Parshat Emor
Written by: Ben Abrams, Hebrew Seminary Rabbinic student

In this week’s parsha, God’s voice comes in the form of a command, “Emor”, “speak!” 

The first thing that I noticed when studying Emor was how the verse Leviticus 21:2 stated that close family members are more important than laws that govern the purity of the Cohanim when dealing with the dead – the Cohanim are allowed “to defile themselves” for the relatives who are mentioned. “To defile oneself” refers to coming in contact with the dead.

In Leviticus 21:1 the Lord tells Moses to tell the Cohanim that, ”none shall defile himself for any [dead] person among his kin, and Leviticus 21: 2 states some exceptions, such as his mother, father, son, daughter, or brother. Rashi extends the possible exceptions with his translation of, “but for his kin.” He understands this to denote the Cohen’s wife (Sifra, Emor, Section 14; Yevamot 22b). The commentary of the Siftei Chakhamim supports Rashi’s commentary. “ “His kin” [refers] to none other than his wife. 

The words of these verses make me think of how close family members, like spouses, children, siblings and parents act at funerals. We know how close they are to the person who has died from the ways they express their grief. They might share special memories later, when sitting shiva.

God commands Moses to tell the Cohanim that none shall defile himself for any [dead] person among his kin, except for the relatives that are closest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother. God makes it clear that “the relatives that are closest to the Cohen” are more important than the commandment to not defile oneself by coming in contact with a corpse.