Parshat Emor: Bringing Sanctity to the Mundane

BY: Kelly Finkelstein

Parshat Emor begins with a discussion of the laws of a kohen, whose job it is to bring holiness into the encampment of Bnei Yisrael, and continues with a discussion of the Temple worship through which this task is partially fulfilled. The parsha then relates the laws of the festivals, the Omer, and the Mishkan, rounding out a parsha whose halachot seem to run the gamut from bein adam lamakom to bein adam l’chavero and everything in between. The bridge between these discussions consists of verses that state, “You shall observe My commandments and perform them; I am Hashem. You shall not desecrate My holy Name, rather I should be sanctified among the Children of Israel…”[1]

This parsha seems largely to be in keeping with the legalistic character of Sefer Vayikra as a whole, but towards the end of the parsha we are told the story of the blasphemer, one of only two narratives in the entire sefer. Rav Yair Kahn writes that Sefer Vayikra is about sanctity, and the ways to bring holiness from heaven to the desert camp of Bnei Yisrael through the Temple and sacrificial worship.[2] However, the blasphemer – and Nadav and Avihu, the main characters of the other narrative in this sefer – illustrate what happens when an individual is unable to appropriately combine the sacred and the profane.

The blasphemer directly flouts both this specific injunction against desecrating God’s Name, related in Leviticus 22:32, and the more general commandment to bring sanctity into the encampment of Bnei Yisrael that is apparent throughout the sefer. Rashi cites an opinion that states that the blasphemer’s complaint was about the lechem hapanim, the Temple showbread. The blasphemer, who is described as “the son of an Egyptian man”[3] and the inheritor of a culture that prized physicality, was unable to understand how spiritual significance could be attached to bread, which is so much a part of the physical realm. He then “went out”[4] and blasphemed, denying man’s ability to sanctify the profane.

The blasphemer’s actions and subsequent punishment are related immediately after a discussion of Bnei Yisrael’s ability to consecrate time through the declaration of festivals. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks writes that festivals are sanctified by the Jewish people, who were given the authority and the responsibility to fix the calendar. It is for this reason, he states, that the blessing we make on festivals praises God for sanctifying “Israel and the holy times” – while it is God who sanctifies Israel, it is Israel who sanctifies time, determining on which days festivals will fall.[5]

The juxtaposition of this ability to sanctify time with the narrative of the blasphemer emphasizes the severity of his transgression. Instead of recognizing that the ability to sanctify the profane, to bring holiness into unlikely places, is one of the most beautiful and fundamental tenets of Judaism, the blasphemer’s denial of this principle leads to his death at the hands of the nation. Because the blasphemer rejected man’s ability and responsibility to sanctify even the most basic of substances, his very existence was rendered irredeemable.

May we all merit the ability to sanctify the mundane. Shabbat Shalom.

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[1] Artscroll translation, Leviticus 22:31-33.

[2] Kahn, Rav Yair. "Parashat Emor - The Megadef Episode." Torah on the Web - Virtual Beit Midrash. Yeshivat Har Etzion. <http://vbm-torah.org/archive/parsha71/31-71emor.htm>.

[3] Leviticus 24:10.

[4] Leviticus 24:10.

[5] "Covenant and Conversation: Thoughts on the Weekly Parsha from the Chief Rabbi." 06 April 2011. E-mail.