Before we begin the passage for today, I have a prayer request.
A friend of mine called me this afternoon and asked prayer for her brother's family. Her brother in Atlanta, rushed his wife to the hospital with an abscessed appendix, while at the same time in, Portland, Oregon, their son was being ruched to the emergency room with a broken collar bone, the result of a snowboarding accident. Now the son is hundreds of miles away lonely and in pain, while his mom is in the hospital. His return flight isn't until Saturday.
Please pray that the airline will take mercy on him and let him fly home on a stand by flight so that he can be with his family. He needs them and they need him.

Leviticus 21-23

Regulations for Conduct of Priests (21:1-22:16)
The priest were forbidden to come in contact by preparing or carrying a dead body except for the close family listed in these verses. (Lev.21:1-4) Otherwise they were defiling themselves and were made unworthy of serving in the tabernacle. The other regulations for the priest behavior deal with such things as marrying a harlot or a divorced woman.(Lev. 21:7) It also speaks of Aaron's descendants who would become ineligible to serve as a priest; those with any defects. (Lev.21:17-23)

Offerings Accepted and Not Accepted (22:17-33)
Any offering with a blemish or other defect was not an acceptable offering. (22:19-23) Nothing bruised or crushed (fruits & vegetables) torn or cut (22:24-27) In other words all offerings had to be perfect in order to be accepted.

Israel's Feasts (Lev. 23:1-44)
In addition to the Sabbath, Leviticus 23 describes seven sacred festivals of the Hebrew calendar that were observed before the Babylonian exile. These feasts were occasions for nationwide gatherings which called the people to public worship. Passover (23:5) and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (23:6-8) occurred in Abib (also called Nisan), the 1st month (March or April) of the sacred year. Combined they were one of Israel's three annual pilgrimage festivals for which every adult male was required to present himself at the tabernacle; and later, the temple.

Passover may have been celebrated for one day at the beginning of the week-long Feast of Unleavened Bread, as it is in modern Judaism.

Firstfruits (23:9-21) was celebrated twice during the year as an expression of gratitude to God for His provision in the harvest. The first celebration occurred on the day following the Sabbath at the time of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This fell during the barley harvest, some time between the 15th and the 22nd days of the 1st month (Abib). The second celebration occurred 50 days later during the Feast of Weeks.

The Feast of Weeks (23:15-22), also known as Harvest (Ex. 23:16), occurred 50 days after the offering of firstfruits at the barley harvest. Held in connection the wheat harvest, this one day celebration during the 3rd month (Sivan) involved the firstfruits observation as well as other sacrifices. It was the second festival with required attendance at the temple.

The Feast of Trumpets (23:23-25) was the first of three holy days of the 7th month (Tishni). It was a sacred celebration of the new civil year, calling attention to judgment for sin, and the need for penitence and forgiveness.

The Day of Atonement (23:26-32) was the second holy day of the 7th month. On this day sacrifice was made for the sin of the whole nation, thus, it was a time of true repentance and faith preparing for the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Feast of Tabernacles (23:33-36 or Booths v. 39-43), the third holy day of the 7th month was celebrated at the end of the grape harvest in September-October. Also known as in gathering (Ex. 23:16), it was a time for great joy when all harvests were completed. It was also the third feast requiring a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

It seems that there were festivals going on all year to remind the children of Israel that they had much to be thankful for. God had miraculously provided for their safety, health, and spiritual well being. It was up to them to be obedient to the things Moses was trying to teach them. Through their obedience came the blessings of God upon their nation.