This week's Parsha, which we will read B’ezrat Hashem, is Parshat Emor. The Parsha contains sixty-three Mitzvot, making it the second largest in terms of this number, with the first being Ki Teitzei, which contains seventy-four Mitzvot. The Parsha opens with the laws of impurity for Kohanim:
ֹאמֶר ה' אֶל מֹשׁ ֶה אֱמֹר אֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִים בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן וְאָמַרְ תָּ אֲלֵהֶם לְנֶפֶשׁ וַי לֹא־יִטַּמָּא בְּעַמָּיו׃
And Hashem said to Moshe, Speak to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and say to them: None shall defile himself for a dead person among his people.
Why does the Torah need to emphasize "Speak to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon," when all Kohanim are descendants of Aharon? Someone shared with me a beautiful insight: בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן in gematria equals 318, which corresponds to the number of Kohanim Gedolim who served in the two Batei Mikdash. The Gemara (Yoma 9a) states that in the First Beit Hamikdash there were 18 Kohanim Gedolim, and in the Second Beit Hamikdash there were 300, totaling 318!
The Alsheich HaKadosh, at the beginning of the Parsha, addresses this Pasuk and explains that when Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world, it was not part of the plan, so to speak, for man to die. Hakadosh Baruch Hu initially intended for man to live forever, as his holy body and divine soul were free from impurity and unaffected by death. However, after man’s sin, the serpent of Gan Eden introduced impurity, necessitating death to purify the body for Techiat Ha’Meitim (resurrection), where the Yetzer Hara will no longer be present. This impurity was temporarily removed at Har Sinai, freeing Bnei Yisrael from death, but it returned after Cheit Ha’Eigel and with it came mortality. Kohanim, as servants of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, are naturally to be distanced from this impurity that is present in a dead body. But given they are descendants of Aharon, who is directly linked to Cheit Ha’Eigel, one might think Kohanim should be closer to the reintroduction of impurity and death than the rest of Bnei Yisrael. To this, the Torah says the opposite: for precisely because nothing of that impurity clung to him, and on the contrary, because they are the sons of Aharon, they are worthy of not becoming impure for a dead person.
Before addressing the main topic of this shiur, let us bring one more point. The Torah prohibits Kohanim from becoming impure for the dead, except for their seven close relatives:
ָ רֹב אֵ לָיו לְאִ מּ וֹ וּלְאָ בִ יו וְ לִבְ נוֹ וּלְבִ תּ וֹ וּלְאָ חִ יו׃
ּכִּ י אִ ם־לִשׁ ְ אֵ רוֹ הַ קְ רוֹבָה אֵלָיו אֲשׁ ֶר לֹא־הָיְתָה לְאִישׁ לָהּ יִטַּמָּא׃
וְלַאֲחֹתוֹ הַבְּתוּלָה הַק
In contrast, the Kohen Gadol has even stricter rules:
ָדוֹל מֵאֶחָיו אֲשׁ ֶר־יוּצַק עַל־רֹאשׁ וֹ
ּוְהַכֹּהֵן הַג שׁ ֶ מ ֶ ן ה ַ מּ ִ שׁ ְ ח ָ ה ֵ א
ּוּ מִ ל אֶ ת־יָדוֹ לִלְבֹּשׁ אֶ ת ־ הַ בּ ְ גָ דִ י ם א ֶ ת ־ ר ֹ א שׁ ו ֹ לֹא יִ פְ רָ ע וּ בְ גָ דָ יו לֹא יִפְ רֹם׃ וְ עַ ל כׇּ ל־נַפְשׁ ֹת מֵת לֹא יָבֹא לְאָבִיו וּלְאִמּוֹ לֹא יִטַּמָּא׃ וּ מִ ן־הַ מִּ קְ דָּ שׁ ל ֹא יֵ צֵ א וְ ל ֹא
ֵל אֵ ת מִ קְ דַּ שׁ אֱ
ּיְחַ ל-לֹהָיו כִּי נֵזֶר שׁ ֶמֶן מִשְׁחַת אֱ -לֹהָיו עָלָיו אֲנִי ה'׃
Rashi says, the Kohen Gadol does not attend the funeral of his father or mother, and Chazal learned from here that even if his father or mother dies, the Kohen Gadol need not leave the Mikdash and may offer Korbanot even as an onen.
The Sefer HaChinuch, in this week's Parsha, discusses the prohibition of impurity for the dead – טֻ מְ אַ ת מֵ ת – and why the Torah permitted a Kohen to become impure for his seven close relatives, unlike the Kohen Gadol, who is forbidden.
