Torah:Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:1-20:27) Haftarah (Amos 9:7-15)
The ceremonial and moral laws are listed in detail. Injunctions against Moloch worship and punishments for unlawful marriages and immoral practices. This Torah portion contains approximately fifty mitzvot. Here is a cross-section of some of the more important ones:
Reverence for one’s mother and father (leviticus 19:3).
Leaving the edge of one’s field unreaped, for the poor (Leviticus 19:10).Not stealing or dealing falsely (Leviticus 19:11).
Paying for a day’s labor on the same day (Leviticus 19:13).
Not putting a stumbling block before the blind (Leviticus 19:14).
Not doing unrighteousness in judgment (Leviticus 19:15).
Not taking vengeance or bearing a grudge and Loving one’s neighbor (Leviticus 19:18).
Amos was a shepherd and lived in the days of King Jeroboam II (750 B.C.E.). This prophet’s masterword of existence was righteousness. Amos was extremely troubled by the inhumanity of the people to one another, and especially criticized the rich for ignoring the plight of the poor, alien, widow, and orphan. Pagan forms of worship also corrupted the land. In G-d’s dealing with people and nations, G-d has but one single test-their loyalty to the laws of righteousness. G-d judges people according to the devotion to justice and ethics.
The Haftarah concludes by stating that G-d’s mercy will ultimately prevail, and that G-d will find a way to bring back His banished people to a state of prosperity and purity.
As Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote in Between G-d and Man.
“Prayer clarifies our hopes and intentions. It helps us discover our true aspirations, the pangs we ignore, the longings we forget. It is an act of self-purification, a quarantine for the soul. It gives us the opportunity to be honest, to say what we believe, and stand for what we say.”
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Helene Ainbinder
Just a note to let you know…
I will be traveling with the Sears Art Museum and students to Europe
from May 13 through May 26. I will try to send messages and photos to President Mike Satter and our secretary, Ellen Nathan. If you need me please let secretary Ellen Nathan know, I will try to respond in a timely manner.
I was also one of the artists to be asked to participate in a “Pop-Up: An Immediate Response of War in Ukraine by some of the artists in the area. It is another high honor that allows one to quickly address a sad or serious event through the Arts.
The show will be at the Sears Art Museum from May 16-June 17.
The Sears Art Museum is located at Dixie State University’s Eccles Center
on the corner of 700 E. and 100 S.
