Illustration Credit: Rivka Tsinman
Haftarah הַפְטָרָה
The haftarah for Emor is a vision from the prophet Yehezkel. He talks about a future בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ (Beit HaMikdash, Holy Temple) and the rules for the kohanim who will work there. Some of Yehezkel’s descriptions are very similar to the rules for kohanim that appear in our parashah. But there are differences, too! Here’s something Yehezkel describes that is not in our parashah at all:
וְאֶת עַמִּי יוֹרוּ בֵּין קֹדֶשׁ לְחֹל
וּבֵין טָמֵא לְטָהוֹר יוֹדִעֻם:
וְעַל רִיב הֵמָּה יַעַמְדוּ לְמִשְׁפָּט
בְּמִשְׁפָּטַי יִשְׁפְּטוּהוּ
וְאֶת תּוֹרֹתַי וְאֶת חֻקֹּתַי בְּכָל מוֹעֲדַי יִשְׁמֹרוּ
וְאֶת שַׁבְּתוֹתַי יְקַדֵּשׁוּ.
They (the kohanim) shall teach to My people what is holy and what is regular,
and let them know what is pure and what is impure.
In court cases, they should be judges; they should judge them according to My laws.
They should protect My teachings and My rules for all My holidays,
and they should make My Shabbat days holy.
- What is Yehezkel adding here? How do these rules add to your understanding of a kohen’s role in the community?
- Why might it be important for a kohen to have these rules when there is a future Beit HaMikdash, and what can they teach you about what those times will be like?
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