POSNACK SCHOOL

What is time, why do we care about time, and why is important to sanctify it? This week’s parsha, Parashat Emor, sheds some light these questions.

Wednesday marked a very sad and solemn, difficult day in our homeland. Yom Hazikaron is the “Day of Remembrance,” Israel’s equivalent to our Memorial Day in the United States. It is the day we remember, through words and prayer, our fallen IDF soldiers, those brave and heroic men and women, parents and grandparents, sons and daughters, brothers and sister, and the countless innocent victims of terror attacks in Israeli cities and villages.

This week, Jewish communities and non-Jewish communities throughout the world marked May 2, Yom Ha’Shoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, with meaningful commemorations and ceremonies. Maimonides lists “remember what Amalek did” and “do not forget what Amalek did” as two separate but closely related Torah mandated mitzvot. Neither command has any designated time or place. They can be accomplished every day, at any time.

The sages of the Talmud refer to matzah as לחם עוני, “lechem oni.” What does this expression mean? The Talmud suggests a few possibilities.

The bulk of this week’s parsha, Metzorah, deals with the various physical afflictions and the process of restoration for anyone who habitually engages in lashon harah – evil speech. In the Mishnah Torah, Rambam tells us that lashon harah is a great sin which ends up destroying three people: the speaker, the one spoken about, and the listener. But the listener, teaches Rambam, is harmed even more than the speaker. What does the Rambam mean?