The first seven Sidrot in the book of Vayikra concentrate on the laws relating to the purity and holiness of the whole nation of Israel. The Sidra of Emor focuses on the holiness of the priests who were obliged to adhere to a higher standard of sanctity than others. The first verse in the Sidra is difficult because of its unusual syntax, in which the verb AMAR, which means ‘to say’, is repeated twice. The mediaeval commentators offer a number of explanations for this. According to Rashi, the sentence should be read as follows: Ha-Shem instructed Moses to speak to the KOHANIM to refrain from being defiled and also train their children, from a very young age, to adhere to the principles of sanctity. The KOHANIM’s lifestyle required great caution and children had to grow up knowing this. The KOHANIM had to be pure in order to eat their sacrificial meat as well as the food which they were given as gifts from land owners. These gifts were known TERUMOT.
Rabbi Zalman Sorozkin suggests another reason for the exceptional emphasis in this commandment on the training KOHANIM from a very young age. He says that this mitzvah is exceptional in that it prevents the KOHANIM from performing one of the greatest Mitzvot in Judaism – the mitzvah of looking after the dead and honouring them on their last journey into the cemetery. Some KOHANIM might, therefore, be tempted to ignore the restrictions. This is why the Torah had to make it quite clear that their sanctity takes priority even over the great mitzvah of honouring the dead.
The Sidra repeats a number of times the fact that one family in particular was selected to become KOHANIM and that the status was hereditary. This was most unusual in the ancient world. In idolatrous societies the priests were chosen from amongst the elite in society and the function did not pass on to their children. It has been suggested that Korach and his gang rebelled, not long after these laws were promulgated, because they objected to this system. They wanted to emulate other nations and advocated that everyone should be able to become priests. Moreover, we know that when Jeroboam set up the Kingdom of Israel in opposition to the Kingdom of Judah, he appointed priests from the upper classes who did not belong to the family of Aaron or the tribe of Levi.
The Sidra continues with other laws relating to the priests and also to the high priest. We are told that the KOHANIM are not allowed to marry divorcees and that the high priest was not allowed, in addition, to marry a widow. KOHANIM are also not permitted to marry women who have converted to Judaism.
The Sidra devotes a large section to set out the principle that the KOHANIM had to be perfect physically, without any kind of blemish or handicap. The sacrifices also had to be in perfect condition. Today, these restrictions are difficult to comprehend. But we have to understand that the background to it is that in ancient times there was a very profound belief that physical perfection was vital in the service of God. The only impaired organ which was acceptable and, indeed, most welcome, in the Temple, was a broken heart.
In the spirit of this section of the Sidra, there arose a debate, at the end of the 17th century, about appointing a handicapped Hazzan to serve in the synagogue. Rabbi Yair Bachrach, who was Rabbi in Germany, was asked to rule on this question. His ruling was that there is no way in which a Hazzan could be compared to a Kohen, serving in the Temple and offering sacrifices. He was right because the synagogue is not like the Temple. I believe that today we have to regard these restrictions and the law which forbids a Kohen from marrying a divorcee or a convert as Chukkim, namely, laws which we cannot understand rationally, but, which we cannot change. They are of divine origin and we adhere to them out of a sense of obedience to the Almighty.
The second section of the Sidra is devoted to the sacred times of the year. Those sacred times are shown to be distinct from other days of the year by special sacrifices and certain rituals, which are only to be performed in those days. On some of those days work is also forbidden. The number seven has a special significance. The total number of annual festive days on which work is not permitted is seven. The Festival of Pesach and Sukkot last for seven days. The Festival of Shavuot comes at the end of seven weeks and Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot are all celebrated during the seventh month.
The Hebrew word for the Festivals is MO’ADIM. The word stems from the Hebrew root YA’AD which means appointed and sacred times or appoint and sacred sanctuaries. These were times of year when the whole nation came together in the Temple to celebrate the holy days. The designation of MO’ADIM is used today in Israel quite frequently, especially in the greeting CHAG SAME’ACH UMO’ADIM LESIMCHA. In particular, it is interesting to note that if someone greets you with the expression CHAG SAME’ACH you should respond with the expression MO’ADIM LESIMCHA.
In the Torah, the days on which work is forbidden are also called MIKRA’EI KODESH. On the basis of their Hebrew root KARA, which means to call, it is probable that this term has a similar meaning to that of MO’ADIM and refers to the national assemblies in the sanctuary. It is also possible that the word stems from the verb which means to read. If this is true, the meaning of the designation Mikra’ei Kodesh is: The Days when the Holy Torah is read.
In the passage which commands us about Pesach, which begins at chapter 23 verse 9, we are told that only the first and seventh days of Pesach are holy, on which work is forbidden. The Torah does not explain in which way we are supposed to observe the five days in between. But tradition teaches us that these days were also designated for special sacrifices. They are also holy and have the special name of CHOL HAMO’ED, which, paradoxically, means the ordinary days of the Festival. Our rabbis teach us that we are only allowed to do work on them which, otherwise, would cause us loss of earnings. In a parallel passage about Pesach, in the book of Deuteronomy, it says specifically that after the first day, the people were allowed to leave the sanctuary and go back to their tents in order to continue their urgent work in the fields.