Shabbos Parashas Emor - 5779

Shabbos Parashas Emor - 5779

Rabbi Hal Miller

He shall not leave the Sanctuary that he will not defile the Sanctuary of his God,

for a crown--the oil of his God's anointment--is upon him, I am God. [Vayikra 21:12]

Sefer HaChinuch teaches that (264) "A kohen should defile himself, and a Jew

should mourn, for a deceased close relative," and (278) "A defiled kohen is forbidden

to serve in the Sanctuary." But as to the Kohen Gadol, who is the subject of our verse,

he writes, (271) "A Kohen Gadol should not become defiled over any dead." So what

does our verse mean when it prohibits the Kohen Gadol from leaving the Sanctuary?

First, we must ask, does the verse prohibit the Kohen Gadol from leaving the Sanctuary?

Onkelos says no, that he "was not allowed to exit the Sanctuary to attend a funeral, but

since he was not a prisoner in the Sanctuary, he could leave it for other purposes." How

do we know this? Rambam tells us that he had an office in the Sanctuary, and "it was

deemed fitting that he spend all of his time there, returning to his home at night or for an

hour or two during the day." The Kohen Gadol spent most of his workday in the Sanctuary,

but he was free to leave for reasons other that what our verse is discussing.

The Gemora in Sanhedrin explains that we tie our verse to the one before it to understand

that the purpose forbidden here is to attend the funeral of a parent of the Kohen Gadol.

Rashi says that this carves exceptions out from the commandments noted in the Chinuch

above. A regular kohen must attend to such a funeral, but not the Kohen Gadol. A regular

kohen who is a mourner is not allowed to perform the Temple service, but the Kohen Gadol

is in fact required to continue with his service.

So, if the Kohen Gadol is allowed to come and go, but not to attend a funeral, the verse's

restriction actually forbids him from leaving his task for purposes of a funeral. This does

not conflict with the requirement that even a Kohen Gadol who finds a dead person out on

the street is obligated to care for the body. Our verse says that he cannot stop the service

in the Sanctuary, but if he is not there performing it, then the verse does not apply.

Rav Moshe Feinstein notes that in Sanhedrin our verse is considered a protection. He says

that the Torah is not in the habit of building in safeguards and asks why this one exists when

so many others could be justified as well. He writes, "From here we learn that as regards the

mitzvah of you shall be holy, there is a unique imperative to insure that that state of holiness

remain. ... The reason for this unusually strict barrier is his uniquely high level of holiness.

Anyone that is more holy must be more vigilant." One who is looked up to must be constantly

alert to avoid even the slightest implication or suspicion of any impropriety, even if any such

suspicion would be unfounded. Along these lines, Sforno says that our verse comes to show

that mourning the loss of a loved one, albeit important, does not justify forgetting before Whom

we all stand for judgment.