This week's portion sets forth the standards of purity and perfection for a Cohen; specifies the physical requirements of sacrifices and what is to be done with blemished offerings; proclaims as holidays the Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot.
It reminds the Jewish people to provide pure olive oil for the Menorah and designates the details of the Showbread (two stacks of 6 loaves each which were placed on the table in the portable sanctuary and later in the Temple once a week upon Shabbat).
The portion ends with the interesting story of a man who blasphemed God's name with a curse. What should be the penalty for this transgression? Curious? Lev. 24:14.
On the Jewish calendar, every day is Mother's Day!
However, on the American calendar, Mother's Day is coming up this Sunday, May 10th. In honor of the TVT mothers, I thought I'd share this story with you:
WHEN GOD MADE MOMS
By the time the Almighty made mothers, he was into His sixth day and working overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are You spending so much time on this one?"
And the Almighty answered and said, "Have you seen the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic, have 200 movable parts, all replaceable, run on black coffee and leftovers, have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up, have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart, and have six pairs of hands." The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No Way!" said the Angel.
The Almighty replied, "Oh, it's not the hands that are the problem. It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!" "And that's just on the standard model?" the Angel asked.
The Almighty responded, "Yep, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing, even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can. And the third pair are here in the front of her head. They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word."
The Angel tried to stop the Almighty. "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish." "But I can't!", the Almighty protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation; it's so close to my own heart.
The Angel moved closer and touched the woman. "But you have made her so soft, Almighty." "She is soft", the Almighty agreed, "but I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish." "Will she be able to think?" asked the Angel.
The Almighty replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate." The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the woman's cheek.
"Oops, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one."
"That's not a leak", the Almighty objected, "That's a tear!"
"What's the tear for?" the Angel asked.
The Almighty said, "The tear is her way of expressing her joy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride."
The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Almighty. You thought of everything. WOMEN are truly amazing!"
