Emor (Leviticus 21:1-24:23)
OVERVIEW
This week's parashah begins with specific restrictions directed at the Cohanim, the priests. These restrictions pertain to marriages, sexuality and mourning. Cohanim must not come into contact with the dead, except for immediate blood relatives. They are only allowed to marry certain partners, and some kinds of physical abnormalities disqualify them from service. The food that the Cohanim eat may not be shared with "regular" Israelites. And, just as the sacrificial offerings must be perfect, so too the priests themselves must be physically unblemished. In chapter 23, all of the "set times" or holy days are listed and described, beginning with Shabbat and continuing with Pesach, the Omer period, Shavuot, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. The portion ends with a review of the laws pertaining to the menorah, the bread of the altar, and the punishment for murder, maiming and blasphemy.
IN FOCUS
The Eternal spoke to Moses: Speak to the Cohanim, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: None shall defile himself for any dead person among this people. (Leviticus 21:1)
PSHAT
Continuing from the previous week's instructions to the Priests, focusing on matters of holiness, Parashat Emor commences with a pronouncement that the Cohanim are not to allow themselves to become tamei (ritually impure) through contact with a corpse. This is a pretty common type of impurity, which the priests are specifically warned against. However, the passage continues with an exception: Priests can (and, in fact, are obligated to) tend to their immediate blood relatives (parents, children and siblings - spouses were added to this list by the later sages) when they have died. While tending to the dead is an important obligation for everyone, it does render one impure, and therefore unable to participate in the ritual life of the community. While this may not be a huge issue for most Israelites, especially when compared to the passing of a loved one, for the Priest, it means they are not able to fulfill their role as the facilitator of worship.
DRASH
One of my favourite modern commentators, Pinchas Peli (z"l) reminds us that back in Egypt, death was big business. All of life in ancient Egypt, especially for the aristocracy, revolved around building one's "house of eternity." This "house of eternity" referred to both one's legacy in this world and one's place in the world to come. For many Egyptian and other pagan priests, the preparation of tombs and the rituals of the dead were their main preoccupation. Egyptian priests focussed much more on the dead then the living.
But not so for the Israelite priest. The Cohen’s duty is to serve the living; to serve as a teacher and model of holiness for the people. The priest is actually prohibited from even coming into contact with the dead. Doing so makes him tamei - "impure" - and therefore unable to fulfill his priestly responsibilities.
But this "impurity" is not transmitted from the corpse. The Torah is not telling us that there is anything intrinsically dirty or evil about a dead person. Death is, so to speak, a part of life. To emphasize this point, the exemption is stated to allow the Cohen to take care of the preparation and burial of those closest to him: parents, siblings and children. This is, in fact, the obligation of every Jew.
The mitzvah of Livayat HaMet, the accompanying of the dead to their final burial place, is considered one of the most important of all the mitzvot. Why? Because it is considered to be the only truly selfless act; it is the only "favour" you can do for another without any expectation of the favour being returned. Helping another in their transition from this world to the next is the supreme human obligation. It will happen to us all, yet no one truly understands how this transition takes place. We can only guess, and try our best to help.
So important is this act that no one, including the high priest, can shirk this responsibility toward close relatives, or even towards the lonely or poor (met mitzvah) who have no one else to bury them. However, we must realize that it is not death that defiles the priest and renders him incapable of tending to his duties. Rather, it is the shifting of the focus of his duties from the living to the dead that distracts the priest from his obligation to the living.
We respect and mourn our dead, but Judaism is primarily about life. As it says in the Psalms, "The dead cannot mourn the Eternal" (Psalm 115). Death is a part of life. Because of this respect for life, taking care of the dead is considered such an important duty. We don't abdicate the responsibility to priests or professional undertakers - we take care of it ourselves. This is why the Chevra Kaddisha (literally "holy fellowship" - the traditional Jewish burial society) exists, to help us meet this need. We bring holiness into our lives through our respect for life. Even after death, we continue to honour the relationships of our life.
DAVAR AHER
This weekly portion deals with the laws of priestly purity. Since Israel is a pure and holy nation, they must keep away from impurity and corruption much more carefully than all the people of the heathen nations. A peasant may eat all manner of fine food without ill effects, but if a prince partakes of coarse food, he will become ill. The Children of Israel are like the prince in that they are so holy and noble that contact with even the smallest impurity may cause them great harm. For this reason they must be sternly admonished to keep away from it. (Divrei Shaarei Hayyim)
