Parshat Emor
Many of us are familiar with this week’s Torah reading since it includes the section known as “Parshat HaMoadot,”—the section that contains the Torah’s most complete review of the annual chagim. This segment reviews the laws of the Shalosh Regalim and includes, as well, the observances followed on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It is for this reason that we read this part of Emor both on Pesach and Sukkot and, therefore, its familiarity to us. And yet, our ancient scholars did not focus upon the “Parshat HaMoadot” when choosing a suitable haftarah for parshat Emor. Instead, they chose a selection from the 44th perek of sefer Yechezkel, a segment that reflects the theme found in the opening section of our parsha, i.e., the laws pertaining to the elevated state of sanctity demanded of the Kohanim.
Our haftarah reveals additional requirements that would be demanded in the future Holy Temple and, specifically, those pertaining to the members of the priestly family. Interestingly, most of the laws expressed by Yechezkel are almost parallel to those we read in the parsha—including the prohibition of the Kohanim to be defiled through any contact with the dead, their limitation of whom they may marry and the obligatory garments they must wear while serving in the Beit Hamikdash. Accordingly, Rav Soloveitchik comments that the haftarah does not simply share a common theme with our parsha but includes laws that are almost identical with those of the parsha! This fact leads us to wonder what the Navi hoped to add to what we had already learned from the parsha!
Perhaps the message that the Navi hoped to relay to future generations is actually found in the opening phrases of the haftarah where Yechezkel declares that only the Kohanic descendants of Tzadok—those who “kept the charge of My sanctuary when Israel strayed from Me”—would be those who will serve Hashem in His sanctuary. The statement reveals Hashem’s insistence that only Kohanim who kept the purity of the priestly family over the years would be allowed to continue their service in Bayit Shlishi.
However, it is important to realize that our haftarah is only part of the Navi’s prophecy (indeed, it first begins in the 15th verse of the 44th chapter) and we would fail to fully appreciate the significance of Yechezkel’s message if we do not read the pesukim that “introduce” the haftarah’s message. After taking the prophet on a “virtual tour” of the future Mikdash, Hashem warns the Navi to remember all of the laws and the warnings pertaining to the Temple that he had been taught. He then charged the prophet: “Vamarta el merri—to address the rebellious people of Israel”—specifically the Leviim and the Kohanim who failed to “keep the charge of My sanctuary”—for it was they who had defiled the (first) Beit Hamikdash with their sinful behavior.
It is only at this point, that our haftarah begins—when Hashem draws a contrast between the “rebellious” Kohanim and “VehaKohanim vehaLeviim bnei Tzadok”—the righteous families of the priesthood who guarded the sanctity of the Mikdash. It is they who, in the future, would serve in the eternal Beit Hamikdash. The corruption of the priestly tribe is well-documented in the Tanach, both in the writings of the prophets and in the reports included in sefer Ezra HaSofer.
Rav Soloveitchik explained that many would have assumed that, in the ideal yet-to-be-built Temple, Hashem would remove the entire priestly class, as it had been the source of fraud and exploitation for so many years. Therefore, Yechezkel assures the nation that only the fraudulent among the Kohanim would be denied the right to serve God while those descendants of Tzadok who protected the sanctity of Hashem’s Temple, would continue to function in the future Temple.
And it will be those righteous ones who would purify and elevate the Temple service, sanctifying the avodat Hashem—as described in our parsha.
Rabbi Neil Winkler is the rabbi emeritus of the Young Israel of Fort Lee, and now lives in Israel.
