This week’s Torah portion, Emor, is the 31st (31/54 or 52, depending on the year: this year, it’s 54…) reading in the annual cycle, and the 8th parashah in the book of Vayikra/Leviticus.
This portion ( Leviticus 21:1-24:23 ) has examples of a central authority and their expected behavior, not to mention their care and feeding, and the representative structure of their authority: the Mishkan (aka The Tabernacle). The parashah also details some of the use of that authority for gathering purposes, and an example of the enforcement of said authority.
Several thousand years, and a new nation, ago, such hierarchies were not uncommon ways of establishing the rule of law. Common laws and norms, indeed, are necessary for us to live together. But, now that we have advanced to the point where most (%90 of males, 
& 82.7 of females, per UNESCO as of 2019), human beings are literate, perhaps such trappings around the rule of law are less needed.
What do you think our world could look like if every one of us learned, taught, and followed the empathetic rule of law?
I look forward to hearing your opinions on this matter, Thoughtful Readers.
We can really Do Better.
-Shira
Last week was: Parashat Kedoshim, What Torah Stands Upon ,
Action Prompts:
Share your thoughts on how to build buy-in create a more equal, or at least less inequitable, society, please. Writing, by the way, is my personal contribution to Project Do Better.
What would yours be, if you had time?
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Click here to read, if you like:
B5, Hakan:Muhafiz/The Protector, Lupin, or La Casa De Papel/Money Heist Reviews,
Shira Destinie A. Jones, MPhil, MAT, BsCs
Shira Destinie Jones’ work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Inspiring Critical Thinking and Community via Books, Lessons, and Story 
Reblogged this on Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News.
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תּוֹדָה רַבָּה (Todah Rabah), Ned.
Thank you, Ned.
Shira
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You forgot to mention that Acharei Mot and Kedoshim are usually a double parsha, but this year they are in their separate weeks because it is a leap year.
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תּוֹדָה רַבָּה
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Bevakashah
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Considering that most, if not all religions, with the possible exception of the Quakers, have traditionally worked in support of the existing hierarchical power structures, rather than in favor of equality or of equity, is there a danger of equating the rule of law with hierarchy?
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Hmm, possibly, and I think that maybe that has indeed happened for many people, but this depends on the level of critical thinking skill spread throughout the society, perhaps?
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But hierarchy is necessary in certain situations. Take my order, the Anla’Shok, for instance.
Ranger Mayann
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That is a good point, I suppose, if indeed true. In a fighting order, such as the Rangers, or the Templars, or the Jesuits, where the mission is to implement policy set from above, by any means called for, or by any means at the disposal of the order (yes, the Rangers have a different set of ethics, but orders still come from Ranger 1…), a hierarchy will exist, but I question the need for such orders, and for such hierarchies.
Hierarchy, by its very nature, encourages blind following of orders, as Marcus demonstrated by his comment on following where DeLenn points.
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