The “nickname” of Sefer Vayikra is Toras
Kohanim since it contains the special laws that pertain only to the children of
Aharon. Parshas Emor fits this theme very well.
The parsha begins with the important
laws concerning Kohanim and impurity. “…אֱמֹ֥ר אֶל־הַכֹּֽהֲנִ֖ים
בְּנֵ֣י אַֽהֲרֹ֑ן וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ לֹֽא־יִטַּמָּ֖א בְּעַמָּֽיו” “…Speak
to the Kohanim, the children of Aharon, and say to them: ‘Let none of you
defile himself for a dead person among his relatives.’ (Vayikra 21:1). One of
the conditions of their special status is that Kohanim are not allowed to
become tamei mes (spiritually impure as a result of coming into contact
with a dead body) except to close relatives whom the Torah lists by name.
The above quoted pasuk begins with seemingly
superfluous phrases. First, the pasuk says to speak to “the Kohanim, the
children of Aharon.” We know that the Kohanim are Aharon’s descendants; the
pasuk only needs to say to speak to the Kohanim or the children of Aharon. Why
does it write both? Secondly, the pasuk says to “speak to the Kohanim” and “say
to them.” Only one of these phrases is needed for the pasuk to make sense, why
are both written?
The Kli Yakar explains
that the pasuk is explaining the standard to which all Kohanim must hold
themselves. Aharon, and every Kohen Gadol that followed him, was the holiest
man on earth during his tenure as Kohen Gadol as he was the source for Hashem’s
kedushah in this world. The kedushah would extend to his children, i.e. the
other Kohanim, but was not as strong on them as on him since they were further
from the source. Therefore, while Kohanim were allowed to become tamei mes
to a few select relatives, the Kohen Gadol was not allowed to become tamei for
anyone, even his parents! Since his kedushah came directly from Hashem, he was
not allowed to “disturb” that flow. However, the other Kohanim only received
their kedushah through him; their kedushah only came through their being “bnei
Aharon”, while the Kohen Gadol’s came through his own greatness.
This explains why the
pasuk uses these extra phrases. First, the pasuk describes them both as Kohanim
and as sons of Aharon so the Kohanim would understand that even though they are
on a higher level of kedushah than the average Jew, they must know where their kedushah
came from and appreciate the greatness of the Kohen Gadol.
Then, the pasuk twice says
to speak to them so they should understand the extent of their obligations.
First, that Moshe should speak to them as Bnei Aharon, meaning that they are
connected to Aharon and therefore shouldn’t become tamei in any capacity. The
second time, the pasuk says he should speak to them, as themselves. This
means that they don’t have an innate kedushah like the Kohen Gadol, and
therefore, there are a few people to whom they can become tamei.
Then the Kli Yakar
brings an exact opposite explanation. Hashem tells Moshe to speak to the
Kohanim as the sons of Aharon, stressing that they have a personal connection
to the person who is the source of kedushah for the entire world! However, they
may feel that if not for that connection, they would lack that special privilege
of being a Kohen. Therefore, Hashem tells Moshe to speak to them, to
show them that even without the direct connection to Aharon, they are still
special; they are the Kohanim, the direct link between the nation and Hashem! Therefore,
they can become tamei to certain people, but not all.
Most of us are not Kohanim. But even
though we aren’t genetic Kohanim, each and every Jew has an obligation to be a
Kohen (See Shemos 19:6). This means that just like the Kohanim are on a
spiritual level above the rest of the nation and have an obligation to maintain
that level, we all have an obligation to be on and maintain a higher spiritual
level than the rest of the world. May we all be zoche to become Kohanim in the
truest sense!
Shabbat Shalom!
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