‘Death and Taxes’ Parashat Emor 5785

The most pertinent part of the Portion of Emor to the modern Jew is the second half of the portion, which takes a deep dive into the Jewish calendar. The first half of the portion is largely concerned with the offering of sacrifices. Topics include blemishes that render an animal unfit for an offering, blemishes on the Priest (Kohen) that render him unfit to serve, and prohibitions concerning offering sacrifices while ritually impure. These are by and large topics that ceased being relevant almost two thousand years ago.

Or maybe not. The Torah [Vayikra 22:3] forbids a kohen from offering a sacrifice while he is in a state of ritual impurity. It then describes how a kohen can contract ritual impurity [Vayikra 22:4-5]: “Any man among Aaron’s offspring if he has tzara’at[1] or has had a discharge, he shall not eat of the holy sacrifices, until he cleanses himself. And one who touches anyone who has touched an impure person, or a man from whom semen issued, or a man who touches any creeping creature through which he becomes impure or a person through whom he becomes impure, whatever his uncleanness.” This list is a comprehensive summary of the laws of purity that were delineated in great detail in the previous five portions. But wait a minute – something is missing. The most severe type of impurity is a corpse. Not only does a person become impure by coming into contact with a corpse, one can become impure merely by being under the same roof. Our Sages refer a corpse as “Father of the fathers of impurity (Avi avot ha’tum’a)”. Why, then, is contact with a corpse not included in the above list? Rashi[2] asserts that the words “a person through whom he becomes impure” is referring to a corpse, but he is a lone voice in the wilderness. Even if we follow Rashi’s path, why isn’t coming into contact with a corpse mentioned explicitly the same way the other sources of impurity are mentioned?

I suggest that the reason that death is glossed over is because the laws of corpse impurity are not discussed until much later in the Torah, in the Book of Bemidbar [1:22][3]. Why are these laws not discussed along with the rest of the laws of impurity? My son, Rav Amichai Sacher quoted Rabbi Elchanan Samet[4], who suggests that these laws are separated from the rest of the laws of impurity out of respect for human beings, so as not to suggest that one can become pure by coming into contact with “a dead human or a dead fly”. I would like to propose another route by looking at the context. The laws of corpse impurity are preceded by Korach’s rebellion. Korach, Moshe’s second cousin, accuses Moshe of nepotism, securing the political leadership for himself and the spiritual leadership for his brother, Aaron. Korach claims [Bemidbar 16:3] “You have gone too far! For all the community are holy, all of them, and G-d is in their midst. Why do you raise yourselves above G-d’s congregation?” G-d disagrees and Korach and his supporters are swallowed up by the earth. G-d seals the deal by making Aaron’s staff miraculously blossom with flowers and almonds.

The rebellion is followed by a number of laws pertaining to the Tribe of Levi, of which both Korach and Moshe were members. The last law deals with tithes. Every farmer must give a certain portion of his crop as tithes, taxes, if you will. The first tithe is called Teruma, which is given to a kohen. While the Torah does not explicitly call out the percentage of one’s crop to be given as Teruma[5], our Sages recommend giving two percent. The next tithe given is called “Ma’aser”. Ma’aser consists of ten percent of the remaining crop and is given to a Levite. Finally, depending on the year, ten percent of the remaining crop is either given to the poor or eaten in Jerusalem. After the story of Korach, the Torah [Bemidbar 18:25-32] commands a Levite to give ten percent of any Ma’aser that he receives[6] to a kohen. This tithe is called, unsurprisingly, the “Tithe of the Tithe (Terumat Ma’aser)”. While Ma’aser is of a lesser holiness than Teruma, Terumat Ma’aser is just as holy as Teruma. In fact, in most respects, the two tithes share the same rules: The end-user, the requirement of ritual purity, the consequences of misuse, and the inability to redeem the produce are identical. This begs a question: Why not just do away with Terumat Ma’aser by adding another one percent to Teruma and taking the Levite out of the equation? While one might suggest that Terumat Ma’aser is a fixed percentage while Teruma is flexible, leading to a sort of mismatch. Perhaps, but at the end of the day, this is what G-d wants, for whatever the reason. It is a “chok”, a statute that defies human logic.

