Rabbi's Blog

Dear OZ family,

Notice the preponderance of the root “Amar” in the first verse of this week’s Parsha. The name of the Parsha itself, “Emor”, is one of these words. The opening verse reads, “The Lord said to Moshe, say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and say to them, none shall defile himself for a dead person.” Rashi cites the Midrash that this verbosity is meant to teach that the laws that follow are applicable to the youngest of Kohanim. Indeed, even a day old Kohen may not become death defiled. The root of the word “Amar” teaches this because it is a soft-spoken word that appears in Biblical Hebrew, only in the soft tense of Kal or Pa’al, as opposed to the more common root, “Dabar”, which almost exclusively appears in Biblical Hebrew in the harsher tense of Kaved or Pi’el. The message is that if we want to get the point across for children, it is best transmitted with care and with a soft voice.

What is a parent, teacher or authority figure to do, though, when an unruly child needs a more stern or harsh voice to get the point across? The first verse of our Parsha offers another direction. “Amar” is also a root, that in the ancient world, meant to speak form the heart (See Tehillim 14 and 53). The word evolved to refer to the emotions of the heart and even made its way into Romance languages as the root of love. This root is found in ancient Egyptian, and may explain a second meaning to names like Merari (son of Levi) and Miriam. This means that even when having to discipline a child with a harsh expression in the tense of Pi’el, it must be done so with abundant love.

The Parsha of the laws of Kohanim begins with three expressions of soft-spoken love, because the Kohanim bless us with love. It is the last word in the blessing they make before lifting their hands to share God’s beneficence with their people. Indeed the Torah itself says , when blessing the people, “Amor Lahem” (B’midbar 6:22), which can now be translated, love them. Indeed, some of the Halachic commentaries to the laws of “Nesiat Kapayim” (Orach Chaim 128), indicate that the Kohanim must be concentrating on “Ahavat Yisrael” when they bless the people. It all starts with the word expressed in the verbosity of the first verse of Parshat Emor.  The word is Love.

Stay safe.   Be healthy.    Be excellent.

Rabbi Allen Schwartz    

Rabbi Allen Schwartz

Congregation Ohab Zedek

118 West 95^th Street | New York, NY  10025-6604

Phone 212.749-5150, ext 200 | Fax 212.663-3635

E-mail ras@ozny.org

Website:  www.ozny.org