Priestly Holiness and its Strange Ingredients

Parshat Emor

by Rabbi Avi Billet

At the beginning of Parshat Emor, Moshe is instructed to inform the Kohanim a few important rules for them to follow in order to maintain their “taharah” – their purity that allows them to serve the general Jewish society’s spiritual needs.

                

They may not come in contact or within a certain distance of a corpse, unless it is one of his close relatives – mother, father, son, daughter, brother, and never-married sister. The status of his wife makes for an interesting halakhic discussion (based on how 21:4 is to be understood), but certainly in the absence of a Temple a Kohen will typically participate in such a funeral.

                

Kohanim may not create a bald spot in the head, nor shave the “peah” of the beard (corner of the head – where the skull and jawbone meet at the cheekbone), nor make a gash in the flesh (21:5), for they must be “holy unto God and not desecrate His Name.” (21:6) There is a group of women who are forbidden for a kohen to marry as well – their former relationships disqualify them from such a marriage (21:7)

                

The underlying reasons given for these rules are because “they present the fire offerings, the food offerings of God” and therefore they must remain holy (21:6&8).

                

Oddly enough, a simple reading of the procession of 21:5-6 would seem to suggest that the simple act of not making the bald spot or shaving the “peah” is their door to achieving holiness (and the holiness achievement is not dependent on the following verse of 21:7).  Rabbi Chaim Paltiel noted this (19:3), wondering what to make of Rashi’s principle from last week’s parsha that “whenever you find discussions about immorality, you can find a possibility for holiness.” What does shaving have to do with holiness (and shaving is certainly not immoral!)?

                

Perhaps we can find an answer from the words of the Alshikh.

                

In noting that the prohibition against creating a bald spot is in the context of mourning the death of a loved one, Alshikh maintains that the permission granted to become tameh when in mourning is not an all-out allowance to avoid all priestly rules. The Kohen still has a role, still has responsibilities, and therefore must remain “kadosh.” Apparently, participation in full acts of mourning lowers one’s level of kedusha (holiness).

Furthermore, their mindset is supposed to be “for their God.” Creating a bald spot or shaving deters from their kedusha because they demonstrate that they are identifying with those who have died and who no longer have that living connection to God.

Alshikh gives one more interpretation. All of these restrictions placed upon the Kohen, not to become tameh, not to make a bald spot, not to shave the corner of the beard, not to cut the flesh – these were all examples of “ways of the nations,” specifically the nations that were idolators. In other words, all of these warnings are really a form of avoiding “tumah” – spiritual impurity. All of these deeds would prevent a Kohen from participating in holy acts, in serving in the Temple.

Or, to put it the way Alshikh puts it, “When they fulfill the laws of the foreign gods, God removes His Godliness from upon them.” If they follow these first laws, they are called Kedoshim in the plural (21:6). However, when they raise their status up through avoiding the forbidden marriages, each Kohen will have achieved an even higher level and their collective holiness becomes described as the singular “Kadosh” (21:8)

Thus, while Rabbi Chaim Paltiel’s question regarding holiness and immorality is not directly answered, now that we have redefined the act of not shaving with a razor as an act of kedusha, we see that the discussion of kedusha is surrounded by an act of kedusha (not shaving) and an act of immorality (the Kohen marrying a woman forbidden to him). Perhaps we can add that following the ways of the idolators is by definition or leads to immorality. 

In essence, the Kohen always has the choice.  What will he do? Live up to his mitzvot? Maintain his tahara (spiritual purity)? Always be a model citizen and representative for the Jewish people? Or will he drop it all? Will he say it is not relevant because there is no Temple? Will he disregard his charge to model for Jewish men how to shave (with halakhic scissors) and shave instead with a razor? Will he say love triumphs over a law he does not understand, and that just because a woman is divorced does not speak about who she is as a person? [On this latter point, he might have a sound logical argument, but it doesn’t trump the Torah’s law. It is not the woman who is flawed; it is her status that is inaccessible to him.]

Kedusha – holiness, purity, being a member of the Jewish elite – is something towards which we must always aspire. The Kohen has simple steps to follow to maintain this. He should always be blessed to be strong, to fill his role properly, and to serve our People with honor.