Emor אמור

אמור

This week's parsha, Emor, is filled with laws concerning the conduct of priests, (Cohenim). Since the Cohenim are bringing the sacrifices, and מקרבים, coming close to God, a stricter code of conduct is expected of them. Furthermore, the Cohen HaGadol, or High Priest, has even more restrictions.

וַיֹּאמֶר יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֶל מֹשֶׁה אֱמֹר אֶל הַכֹּהֲנִים בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם לְנֶפֶשׁ לֹא יִטַּמָּא בְּעַמָּיו:

"And the Lord said to Moses: Speak to the kohanim, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: Let none [of you] defile himself for a dead person among his people." (Lev 21:1)

כִּי אִם לִשְׁאֵרוֹ הַקָּרֹב אֵלָיו לְאִמּוֹ וּלְאָבִיו וְלִבְנוֹ וּלְבִתּוֹ וּלְאָחִיו:

"Except for his relative who is close to him, his mother, his father, his son, his daughter and his brother." (Lev 21:2)

Defiling in this context is understood to mean burying the dead. The law regarding the High Priest is different:

וְהַכֹּהֵן הַגָּדוֹל מֵאֶחָיו אֲשֶׁר יוּצַק עַל רֹאשׁוֹ שֶׁמֶן הַמִּשְׁחָה וּמִלֵּא אֶת יָדוֹ לִלְבֹּשׁ אֶת הַבְּגָדִים אֶת רֹאשׁוֹ לֹא יִפְרָע וּבְגָדָיו לֹא יִפְרֹם:

"And the kohen who is elevated above his brothers, upon whose head the anointment oil has been poured or who has been inaugurated to wear the garments, he shall not leave his hair unshorn or rend his garments." (Lev 21:10)

וְעַל כָּל נַפְשֹׁת מֵת לֹא יָבֹא לְאָבִיו וּלְאִמּוֹ לֹא יִטַּמָּא:

"And he shall not come upon any dead bodies; he shall not defile himself for his father or his mother."

This is a really harsh verse - the High Priest is so elevated that he cannot mourn the loss of his own mother and father, or even enter into the house where their bodies lie.

Furthermore, we find out later that part of his job is to comfort others in their time of need.

The Mishna has an interesting argument about this verse (Masechet Sanhedrin, Perek 2): Rabbi Meir interprets the above verse to mean:

מת לו מת - אינו יוצא אחר המתתה אלא, הן נכסין והוא נגלה, הו נגליו והוא נכסה, ויוצא עמהן על פתח העיר.

When a close relative of the High Priest dies, he doesn't go out with the mourners to follow the burial procession. Instead, he is hidden when they are exposed, and he is exposed when they are hidden. He goes with them until the entrance to the city.

In other words, he views the procession stealthily, by hiding around corners, etc., so no one sees him.

Rabbi Yehudah, who is known for very literal interpretation, disagrees. He opens his argument by quoting scripture - (Lev 21:12)

ומין המקדש לא יוצא

"He will not leave the sanctuary."

That is to say that the Priest stays in the Temple, and doesn't participate at all in the funeral.

Instead of direct participation, Rabbi Yehudah goes on to explain that the High Priest will be comforted by the community when someone close to him dies - אנו כפרתך

As usual, the Mishna doesn't tell us who is right, we only get these opposing views.

Both Rabbis want to respect both the letter of the law and it's spirit, as well as giving the much-afflicted High Priest a chance to mourn. Moreover, they are concerned with both the sanctity and dignity of the priest.

Regarding the priests ritual sanctity, touching, or even being in close proximity to a corpse will lead to the Cohen haGadol being in a impure state, which will temporarily prevent him from performing the sacrificial rights on behalf of the people. Bringing any kind of impurity into the temple is a grievous sin, so we must be extra vigilant in this regard.

The priests dignity would be affected because in ancient days, mourning was a very public practice. The prescribed rites, including making bald patches on the head, shaving the edges of the beard, or cutting one's flesh, could bring down the Cohen in the eyes of the people.

We are concerned about this even today. Certain acts by public leaders can be seen as "beneath their dignity," even if they would be totally ok for a normal person to do. For instance, French President Nicolas Sarkozy was berated in France for going out jogging in public, and President Obama has been recently ridiculed for appearing on a late night talk show. This idea is reasonable - we expect a higher standard of behavior from our leaders, the question is where to draw the line.

Getting back to the Mishnah, both Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah understand these concerns, but their argument encapsulates a very basic and important difference in the way to interpreret Halacha.

Rabbi Yehudah's solution, that the Cohen doesn't leave the sanctuary at all for mourning, strikes me as very classical. He keeps the letter of the law exactly as it is written, and adds some additional words that help "soften the blow" a little bit.

This reminds me of the old controversy surrounding the morning blessing "Thank God for not making me a woman." Obviously, many women, and some men as well, objected to this obvious sexism. As a result, many prayer books added an additional blessing for women only, to say "Thank God for making me according to his will."

To me, this is an ultimately unsatisfying solution, because it still leaves the original offensive blessing intact, and the new blessing is in itself still demeaning. However, many folks clearly couldn't bring themselves to change the original blessing, even though these words are not commanded in the Torah.

As we know, more liberal movements took a totally different tact, and changed the original blessing to "Thank God for making me in his image."

On the other hand, Rabbi Meir's opinion strikes me as inspired. He takes very seriously the emotional needs of the grieving priest, and wants to do everything in his power to allow him some catharsis.

After all, the priest will not become impure simply but witnessing the procession, so ritual concerns are not an issue. By stealthily watching the proceedings, he is not not brought down in the eyes of his people, but is still able to express some emotion, albeit privately.

I like Rabbi Meir's opinion so much because of the emphasis on empathy and helping the afflicted person - true Jewish values.

Since the destruction of the second temple, we have been a people without a priestly hierarchy. This fulfills the prophecy from scripture.

וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ לִי מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ

"And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (Exodus 19:6)

In a certain sense, we are all priests today, in that we are each responsible for our own relationship to God - no one will להקריב, bring us closer. With this democratization comes risks and responsibilty. How are decisions made, who has the authority?

Today, it is OUR responsibility to see that decisions in our society, whether they be Halachic, political, legal, etc., are made with the most compassion and empathy possible.

I want to bless everyone here today with the power to take a stand for your beliefs and bring a little a bit more love into this world - we all can use it!