Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

Whereas last week's Torah portion of Kedoshim detailed laws of holiness for the entire people of Israel, the beginning of this week's Parsha of Emor details laws of holiness directed specifically to Kohanim.

At the very outset, a Kohain is forbidden from defiling himself by being in close proximity to a corpse. Since the Kohain had to maintain a strict level of ritual purity in order to fulfill his priestly duties, he was not allowed to become ritually impure which would happen with being in close proximity to the deceased.

As Jewish Law developed, a Kohain could attend a funeral for only his immediate relatives. He could not simply attend another's funeral or visit graves at a cemetery. In order to attend another's funeral, visit a grave, or attend an unveiling, a Kohain has to stand at least eight feet away from any grave.

For this reason, at many cemeteries, the row for deceased Kohanim and their families is right off the roadside so that Kohanim can maintain the requisite distance from all graves. Similarly, funeral homes provide a separate Kohain room under a completely separate roof from the rest of the establishment so that Kohanim may attend funerals while not being in the same physical presence as the deceased.

In contemporary Jewish life, the priestly rules of purity and impurity for Kohanim are inoperative. Nevertheless, many Kohanim honor their status by observing the classical restrictions.

Nevertheless, for most Jews, these priestly rules have seemed irrelevant, at least until nowadays. With the health concerns presented by covid-19, funeral homes are closed. Cemeteries are open only for small graveside funerals. We are prohibited from holding unveilings or visiting the graves of loved ones. The concern of contagious disease prompts us to stay pure versus impure, in modern terms.

For the time being, all Jews can now relate to the laws pertaining to Kohanim. While the Torah metaphorically refers to the entire Jewish people as being a Kingdom of Kohanim, today's reality was not envisioned.

Certainly, Parshat Emor is more than an instruction manual for Kohanim. Also, the middle section contains a digest of all the Holy Days. The source for counting the Omer, as we do now, is found in this week's Parsha. I encourage us to devote some time before Shabbat and during Shabbat to explore the relevance of Torah in our lives.

Rabbi Howard Morrison