After Terumat Ma’aser, the next topic in the Torah is the Red Heifer (Para Aduma). The Para Aduma is a chok par excellence. A completely red heifer is burnt, its ashes are combined with some water and a hyssop branch is used to splash the ash-water on the person with corpse impurity and at the end of days, he becomes pure. The mechanism through which the Para Aduma works is beyond human comprehension. Moreover, while the Para Aduma purifies a person with corpse impurity, it renders the person who prepares the ash-water impure. The whole thing is simultaneously unintuitive and counter-intuitive. Rashi writes, “Satan and the nations of the world taunt Israel, saying, ‘What is this command and what reason is there for it?’” At the end of the day, this is what G-d wants, for whatever the reason.

The laws of the Para Aduma are accompanied by a deep dive into the laws of corpse impurity. I suggest that the Torah waits to describe corpse impurity until it describes its antidote. The Para Aduma, the chok to end all chukim, follows the laws of Terumat Ma’aser, a mini-chok, if you will. And Terumat Ma’aser had to come only after Korach’s rebellion. The question is: Why?

Korach makes a compelling point. All of the Jewish People are holy. Any one of us can serve as the leader. Of course there exist a litany of unwritten prerequisites: A leader should be an engaging speaker. He should be a family man. He should ooze self-confidence. He should never become overtly angry. And yet Moshe has none of these traits. He had a speech impediment, he was alienated from his wife and his children, he continually rebuffed G-d when He tried to draft Moshe as the Saviour of the Jewish People, claiming he was unfit to serve, and he broke the Two Tablets in a fit of rage[7]. So why does G-d choose specifically Moshe? True, the Torah grants Moshe the title of the “Ultimate Prophet”. True, Moshe was exceedingly humble[8]. True, Moshe grew up in the palace of the leader of the world’s only superpower. And true, our Sages in Midrash tell stories of Moshe’s daring military exploits while he was still an Egyptian living with the Pharaoh. But the Torah says absolutely nothing about what made G-d choose Moshe over Aaron, over Korach, or over anyone else, for that matter[9]. The answer, I suggest, is that G-d chose Moshe because at the end of the day, this is what G-d wanted, for whatever the reason.

According to Rabbi Abraham Twerski, humility is knowing what one is capable of but has not yet achieved. I suggest that humility is also understanding that no matter how much we try, we will likely never understand why G-d chose Moshe, why the Levite must give Terumat Ma’aser, and why a Para Aduma cleanses. But it doesn’t mean we should stop trying…

Ari Sacher, Moreshet, 5785

Please daven for a Refu’a Shelema for Shlomo ben Esther, Sheindel Devorah bat Rina, Esther Sharon bat Chana Raizel, and Meir ben Drora.

[1] Tzara’at is the physical manifestation of a spiritual malaise that is accompanied by skin lesions.

[2] Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, known by his acronym “Rashi,” was the most eminent of the medieval commentators. He lived in northern France in the 11^th century.

[3] The fact that Rashi includes corpse impurity along with the other sources of impurity even though the law had not yet been written suggests that it was already understood that contact with a corpse causes impurity.

[4] Rav Samet is a contemporary scholar who who teaches Tanach in Yeshivat Har Etzion and Yeshivat Birkat Moshe in Maaleh Adumim.

[5] According to the letter of the law, even one sheave of wheat is sufficient for Teruma.

[6] This equals precisely 0.98% of the original crop.

[7] All of these “leader personality faults” are explicitly written in the Torah.

[8] I admit that this is not a trait of many leaders but it should be.

[9] The Talmud in Tractate Berachot [32a] argues these flaws highlight Divine Grace, as G-d chose and supported an imperfect man.