Friday, May 1, 2026/15 Iyar, 5786

Friday, May 1, 2026/15 Iyar, 5786

Parashat Emor Leviticus 21:1-24:23

Haftarah Ezekiel 44:15-31

Dear TBE Community,

I was writing about Pesach Sheni, the second Passover, and about second chances for my Kol Beit El column for May, so restitution and repair were on my mind when I read one of the final verses of this week’s parasha:

Regarding anyone who maims another person: what was done shall be done in return—fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The injury inflicted on a human being shall be inflicted in return (Leviticus 24:19–20).

This verse in Parashat Emor is not the only place where this famous and, maybe unjustly, infamous image appears. Torah invokes it twice more: in Exodus 21:24, in Parashat Mishpatim, and in Deuteronomy 19:21, in Parashat Shoftim.

I say “unjustly infamous” because the rabbinic commentators go to great lengths to interpret these verses not as literal bodily retaliation, but as monetary compensation for injury: damages to be paid. If a person loses an eye, how do we assess the value of that loss? Is the injury the same for a cab driver as for a pianist? What kind of work can the person no longer do? What income has been lost? How much pain and suffering did the injury cause? What treatment will be needed going forward? Was there humiliation involved?

Injuries, as we know, are not always physical.

Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, in a collection of Hasidic folk tales, includes the story of a man who went around town slandering the rabbi. One day, realizing that many of the things he had said were unfair, he came to the rabbi’s house and asked for forgiveness. The rabbi told him that he would forgive him on one condition: the man should go home, take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the wind. Then he should return.

Albeit puzzled, the man was relieved to be given such a seemingly easy penance. He cut open the pillow, scattered the feathers, and came back.

“Am I forgiven now?” he asked.

“Just one more thing,” the rabbi said. “Go now and gather up all the scattered feathers.”

“But that’s impossible,” the man replied. “The wind has already carried them away.”

“Precisely,” answered the rabbi. “And though you truly wish to correct the wrong you have done, it is as impossible to repair the damage done by your words as it is to recover the feathers.”

Human beings are not capable of living without failure. We hurt each other. We speak unfairly. Injuries happen. Damage gets done.

The Torah says, “eye for an eye,” but the rabbis refuse to let justice become vengeance. They transform the verse from a rule of retaliation into a system of measured responsibility. The injury, in this case the slander, cannot be undone, but it can be acknowledged, measured and accounted for. Rabbinic law turns the passion of revenge into the discipline of repair. Even if complete repair may not be possible, we are encouraged to try our best – just as we are cautioned to avoid causing such damages in the first place.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Julia Knobloch

More Torah Tidbits

Hadas Cootware

Torah School Coordinator

Hadas Cootware has been teaching Hebrew and Jewish Studies for over a decade, joining our Temple Beth El Community in 2018. Born and raised in Israel with Hebrew as her native language, she previously served as a combat soldier and operations officer in the IDF. Drawing on her studies in acting and psychology, she published a children’s book in Hebrew, The Marshmallow Story, which focuses on delayed gratification. Outside of teaching, she is the proud mother of her son, Henry, and loves to travel.

TBEtorahschool@bethelsp.org

Ilan Davidson

Cantor

Cantor Ilan Davidson has been pleasing audiences with his singing since before he could read. At age five, he began singing with his Cantor, Philip Moddel, and hasn’t shut up since. At ten, he made his Operatic debut with the Fullerton Civic Light Opera’s production of Bizet’s Carmen, as a street urchin. Since then, he has performed roles in opera and musical theatre, performing, directing, and producing world-class productions.

Among his many accomplishments, Cantor Davidson is also known as a contemporary Jewish songwriter and performer, having delighted audiences all over the world, including Israel and Lithuania with the soulful sounds of his music. His recordings, Stained Glass (1995) and In A Hanukkah Mood (2007) are collections of original and covered songs by himself and many contemporary Jewish artists. His most recent recording, God Is In This Place (2020), is a collection of original liturgical pieces for the Friday night Shabbat Service, commissioned and written in honor of his 25th Anniversary as the Cantor of Temple Beth El.

Cantor Davidson left the stage and in 1995 joined the Temple Beth El family, in San Pedro, where, in his nearly 30 years of service, he has brought many new programs and much enthusiasm to all he does. Coming from a long line of Cantors, it must have been Besheret for Cantor Davidson, although talented in all areas of musical performance, to finally settle down into his career as Hazzan for Temple Beth El in San Pedro, California. In 2007, Cantor Davidson founded a new foundation, KindredSPIRITS, producing an annual world humanitarian aid event. KindredSPIRITS premiered on June 5, 2008 at Walt Disney Concert Hall, adding that prestigious concert hall to the ever growing list of venues around the world, where Davidson has performed. During the 10 years of humanitarian events, Global KindredSPIRITS, Inc., as an official 501©3, raised awareness and close to $500,000 for its beneficiaries over the decade.
As a past president of the South Coast Interfaith Council, Ilan fought for tolerance and understanding of ALL faiths in a difficult climate. For the past 7 years, Cantor Davidson has been service as an LA County Commissioner, representing the 4th District on the Human Relations Commission, where he currently serves as President. Whether it is raising his voice for justice, Hazzanut, Pop, Opera, Musical Theatre, or folk music, Cantor Ilan Davidson shares his soul and genuine love in every note.

When asked about his finest accomplishment, Cantor Ilan invariably responds, “After all the great concerts, services, and roles, my finest role in life is that of husband to my beautiful wife, Jodi, and daddy to my gorgeous daughters, Jordan and Zoe.”

cantor@bethelsp.org

Office: (310) 833-2467 Ext. 106

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