Rabbi Howard Silverman

As we move forward in our 50 day journey of Counting the Omer, we begin to focus on Shavuot. However, our Torah portion is about Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement!

This week our Torah portion (Leviticus 12:1–15:33) describes situations in which people are “clean” or “unclean.” In Hebrew, the words are “tamay” (unclean) or “tahor” (clean).

This week our Torah portion is about the installation of the priesthood and the seriousness of walking in holiness before God. It is appropriate for this time of year because we are at the beginning of the important season that we refer to as "Counting the Omer." This is the period between the offering of the early firstfruits and the offering of the latter firstfruits.