Parshas Emor 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- May 14
- 2 min read
הלוא כבני כשיים אתם לי בני ישראל נאם ה' ... (עמוס ט-ז)
Yechezkel HaNavi discusses, in this week’s Haftorah, the unique laws and customs associated with the kohanim and how they must remain pure and holy in order to do the avodah in the Bais Hamikdash. The Navi tells us that when a kohen becomes impure, even for a valid reason, he must undergo a purification process after which he must wait seven days while “they” - other kohanim - count the days of purity. But there really is no need to involve anyone else. Surely, he himself can count the days.
R’ Zalman Sorotzkin zt”l (Oznayim L’Torah) explains that in truth the kohen himself does indeed do the counting, but it is the responsibility of the other kohanim to ensure that he does not enter the Bais Hamikdash during this period.
He explains that in its infinite wisdom, the Torah foresaw the vanity of the Christian priests and how one of their main functions is to “absolve” those on death’s door of their sins. Christianity believes that if sinners confess to their sins, they are promised to merit the reward of entering heaven. This is in stark contrast to our kohanim who must stay far away from the dead and the dying. Only Hashem can absolve one of his sins – not a kohen. Instead, the job of the kohen is to do the holy service in the Bais Hamikdash and teach Klal Yisroel Torah. Being a kohen has its privileges, but it does not give him carte blanch to do as he pleases. He is a member of the Jewish nation and must adhere to the 613 mitzvos just like any other member of Klal Yisroel.