"No man with a blemish shall draw near to serve" (VaYikra 21:17).
"My beloved is beautiful, there is no imperfection" (Shir HaShirim 4:7).
When we love someone we don't see imperfection - indeed that experience is the only way we can understand what real beauty is. Because at that moment we stop looking at the other in a way that is detached from the spiritual. In the same way, when a person devotes his individuality to serving Hashem, he is like the most beautiful Kohen offering an unblemished korban in the Temple - the imperfections disappear. And even if a person only does one good deed and for that moment he is filled with love for Hashem, we are overcome with the greatest respect, because for an eternal instant he embodies the Torah and he unites all the worlds, mamash.
"No man with a blemish shall draw near to serve" (VaYikra 21:17). Nor may a sacrifice with a blemish be offered. Doesn't this contradict what we say, that Gd abides only in a broken place, i.e., when a person has a broken heart? That is so because this is real perfection, for when a man humbles himself, the heavenly grandeur rests upon him. Nevertheless, it is not written that Gd dwells "with the blind and the crippled." Therefore the Kohen must above all others be complete and not show any blemish. (Zohar 90b)
R. Yosi said, "Gd will one day make Yisrael whole so that there shall be none with a blemish among them, in order that they may adorn the world as a man's garments adorn his body. Observe that when the dead rise from the dust, they will leave it as they entered; if they went into the grave lame or blind they will rise from there lame or blind in order that it should not be said that it is another who has risen. Afterwards, however, Gd will heal them and they will be whole before Him and the world will be whole" (Zohar 91a).
Emor
Reb Shlomo Minyan HarNof
(R. Raphael, email: [email protected])
In The Future The Blind Will See. Now, Those That Have Vision Are "Blind"
"Hashem descended before the eyes of all the people over Mt. Sinai" (Shemot 19:11). This tells us that there was not a blind person amongst them (when the spiritual power of the Torah was revealed in the world) - they had all been healed. (Rashi on the pasuk from the Mechiltah)
"Who is blind like the perfect one, blind like Gd's servant?" (Yeshayah 42:19)
"Suddenly, while they were yearning very greatly for the blind beggar, he spoke up and said: 'Here I am! I am giving you a wedding present that you should be old like me. I originally gave you this as a blessing but now I am giving this as a full gift that you should have a long life like mine. You think that I am blind. Actually, I am not blind at all. But the entire duration of the world's existence in not considered by me to be even like the blink of an eye.'" (From Rebbe Nachman's story, The Seven Beggars)
The way to see Hashem in the world is to look with different eyes. Thus, regarding the Kohen who served admist the beauty and splendor of the Temple, it was not only commanded that he be of beautiful form, he also needed to humbly devote himself to the service of Hashem. This is an important lesson in our day, when we so are conditioned and addicted to the beauty of outer form. We need to appreciate that the Temple expressed the highest devotion in serving Hashem so that even physical beauty shone with spiritual radiance.
Without the Temple we do not see this level of revelation. This is why the great seer of Rebbe Nachman's story is blind - he has taught himself in our world to look with a higher sight. He has freed himself from the addiction of seeing outer beauty that is cut off from the spiritual. And this is what is meant by Rebbe Nachman's statement, "Fasting (learning to detach ourselves from outer desire) brings to joy" (Lekutei Eitzot, Ta'anit)
Cultivating Beauty: The Burden And Grandeur Of The Tzaddik
While the Kohen Gadol wore the clothes of splendor in the Temple, at the same time he carried the sins of all of Yisrael. This was true even to the point where we say that if someone among the people murdered it was seen as the fault of the Kohen Gadol, who failed, at some level, to do teshuvah for Klal Yisrael. It's as if he betrayed the outward beauty of his garments which he only merited through the true service to Hashem.
Thus also, the tzaddikim, who are the most exalted among Yisrael, suffer more than anyone. Because of their concern for each individual they carry a tremendous burden. But this also makes lets them see to the inner heart of the world - understanding the essence of each person and thing in the world which they help raise to Hashem.
Rebbe Nachman says,
The prophet hears Hashem declare, "Through the beauty of Yisrael I will be beautified" (Yishayah 49).
Indeed, the whole world was created only for the beauty of Yisrael and indeed Yisrael is the source of all beauty that is in the world. Even the most intricate details of creation are only there because they express or enhance Yisrael. Because the richness of creation enables every individual to have his own particular beauty and this allows Hashem to be glorified through each person in his particular way. Even the least of us. Even the sinners who still carry the name Yisrael.
Every limb and every movement of Yisrael is another beautification of Hashem. And it is the tzaddik who seeks and searches at every moment and in all ways to bring out the beauty of Yisrael. Through this the tzaddik knows and comes to comprehend the desire of Hashem for every different created thing in all its details.
And through bringing out the beauty of Yisrael, the tzaddik reveals the splendor of Hashem, Who is glorified in this world through the congregation of Yisrael - through the awe and love that Yisrael has for Hashem (Lekutei Maharan 17,1).
Mitzvot
According to Sefer HaChinuch, there are sixty-three mitzvot in parashat Emor. One group of mitzvot deals with special restrictions prohibiting the Kohen's from becoming impure through matters of burial except when it is a close relative. Another group of commands deals with blemishes both in the Kohen himself as well as offerings. A third group deals with various aspects of the festivals, as well as Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur.
At A Glance