Emor – Peninim on the Torah

בחדש הראשון בארבעה עשר לחדש בין הערבים פסח לד'

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5786

In the first month, on the fourteenth of the month in the afternoon, is the time of the Pesach offering to Hashem. (23:5)

We have no shortage of enjoinments concerning the Yom Tov of Pesach. We are often reminded to remember the Exodus from Egypt. Indeed, it is a daily part of our Shema Yisrael and a component of our Tefillah. On the night of Pesach, things change when we engage in an exclusive and intensified zeicher l’yetzias Mitzrayim, remembrance of the Exodus. The commentators distinguish between the sippur, relating, the story of yetzias Mitzrayim. On Pesach night, in a family setting, we relate and explain the story, allowing for everyone at the seder table to listen, add and be a part of…

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ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5786

You shall not desecrate My Holy Name, rather I should be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael. (22:32)

A passage in the Talmud (Yoma 86A) illuminates the concept of Kiddush Hashem, but also insinuates that we can view dereliction as a chillul Hashem, desecration of Hashem’s Name. “What do people say about an individual who reads, learns and serves talmidei chachamim, Torah scholars, and handles all his relations (business, etc.) with his fellow man with emunah, faith, and makes sure his manner of speech is b’nachas, soft and pleasant? Fortunate is his father who taught him Torah/Fortunate is his Rebbe who taught him Torah. Look at so and so who studied Torah, and (as a result) his demeanor…

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ובת איש כהן כי תחל לזנות את אביה היא מחללת באש תשרף

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5786

The daughter of a Kohen who prepares herself through immorality desecrates her father; she is punished by fire. (21:9)

The above pasuk is chilling –describing tragedy upon tragedy. A young woman ostensibly raised in a refined, hallowed Torah home goes off the derech, acting out her rebellion with acts of moral turpitude. How does such a moral collapse occur – especially in such a family? If I may use my writer’s license, I suggest a homiletic rendering of this pasuk/incident. Several questions surface upon reading the text. First, why does the Torah state that she desecrates her father? It is the sacred institution of Kehunah that she profanes. She is dragging the Priesthood through the mud – not her…

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ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5785

You shall not desecrate My holy Name, rather I should be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael. (22:32)

It does not require an extraordinary mind to understand the necessity for a Jew to sanctify Hashem’s Name. He certainly should not disgrace His Name. Unfortunately, many still do not know (or accept) the definition of chillul Hashem. The Rambam (Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah 5:10) writes, “Whoever transgresses one of the Torah’s mitzvos with malicious purpose disgraces Hashem’s Name. One who desists/refrains from sin – or performs a mitzvah because it is Hashem’s command – sanctifies His Name.” The Rambam adds that, if a distinguished leader, a Torah personality whom the people revere, acts in a manner that causes people to…

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לא יקרחה קרחה בראשם ופאת זקנם לא יגלחו ובבשרם לא ישרטו שרטת קדשים יהיו לאלקיהם

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5785

They shall not make a bald spot on their heads, and they shall not shave an edge of their beard; and in their flesh, they shall not cut a gash… They shall be holy to their G-d. (21:5-6)

Horav Yehoshua Leib Diskin, zl, explains the continuity of these pesukim. The pagan priests of that day would mark their bodies to show their distinction from the average pagan. They cut their hair differently and made markings in their skin for all to see that they were priests. They did this because, in their basic rectitude and moral compass, no distinction existed between them and the average devotee who viewed them as spiritually elevated. Their lifestyle was as morally profligate as that of other idol worshippers. Thus, in order to garner respect from the populace, they required creative physical signs…

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אמר אל הכהנים בני אהרן ואמרת אליהם

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5785

Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and tell them. (21:1)

them. (21:1) Chazal (Yevamos 114a) explain the apparent redundancy of Emor v’Amarta – “Say and tell,” to convey the important message of, l’hazhir gedolim al ha’ketanim, the adult Kohanim are cautioned regarding the children. A Kohen is not permitted to come in contact with the deceased; neither is he permitted to cause his children to become contaminated. Simply, the Torah is teaching us a primary lesson in chinuch, Torah education: children learn by example. “Do as I say – not as I do” is not effective. Inevitably, children mimic what they see. Thus, if a father wants to impart positive…

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ולקחתם לכם ... פרי עץ הדר כפת תמרים וענף עץ עבת וערבי נחל

