Food Tourah – Emor

May 14, 2025 in Food Tourah

Because life so often happens around food, we’re spending the year exploring the weekly parshiot and finding connections to each week’s Shabbat menu. 31 parshiot down, 23 more to go!

Parshat Emor details the rules surrounding priestly conduct, including restrictions on mourning, marriage, and who may consume sacrificial offerings. It also specifies the physical conditions that disqualify an animal from being used as a sacrifice. The parsha then turns to the calendar of observances starting with Shabbat and Passover. G-d tells Moses to instruct the Israelites that when they enter the Promised Land they are to reap its harvest. The parsha lists other offerings to G-d which include choice flour, first fruits, and animals without blemish. Among other holidays, it goes on to describe Rosh Hashanah (commemorated with “loud blasts”), Yom Kippur (a time to practice self-denial), and Sukkot, the Festival of Booths.  And this parsha again outlines the practice of leaving the corner of one’s fields for the poor and the stranger.

Emor’s reminder to leave part of one’s fields for the poor and the stranger highlights an emphasis on hospitality.  In that spirit, we share this round up of Dairy Free Dips  – versatile, crowd-pleasing recipes you can serve whether you are serving meat or dairy. The parsha’s overview of the holidays brings to mind some of our favorite dishes.  Try Rosh Hashanah-inspired  Pomegranate Glazed Salmon or Pomegranate Skillet Chicken and pair either with a Super Food Sukkot Salad filled with color and crunch.  Finish the meal with these deliciously bright Meringue Fruit Tarts – we’re thinking of berries, among the first fruits of summer.

B’tayavon and Shabbat Shalom,

Alison (Baraf) & Sarah (Roark)

To read past installments of Food Tourah – Click Here.

For a more in-depth look at this week’s parsha, visit Sefaria.com.