The connection between Parshat Emor and its haftara is immediately apparent. Both texts center on the life of the kohen – his marriage, his conduct, his vestments, his relationship to ritual impurity and to Temple service. Yechezkel’s vision of the Third Temple (Ezekiel 44) in the haftarah mirrors the legislation of this parsha, especially Leviticus 21, in striking ways. Yet for the attentive reader, that mirror also distorts, as there are several discrepancies between the two texts. And surprisingly, it is that distortion that carries one of the haftarah’s most important messages for our own time.

The textual discrepancies are numerous. The Torah in Parshat Emor prohibits a kohen from marrying a divorcee (Leviticus 21:7). Yechezkel extends that prohibition to widows as well, permitting only the widow of another kohen as an exception (Ezekiel 44:22). Regarding ritual impurity, Leviticus 21:2 permits a kohen to become impure through attending burial services for his wife and all first-degree relatives. Yet the corresponding passage in the haftarah (Ezekiel 44:25) only lists a parent, a child, a brother, and an unmarried sister, and is silent about a wife. The implication........

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