Friday, May 16, 2025

Fwd: Cheder Lubavitch Weekly Message


---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rabbi Yitzchok Wolf <rabbiwolf@clhds.com>
Date: Fri, May 16, 2025, 9:59 AM
Subject: Cheder Lubavitch Weekly Message
To: agentemes4@gmail.com <agentemes4@gmail.com>


ב"ה

Seymour J. Abrams

Cheder Lubavitch Hebrew Day School

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Candle Lighting Times for
Skokie:
Friday, May 16
7:46 pm

Message from the Dean

Lag Ba'Omer is a day that commemorates the life and teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, one of the most revered sages in Jewish history. Known for his profound spiritual insight and unwavering devotion to Torah, Rabbi Shimon illuminated the world with the light of divine wisdom—especially through the esoteric teachings of the Zohar, which continue to inspire and uplift countless generations.

Today, Jews throughout the world are celebrating Lag Ba'Omer, gathering in unity and joy to honor Rabbi Shimon's legacy and the light he brought into the world.

In an era increasingly marked by shifting values, social fads, and relentless cultural noise, many—especially the younger generation—are left searching for meaning, truth, and stability. Rabbi Shimon's legacy reminds us that the Torah is not only a sacred inheritance, but also a timeless antidote to the chaos of the modern world. It anchors us in eternal truths, offering clarity where there is confusion, and purpose where there is emptiness.

Lag Ba'Omer invites us to reconnect with this spiritual clarity. The bonfires we light are more than symbolic—they represent the enduring flame of Torah, which has the power to pierce through even the densest spiritual fog. They call upon us to kindle our own inner light and to share that light with others.

By strengthening our connection to Torah, deepening our commitment to mitzvot, and living lives infused with kindness and meaning, we each become a beacon. We push back against the darkness—not with protest, but with purpose; not with reaction, but with revelation.

Rabbi Shimon's life was a living example of what it means to live above the noise, to see the world not only as it is, but as it could be—with the presence of G-d permeating every detail. On this Lag Ba'Omer, let us rise above the confusion around us and reaffirm our role as bearers of divine light. Let us inspire a searching world—not by retreating from it, but by illuminating it with the enduring truth and beauty of our Torah.

Shabbat shalom,

Rabbi Yitzchok Wolf

 

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Parshah in a Nutshell


Parshat Emor

The name of the Parshah, "Emor," means "speak" and it is found in Leviticus 21:1.

The Torah section of Emor ("Speak") begins with the special laws pertaining to the kohanim ("priests"), the kohen gadol ("high priest"), and the Temple service: A kohen may not become ritually impure through contact with a dead body, save on the occasion of the death of a close relative. A kohen may not marry a divorcee, or a woman with a promiscuous past; a kohen gadol can marry only a virgin. A kohen with a physical deformity cannot serve in the Holy Temple, nor can a deformed animal be brought as an offering.

A newborn calf, lamb or kid must be left with its mother for seven days before being eligible for an offering; one may not slaughter an animal and its offspring on the same day.

The second part of Emor lists the annual Callings of Holiness—the festivals of the Jewish calendar: the weekly Shabbat; the bringing of the Passover offering on 14 Nissan; the seven-day Passover festival beginning on 15 Nissan; the bringing of the Omer offering from the first barley harvest on the second day of Passover, and the commencement, on that day, of the 49-day Counting of the Omer, culminating in the festival of Shavuot on the fiftieth day; a "remembrance of shofar blowing" on 1 Tishrei; a solemn fast day on 10 Tishrei; the Sukkot festival—during which we are to dwell in huts for seven days and take the " Four Kinds"—beginning on 15 Tishrei; and the immediately following holiday of the "eighth day" of Sukkot ( Shemini Atzeret).

Next the Torah discusses the lighting of the menorah in the Temple, and the showbread; (lechem hapanim) placed weekly on the table there.

Emor concludes with the incident of a man executed for blasphemy, and the penalties for murder (death) and for injuring one's fellow or destroying his property (monetary compensation).

Learn: Emor in Depth
Browse: Emor Parshah Columnists
Prep: Devar Torah Q&A for Emor
Read: Haftarah in a Nutshell
Play: Emor Parshah Quiz

 

 

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