(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יקוק אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֱמֹ֥ר אֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים בְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹ֑ן וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ לֹֽא־יִטַּמָּ֖א בְּעַמָּֽיו׃ (ב) כִּ֚י אִם־לִשְׁאֵר֔וֹ הַקָּרֹ֖ב אֵלָ֑יו לְאִמּ֣וֹ וּלְאָבִ֔יו וְלִבְנ֥וֹ וּלְבִתּ֖וֹ וּלְאָחִֽיו׃ (ג) וְלַאֲחֹת֤וֹ הַבְּתוּלָה֙ הַקְּרוֹבָ֣ה אֵלָ֔יו אֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹֽא־הָיְתָ֖ה לְאִ֑ישׁ לָ֖הּ יִטַּמָּֽא׃ (ד) לֹ֥א יִטַּמָּ֖א בַּ֣עַל בְּעַמָּ֑יו לְהֵ֖חַלּֽוֹ׃ (ה) לֹֽא־יקרחה [יִקְרְח֤וּ] קָרְחָה֙ בְּרֹאשָׁ֔ם וּפְאַ֥ת זְקָנָ֖ם לֹ֣א יְגַלֵּ֑חוּ וּבִ֨בְשָׂרָ֔ם לֹ֥א יִשְׂרְט֖וּ שָׂרָֽטֶת׃ (ו) קְדֹשִׁ֤ים יִהְיוּ֙ לֵאלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם וְלֹ֣א יְחַלְּל֔וּ שֵׁ֖ם אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֑ם כִּי֩ אֶת־אִשֵּׁ֨י יקוק לֶ֧חֶם אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֛ם הֵ֥ם מַקְרִיבִ֖ם וְהָ֥יוּ קֹֽדֶשׁ׃ (ז) אִשָּׁ֨ה זֹנָ֤ה וַחֲלָלָה֙ לֹ֣א יִקָּ֔חוּ וְאִשָּׁ֛ה גְּרוּשָׁ֥ה מֵאִישָׁ֖הּ לֹ֣א יִקָּ֑חוּ כִּֽי־קָדֹ֥שׁ ה֖וּא לֵאלֹקָֽיו׃ (ח) וְקִדַּשְׁתּ֔וֹ כִּֽי־אֶת־לֶ֥חֶם אֱלֹקֶ֖יךָ ה֣וּא מַקְרִ֑יב קָדֹשׁ֙ יִֽהְיֶה־לָּ֔ךְ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֥י יקוק מְקַדִּשְׁכֶֽם׃ (ט) וּבַת֙ אִ֣ישׁ כֹּהֵ֔ן כִּ֥י תֵחֵ֖ל לִזְנ֑וֹת אֶת־אָבִ֙יהָ֙ הִ֣יא מְחַלֶּ֔לֶת בָּאֵ֖שׁ תִּשָּׂרֵֽף׃ (ס)
(1) The LORD said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: None shall defile himself for any [dead] person among his kin, (2) except for the relatives that are closest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; (3) also for a virgin sister, close to him because she has not married, for her he may defile himself. (4) But he shall not defile himself as a kinsman by marriage, and so profane himself. (5) They shall not shave smooth any part of their heads, or cut the side-growth of their beards, or make gashes in their flesh. (6) They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God; for they offer the LORD’s offerings by fire, the food of their God, and so must be holy. (7) They shall not marry a woman defiled by harlotry, nor shall they marry one divorced from her husband. For they are holy to their God (8) and you must treat them as holy, since they offer the food of your God; they shall be holy to you, for I the LORD who sanctify you am holy. (9) When the daughter of a priest defiles herself through harlotry, it is her father whom she defiles; she shall be put to the fire.
(ח) וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֥ם אִשֶּׁ֛ה לַיקוק שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים בַּיּ֤וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי֙ מִקְרָא־קֹ֔דֶשׁ כָּל־מְלֶ֥אכֶת עֲבֹדָ֖ה לֹ֥א תַעֲשֽׂוּ׃ (פ)
(8) Seven days you shall make offerings by fire to the LORD. The seventh day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations.
