Emor
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken
"G-d said to Moses, 'Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to
them that they should not become impure for a person among their people.'"
[21:1]
This verse instructs the Kohanim, the priests, not to come into contact
with a dead body, or otherwise acquire the associated impurity - for
example, by being in the same building or entering a graveyard. There are
certain exceptions, but the general rule is presented here.
I spent the early part of this week at the convention of the Association
for Jewish Outreach Professionals, an organization for those whose work is
devoted to enhancing Jewish education and identity (yes, Project Genesis
fits right in). Away from my books, I was searching for something
appropriate for this week's message, and received immediate help from Rabbi
Michel Twerski, founder and director of the Torah Institute of Milwaukee (I
hope that readers there are aware that this scholar and teacher is
available to them; he is a tremendous resource and uniquely warm
individual). He offered a Chassidic drasha on the above verse from the
Be'er Mayim Chaim, which is (excusing myself for any errors in
transmission) as follows:
The Talmud says that many students of Rebbe Akiva had reached such a level
of spiritual greatness that the Shechina, the Divine Presence, should have
rested upon them as it did upon Moses himself. Why did this not occur?
Because their generation did not deserve this honor.
The obvious question is one of "fairness." If a particular individual is
deserving of greatness, then why should it matter what everyone else is or
is not doing? But the answer is contained in the principle that "Kol
Yisrael Areivim zeh bazeh" - all Jews are inter-mingled, even responsible
for each other. The Jewish people operates as an inter-connected unit. A
generation has truly holy men and women, other scholarly individuals, "the
masses," and an unfortunate few who are genuinely devoted to misbehavior.
But even these lowest individuals create a "ripple effect" which is felt up
the line. Thus those at the highest levels of spiritual greatness may not
be able to maintain the necessary degree of pure concentration to merit the
Divine Presence. It is indeed a lack within the individual, but it stems
from the rest of the generation.
The Be'er Mayim Chayim tells us that this works in the opposite direction
as well - and in this case, the ripples grow into waves. If the leaders
slip, and even have inappropriate thoughts, these can grow into terrible
actions on the part of those individuals most distant from G-dly pursuits.
All the more so, must leaders recognize that their words and actions can
have ramifications down the line which they might never have imagined
possible.
This is what the verse says: "speak to the priests," the leaders of the
people, those who stand at its head, and tell them "that they should not
become impure for a person among their people," that they should not do or
even think the most minor impure thing, which could be realized in full
measure by a person among their people, well down the line.
Thus all of us must learn to purify ourselves, to pursue that which is good
and G-dly, and encourage the good and the pure within others as well.
Text Copyright © 1997 Rabbi Yaakov Menken and Project Genesis,
Inc.
The author is the Director of Project Genesis.
About the Author
