Parshas Emor for Kids

פרשת אמור

Laws of kedushah for the kohanim, and then the calendar of the year - Shabbos, Pesach, the Omer, Shavuos, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkos - the moadim laid out one after another.

In a Torah Tale book, your own child is the hero of this story - drawn from their photo, on every page, in their own name. Written under rabbinical guidance with strict tznius, printed and shipped to your door in English, Hebrew or Yiddish.

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What happens in Parshas Emor

Parshas Emor begins with the special holiness of the kohanim, who serve in the Mishkan and must be careful to stay pure for their avodah. A korban must be whole and without any blemish: we give Hashem our very best. The parsha also says that we must sanctify Hashem's Name among Bnei Yisrael, which is the source of the mitzvah of making a Kiddush Hashem.

Then comes the whole calendar of the year: Shabbos, Pesach, the counting of the Omer for forty nine days, Shavuos, Rosh Hashanah with the sound of the shofar, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos with the sukkah and the four minim. In the middle of the Yamim Tovim, the Torah reminds us to leave part of the harvest for the poor. Rashi explains that whoever gives these gifts is considered as if he built the Beis HaMikdash and brought korbanos in it. The parsha ends with the pure olive oil for the Menorah and the twelve loaves of the lechem hapanim on the Shulchan.

Lessons and middos for children

  • Giving our best

    A korban had to be whole and perfect. When we do a mitzvah, we try to do it beautifully, not just to get it done.

  • Growing day by day

    Sefiras HaOmer counts every day from Pesach to Shavuos. Each day we can work on one small middah to be ready to receive the Torah.

  • Kiddush Hashem

    Bnei Yisrael make Hashem's Name holy by how they act. Good manners, honesty and kindness show everyone how beautiful the Torah is.

Questions for the Shabbos table

  1. Which Yom Tov in this parsha is your favorite, and why?
  2. Why do you think the Torah reminds us about the poor right in the middle of the Yamim Tovim?
  3. During Sefiras HaOmer we count every day. What middah would you like to work on each day?
  4. What is something you could do this week that would make a Kiddush Hashem?

How your child steps into the story

Your child travels through the year inside this parsha: hearing the shofar, sitting in a sukkah and counting the Omer, while watching the kohanim prepare the lechem hapanim and the Menorah oil. The story ends with your child wondering about the land that rests, looking ahead to Parshas Behar.