(יג) וּמִנְחָתוֹ֩ שְׁנֵ֨י עֶשְׂרֹנִ֜ים סֹ֣לֶת בְּלוּלָ֥ה בַשֶּׁ֛מֶן אִשֶּׁ֥ה לַיקוק רֵ֣יחַ נִיחֹ֑חַ וְנִסְכֹּ֥ה יַ֖יִן רְבִיעִ֥ת הַהִֽין׃ (יד) וְלֶחֶם֩ וְקָלִ֨י וְכַרְמֶ֜ל לֹ֣א תֹֽאכְל֗וּ עַד־עֶ֙צֶם֙ הַיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה עַ֚ד הֲבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם אֶת־קָרְבַּ֖ן אֱלֹקֵיכֶ֑ם חֻקַּ֤ת עוֹלָם֙ לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם בְּכֹ֖ל מֹשְׁבֹֽתֵיכֶֽם׃ (ס)
(13) The meal offering with it shall be two-tenths of a measure of choice flour with oil mixed in, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the LORD; and the libation with it shall be of wine, a quarter of a hin. (14) Until that very day, until you have brought the offering of your God, you shall eat no bread or parched grain or fresh ears; it is a law for all time throughout the ages in all your settlements.
(יז) מִמּוֹשְׁבֹ֨תֵיכֶ֜ם תָּבִ֣יאּוּ ׀ לֶ֣חֶם תְּנוּפָ֗ה שְׁ֚תַּיִם שְׁנֵ֣י עֶשְׂרֹנִ֔ים סֹ֣לֶת תִּהְיֶ֔ינָה חָמֵ֖ץ תֵּאָפֶ֑ינָה בִּכּוּרִ֖ים לַֽיקוק׃ (יח) וְהִקְרַבְתֶּ֣ם עַל־הַלֶּ֗חֶם שִׁבְעַ֨ת כְּבָשִׂ֤ים תְּמִימִם֙ בְּנֵ֣י שָׁנָ֔ה וּפַ֧ר בֶּן־בָּקָ֛ר אֶחָ֖ד וְאֵילִ֣ם שְׁנָ֑יִם יִהְי֤וּ עֹלָה֙ לַֽיקוק וּמִנְחָתָם֙ וְנִסְכֵּיהֶ֔ם אִשֵּׁ֥ה רֵֽיחַ־נִיחֹ֖חַ לַיקוק׃
(17) You shall bring from your settlements two loaves of bread as an elevation offering; each shall be made of two-tenths of a measure of choice flour, baked after leavening, as first fruits to the LORD. (18) With the bread you shall present, as burnt offerings to the LORD, seven yearling lambs without blemish, one bull of the herd, and two rams, with their meal offerings and libations, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the LORD.
אִיבַּעְיָא לְהוּ הָנֵי כָּהֲנֵי שְׁלוּחֵי דִידַן הָווּ אוֹ שְׁלוּחֵי דִשְׁמַיָּא לְמַאי נָפְקָא מִינַּהּ לְמוּדָּר הֲנָאָה אִי אָמְרַתְּ דִּשְׁלוּחֵי דִידַן הָווּ הָא מְהַנֵּי לֵיהּ וְאָסוּר וְאִי אָמְרַתְּ שְׁלוּחֵי דִשְׁמַיָּא שְׁרֵי מַאי
A dilemma was raised before the Sages: Are these priests our agents or agents of Heaven when they perform the Temple service? The Gemara elaborates: What is the practical difference whether they are our agents or God’s agents? The Gemara answers: The difference is with regard to one prohibited by vow from deriving benefit from another. If you say that the priests are our agents, don’t the priests provide benefit for the one for whom benefit is forbidden by vow, and therefore, sacrificing that person’s offering is prohibited? And if you say that they are agents of Heaven, it is permitted. What is the status of priests?
