Parshas Emor- Welcome Home |
This week’s parsha invites the entire Jewish people to some very large festivals that we continue to experience every year. The Ramban explains that the festivals are addressed to the “Children of Israel” because the sanctity of these days belongs to the entire nation equally, unlike the specific sacrificial duties of the Kohanim. By excluding the *Musaf* (Additional) offerings from this section and reserving them for Parshas Pinchas, the Torah distinguishes between the immediate spiritual experience of the desert and the future communal obligations in the Land of Israel. In the context of the Mishkan as Hashem’s home, these festivals function as “Holy Convocations” (*mikra’ei kodesh*)—divine invitations where the Jewish people are summoned as guests to a royal feast. Consequently, the focus remains on the “invitation list” and the guest’s conduct: assembling in God’s House for prayer, wearing clean garments, and engaging in festive meals. Even the inclusion of the Sabbath serves to set the “house rules,” reminding the guests that while they are invited to celebrate, the fundamental sanctity of the Host’s home remains constant. Ultimately, by omitting the technical sacrificial labor, the Ramban highlights that the festivals are not merely ritual cycles for the priesthood, but a national encounter where every Jew is called to share in the “joy of the Eternal.”
We have spent several week’s looking to the idea of Mishkan as the central dwelling place of Hashem in the midst of the Jewish nation. In this instance, we are introduced to a new issue that could arise in preserving the dignity of the Mishkan- chalal
וְלֹֽא־יְחַלֵּ֥ל זַרְע֖וֹ בְּעַמָּ֑יו כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה מְקַדְּשֽׁוֹ׃
that he may not profane his offspring among his kin, for I GOD have sanctified him.
אַ֣ךְ אֶל־הַפָּרֹ֜כֶת לֹ֣א יָבֹ֗א וְאֶל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֛חַ לֹ֥א יִגַּ֖שׁ כִּֽי־מ֣וּם בּ֑וֹ וְלֹ֤א יְחַלֵּל֙ אֶת־מִקְדָּשַׁ֔י כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה מְקַדְּשָֽׁם׃
but he shall not enter behind the curtain or come near the altar, for he has a defect. He shall not profane these places sacred to Me, for I GOD have sanctified them.
דַּבֵּ֨ר אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֜ן........