Emor Say — אֱמוֹר
Torah Portion: Leviticus 21:1–24:23
Leviticus 23:23–32
23:23 Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall be a solemn rest for you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall do no regular work. You shall offer an offering made by fire to Hashem.’”
26 Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “However, on the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement. It shall be a holy convocation to you. You shall afflict yourselves, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Hashem. 28 You shall do no kind of work on that same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement for you before Hashem your Adonai. 29 For whoever it is who shall not deny himself on that same day shall be cut off from his people. 30 Whoever does any kind of work on that same day, I will destroy that person from among his people. 31 You shall do no kind of work: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath.”
Today’s Meditation:
Today, we learn about celebration and honoring the “Feast of Trumpets” (Yom Teruah). On this day, we blow the shofar and have a holy convocation. Some believe this is the day that the Mashiach will return. That we will look up and see Him coming in the clouds. Coming to earth to gather His people to Jerusalem, where He will rule and reign forever. Whatever happens that day, we know it will be divine and unlike anything else. If you don’t already pray for the Mashiach to come, maybe you could start praying. Our world is upside down. Right is wrong and wrong is correct. Only Hashem can straighten this out.
Today’s Challenge:
Once a year, we remember the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). In verse 27, we read, “You shall afflict yourselves.” We are to do this to remember the sins we have committed. Sin is far-reaching. It affects those around us and the world we live in. Here is a day when Hashem has set it aside so that we can pray, fast (afflict ourselves), and be forgiven. Isn’t it amazing that we serve an Elohim that is so full of grace and mercy, and that He forgives us for our disobedience? When there is a Temple, there is a procedure for forgiving the Nation. For right now, we go to Him, and for ten days preceding this Feast, we ask Him and others to forgive us. It purifies us and helps to repair the world. This Yom Kippur, I challenge you to plan for. Study it through Scripture and find out what you are to do. Think about it in advance. And start reaching out to the people you need to restore relationships with. Maybe if we all did this and prayed for His return, He would come sooner than later.
