Shabbat

Portion Emor - and Lag BaOmer This Week - Two Portions of Holy People -Two versions of holiness?

 Portion Emor - and Lag BaOmer This Week - Two Portions of Holy People -Two versions of holiness?
 
 
It's funny how LAST week in Israel we read the portion "Kedoshim" (Holy People)
and this week in Emor it says in a few places "Be Holy"! Why not put hese items in the same Portion?
 
 
The head of the Shaalvim Hesder (1/2 army) yeshiva wrote this week (and I paraphrase)  about:
 
"Holiness before G-d - and Holiness between People"
 
He writes this explains the difference in rules between the Sabbath and the Holidays
 
Sabbath you need to feel close to the Almighty
 
Holidays are HALF TO FEEL THE HOLINESS OF BEING CLOSE TO PEOPLE
    
Rabbi Lasri on the radio this AM mentioned that 
when the Rabbis of the Talmud disagree
on the rules they are deciding for the Torah
 
some of the Rabbis (like Rabbi Yehuda) are dealing WITH THE EXISTING STATE
 
while others - Like Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai - the Master of the Secret Kabbala
 
decide according to the HOLINESS IN THE TORAH AND THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL 
   
 Is the world heavenly or is it mundane and what you see is what you got?
 
According to the Torah we the Jewish People are all supposed to be a holy nation
 
 The portion of Emor ends with the Jewish Holidays reviewed
 
and with Shavuote coming up in a couple of weeks
 
we should all remember how great throngs of Israelites always came to the Temple in Jerusalem
 
shared meals and returned lost items AND 
 
SANG PRAISES IN THE TEMPLE TO THANK THE ALMIGHTY FOR WHAT WE HAVE
 
This Shabbat and Next Thursday Lag B' Omer we can start
 
getting ready for the great Holiday of Receiving the Torah
 
By thinking and preparing a little - both for the world we see -
 
and for the world as wonderful as it can be with the help of G-d
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
Rabbi Andy Eichenholz