To Be In Contact With Death And Doubt

by Rabbi Daniel Fliegler
Special To The Jewish Week

Candelighting, Readings:
Shabbat candles: 7:43 p.m.
Torah reading: Leviticus 21:1-24:23
Haftarah: Ezekiel 44:15-31
Shabbat ends: 8:48 p.m.

Emor is fascinating due to its strangeness. It starts with death, specifically the death by the closest relatives of a Kohen, a priest. It ends with the death by execution of one who blasphemed the name of God, a crime so serious that the condemned was hung for good measure after being executed. In between, the parsha concerns itself with the intricate details of every single holiday that the Torah mandates for us. The question is how these seemingly disparate subjects link together to give the parsha its

form.
Emor tells a Kohen that he cannot come into contact with any human corpse, except for his closest relatives or someone who has no one else to bury him. The Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, cannot come in contact with even his dead relatives.
The Mei Shiloah, a commentary on the Torah, explains that this is to help a Kohen avoid depression and any complaints against God while in service to Him.
Death is not seen as part of the natural order of things under God’s plan but as an indicator that the system is out of alignment and needs adjustment. Ideally, a human being is someone existing in the physical and spiritual worlds simultaneously, acting as a channel between the two, bringing joy to both worlds through service to God. This is the ideal of Eden before the first sin. Death implies the system went out of kilter and the Kohen’s job — especially the job of the Kohen Gadol — is to bring the system back to its optimal state by bridging connections between people, and between people and God. Hence the Kohen is commanded to avoid a situation that would put doubt in his mind, with death implying the inability to function simultaneously in both the spiritual and physical worlds.
This explains why in the middle of the parashah we have the entire list of Moadim, translated as “holidays” but literally meaning “meetings.” God gives us certain points in time and place where it is easier for us to come closer to Him, to have a better perception of Him. It is the Kohen who acts as the facilitator in our attempt to come closer to God, and so the Kohen has to rid himself of anything that leaves him with a bad feeling or doubt. This is why he is commanded to avoid contact with death, to be spiritually and physically whole, before taking on the responsibility of bringing people closer to God.
Regarding the hanging of the blasphemer, in a later parashah, Ki Teze, we are given the mitzvah to bury a person who was hanged on the day of execution. In practice, the hanging was done close to sunset, so the burial would be a few minutes after that. Rashi explains with a story of two twin brothers. One becomes king, the other a murderous criminal. When the evil brother is finally caught and hung for his deeds, some people think it’s the king hanging up there. The implication of Rashi’s story is clear. Humans are made in the image of God. God put part of His holiness into each of us. It is by virtue of that holiness that we must not view anyone with contempt, but to treat others with honor. Even the blasphemer has to be treated with respect because of the holiness that lies within him. It was the telling that led to the blasphemy. The blasphemer wanted to fit in with one of the tribes but couldn’t. His actions were wrong, but they stemmed from his desire to be a part of Israel.
This leads us to the greatest paradox. God asks us to try and achieve the impossible. We are asked to increase our understanding of Him, but we can never totally achieve this. We are asked to try. Whether we ultimately success is beyond us. Even knowing what actions to take may be beyond us.
In the Kotzker Rebbe’s community it was customary, once a year, for one Jew to be asked a deep question that he had to answer in front of everyone. One year, the Jew who was to be asked the question prepared himself by studying and studying as much as he could. When the day came, the Kotzker Rebbe presented the question: “What does God want from us Jews?”
The Jew broke down and cried, unable to give the ultimate answer. n
Rabbi Daniel Fliegler is a chaplain at the Regeis Care Center in the Bronx.

Westchester Jewish Conference

Westchester’s Jewish Community Relations Organization