ואלא הא דאמר רב הונא בריה דרב יהושע הני כהני שלוחי דרחמנא נינהו דאי סלקא דעתך שלוחי דידן נינהו מי איכא מידי דאנן לא מצינן עבדינן ואינהו מצי עבדי
The Gemara comments: But consider that which Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, says with regard to the service in the Temple: These priests are the agents of the Merciful One, i.e., they perform the Temple service as the emissaries of God. As if it enters your mind that they are our agents, is there anything that we cannot do but agents can do on our behalf? Since it is prohibited for non-priests to serve in the Temple, priests cannot be considered the agents of the Jewish people.
On the other hand, there are various expressions in the Torah of the fact that the priests, and especially the High Priest, are agents of the people of Israel. For example, the High Priest bears the names of the tribes of Israel on his shoulders (in the efod) and on his heart (in the choshen) before God; and of course, the priests in general, and the High Priest on Yom Kippur in particular, atone for the people of Israel. The phrase "from among the people of Israel" also appears in the command regarding the consecration of the priests – "And take you to you Aharon my brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel that he may minister to Me in the priestly office" (Shemot 28:1). [T]his is the only appearance of these words regarding the priests.
It seems that [...] the priests play a double role. On the one hand, they are clearly part of the people of Israel, and they represent them and serve on their behalf in the Mishkan. On the other hand, their place is not with the people, but rather in the camp of the Shekhina; they are part of God's Mishkan, and God is their lot and inheritance.
The Talmud in Nedarim 35b describes the kohanim as sheluchei didan, our agents. When they perform the Temple service, the kohanim act as our emissaries.
Yet this idea — that the kohanim act as agents for the Jewish people — appears to violate the legal definition of a shaliach. An agent acts on behalf of the one sending him (the principal), executing his wishes. The agent, however, can only do that which the principal himself is authorized to do.
So how can the kohanim perform the Temple service on our behalf, when we as non-kohanim are not permitted to serve there?
The parashah opens with a set of special directives for kohanim: “God spoke to Moses: Tell the kohanim, the sons of Aaron...” (Lev. 21:1). The text appears repetitive — “the kohanim, the sons of Aaron.” Why does the text need to emphasize that the kohanim are descendants of Aaron?
These two terms — “kohanim” and “sons of Aaron” indicate two different aspects of the special sanctity of kohanim. The first is an intrinsic holiness, passed down from father to son. The phrase “sons of Aaron” refers to this inherent holiness.
The second aspect is an additional layer of holiness as expressed by a kohen’s actual service in the Temple. This aspect is designated by the term “kohanim.” The verb le-khahein means “to serve,” so the word “kohanim” refers to their actual service in the Temple. Thus the term “sons of Aaron” refers to the kohanim’s inherited potential, while “kohanim” refers to their actualized state of priestly service.
[...]
We may now understand the description of kohanim as sheluchei didan, “our agents.” How can they be our emissaries in their Temple service when we ourselves are forbidden to perform this service?
In fact, the Torah speaks of the entire Jewish people as “a kingdom of kohanim” (Ex. 19:6). And Isaiah foresaw a future time in which “You will be called God’s kohanim. They will speak of you as the ministers of our God” (Isaiah 61:6).
Non-kohanim may not serve in the Temple, for they lack the holiness of actual priesthood. Yet every Jew has the quality of potential kohanic holiness. Because this inner holiness will be revealed in the future, the entire people of Israel are called “God’s kohanim.” And it is due to this potential holiness that the kohanim are able to serve as our agents and perform the Temple service on our behalf.
(ו) וְאַתֶּ֧ם תִּהְיוּ־לִ֛י מַמְלֶ֥כֶת כֹּהֲנִ֖ים וְג֣וֹי קָד֑וֹשׁ אֵ֚לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר תְּדַבֵּ֖ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
(6) but you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the children of Israel.”
