Emor 5780 Restrictions in the Priesthood

(1) The LORD said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: None shall defile himself for any [dead] person among his kin,

(2) except for the relatives that are closest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother;

(3) also for a virgin sister, close to him because she has not married, for her he may defile himself.

(4) But he shall not defile himself as a kinsman by marriage, and so profane himself.

(5) They shall not shave smooth any part of their heads, or cut the side-growth of their beards, or make gashes in their flesh.

(6) They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the LORD’s offerings by fire, the food of their God, and so must be holy.

(7) They shall not marry a woman defiled by harlotry, nor shall they marry one divorced from her husband. For they are holy to their God

(8) and you must treat them as holy, since they offer the food of your God; they shall be holy to you, for I the LORD who sanctify you am holy.

(16) The LORD spoke further to Moses:

(17) Speak to Aaron and say: No man of your offspring throughout the ages who has a defect shall be qualified to offer the food of his God.

(18) No one at all who has a defect shall be qualified: no man who is blind, or lame, or has a limb too short or too long;

(19) no man who has a broken leg or a broken arm;

(20) or who is a hunchback, or a dwarf, or who has a growth in his eye, or who has a boil-scar, or scurvy, or crushed testes.

(21) No man among the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall be qualified to offer the LORD’s offering by fire; having a defect, he shall not be qualified to offer the food of his God.

(22) He may eat of the food of his God, of the most holy as well as of the holy;

(23) but he shall not enter behind the curtain or come near the altar, for he has a defect. He shall not profane these places sacred to Me, for I the LORD have sanctified them.

(24) Thus Moses spoke to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites.

(11) Then Elkanah [and Hannah] went home to Ramah; and the boy entered the service of the LORD under the priest Eli. (12) Now Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they paid no heed to the LORD. (13) This is how the priests used to deal with the people: When anyone brought a sacrifice, the priest’s boy would come along with a three-pronged fork while the meat was boiling, (14) and he would thrust it into the cauldron, or the kettle, or the great pot, or the small cooking-pot; and whatever the fork brought up, the priest would take away on it. This was the practice at Shiloh with all the Israelites who came there. (15) [But now] even before the suet was turned into smoke, the priest’s boy would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, “Hand over some meat to roast for the priest; for he won’t accept boiled meat from you, only raw.” (16) And if the man said to him, “Let them first turn the suet into smoke, and then take as much as you want,” he would reply, “No, hand it over at once or I’ll take it by force.” (17) The sin of the young men against the LORD was very great, for the men treated the LORD’s offerings impiously.

(1) And the LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and set out; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have decided on one of his sons to be king.” (2) Samuel replied, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” The LORD answered, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ (3) Invite Jesse to the sacrificial feast, and then I will make known to you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I point out to you.” (4) Samuel did what the LORD commanded. When he came to Bethlehem, the elders of the city went out in alarm to meet him and said, “Do you come on a peaceful errand?” (5) “Yes,” he replied, “I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Purify yourselves and join me in the sacrificial feast.” He also instructed Jesse and his sons to purify themselves and invited them to the sacrificial feast. (6) When they arrived and he saw Eliab, he thought: “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands before Him.” (7) But the LORD said to Samuel, “Pay no attention to his appearance or his stature, for I have rejected him. For not as man sees [does the LORD see]; man sees only what is visible, but the LORD sees into the heart.” (8) Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass before Samuel; but he said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” (9) Next Jesse presented Shammah; and again he said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” (10) Thus Jesse presented seven of his sons before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any of these.” (11) Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the boys you have?” He replied, “There is still the youngest; he is tending the flock.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send someone to bring him, for we will not sit down to eat until he gets here.” (12) So they sent and brought him. He was ruddy-cheeked, bright-eyed, and handsome. And the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.”

(1) One day the divine beings presented themselves before the LORD. The Adversary came along with them to present himself before the LORD. (2) The LORD said to the Adversary, “Where have you been?” The Adversary answered the LORD, “I have been roaming all over the earth.” (3) The LORD said to the Adversary, “Have you noticed My servant Job? There is no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil. He still keeps his integrity; so you have incited Me against him to destroy him for no good reason.” (4) The Adversary answered the LORD, “Skin for skin—all that a man has he will give up for his life. (5) But lay a hand on his bones and his flesh, and he will surely blaspheme You to Your face.”