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Parshas Emor: What Type Are You?

By Rabbi Zvi Teichman

Posted on 04/30/21

Parshas HaShavua Divrei Torah sponsored by
Dr. Shapsy Tajerstein, DPM - Podiatry Care.
(410) 788-6633

In the introduction to the restriction for Kohanim from becoming contaminated from the dead, they are referred to as the ‘Kohanim, the sons of Aharon’


Why did the Torah emphasize the obvious fact of their being descended from Aharon precisely at this juncture? 


The Zohar states that the Torah is seeking to accentuate the defining character trait of Aharon as the paradigm אוהב את הבריות — Lover of People, that is incumbent upon his descendants to emulate. 


But why is this being noted specifically as a prelude to the need for them to refrain from coming in contact with the dead? 


A disciple of the holy Noam Elimelech, Rav Reuven HaLevi Horowitz of Zaranovtza, offers a fascinating explanation in his Dudaim Basadeh


There are two types of people, those when observing conflict impulsively join the fray, and those who abhor dispute, instinctively seeking to pursue peace.  


Before man having sinned, G-d clothed his soul in ‘garments of אור — light’, our external physical self, enmeshed seamlessly with our soul, radiating its light. When man, however, succumbed to his urges by eating from the Tree of Knowledge, that former garment of light transformed into a hardened ‘garment of עור — skin’, a physical entity no longer fused to its soul. Man would now face a world where the tension and friction generated in the battle between the physical and spiritual would cause our material self to eventually erode, in a process of death, the forewarned consequence of having sinned. 


The former ‘unity’ that existed between the two elements of life, that infused the physical world with eternal ‘life’, will no longer be possible. All we can yearn for now is for our soul to defeat our material self in a battle to the death, surviving with our souls intact, waiting to be bonded one day again with our former garment of ‘light’ in the realm of תחיית המתים — Revival of the Dead. 


We are doomed to live in a world of פירוד — division, which manifests itself in our pursuit of power, pleasure, and fame. We can only succeed in surviving if we seek the eternal harmony that G-d initially wired into the world, pursuing peace and unity, by overcoming those ‘urges’ and allowing only His unified will to persevere in all our encounters with the material world. 


Aharon HaKohen saw light wherever he gazed. He loved humanity because he always perceived each person with positivity, seeing the qualities inherent within them. He refused to yield to a world of ‘division’, holding out hope for every creature. Death — was anathema to his world view. Death exists solely in an environment of negativity and dissent. 


It was for this reason the Torah declares to the descendants of Aharon to distance themselves from the impurity of the dead, remaining focused and dedicated to peace and harmony, that will one day restore our material world to ‘life’. 


The attribute to ‘love people’ is one of the forty-eight ways the Torah is acquired through. 


It is averred that the students of Rabbi Akiva ceased from dying on the thirty-third day of the Omer, after having pursued a path of rectifying their errant ways in implementing these attributes. According to one listing of these 48 ways, day thirty-two corresponds to the quality to be אוהב את הבריות — loving people. 


The ingredient for death — dissent, was evident in their lacking honor for one another, permitting their egos to promote their own ‘greatness’ and ignoring the wonderful qualities of their fellow students. 


When they mastered appreciation for one another, they put death quickly to rest and rose together mightily in their learning, restoring the terrible vacuum created by the death of twenty-four thousand brilliant students, bringing renewed life to their world. 


Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai was one of those students who brought back an exquisite abiding love amongst them, meriting a burst of depth of Torah knowledge that formerly did not exist.  


(Zohar Naso) 


The Vilna Gaon interprets the verse in Mishlei, רבות בנות — Many daughters, עשו חיל — have amassed achievement, as referring to the collective Torah community who each embody a facet of one of the 48 ways, ‘for no one individual can attain perfection in all of them’, it is only through the aggregate of their efforts that amasses חיל — achievement, with חיל being numerically equivalent to all 48


Rav Moshe Menachem HaKohen Shapiro directs us to the words of the great Rav Meir Simcha Hakohen of Dvinsk, who writes in his Meshech Chochmah, that the merits of others can only accrue for all if there is genuine unity and appreciation between them all.  


(הפטורה דברים) 


As we prepare ourselves for the Giving of the Torah once again, we must remain focused on this goal if we are to merit its brilliance. 


A secular author wisely stated, “There are two types of people — those who come into a room and say, “Well, here I am!” and those who come in and say, “Ah, there you are.” 


One who focuses on ‘here I am’ lives in a world of פירוד — division, destined to a life of conflict and discontent.  


Those, however, who are eager to acknowledge another, exclaiming with joy ‘there you are’, sincerely loving and appreciating people in the spirit of Aharon, are destined to live in harmony and peace, meriting the beauty of Torah in one’s life! 


באהבה, 


צבי יהודה טייכמאן