Weekly Sidra: Emor (Say)
Torah Portion: Leviticus / Vayikra / 21:1
Haftorah: Yechezkel / 44:15 – 44:31

Emor (אמור — Hebrew for "speak," the fifth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 31st weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the eighth in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes Leviticus 21:1–24:23. The title of the Parasha that comes from the first verse of the reading, which says, “Then HaShem said to Moses, ‘Speak (emor) to the priests, the sons of Aaron …’” (Leviticus 21:1). Emor begins with special laws of sanctity, propriety and purity for the priesthood. Leviticus 23 provides an overview of the biblical calendar, a listing of HaShem’s appointed times.

On the opening words of our Parsha, "Speak (Emor) to the priests," Rashi comments: "Speak … to warn the adults about [educating] the children." At the literal level, the verse is speaking of the specific responsibility of adult priests to educate their children about the priestly duty to remain ritually pure. However, in a broader sense, since this is the opening of a Parsha which contains guidance for Jews in general, our verse could be understood as a warning to all parents about the importance of educating their children.

In this week’s parsha the Kohanim are given special laws to sanctify themselves above the rest of the Jewish nation because they serve in the Bait Hamikdash (Holy Temple).

Note: On the Shabbat the Torah Reading is divided into 7 sections. Each section is called an Aliya [literally: Go up] since for each Aliya, one person "goes up" to make a bracha [blessing] on the Torah Reading. Here are this week`s aliyot:

1st Aliya: Specific restrictions for Kohanim and the Kohen Gadol pertaining to marriages, sexuality, and mourning. This aliyah also specifies whom a Kohen may marry.

2nd Aliya: Laws pertaining to physical blemishes of the Kohanim and who can and can not eat from the priestly gifts.

3rd Aliya: Laws defining what constitutes an acceptable and unacceptable blemish on an animal designated to be a Korban (to offer in the Beit HaMikdash).

4th Aliya: The establishment of Shabbat (Sabbath), Pesach (Passover), the Omer, the counting of the Omer and Shavuot (Pentecost).

5th Aliya: The establishment of Rosh Hashana (Day of the Blowing of the Trumpets) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).

6th Aliya: The establishment of Sukkot (Tabernacle).

7th Aliya: Laws of the Ner Tamid (Eternal Light), the Showbread, the incident with the Blasphemer, and the penalties for Blasphemy.

According to the Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are 24 positive and 39 negative commandments in the parasha.