The Haftarah for Parashat Emor 5762

Read from the Book of Ezekiel 44:15-31

Ezekiel gives the Laws that will apply to the Kohanim in the messianic times, after the Building of the 3rd Temple. The Book of Ezekiel is divided as follows:

• 1. Books of Judgement
• - Ezekiel's Calling
• - Judgments on Judah
• 2. Books of Hope
• - Description of the 3rd Temple
• - the new Jerusalem
• - Master Diagram of the 3rd Temple
• - Halls
• - Courtyards
• - Holy of Holies
• - Sanctuaries
• - Passageways
• - Water Chambers
• - Altar
• - Tables for the bread

The Storyline of this week's Haftarah: This week's Haftarah begins with the laws that will apply to the Kohanim in the Third Bait Hamikdash. In the next and final Holy Temple only the Kohanim that are the descendants of Tzadok family will perform the sacrificial service because they were the only ones who didn't stray from Hashem and his laws. In the future Bait Hamikdash the Kohanim's clothing will be made from linen, for example: their turbans, jackets and pants. When the Kohanim leave the Temple they will have to change into other clothing. These are the laws that pertain to the Kohanim. They must not shave their heads or let their hair grow too long. They must wear their hair trimmed. They must not drink wine when they enter the inner court of the Temple. They must not take widows or divorces as wives. They must teach people the difference between holy and sacrilegious. They must inform people of the difference between spiritually clean and unclean. They will act as Judges to resolve disputes. The Kohanim must keep all the laws of the Torah especially Shabbat. A Kohen must not come close to a dead person, unless it is their mother, father, son, daughter or an unmarried brother or sister. The Kohanim will receive gifts in the time of the third Temple. The Kohanim will not have a portion of the Land of Israel set aside for them. Instead they will get gifts in the form of food from the sacrifices given in the Temple. The Kohanim are forbidden to eat from animals that are not kosher.

Haftorahman's Lesson of the week: In this weeks Haftarah Hashem already tells us what will happen in the future. So it is up to us to get ready. Many times we want something to happen but "it ain't happening yet," that doesn't mean give up, it means get ready. It means "be the first one on line, that when things change and they always do, you'll be the first one in the door. Like the song says "Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, Get ready, Get ready; Get ready, because here I come." Get yourself spiritually ready. Hashem has already told you what to get ready for. It makes it much easier to plan for the event.

Ezekiel's Biography: The name means "The strength of G-d." He was called Ben-Adam or Son of Man. His father's name was Buzi. He was born in 620 B.C.E. and died. In 570 B.C.E. Ezekiel's ministry was lived primarily if not entirely in Babylon. His prophecies started with visions of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, until the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Bait Hamikdash in 587 B.C.E. He wrote his own book. It was 48 chapters long. His wife died on eve of the destruction of the Holy Temple. He was part of the deportations of Jews from in 598 B.C.E. Ezekiel prophesied close to the time of the destruction of the 1st Bait Hamikdash. (Holy Temple.) He was one of the 3 main Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. He was the Hebrew prophet of the Babylonian exile & the watchman of the people. Ezekiel, Eliyahu & Elisha were given the key to resurrection of the dead.

Timeline: Ezekiel prophesied about 2400 years ago in the Jewish years 3332-3352.

Map: Ezekiel was one of the Jews that were in exile in Babylonia.

Written by: The Haftorahman - Reuven Gavriel ben Nissim Ebrahimoff 5762-2002

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