision of a future redemption (9:13-15).  Just so you will not think that I am the only one who views it this way, consider what Norman Podhoretz says about these verses in his new book, The Prophets.  “These sumptuously lyrical verses fall upon our ears with something of the same effect as does the first movement of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, entitled by the composer ‘glad and grateful feelings after the storm.’”

Theme-Link:  The sedrah ends with a warning that God will expel the Israelites from the land if they “contaminate” it by not following the commandments.  The haftarah begins with a prophecy of destruction because the Israelites have turned their back on the commandments and contaminated the land.

Pirke Avot - (Sayings of the Fathers) is a collection of sayings, teachings, and ethical maxims.  A popular and eminently quotable work, it is one of the sixty-three tractates of the Mishnah.  The Mishnah, consisting of centuries of oral teachings passed down from one generation to the next, was finally codified by Rabbi Yehudah Ha-Nasi in 200 C.E.  Pirke Avot is unique among the tractates of the Mishnah in that it doesn't contain any halachah (law), only aggadah (stories or legends).  Its popularity is reflected in the fact that it is included in most prayer books (including, in part, in Gates of Prayer).

Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut one of the great teachers of the Reform Movement suggests that Pirke Avot "teaches us the essentials of what life might be at its best."  It deals with some of life's most basic and important questions:  What is our purpose and destiny?  What is sin, and how do we conquer it?  What is wisdom?  What is my relationship to God?  Pirke Avot is divided into chapters, and each chapter is further divided into individual statements, each called a Mishnah.  It is customary to study a chapter of Pirke Avot starting with the first Shabbat after the end of Pesach (Passover).  Since Pirke Avot consists of six chapters, the work may be completed by the start of Shavuot.  However, other groups of Jews follow a cycle where they study and re-study each of the chapters until the last Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah.  Regardless of the format you choose, each week the Torah page will include one verse from the chapter of the week with a few comments from a variety of sources.)

Excerpts from Chapter 3

3:2 Rabbi Chanina, an assistant of the high priest said:  Pray for the welfare of the government, since but for fear of it men would swallow each other alive.  Rabbi Chananyah ben Teradyon said:  If two sit together and no words of Torah are interchanged between them, theirs is the session of the scornful, as it is written (Psalm 1:1) "Nor sit in the seat of scoffers."  But when two sit together and words of Torah pass between them, the Divine Presence rests between them, as it is written (Malachi 3:16) "Then those who revered the Lord spoke with one another.  The Lord took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who revered the Lord and thought on his name."  Scripture speaks here of two.  Whence do we learn that if even one sits and occupies himself in the Torah, the Holy One blessed be he, appoints him a reward?  Because it is written (Lamentations 3:28) "to sit alone in silence when the Lord has imposed it."

Rabbi Chanina lived during the first and second centuries of the Common Era.  He is also referred to as Rabbi Chanina, Segan ha-Kohanim.  Segan is usually translated as deputy meaning he was the Deputy to the High Priest.  The Segan was the one who was authorized to take over from the High Priest on Yom Kippur “should the need arise.”  So once again we see that members of the priestly class played a key role in the creation of so-called Rabbinic Judaism.  In other words, the line between Sadducees and Pharisees was not necessarily as clear as people would have you believe.  When Chanina spoke of “the government” he was referring to Rome.  How do you think the reality of Roman Government shaped his views and helped create this statement?  Is this statement a precursor of Thomas Hobbes or is it a later day restatement of Jeremiah or is it a little of both?

Rabbi Chananyah ben Teradyon lived during the second century in the time preceding Bar Kochba’s Rebellion.  He is one of Ten Martyrs, Sages who were cruelly murdered by the Romans for teaching Torah.  Further proof of his belief that all should study Torah is the fact his younger daughter was the famous Beruryah, the quick witted and loving wife of the great Sage Me’ir who is mentioned over 3,000 times in the Talmud.  Ben Teradyon lived in a time when the spirits of the people were at a low ebb and that studying Torah was a capital crime.  How would this have caused him to deal first with the need for two to study Torah (think of the concept of “The Pairs”)?

Then how would this have caused him to deal with the issue of one person studying alone?  Later, classic Talmudic study would always involve two studying together.  However, given the danger of his time, the ever practical sage also was supplying a justification based on the TaNaCh for a person to study alone since studying alone was preferable (and safer) than not studying at all.

3:3 Rabbi Shimon said:  If three have eaten at one table and have not spoken over it words of Torah, it is as though they had eaten of the sacrifices of the dead, for it is written (Isaiah 28:8) "All tables are covered with filthy vomit; no place is clean."  But if three have eaten at one table and have spoken over it words of Torah, it is as if they had eaten from the table of God, for it is written (Ezekiel 41:22) "He said to me, ‘This is the table that stands before the Lord.’"

Rabbi Shimon’s full name was Shimon bar Yochai.  He was so famous that he could be referred to without the patronymic and people knew who he was.  He was born at the beginning of the Second Century of the Common Era.  He studied with the great Rabbi Akiva.  Shimon and Me’ir (see reference above) were the only two Rabbis ordained by Akiva.  Do the math - does this have anything to do with the concept of “the threes” cited in this Mishnah?  “The threes” cited in this manner in the Mishnah has found its way into the customs surrounding the recitation of the Grace After Meals.  It also provides a clue as to the timing of the drinking of Third Cup of Wine at the Seder.  Finally, how did the political conditions create this Mishnah?  Shimon was an expert on Halakah as well as great teacher of ethics.  If you do not get to all of him when studying Chapter Three, relax, he appears again in Chapter Four.

