Emor: Questioning The Status Quo

Dome of KKBE, Charleston, SC by Rabbi Elkodsi

Emor: Questioning The Status Quo
Dr. Betsy Stone

I am fascinated by this parsha, with its juxtaposition of HOLY days and UNHOLY people. Emor begins by telling us how a Kohen may be defiled/ritually impure–by visiting a graveyard, shaving parts of their heads or cutting themselves, by marrying a divorced woman, by going unshaven or leaving the Temple. It continues with a description of all the people who may not even visit the Temple to bring a sacrifice; those with weeping sores, long eyebrows, broken limbs, the blind, or the lame. 

Of course, these distinctions are disturbing. Why is a person with a defect (Torah’s word, not mine!) of lesser value? Why is a divorced person unfit to marry a Kohen? What are we to learn about ourselves if these standards are applied?

In a world of social media and curated selves, don’t these distinctions between people create a value hierarchy, a message that only the most perfect matter? Or at least that we Jews exist in an internal hierarchy, with virgins and perfect physical specimens at the top of the list, just below the Kohanim?

Where does this leave us as we age? Does the wisdom of aging balance the inevitable losses of beauty? 

The text then takes us to the schedule of Holy Days, days which require much of each of us, without regard to status. The outline of required behaviors includes everything from what we bring for sacrifices to what we eat. This calendar reminds us that we exist both in relationship with God, and in relationship with others. While God may require animal sacrifices and a cessation from work, these weekly and yearly reminders of our relationship with God also remind us that we live in community. 

A Kohen can keep serving in his position for as long as he is able; unlike the Levites, he’s not forced to retire from active service at 50. Does his wisdom override the perceived loss of stamina?

Research on spirituality teaches us that our spiritual interests often rise towards the end of life. As we leave the hustle and bustle of the working world, many of us turn towards the deeper questions of life: Why am I here? What do I leave behind? Has my life had meaning?

How do we understand the juxtaposition of holy days and unholy people? It seems clear that each of the Holy Days requires action on the part of each of us. When we read that the blasphemer must be banished from the community (Lev 23:30); it suggests that there is some understanding that what unites the community is the shared relationship with God, and that one who disrupts that relationship cannot be accepted. 

But what if we saw this parasha differently? There is a burden in being isolated, in being different, in being unable to make one’s own choices. Maybe the Torah is teaching us that everyone, regardless of status, must follow rules that can challenge us. Whether it’s the loneliness of the High Priest, or the obligations of Shabbat and Holy Days, these rules are not there for our comfort, but for a deepening relationship; with God, with each other, with a world we are often on the edge of. Maybe, even a more profound understanding of what it is to be “other.”

Is it possible that the message of Emor is that we are all “other”? Whether we live with privilege and status or in poverty and despair, what we have in common is the obligation to act towards the needs of the group over my our own personal wants. When I clear the hametz from my home for Pesach, when I pause for Shabbat peace, when I fast–all of these are opportunities to remember that I am obligated. Obligated to God, to the Jewish people, to all people. 

How do these ideas apply to questions of aging? As we age, our status often diminishes. We may move from a position of power and respect to one where we feel passed over, less important. How do I absorb this lessening of honor? Is my wisdom and life-experience really worth less than it was?

I am therefore obligated to return to our opening ideas–that some are less worthy, less able, less included. I confess, I cannot get comfortable with this idea. I can justify the writing by thinking of the different mores of behavior in other times. But maybe my discomfort is actually the lesson here. The Torah does not promise me comfort, nor does it always live up to the standards of our time.  It promises challenge and deep reading. Some times are holy, but no one person is less than hol–whether it is my enemy or the homeless or the less-abled. It behooves me to remember that. 

Holy days and the rituals that accompany them are designed to bring us together to embrace our shared heritage, and to pass along our traditions to future generations. This parashah also reminds us that even though there are some categories of people who are prohibited from performing various ritual acts, they’re still part of the community and must be welcomed and cherished as such.



0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Sermons

Yom Kippur: Hope, Despair And A Shining Sun
Yom Kippur: Hope, Despair And A Shining Sun

Yom Kippur 5783 Like many of the quotes and poems that make their way into use, a poem attributed to an anonymous person in a concentration camp, or in hiding, became somewhat of an urban legend, and has often been taken out of context, as well as not accurately...

Kindness

Kol Nidre, 5783 On Rosh Hashanah, we began our prayers in the hopes of moving God, the Holy Blessed One, from kisei din, the throne or seat of judgment, to kisei rachamim, the throne or seat of compassion. Ten days later, here we are at the eve of Yom Kippur,...

Shema: Listening, Hearing and the Shofar

Rosh Hashanah 5783, Day 2 The word, “Shema.” What do you think of when you hear it? Usually, we think of “The Shema” as the verses we chant or sing from the book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, and in that context, it’s a bold theological statement. It is an idea which goes...

Latest Midrash HaZak

Kedoshim: Coming of Age in Holiness
Kedoshim: Coming of Age in Holiness

Photo and art by Rabbi Susan Elkodsi Kedoshim: Coming of Age in Holiness Rabbi Dr. Jill Hackell As I move through my 70s I find myself increasingly aware of my “senior” status in our society. Suddenly, by virtue of my age I am in a category that labels me vulnerable–I...

Parasha Vayakhel: A Mirror of the Holy Whole
Parasha Vayakhel: A Mirror of the Holy Whole

                                  Parasha Vayakhel: A Mirror of the Holy Whole Cherie Karo Schwartz  My Mom, Dotty Karo of blessed memory, was an ultimate crafter. She had a room stuffed with kaleidoscope-colored treasures she’d collected or had been gifted by...

Ki Tavo: Entering the Land and a New Age

Ki Tavo: Entering the Land and a New Age Charles Goldman This midrash speaks to me. Just as the people of Israel were about to embark on the next mega steps of their lives in the Holy Land, and Moses was intoning to them that they have “a heart to know, eyes to see,...

Latest Personal Blogs

Blessing My Bended Knees-A Poem
Blessing My Bended Knees-A Poem

This past week, I participated in a Ritualwell class with Alden Solovy on "Writing From One Word of Torah." I distilled 3 stream-of-consciousness prompts on the word "Baruch/Berekh," the root of which can mean "blessing' and "knee, into this poem. Blessing my bended...

The Eshet Hayil In Our Lives
The Eshet Hayil In Our Lives

Photo: publicdomainpictures.net The Eshet Hayil In Our Lives An email from My Jewish Learning about “A Woman of Valor” prompted me to pivot the next evening’s planned adult learning session to looking at these 22 verses from Mishlei, the Book of Proverbs. These verses...

Live Long and Prosper?
Live Long and Prosper?

By Oklahoma Heritage Association, Gaylord-Pickens Museum - Author, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25656727 Live Long and Prosper? January 5, 2022 began the third year of the seven and a half-year cycle of Daf Yomi, the practice of...

Pin It on Pinterest