Parashat Emor - Shabbat Shalom - Three Pilgramage Festivals - Pesach, Succot and Shavuot

Emor, is the largest Parsha in the book of Vayikra (Leviticus), consisting of no fewer than 124 verses. The Parshah actually starts off relating many of the laws within regards to the Kohanim (Priests) (Vayikra 21:1/9). It mentions how a Kohen should not come in contact with a dead body and how a Kohen is only allowed to attend a funeral of a close relative (father, mother, brother, son, daughter and unmarried sister) (Moed Katan 20b). A Kohen is seen as being on a higher spiritual plateau than an ordinary Jew and is considered more Holy, whereas the Kohen Gadol is viewed as the holy of holies. The Parshah then talks about the marriages forbidden to a Kohen; relating that a Kohen is not allowed to marry a woman who had forbidden relations with a non Jew before marriage, a convert, a divorcee and is not allowed to marry a daughter of a Kohen of a union that was forbidden (Makkot 13a). The Parshah then relates how one must honour a Kohen, for example; a Kohen should be served first at a banquet, he should wash his hands first before a meal and be called to the Torah up first, before a Levi and Yisrael. A Kohen must possess five qualifications to serve as the Koehn Gadol (Vayikra