Parashat Emor

Parasha Thoughts

Shlomo Zargari

By Rabbi Shlomo Zargari

Shalom,

In the Parasha we have a verse : You shall not desecrate My holy Name, I should be sanctified among the Children of Israel. (Vayikra,22:32).

The Chafetz Chaim (R Yisrael Meir HaKohen) writes in Biur Halacha 146 about the gravity of speaking in the Bet Keneset at the time the Sefer Torah is open! It is a disgrace that one would turn away from the Holy Torah and not listen to it. “The sin is too great for forgiveness,” he writes. He further points out a law regarding a person who does not speak during that time, but steps out as the Torah is being read. Unpleasant things are written about him- more so if he remains inside and does not have an interest in the reading of the Torah. If others see this they would certainly learn from him and the honor of the Torah will surely be diminished in their eyes. This would be a public act of desecrating Hashem’s name GD forbid.

When Rav Yisrael Salanter was asked about the best advice for being written in the book of life  before the days of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, he answered one should accept upon oneself to honor and respect the Bet Keneset and to honor and respect other people. To not do something that is so easy would border on desecrating Hashem’s holy name. May the merit of paying attention to this very important matter bring blessing to us all.

Shabbat Shalom.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.