Emor: Yichus

 

The parsha ends with the blasphemer, the son of an Egyptian man and an Israelite woman who is stoned to death for spindling  ( Nekev) The Name. 

The mention of his lineage is jarring. What is the relevance?  Certainly  it is  a contrast with the beginning of the parsha that talks about the Cohanim, the epitome of lineage.  The Cohayn Gadol, enunciator of The Name,  may not even attend the funeral of his parents.  I can imagine Shlomith, mother of the blasphemer,  wailing for her son.

What does it mean to have an Egyptian father? I don't think that the rules of ancestory- who is a Jew- were the same at that time. The Blasphemer's Jewishness is, at least, in question.  Would he have suffered the death penalty if he were not Jewish at all? Does the ancestory, or the belief system,  of the speaker bear upon the significance of the words?  Does the Egyptian father mean an ambivalence of belief, the option of an alternative system? Is his ancestry setting the lower limit of inclusion in Israel, that carries with it penalties for misguided speech?

The story ends with code of Hamurabi  appended to Gd' instructions.  It is a paradigm of fairness.  Fortunately, the Rabbis save us from the strict interpretation of this "fairness.".

Acharei Moth-Kedoshim: boundries

The names of these 3 parshioth  comes to: " after their deaths, they are called holy" - Acharei Moth Kedoshim Emor.  The recollection of the dead is cleansed of the foibles of the previously living.  Holocaust memorials often take place around this time. The romanticization of the shtetl is an example of selective recall. 

Acharei Moth begins with the Yom Kippur temple service.  It is introduced with a reminder that 2 of Aaron's sons died when they approached the Kodesh. One should not approach the Kodesh at unassigned times! Kodesh is dangerous! Subsequently, the people of Israel are exhorted to be Kodesh. Does their kedushah make them dangerous? In some ways, yes. 

The lethal kodesh of Acharei Moth is too intense, too holy. There are places that even the holiest person cannot go. That does not contradict the quest for holiness, for improvement. Don't worry, you will never get that holy. 

In Kedoshim, the people are instructed to be holy. Boundries are established on behavior, places to avoid because they profane: the corner of the field left to the poor, false oaths, theft, etc., etc. 

This parsha also has an introductory caution:  fear your mother and father, and guard my Sabbaths.  When I was a young teen, this is the verse that Rabbi Hamburger, disciple of Avigdor Miller, quoted to us.  He interpreted it as: it is foremost  to follow Gd's law ( and convince other Jews to do likewise), but try not to hurt your parents too much in the process.  He corrupted my understanding of this pasuk forever. 

This verse connects with the two goats of Yom Kippur, but which is the goat of expiation (Chatath) and which is the scapegoat ( Mishtaleiach).  Parents? Shabbath? sometimes one, sometimes the other?  I am confused. I need boundries to keep me  from the dangerously holy. 

Thazriah-Metzorah: Privacy

 The Klee yakar  associates the word nega - affliction  with the word negia - touch

The parshioth  deal with the results of secret touches.  It starts with the ultimate public announcement of the most secret of touches - the birth of a baby. 

The next section deal with tzaraath, the affliction, the contamination.  This is a visible mark on the skin, the touch of heaven.  The text does not identify a cause, but Chazal suggest that gossip  and other secret offenses cause these visible blemishes, marking the victim for isolation, a living demonstration of the danger of touch. Contagious!

The parshioth then switch to gonorrhea. The rhea in  Greek  is  flow, in  Hebrew zav  We understand the origins  of this flow to be private touch with the wrong person.

The private becomes pubic in the purification ritual. No secret is secure. 

Shemini: the thin line

Shemini divides the great holiness from the profane, and the line is very thin,like the lamina of oil that remains after the anointment ( with Shemen), like the line between the .seventh and eighth days. 

Aharon performs the prescribed service, a calf (eygel) to atone for himself, a goat for the people. At the end of the service, Gd sends down the fire that consumes the offering and the people are ecstatic. 

Young men like repeated doses of Ectsasy.  Nadav and Avihu try to save Gd the trouble of sending fire.  They are consumed by Gd's fire.  The people morn.

 Aharon loses his appetite and incurs the criticism of Moshe for deviating from the prescribed ritual ( a very dangerous thing), but Moshe approves of the frail human behavior,  the loss of apetite is more pleasing to Gd than following the recipe. 

The parsha ends with the animals that are Tamei and tahor, edible and forbidden.  A fine distinction of rules over appetite. 

אַל-תְּשַׁקְּצוּ, אֶת-נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם  Don't make your soul creepy.