2021-5-1 - Emor - Perfection in the Priesthood

(17) Speak to Aaron and say: No man of your offspring throughout the ages who has a defect shall be qualified to offer the food of his God.... [and] (21) ... the LORD’s offering by fire; having a defect, he shall not be qualified to offer the food of his God. (22) He may eat of the food of his God, of the most holy as well as of the holy; (23) 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 the LORD have sanctified them.

'כי כל איש וגו, “for any man who is afflicted with a blemish” the Torah lists the reason that such priests may not perform service in the Temple as being that seeing that they represent the whole Jewish community, it would not seem appropriate that this community dispatches blemished people as their representatives at the Court of the King of Kings. (B’chor shor)

It is from the roots of the commandment [that it is] since most activities of people are pleasing to the hearts of their observers based on the importance of the ones doing them. As when a person appears important and of good deeds, 'he will find favor and appreciation' in all that he does in the eyes of those who see him. And if he is the opposite of this - of lowly form and having unusual limbs and if his actions are not straight - his actions will not be so pleasing to the heart of those who see him. It is therefore truly fitting that the messenger upon whom atonement depends be a man of favor, of nice form and nice appearance [and] pleasing in all his ways, so that the thoughts of people will attach themselves to him. Aside from this, it is possible that there is in the perfection of his form, a hint to concepts through which the thoughts of a person about them will purify his soul and he be elevated. And therefore it is not fitting in any way for there to be [anything unusual] in any of his forms, lest the soul of the thinker be scattered due to the anomaly and he be moved from the purpose.

It is from the roots of the commandment to aggrandize the glory of the [Temple] and its beauty. Therefore it is not fitting for someone with a blemish to go there - since it is the place of perfection, it is not appropriate for someone with any lack to stand there. And I have already written above many times (e. g. Sefer HaChinukh 95) the benefit that is found for us in our aggrandizing the loftiness of the holy [Temple] and its glory.

In order to raise the estimation of the Temple, those who ministered therein received great honour: and the priests and Levites were therefore distinguished from the rest. It was commanded that the priests should be clothed properly with beautiful and good garments, "holy garments for glory and for beauty" (Exod. 28:2). A priest that had a blemish was not allowed to officiate; and not only those that had a blemish were excluded from the service, but also--according to the Talmudic interpretation of this precept--those that had an abnormal appearance; for the multitude does not estimate man by his true form but by the perfection of his bodily limbs and the beauty of his garments, and the temple was to be held in great reverence by all.

Physical blemishes: A priest who has blemishes on his face, hands or feet, as, for instance one whose fingers are twisted inwards or sideways, or whose hands are covered with tetters, does not perform this rite, as the people will stare at him. He who slavers, when speaking, or is blind of one eye, shall not perform this rite. If however, the person who is blind of one eye, or slavers is a well known and familiar figure in the town, he is permitted to perform the rite, as no one will stare at him. So too, a person whose hands are stained with indigo or other colouring material, shall not perform this rite. But if the majority of the residents in that town are engaged in the dyeing industry, he may do so, as they will not stare at him.

Rav Huna said: A priest whose eyes constantly run with tears may not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction. The Gemara asks: Wasn’t there a certain priest with this condition in the neighborhood of Rav Huna, and he would spread his hands and recite the Priestly Benediction? The Gemara answers: That priest was a familiar figure in his town. Since the other residents were accustomed to seeing him, he would not draw their attention during the Priestly Benediction. This is also taught in a baraita: One whose eyes run should not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction, but if he is a familiar figure in his town, he is permitted to do so.

Bar Kappara interpreted a verse homiletically: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Why do you look askance [teratzdun], O high-peaked mountains, at the mountain that God has desired for His abode” (Psalms 68:17)? A Divine Voice issued forth and said to all the mountains that came and demanded that the Torah be given upon them: Why do you seek [tirtzu] to enter into a legal dispute [din] with Mount Sinai? You are all blemished in comparison to Mount Sinai, as it is written here: “High-peaked [gavnunnim]” and it is written there, with regard to the blemishes that disqualify a priest: “Or crookbacked [gibben] or a dwarf” (Leviticus 21:20). Rav Ashi said: Learn from this that one who is arrogant is considered blemished. The other mountains arrogantly insisted that the Torah should be given upon them, and they were therefore described as blemished.

Rav Yehuda said that Shmuel said: Why did the kingship of the house of Saul not continue on to succeeding generations? It is because there was no flaw in his ancestry; he was of impeccable lineage. As Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak: One appoints a leader over the community only if he has a box full of creeping animals hanging behind him, i.e., he has something inappropriate in his ancestry that preceded him. Why is that? It is so that if he exhibits a haughty attitude toward the community, one can say to him: Turn and look behind you and be reminded of your humble roots. This is why David’s kingdom lasted while Saul’s did not, as David descended from a family with problematic ancestry, namely Tamar (see Genesis, chapter 38) and Ruth the Moabite (see Ruth 4:18–22).

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said to Elijah: When will the Messiah come? Elijah said to him: Go ask him. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked: And where is he sitting? Elijah said to him: At the entrance of the city of Rome. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi asked him: And what is his identifying sign by means of which I can recognize him? Elijah answered: He sits among the poor who suffer from illnesses. And all of them untie their bandages and tie them all at once, but the Messiah unties one bandage and ties one at a time. He says: Perhaps I will be needed to serve to bring about the redemption. Therefore, I will never tie more than one bandage, so that I will not be delayed.