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5784

You shall take for yourselves … an esrog (the fruit of a citron tree), a lulav (the branches of date palms), hadas (twigs of a plaited tree/myrtle), and aravos (brook willows). (23:40)

Chazal (Succah 37b) state that one is to take the lulav (held) in his right hand, while he takes the esrog in the left. The reason for this is that the lulav includes three mitzvos: lulav, hadas, aravah; the esrog is singular. This does not seem consistent with the Midrash’s (Vayikra Rabbah 30:12) characterization of the symbolic representation of each of the arba minim, four species. The four species allude to four types of Jews. The esrog, pri eitz hadar, the beautiful fruit of a tree, has taam and reiach, taste as well as fragrance. It parallels the talmid chacham,…

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ועל כל נפשת מת לא יבא לאביו ולאמו לא יטמא

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5784

He shall not come near any dead person; he shall not contaminate himself to his father or his mother. (21:11)

Rashi infers from the pasuk (which on the surface appears superfluous) that, while the Kohen Gadol may not contaminate himself even to a family member, he may contaminate himself to a meis mitzvah, deceased who has no one to bury him. To better understand this, we will explain what it means to be alone at the time of death. By nature, the human being seeks connection and companionship. Human beings are social creatures. As such, during moments of vulnerability, the need for companionship intensifies. Having said this, we turn to the laws concerning the meis mitzvah, man who dies alone,…

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ובת איש כהן כי תחל לזנות את אביה היא מחללת

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5784

If the daughter of a Kohen will be desecrated through adultery, she desecrates her father. (21:9)

The Torah explains what a tragedy truly is. A young woman, married or betrothed, commits an act of adultery. The actual act is an egregious sin in its own right, but her pedigree magnifies the sin. This woman’s father is a Kohen, member of the Priestly family. Thus, not only does she disgrace herself, but she also humiliates and defames her father. As a result, her punishment is more harsh than if she had been the daughter of a Yisrael. The word seichel is translated as desecrated, a derivative of challal or chillul. Seichal, posits Horav Shlomo Kluger, zl, can…

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ויניחהו במשמר לפרש להם על פי ד'

Sruly Schnair In Emor, 5783

They placed him under guard to clarify for themselves through Hashem. (24:12)

The incident of the megadef, blasphemer, is a sad entry in the history of our people. It is not as if we have not had wicked, insecure people whose actions against Hashem warranted swift and extreme punishment. He was, however, the first to act so contemptibly. Thus, the punishment to be meted out to him was uncertain. Hashem had to inform Moshe Rabbeinu what form of execution – if any – he should receive. He was placed in a holding cell until Hashem clarified his punishment. The megadef was not the only sinner spending his time in a cell. The…

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בחדש הראשון בארבעה עשר לחדש בין הערבים פסח לד'

In the first month, on the fourteenth of the month in the afternoon, is the time of the Pesach offering to Hashem. (23:5)

ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל

You shall not desecrate My Holy Name, rather I should be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael. (22:32)

ובת איש כהן כי תחל לזנות את אביה היא מחללת באש תשרף

The daughter of a Kohen who prepares herself through immorality desecrates her father; she is punished by fire. (21:9)

ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי בתוך בני ישראל

You shall not desecrate My holy Name, rather I should be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael. (22:32)

לא יקרחה קרחה בראשם ופאת זקנם לא יגלחו ובבשרם לא ישרטו שרטת קדשים יהיו לאלקיהם

They shall not make a bald spot on their heads, and they shall not shave an edge of their beard; and in their flesh, they shall not cut a gash… They shall be holy to their G-d. (21:5-6)

אמר אל הכהנים בני אהרן ואמרת אליהם

Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and tell them. (21:1)

ולקחתם לכם ... פרי עץ הדר כפת תמרים וענף עץ עבת וערבי נחל

You shall take for yourselves … an esrog (the fruit of a citron tree), a lulav (the branches of date palms), hadas (twigs of a plaited tree/myrtle), and aravos (brook willows). (23:40)

ועל כל נפשת מת לא יבא לאביו ולאמו לא יטמא

He shall not come near any dead person; he shall not contaminate himself to his father or his mother. (21:11)

ובת איש כהן כי תחל לזנות את אביה היא מחללת

If the daughter of a Kohen will be desecrated through adultery, she desecrates her father. (21:9)

ויניחהו במשמר לפרש להם על פי ד'

They placed him under guard to clarify for themselves through Hashem. (24:12)

YEARS

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