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Emor 5785
Achrei Mos Kedoshim 5785
Tazriya Metzorah 5785
Tzav-Pesach 5785
Vayikra 5785
Emor 5785
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YouParsha Emor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOq7kH-2OXg Chadash – New Grain.
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This week, we read the Parsha of Emor, Leviticus 21 - 24. The beginning of the Parsha discusses the Cohanim, the priests. Cohanim are forbidden to marry certain people, go into certain places and act in certain ways. All of these restraints are to ensure an absolutely 100% perfect service in the temple. The Cohanim are to be praised. It has been nearly 2000 years since the last temple service and the Cohanim today, still adhere to these restrictions.
The relationship the Cohanim had with Hashem is alluded to in the name of this week's Parsha. There are several verbs, in Hebrew, for speak; emor, debair, kara. Emor is more formal, kara is more familiar. Debair is somewhere in the middle. The vast majority of the commandments were conveyed by G’d to Moshe with the term debair, meaning in a normal manner of speech. The beginning of the book of Leviticus begins with the word kara (vayikra) indicating that Hashem and Moshe were good friends. The commandments involving the Cohanim utilize the word emor to indicate that the Almighty showed the utmost respect and honor for those who were chosen to serve in the temple.
Prior to the giving of the Torah, Hashem announced to the Jewish people, "You are a nation of priests." Hashem informed the Jewish people that there were no "representatives" on their behalf and that every Jew has their own responsibilities. If that be the case, then the Almighty has and will show the utmost respect and honor to the entire Jewish nation. Our job is to live up to it.
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It is customary to study Pirkei Avos, Ethics of Our Fathers, during the weeks between Pesach and Shavuos.
Chapter four Mishna two states: Ben Azai said, "Run to do even a small mitzvah and flee from even a small transgression because a mitzvah causes a mitzvah and a transgression causes a transgression."
Pirkei Avos is not a legal text, but a tractate of suggestions for piety. It states clearly in the Code of Jewish Law that mitzvahs must be done with speed and alacrity, while transgressions should be avoided at all costs. Ben Azai must mean something deeper.
The Hebrew word for run is rotz and is related to the word rotzon, will or desire. Hashem says that he "wants" us to know him. There are two levels of knowledge, supernal knowledge and terrestrial knowledge. The lower level of knowledge views the world as an entity derived from the Divine nothing (Hashem being infinite is also absolute nothing). From this approach, when one performs a mitzvah, they connect themselves to the infinity of Hashem. This attachment results in the performer of the mitzvah losing their individual identity. Their mitzvah becomes their identity. The law states that when two people approach a door together, the person carrying a mitzvah, i.e., tefillin, lulav and esrog, etc, goes through the door first, regardless of who the two are. I once saw the Rebbe approach the door to 770. A yeshiva bochur did not see the Rebbe coming and also approached the door. When they met at the doorway, the Rebbe instructed this young student to enter first, since the student was wearing tefillin. The student lost his identity as a yeshiva bochur and became a tefillin wearer.
The second, higher approach involves knowledge from Hashem's perspective. The creation is insignificant compared to G’d, both qualitatively and quantitatively. This will be explained at another time. From this perspective, a person not only loses their separate identity and becomes a mitzvah performer, this person becomes incorporated into the infinity of G’d.
Ben Azai therefore said, run to do even a small mitzvah. By performing even a "small" mitzvah, a person can achieve the greatest level of infinity.
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