Lev. 21:1 - 24:23
Précis: This parasha is divided into four sections. First, it reviews procedures for the Priests to use to remain ritually pure. Second, it outlines the festival and holiday calendar. Third, it explains the use of the oil and the bread on display on the altar. Finally, there is a brief narrative about a blasphemer who is condemned to death.
Lev. 24:22 “You shall have one manner of law, for the stranger as for the home-born; for I am Adonai your God.”
God is not just the God of Israel the commentators assure us. God is the God of all people, and all are formed in God’s image.
There is no wriggle room for deviation from this bedrock principle: the law must apply to all equally, regardless of their origin. It is heartbreaking to see how the strangers among us are not accorded the same “manner of law” which is embodied in our constitutional guarantees.
