Almost Eden

BS"D Parashat Emor 5769

The parasha begins with the prohibition upon a male Kohen to come into contact with a dead body; he may not touch the body nor even be under the same roof with one.

However, the Torah permits, and even requires, a Kohen to come into contact with the body of any one of the seven relatives for which the halacha requires one to mourn: father, mother, brother, sister, wife, son and daughter.

Although we do not know the reasons for mitzvot, except for the overriding one that HaShem said so - we can draw moral conclusions from them.

Follow up:

The Kohanic family of Aharon was chosen from the extended tribe of Levi and charged with maintaining a high level of sanctity. The lifestyle of Kohanim was to serve as an example for the individual Jew, and as a torch that lights the nation’s way through history.

The idea that a Kohen cannot tend to the burial needs of his loved one would certainly provoke negative feelings, particularly since he must serve as an active, leading member of society. Hence, the Torah rules that a Kohen is required to come into contact with his deceased loved one at every stage from imminent death to burial.

After the destruction of the Temple, our daily (at least in Israel) contact with Kohanim is the Kohanic blessing recited at the Shacharit and Mussaf services. This, too, serves as an example of "ahavat Yisrael" (love of Jew to Jew) when the Kohen extends his hands to bless the congregation, even when he is not personally acquainted with those receiving the blessing.

I would like to focus on the Kohanic mitzva of blessing the nation stated in Bamidbar 6,24-26:

May HaShem bless you and keep you;
May HaShem shine his countenance upon you and be gracious to you;
May HaShem turn his face toward you and give you peace.

When reciting the Kohanic blessing every day, the music which ascends from these blessings while under my talit indicates to my poetic sensitivities that each verse actually comprises two sections and two concepts.

May HaShem bless you -- and keep you
May HaShem shine his countenance upon you -- and be gracious to you
May HaShem turn his face toward you -- and give you peace

The Jewish nation is blessed by HaShem with three distinct attributes: material success, intellectual prowess and spiritual sensitivity.

1. Our material success and subsequent influence in world affairs far exceeds our modest numbers.
2. The Jews’ intellectual contributions to humanity in every sphere of civilization are legendary.
3. If not for our uncompromising, spiritual commitment, the concept of God the creator and sustainer of all things would have long ago been discarded from mankind’s consciousness.

Material success, intellectual achievements, and spiritual superiority are the ingredients of the deadly cocktail called anti-Semitism, which every generation of Jews was forced to drink together with the four cups of wine on Pessach night. And if not for HaShem’s intimate, enduring and paternalistic caring for His chosen people, the Jewish lamb could never have survived surrounded as we were by the seventy wolves of the world.

This is the kohanic blessing:

1. May HaShem bless you - with material success
   and keep you - from the hatred it will induce in the goyim
2. May HaShem shine his countenance upon you - with intellectual prowess
   and be gracious to you - that you will not be harmed by the jealousy it will evoke
3. May HaShem turn his face toward you - with unique spiritual sensitivities
   and give you peace - despite the envy of your enemies

As we approach the denouement of history, the preeminent nations and religions of the world are very much cognizant of our special God-given attributes of material success, unequaled intellectual activity, and spirituality especially in Eretz Yisrael.

They are working concertedly to eradicate the Jewish presence from our ancient God-given homeland through the United Nations, the European Union, Arab League, the Quartet, UNESCO, NGOs of all sorts, and the United States State Department among many others.

They all speak of Peace, but in their heart they plot to destroy the concept of Yisrael as God’s chosen people. As the verse in Tehillim (20,6-7) states:

My soul has long dwelled with the haters of peace
While I speak of peace they plot war

We who have merited to return to the land of our fathers are in the midst of a combined attack on our independence and unqualified right to this land. The seven Noachide laws prohibit a goy from amputating a limb from a living being, but they persevere in their efforts to force the governments of Israel to amputate limb after limb from our holy land.

Winston Churchill severed 75% of the land promised to the Jewish State when, with the swoop of a pencil, he detached the area east of the Jordan River and presented it as a gift to a Beduoin family.

The Russians claim the "Russian" compound in the heart of Yerushalayim, as do the Greek, Armenian, Copt, Ethiopian, etc. churches who make similar claims to lands and structures.

The United States and its proxies, as well as many of our Jewish brothers in the USA are pressuring to sever from us the areas of Judea and Samaria in favor of our mortal enemies.

Indeed, if not for HaShem’s promise as related in the Kohanic blessings we could not survive:

1. May HaShem bless you - with material success
   and keep you - from the hatred it will induce in the goyim
2. May HaShem shine his countenance upon you - with intellectual prowess
   and be gracious to you - that you will not be harmed by the jealousy it will evoke
3. May HaShem turn his face toward you - with unique spiritual sensitivities
   and give you peace - despite the envy of your enemies

Indeed! As in the song "Dayay’nu" sung at the Pessach Seder, we too can say:

"Had we only survived the Roman onslaught - it would have been only because of your love for us;

Had we only survived the long and terrible galut of 2000 years - it would have been only because of your love for us;

Had we only survived the German killing fields and camps - it would have been only because of your love for us;

Had we only returned to the Holy Land - it would have been only because of your love for us;

Had we only been victorious on the battlefields of this land - it would have been only because of your love for us;

Had we only succeeded in bringing back six million of the remnant - it would have been only because of your love for us;

Had we only been successful to stave off the threats of our friends - it would have been only because of your love for us;

But now that all these things have come to pass, we can only offer our homage and thanksgiving to You for the past, and our trust and belief in You for the future."

Shabbat Shalom,
Nachman Kahana
Copyright © 2009 Nachman Kahana