Emor

[34] The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:[35] In Leviticus 21:1–5, God instructed Moses to direct the priests not to allow themselves to become defiled by contact with the dead, except for a mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister.

In Malachi 1:6–10, the prophet berated priests who despised God's name by offering blind, lame, and sick animals for sacrifice in violation of Leviticus 22:22.

Deuteronomy 5:12–15 commands that one observe the Sabbath day, keep it holy, and not do any manner of work or cause anyone under one's control to work—so that one's subordinates might also rest—and remember that the Israelites were servants in the land of Egypt, and God brought them out with a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm.

"[42] Exodus 12:5–6, Leviticus 23:5, and Numbers 9:3 and 5, and 28:16 direct Passover to take place on the evening of the fourteenth of Aviv (Nisan in the Hebrew calendar after the Babylonian captivity).

Leviticus 23:23–25 and Numbers 29:1–6 both describe Rosh Hashanah as a holy convocation, a day of solemn rest in which no servile work is to be done, involving the blowing of horns and an offering to God.

Ezra 3:1–3 reports that in the Persian era, when the seventh month came, the Israelites gathered in Jerusalem, and the priests offered burnt-offerings to God, morning and evening, as written in the Law of Moses.

Nehemiah 8:1–4 reports that it was on Rosh Hashanah (the first day of the seventh month) that all the Israelites gathered before the water gate and Ezra the scribe read the Law from early morning until midday.

And Nehemiah, Ezra, and the Levites told the people that the day was holy to the Lord their God; they should neither mourn nor weep; but they should go their way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those who had nothing.

But Isaiah 58:6–10 goes on to impress that "to afflict the soul," God also seeks acts of social justice: "to loose the fetters of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke," "to let the oppressed go free," "to give your bread to the hungry, and .

The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources:[79] 1 Maccabees 2:27–38 told how in the 2nd century BCE, many followers of the pious Jewish priest Mattathias rebelled against the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

[84] The Gemara noted the apparently superfluous "say to them" in Leviticus 21:1 and reported an interpretation that the language meant that adult Kohanim must warn their children away from becoming contaminated by contact with a corpse.

[95] Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba cited Leviticus 21:8 to support the proposition that a Kohen should be called up first to read the law, for the verse taught to give Kohanim precedence in every matter of sanctity.

And a baraita was taught in the school of Rabbi Ishmael that Leviticus 21:8 meant that Jews should give Kohanim precedence in every matter of sanctity, including speaking first at every assembly, saying grace first, and choosing his portion first when an item was to be divided.

[104] Elsewhere, the Sifre read Numbers 8:25–26, "and shall serve no more; but shall minister with their brethren in the tent of meeting, to keep the charge, but they shall do no manner of service," to teach that the Levite went back to the work of locking the doors and carrying out the tasks assigned to the sons of Gershom.

[114] Interpreting what constitutes profanation of God's Name within the meaning of Leviticus 22:32, Rabbi Joḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Simeon ben Jehozadak that by a majority vote, it was resolved in the attic of the house of Nitzah in Lydda that if a person is directed to transgress a commandment in order to avoid being killed, the person may transgress any commandment of the Torah to stay alive except idolatry, prohibited sexual relations, and murder.

When Rav Dimi came from the Land of Israel to Babylonia, he taught that the rule that one may violate any commandment except idolatry, prohibited sexual relations, and murder to stay alive applied only when there is no royal decree forbidding the practice of Judaism.

Rabinai the brother of Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba taught that we derive this by drawing an analogy between the two occurrences of the word "among" (תּוֹךְ‎, toch) in Leviticus 22:32 ("I will be hallowed among the children of Israel") and in Numbers 16:21, in which God tells Moses and Aaron: "Separate yourselves from among this congregation," referring to Korah and his followers.

[133] Tractate Peah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of the harvest of the corner of the field and gleanings to be given to the poor in Leviticus 19:9–10 and 23:22, and Deuteronomy 24:19–22.

[138] Reading Leviticus 23:22, the Gemara noted that a baraita (Tosefta Peah 1:5) taught that the optimal way to fulfill the commandment is for the owner to separate the portion for the poor from grain that has not been harvested.

The House of Hillel, however, taught that God inclines the scales towards grace (so that those in between do not have to descend to Gehinnom), and of them David said in Psalm 116:1–3, "I love that the Lord should hear my voice and my supplication .

[149] The Mishnah taught that on Yom Kippur in Jubilee Years, they did the same as Rosh Hashanah with regard to both the shofar blasts that they sounded and the additional blessings that they recited in the Amidah prayer.

Moses then spent 40 days in the camp, until he had burned the Golden Calf, ground it into powder like the dust of the earth, destroyed the idol worship from among the Israelites, and put every tribe in its place.

[160] The Mishnah held a person culpable to punishment for eating an amount of food equal to a large date (with its pit included), or for drinking a mouthful of liquid.

"[169] Resh Lakish taught that great is repentance, for because of it, Heaven accounts premeditated sins as errors, as Hosea 14:2 says, "Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity."

But the Gemara said that that is not all, for Resh Lakish also said that repentance is so great that with it, Heaven accounts premeditated sins as though they were merits, as Ezekiel 33:19 says, "And when the wicked turns from his wickedness, and does that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby."

[205] Drawing on a discussion in the Babylonian Talmud[115] (reported in "In classical rabbinic interpretation: Chapter 22" above), Maimonides taught that all Jews are commanded regarding the sanctification of God's Name, as Leviticus 22:32 states: "And I shall be sanctified amidst the children of Israel."

Maimonides noted the temperate nature of autumn as another reason for Sukkot falling in that season, making it possible to dwell in booths free of great heat and troublesome rain.

Maimonides taught that the lulav and etrog symbolize the rejoicing that the Israelites had when they replaced the wilderness, which was in the words of Numbers 25:5, "no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates, or of water to drink," with a country full of fruit trees and rivers.

[220] Douglas posited that the "subtlety of thought and the high degree of literary control exerted throughout Leviticus" suggest that the priestly writer referred to other people's legal codes in an ironic if not disingenuous vein.

[223] According to the Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are 24 positive and 39 negative commandments in the parashah:[224] Some Jews refer to the 24 priestly gifts deduced from Leviticus 21 and Numbers 18 as they study of Pirkei Avot[261] on a Sabbath between Passover and Rosh Hashanah.