The Raw and The Cooked

I knew going into this… Leviticus is a bear. It’s always Leviticus, right? This weeks parsha is no exception. At first glance, Emor looks like a list of rules for priests. Who they can marry. When they can mourn. What disqualifies them from serving. It feels… distant. Irrelevant. Upon reading the first half of this parsha, I had to sit for a while to find the deeper meaning, the real thread to pull. I feel wildly unqualified to even begin to dissect the first half of Emor. And then, the final half, we have God, laying out the various feats and holidays that He wants us to observe. Holiness is structured. It lives in people, and it lives in time. “These are My fixed times,” God says—not when you feel ready, not when life slows down, but fixed. Built in. Protected. Emor, at its core, is a blueprint for a life that makes room for God—intentionally, rhythmically, and with care.

Meanwhile, enjoy a super cute photo of Poppy, our two week old Easter Egger.

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This is Sally, one of our sassy Cinnamon Queens. This week, we decided to let her have (heavily supervised) free-range time in our yard. That night, the kids asked me what was for dinner (their favorite question, my least favorite question). I casually told them that I’m grilling chicken on the BBQ, and my three year old asks – without missing a beat – which chicken? As in, which one of our six chickens am I throwing on the BBQ for dinner? 🤣

This is one of the first parshas of Leviticus that actually makes sense to me. Very explicit, very black-and-white – do not do these things kind of rules. We may never fully understand, on this side of Heaven, The Lords reasonings behind them, but the Torah is very clear that there are reasons.

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We got chicks last week, which already feels a bit unhinged given the stage of life we’re in, but here we are. The chicks are somehow both very fragile and totally resilient at the same time. I keep checking on them – are they warm enough, are they eating, is this too much poop? It’s a lot of noticing, paying attention. Which is what Tazria and Metzora are about too.

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I hope you had a really lovely Passover! My older two kids were off school for a solid 2+ weeks, we spent part of our time in South Florida visiting family, and then closed out their break with a Cardinals game last night (Boston beat them). Everyone goes back to school tomorrow morning, and I’m looking forward to getting back to my routine.

Last we left off, Aaron and his sons were to wait in the Tent of Meeting for seven days (that magical, sacred number seven, we will continue to see over and over), and on the eighth day, they newly ordained priests step forward, they are ready to carry out the service themselves. The elders assemble once more to bear witness. Once all has been complete, a fire comes forth from God and consumes the burnt offerings and the fat parts on the alter (Leviticus 9:24). It’s a moment of divine approval, of closeness, of everything working exactly as it should.

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