by Rabbi Shlomo Segal
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are that of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of the Union for Traditional Judaism, unless otherwise indicated.
Below is a summary of Rabbi Segal’s weekly d’var Torah podcast. To listen to this podcasts in the future please find it in the Segal’s Sentiments archive here.
This week’s Torah portion is called Emor. We find the following verse “You shall sanctify him” (Leviticus 21:8) meaning that it is the job of the people to sanctify the priests. The question might be asked why is it necessary for the people to sanctify the priests? Who are we? What gives us the authority to sanctify anyone especially a priest? It is God’s job to sanctify the Priests as the Torah portion suggests a bit later. (21:23) It is important to understand that God’s sanctification alone is insufficient to allow one to lead. In order for any leader, whether religious, political or executive to exert influence in any effectual way he must be someone who enjoys the support of the people.
Ironically Prshat Emor is always read during sefirat haomer. The commandment of the Omer appears in this week’s Torah portion. It originally dealt with an offering of barley. In our present era we count the days of the Omer from Passover up until Shavuot when we once again will receive the Torah.
During this period of time many Jews have the custom to mourn by refraining from haircuts and listening to music etc. These practices were adopted because the Talmud tells us that Rabbi Akiva had 12,000 pairs of disciples and all of them died at the same time between Passover and Shavuot. The reason they died says the Talmud was because they did not treat each other with respect. They would not tolerate, honor or respect each other’s opinions. It was precisely this particular character flaw which prevented these students from ascending to leadership. They had the capacity to become great leaders but they did not exert their influence properly. If they couldn’t treat their scholarly peers with any kind of deference how were they going to deal with ordinary people.
This same principle can be applied to each one of us. Many times we seek to influence other people. We get upset when their way of life sharply differs from our own. We might balk at the behavior or views of others. In order for us to be effectual in exerting influence over another person we need to build a relationship. You will get no productive result by antagonizing or ranking someone out either in person or on social media. You will make a strong impact however when you first embrace a person as a friend and earn their trust. In this way your good advice and guidance will be taken with the utmost seriousness and your influence will count a great deal. As the book of Proverbs says “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses
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Rabbi Shlomo Segal is a member of the UTJ’s Panel of Halakhic Inquiry, which issues religious responses on behalf of the organization on contemporary issues, and vice president of Morashah, the rabbinic arm of UTJ.
Rabbi Segal is also a member of the International Rabbinic Fellowship (IRF) and the New York Board of Rabbis.
In fall 2013, after a decade of pulpit experience, Rabbi Segal founded Kehilat Moshe, a liberal Orthodox congregation in the Sheepshead Bay area of Brooklyn, NY. While still a new congregation, Kehilat Moshe has emerged as a diverse, multi-generational caring and intellectually stimulating community rooted in both pluralism and halakhah.
Rabbi Segal delivers a weekly commentary which you can find at kehilatmoshe.org and on YouTube. He was also interviewed on National Public Radio on the subject of “Swinging Chicken Ritual Divides Orthodox Jews”.