“Rabbi Chanina, the son of Chachinai, said, ‘He who keeps awake at night, and goes on his way alone, and turns his heart to idle thoughts, such a one sins against himself.’” (3:5).  Rabbi Chanina lived in the first half of the second century A.D.  He was a disciple of Rabbi Akiva.  Chanina is stressing the importance of studying Torah in the truest sense of that term.  Chanina sees the opposite as leading to folly which ultimately leads to sin.  The sedrah commands that “you shall speak of them (God’s laws) while you sit in your home, while you walk on the way…” (6:7).  Chanina warns not to walk on the “way alone.”  In other words, travel with somebody so you can talk with him about Torah.  If you travel alone your thoughts might wander to matters of frivolity that will ultimately lead you to behave in an unfit manner.

3:7 “Rabbi Elazar a man of Bartota says:  ‘Give Him what is His, because you and all that you have are His.  That was also expressed by (King) David who said:  All things that come from You and we have given you only what is Yours.’”

Rabbi Elazar was contemporary of Rabbi Akiva.  He lived in a town called Bartota, which is in a section of Israel known as the Galilee.  According to one commentator, Elazar was so generous that fundraisers did not stop at his home when looking for donations.  They were afraid “he would contribute more than his means permitted.”  So words about contributing to support the community and those in need are especially appropriate coming from a man who practiced what he preached.  Since all that we have is a gift from God, we should not be stingy in our giving because He is not stingy in His giving.  The quote from King David is found in First Chronicles (29:14).  It comes at the end of the book when King David is encouraging the people to make contributions for the Temple that will be built by his son, Solomon.

3:6 Rabbi Chalafta ben Dosa, a man of Kfar Chanina says:  “If ten (people) sit and engage in Torah study, the Divine Presence abides among them, as it is said, ‘God stands in the Divine Assembly’ (Psalms 82:1).  How do we know that it applies to five?  Because of the verse ‘He has found His bundle on the earth’ (Amos 9; 6).  How do we know it applies even to three?  Because of the verse ‘He will judge in the midst of judges’ (Psalms 82:2).  How do we know it applies even to two?  The verse teaches, ‘Then they who feared Adonai spoke on to the other and Adonai listened and heard’ (Malachi 3:16).  It applies even to one, since it is said, ‘In every place where I cause My name to be mentioned, I will come and bless you.’”

Rabbi Chalafta ben Dosa lived during the second century of the Common Era.  He was a younger contemporary of Rabbi Akiva and student of Rabbi Meir one of the great sages of the day.  This is an appropriate verse to study since it begins by talking about ten people just as the Torah portion talks about ten people.  In the case of the sedrah, it is ten spies.  In the case of the Mishnah it is ten people coming together for the study of Torah.  Rabbi Chalafta liked to include texts from the TaNaCh in his sayings to enhance their credibility; hence the quote (and the Biblical source) for each of his offerings is found here.  “Rabbi Chalfta contends that God’s presence joins those who study Torah.  He works backward from the Minyan (ten) to the solitary student (one) since anybody who studies Torah is performing a Mitzvah.”  Why are we encouraged to study with others?  According to the sages, “The more people join in performing a good deed, the greater its cumulative value.”  Why was the number five acceptable of merit?  Because when Amos used the term bundle, he was referring to a handful and a hand is made up of five fingers.  Why was the number three of merit?  Because as David points out in the Psalm God is present where judges sit and a court was made up of three judges.  Hopefully study of this verse will help you to understand that references to certain numbers in Jewish ceremonies and practices is grounded in the basic text and not just the product of caprice or whim.

3:19 “All is foreseen, but freedom of choice is given; and world is judged by grace, yet all is according to the amount of work.”

Verses 17 through 20 of Chapter Three are all attributed to Rabbi Akiva.  Akiva is considered to be one of the greatest teachers in Jewish history.  He lived from 60 to 135.  In other words, he was born ten years before the destruction of the Temple and died a martyr’s death during the Bar Kochba Rebellion.  Akiva is living proof that even the wisest of men can make an error in judgment.  During the revolt against Rome in 135, Akiva erroneously declared that Bar Kochba was the Messiah.  The first part of the verse addresses the question of predestination versus free will.  As Rabbi Hertz says, “the verse lays down a fundamental doctrine” of Jewish belief.  “Despite the fact that God foresees the course which a man will adopt, when faced with the choice of two paths, man has free choice.”  God’s vision of time and the World is different than that of a man.  God sees the world as lighthouse keeper views the ships at sea.  He sees all of them at the same time.  He knows which ones are coming, which ones are leaving, which ones are in danger of sinking in the impending storm and which ones will make it safely to shore.  Man is like the captain of the ship.  His view is limited to what is at the horizon and he can only respond as the winds and currents change and shift.  The second half of the verse is a reminder that God is merciful in His judgment i.e., He gives us the benefit of the doubt.  But in the end, judgment is based on what we do here on earth.

 

Copyright, April, 2026; Mitchell A. Levin