Day 21: Malchut in Tiferet, Leadership in Balance
This week's Torah portion is Emor, which begins with the laws regarding the proper behavior of the kohanim. Kohanim are not allowed to touch a dead body (with exceptions for certain relatives). There are limits to the ways they can cut their hair and beards and the people they can marry. Kohanim with disabilities (blindness, physical birth defects, or broken limbs) are not allowed to offer sacrifices.
When God speaks to Moses, it says "God said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them... (Lev. 21:1)
But when Moses repeats the laws, it says, "Thus Moses spoke to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites." (Lev. 21:24)
Why tell all the people the laws that only pertain to the kohanim? Most of the commentaries (including Rashi, Steinsaltz, and Chizkuni), offer some variation on the theme of oversight. That the reason the people are told these laws is so that they can ensure that the kohanim observe them and keep themselves from bringing a sacrifice to a kohein with a broken leg.
Leadership needs to be balanced. Leaders need to have checks on their power, and also others who know their responsibilities of leadership to ensure those responsibilities are being fulfilled.
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