BS”D
South Head Youth Parsha Sheet
Parshat Emor
The Jewish year is very exciting. It is filled with so many festivals and many special days. Every festival is
different and unique in its very own way, and that is what makes them all so special. Our Parsha this week
speaks all about the Jewish festivals and all of the exciting things that we do on each of them.
But before this, the Parsha starts off with detailing all the things that a Kohen is permitted and not permitted to
do. Firstly a Kohen is not allowed to enter a cemetery to bury anyone. There is only one exception. If the
deceased is an immediate family member (wife, mother, father, son, daughter, brother or unmarried
sister), only then is the Kohen allowed to bury him/her. But, if the deceased does not meet this
criteria, then the Kohen may not bury him/her. And do you know, that since a Kohen Gadol is even
more unique and more special then a Kohen, he is not permitted to even bury any of his immediate
family! Additionally, a Kohen and a Kohen Gadol, are not permitted to marry a divorced woman or
a woman who converts. If he does, then the child is not considered to be a Kohen and he is not
permitted to perform any of the Priestly Service in the Mishkan. These laws still apply to Kohanim
nowadays, even though we do not have a Mishkan or a Beit Hamikdash.
Now let’s go back to our special festivals. Do you know that on each of the festivals the Kohanim Bless us?
That’s right! It is very special to be blessed by the Kohanim. This is why we always send all of the children into
Shule to be blessed by the Kohanim. We want everyone to receive Hashem’s special blessings.
The first festival that the Torah speaks about is Pesach. Although this festival only lasts for eight days, the
preparation for it starts many weeks before. At least a month before Pesach begins, maybe more, mum is always
asking us to help her scrub, vacuum and clean the entire house, so that when Pesach arrives she can be assured
that there is no Chametz in the home. And when Pesach arrives, there is a big smile on our face because we’re so
happy that we don’t have to clean anymore :). We get all ready for the Seder, very excited to sing the Mah
Nishtana in front of our family and all your guests. And of course how can we forget our excitement knowing that
for eight days all we can eat is Matzah, Matzah and... Matzah!
Next comes the festival of Shavuot. There is a Mitzvah in the Torah to count seven whole weeks
from Pesach to Shavuot. So we start counting exactly 49 days from the second night of Pesach,
until we finally arrive at Shavuot. This is called Sefirat Haomer. Do you know why we count? We
count in anticipation of the special Yom Tov on which Hashem gave us the most precious gift in the
world, the Torah. Now who can miss the festival of Shavuot, when everyone knows that it’s the
festival of ice cream! We come to shule to hear the Ten Commandments and then we get to make
our very own edible ice cream Har Sinai’s! Mmmmm! Yum! What a delicious treat! Mummy and
Daddy stay up all night learning, in order to prepare for the receiving of the Torah.
Shavuot is a very special holiday. It is the festival in which Hashem gave us His most precious gift in the world, the
Torah. He gave it to us on Mount Sinai, because she was the humblest of all the mountains. While all the other
mountains boasted about how great they all were, Har Sinai just stood quietly and did not say a word. This is
why Har Sinai merited to be the mountain on which Hashem gave us the Torah. Hashem decorated Har Sinai
beautifully with lots of flowers. This is why when we come to Shule on Shavuot, we see lots of beautiful flower
decorations.
Let’s see, do you know which festival comes after Shavuot? Is it Purim, Chanukah, Sukkot? Nope, it’s none of
these! Next come 2 very holy and very auspicious days - Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashana falls on
the first of Tishrei. It is the very first day in the Jewish Calendar. It is the day on which we crown Hashem as our
King. We blow the Shofar, eat apples in honey and ask Hashem that we should have a very happy and healthy
sweet new year. We ask our friends to forgive us for any wrongdoing, we do Teshuva, go to Tashlich and we wish
everyone a ‘Shana Tova’.
It is only ten days later, on the tenth of Tishrei that Shule is packed to it’s absolute capacity. In fact it’s even fuller
than that.
Every single Jew in the world makes sure to come to shule on Yom Kippur. Everyone who is
over
the age of Bar and Bat Mitzvah fasts and everyone prays to Hashem to forgive us for any
sins that we may have done. This is the day on which Hashem decides what kind of year each
person is going to have and so we make sure to beg and plead with Hashem to give us a happy
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and healthy year, filled only with happiness and good things.
Now there’s just one more festival which we have not mentioned. That’s right! It’s Sukkot! Sukkot is the festival
where we decide that it’s a lot more comfortable to eat outside underneath palm tree leaves, rather than eat
inside. We decorate the Sukkah beautifully and sometimes it looks even nicer than our homes! We say a special
Bracha and we Shake the Lulav and Etrog on every single day of the eight day festival, except on Shabbat.
And do you know what we do at the end of Sukkot? We add a ninth day to this special festival. Now why would
we do that? We do it because the ninth day is the very exciting holiday of Simchat Torah! It is one of the most
exciting holidays of the year! And it is one of the only times throughout the entire year that we are allowed to
take all of the Torah’s out of the Ark to dance with them. Don’t you just love dancing with the Torah’s on Simchat
Torah? Because I do!!!!
Parsha Questions:
1. What is the name of this weeks Parsha?
This week’s Parsha is called, Parshat Emor.
2. What is a Kohen not permitted to do?
A Kohen is not permitted to bury anyone, unless it is a immediate family member. Additionally, a
Kohen may not marry a convert or a divorced woman. These laws still apply to Kohanim
living nowadays.
3. What exciting things does the Parsha talk about?
The Parsha talks about the most exciting events of the year - all of the Jewish festivals!
4. Name some of the things that we do to prepare for the festival of Pesach?
In preparation for Pesach we must clean and scrub the house. We must make sure that there is no
Chametz left anywhere in the house.
5. What do we begin to do on the second night on Pesach?
On the second night of Pesach we begin to count Sefirat Haomer. This is the Mitzvah of
counting seven full weeks (49) days from Pesach until Shavuot.
6. Why do we count the days until Shavuot?
We count the days until Shavuot in anticipation of receiving the most precious gift in the world,
the Torah, from Hashem.
7. What are some of the things that we do on Rosh Hashana?
On Rosh Hashana we go to Shule and we make sure to hear the Shofar, eat apples in honey, go
to Tashlich, do Teshuva and ask our friends to forgive us.
8. Who do we crown as King on Rosh Hashana?
On Rosh Hashana, we crown Hashem as our King.
9. How many days after Rosh Hashana is Yom Kippur?
Yom Kippur falls out ten days after Rosh Hashana.
10.What is everyone over the age of Bar/Bat Mitzvah commanded to do on Yom Kippur?
On Yom Kippur, everyone over Bat/Bar Mitzvah is commanded to fast. And everyone prays to
Hashem to forgive them and grant them a very happy and healthy year, filled only with good
things.
11. Name some of the Mitzvot of Sukkot?
The Mitzvot of Sukkot is to eat in the Sukkah, say the Bracha on the Lulav and Etrog and to
then shake them.
12. What holiday comes at the end of Sukkot and why is it so exciting?
Simchat Torah comes right at the end of Sukkot. It is a very exciting holiday because it is one of
the only days in the entire year that we take out all of the Torah’s from the Ark and we dance
with them all night and all day!
It was great seeing you in Shule!
We Hope you enjoy reading this Parsha Sheet and quizzing your family!
Shabbat Shalom from Roli, Tzemach & Yeruchem