Divrei Menachem

Divrei Menachem

Parshat Emor opens with an injunc- tion addressed to Moshe who is to address the Kohanim, as follows: “Say (EMOR) to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and tell (V’AMARTA) them - ‘Each of you shall not contaminate himself [through contact with] a person among his people.”
Instead of the more frequent and harsher form of speech “DABER”, the repeated use of the softer “EMOR” - to say or to tell - indicates that there is a very special message that goes beyond the superficial text. Our rabbis initially understand that the sanctified Kohanim, the teachers of the people, who lived in the tradition of being “lovers of peace and pursuers of peace”, should desist from becoming contaminated by a dead body, the highest form of Tum’a. The kohanim were to maintain the highest standards of purity and integrity.
For the Ramban, however, the softer tone of speech and the seeming redundancy suggest that the Kohanim are being asked to behave in a man- ner alien to their natural tendency. One superb cautionary note was offered by Rav Dov Be’er, the Magid of Mezeritch, who advised pure and liberal-minded do-gooders not to be contaminated by their own self- satisfied and self-righteous postures. Or to paraphrase the Seer of Lublin - not to let the search for peace (with certain types of people) lead to a corruption of the soul. This certainly has a familiar ring today.

Shabbat Shalom, Menachem Persoff

• Other Divrei Menachem
• Divrei Menachem
• Divrei Menachem
• Divrei Menachem