Danny Katzeff - Dvar Torah

My torah portion is called Emor and it comes from the book of Vayikra. It talks about a whole lot of things like the Kohanim who were responsible for the sacrifices in the sanctuary. It has laws about physical disabilities, animal rights and corruption. It has a calendar of the year with all the festivals like Pesach, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The Kohanim had to light the Menorah everyday. This is why we have a light in the shul today that never goes out, called the Ner Tamid.

It is interesting to me that even though it’s a month later my torah portion talks about Pesach. The Jews were in a hurry so they didn’t make bread, they made matzah. Matzah is flat and hard. It’s not fluffy and light. It’s hardcore. It’s called poor bread. It’s not fancy. It’s not puffed up and not full of itself. It’s like a person - some people are all puffed up and think they are a big deal. Matzah is not like that. It’s very thin. A person like that is humble.

I would like to be a humble person. What you see is what you get. If more people were like that it would be a better world.

I am proud to become a Jewish adult today. Thank you for being part of my bar mitzvah.

Shabbat Shalom