Parshas
Emor
A
Meal Unfit for a King
By: Daniel Listhaus
“To
be an appeasement for you: unblemished.... Any [animal] in which
there is a blemish you shall not offer, for it will not be an
appeasement for you”
-Emor
22:19-20
The
privilege and opportunity that we are given to be able to offer
karbanos (animal
sacrifices) is tremendous. Each and every karbon
has its own power to aid an individual or tzibbur (the
public) in seeking
mercy, forgiveness, or offering thanks to Hashem. However, there is
an underlying question when it comes to karbanos which
begs to be asked. Why is it forbidden to bring an offering with a
blemish? Take the Karban
Olah, for example.
This is a sacrifice which gets completely burned in the fire on the
mizbe'ach (alter) for
only Hashem. Hashem certainly does not eat the karbon.
In fact, to think so would be heretical. The Rambam1
writes that Hashem has no body. Furthermore, we declare this in Ani
Ma'amin2
and in the prayer of Yigdal3.
Even merely ascribing physical
characteristics to Hashem, such as Him having a mouth and needing to
eat, is forbidden. So why is it that when offering a karbon
to the One who created it, has no need for it, will not eat it nor
sell it for money, it is forbidden to do so if the animal has a
blemish?
Let
us now take this idea a step further. Earlier in the parsha,
a very similar negative commandment is instructed: “Hashem spoke to
Moshe, saying: Speak to Aharon, saying: Any man of your offspring
throughout their generations in whom there will be a blemish – the
bread of his G-d he shall not approach to offer.” The Torah then
continues, “...he [the blemished kohen]
should not come to the paroches (curtain),
and he shall not approach the mizbe'ach,
for he has a blemish...”4
Again, we could ask the same question as before. Hashem created man
and even created this specific kohen with
the blemish he has! How could Hashem give a stamp of disapproval to
something which He Himself created? Is a blemished man somehow
second-tiered in the eyes of Hashem?
Regarding
the kohen who has a
blemish, Rashi5
succinctly explains the issue of him being the one doing the service
of Hashem. Rashi
writes, “It is not proper that he should approach.” Then, Rashi
quotes part of a passuk (verse)
in Malachi, “it is
like [the concept depicted in the verse of] 'Go offer it to your
ruler!'. Let us examine this verse in Malachi
more closely. The complete passuk
reads, “ 'When you present a blind animal for sacrifice is nothing
wrong? And when you present a lame or sick [animal] is nothing wrong?
Present it, if you please, to your leader! Would he be pleased with
you or show you favor?' Said Hashem, master of legions.”6
This passuk in
Malachi is a little
difficult to understand. What does our giving something to Hashem
have to do with how pleased a human king would be if he were
demanding the same thing. Chazal (our
sages) have taught us many times how different Hashem is from a human
king in terms of expectations, “personality”, and virtually every
area – for anything a human could do imperfectly, Hashem could do
perfectly. If so, why does Hashem seem to be as particular as a human
king in the passuk?
It
must be that Rashi is
quoting this passuk to
teach us the following. Certainly Hashem has no need for our animals
at all, let alone the best of them; however, we cannot give to Hashem
something which in our own eyes is not appeasing because, in reality,
giving something not appeasing by our standards to Hashem shows that
we do not really acknowledge the importance and greatness of Hashem,
nor the necessary respect due to Him.
The
Mesilas Yesharim7
writes the following, “...One must beautify one's mitzvos...get
a nice pair of tzitzis,
nice tefillin, nice
sefer Torah,
nice lulav, etc....
for it is not enough to do the mitzvah
alone, rather one must show respect and beautify it. And one who
says, 'Respect [through beautifying and spending extra money on
objects] is a materialistic nonsense which exists only to man, but
Hashem does not care what the condition or state of beauty something
is in; Hashem is above all that and as long as I do the mitzvos
with the right intentions, it is enough', is a sinner.” The Mesilas
Yesharim continues to
explain, “Such a person is called a sinner because Hashem indeed is
called 'The G-d of Honor' and we are obligated to give Him this
respect even though He certainly does not need it.”
But
why is this so? Why is it that Hashem demands of us a respect which
He does not need nor get benefit from?
Perhaps
the answer to this question is exactly within what the Mesilas
Yesharim, the passuk
in Malachi, and Rashi
are trying to describe. We as humans have a certain “currency” we
use when it comes to giving honor to those who deserve respect, which
is to present things beautifully and nicely even if it means to spend
some extra money or go the extra mile. Sending the handsomest
individual with the largest lexicon and most oral capabilities, is
what a community would certainly do if it wanted to appease a
government, board, or influential group. Similarly, if one was to
host an event for a wealthy family, certainly everything would be
perfect, and only the best-of-the-best meat and wine would be
prepared and served to the royal guests. It is through these methods
which we know of to give respect and honor to humans, and therefore
we must use these same means when serving and sending messengers to
Hashem. If we send a impaired kohen representative
or an animal with a blemish to Hashem, when we would not do so to our
own leader of flesh-and-blood, then we may fool ourselves into
thinking that the reason we are doing so is because we think to
ourselves, “Hashem is above all these materialistic things anyway”.
However, in reality, the rationalization of this argument is present
because it is being powered by a lack of emunah
(faith) and bitachon (trust)
in Hashem, which causes us to feel that it is not worth spend the
extra money or go the extra mile. Offering something to Hashem which
would not appease man is the litmus test which illustrates that we do
not really care enough to give Hashem the minimum amount of respect
we could; for if we did care to give the utmost honor and respect,
the only way to do so would be to use the currency we are familiar
with and use when offering honor and respect to worthy human leaders.
1Rambam
Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah 1:8
2Third
of the thirteen Ani Ma'amins, commonly
known as the thirteen principles of faith.
3Third
line of Yigdal, Morning
Prayer Service. (The thirteen lines of Yigdal follow
the thirteen principles of faith.)
4Vayikra
21:18
5Rashi
Vayikra 21:18
6Malachi
1:8
7Mesilas
Yesharim, R' Moshe Chaim
Lazzato, Chapter 19
Cover Picture Credit: Edited picture from http://www.founditemclothing.com/itgoesto11/i-scream-you-scream-we-all-scream-for-ice-cream-a-gallery-of-5-cool-shirts/
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