(ו) וְאַתֶּ֗ם כֹּהֲנֵ֤י יקוק תִּקָּרֵ֔אוּ מְשָׁרְתֵ֣י אֱלֹקֵ֔ינוּ יֵאָמֵ֖ר לָכֶ֑ם חֵ֤יל גּוֹיִם֙ תֹּאכֵ֔לוּ וּבִכְבוֹדָ֖ם תִּתְיַמָּֽרוּ׃
(6) While you shall be called “Priests of the LORD,” And termed “Servants of our God.” You shall enjoy the wealth of nations And revel in their riches.
(ב) משרשי המצוה. לפי שחיותו של אדם במזונות ורב העולם יחיו בלחם, רצה המקום לזכותנו במצוה תמידית בלחמנו, כדי שתנוח ברכה בו על ידי המצוה ונקבל בה זכות בנפשנו, ונמצאת העסה מזון לגוף ומזון לנפש, וגם למען יחיו בו משרתי השם, העוסקים תמיד בעבודתו והם הכהנים מבלי יגיעה כלל, שאלו בתרומת הגרן יש להם עמל להעביר התבואה בכברה ולטחן אותה, אבל כאן יבוא חקם להם מבלי צער של כלום.
(2) It is from the roots of the commandment [that it is that] since the sustenance of a person is through food and most of the world will be sustained with bread, the Omnipresent desired to give us merit with a constant commandment in our bread, so that blessing should rest upon it through the commandment; and through it, we will receive merit for our souls. And [hence] it turns out that the dough is food for our body and food for our soul. Additionally, [it is] in order that the servants of God, those that are constantly involved in His service - and these are the priests - should be sustained without any toil at all. Whereas with the tithe of the threshing floor there is labor for them, to pass the grain through the sieve and to grind it; here, their ration will come to them without any pain whatsoever.
The bulk of the Parsha has to do with these two things. What does one have to do with the other? What is the connection that we have here between the priests and the holidays? Is there a connection? Is there a reason?
Really, the purpose of priests and holidays have a common denominator. The purpose of a priest, if you look at the Sefer HaChinuch he is pretty clear about this when it comes to many of the Commandments specific to priests i.e. Challah. When a person gives over to a priest, you are giving over something to a person who lives their life clearly based off of God. Who is providing for them? Hashem. There is no thought that it was my cunning business technique or the fact that I was a great farmer that allowed me to eat that day. Priests don’t have land, their businesses are limited, their primary job was to teach Torah and serve in the Temple. When you see a person living life completely dependent on the Divine, with pure belief, what that does for the rest of the people is for us to recognize that even if I think I’m a great farmer or a great businessman or I went to a great school and because of that I got this great job, your livelihood is really dependent on Hashem. It takes a priest who lives his life completely dependent on Hashem in order to reinforce that notion for us.
The same thing is true when it comes to the holidays. The holidays also serve as a model and a lesson for us in terms of an ideal lifestyle and existence. Every one of the major festivals we call either the time of our joy, or freedom, or Torah. Does that mean that one should not be happy when it’s not Sukkot, not free when it’s not Pesach, not learn Torah when it’s not Shavuot. What does this mean? This is a specific time period where one can focus and hone in on what it means to be joyous to be whole and content with what Hashem gives us in life. Same with freedom, are we not free after Pesach? Of course we are. During Pesach is the opportunity for us to think about freedom in a significant way that teaches us for the rest of the year when we may feel like we are slaves to our lives and to our jobs. Same thing with Torah, we learn on Shavuot not to get out of learning the rest of the year but because the excitement should translate into the rest of the year to learn even when it’s not Shavuot. Those are paradigms, special times in order to reinforce an idea that we should be living with constantly.
That’s the same idea when it comes to the priests. There are people who live their lives on an elevated level in order that we can receive the message from them just as we get the special message from these time periods in order to live our lives even outside of those times and those people with that realization of the messages that Hashem wants us to take with us. If we are able to look to these great mentors and leaders in the priests, and we’re able to focus in on these special times, then we’re able to live with these messages and ideals throughout the rest of the year. Perhaps that is the connection that exists between the priests and the holidays in our parsha.