Parashat Emor
„The reason for the prohibition of corpse-impurity upon the priests is that they are the teachers of the people, and from their spirit flows the influence upon the moral character, and the morality of the Torah is founded upon the love of life...”From Pinkasei HaRaayah I, 192, 99
In this week's portion the priests are commanded to distance themselves from death and from the absence of life; thus, for example, a priest is forbidden to enter a cemetery. Rav Kook explains this conception by noting that they are meant to be the leaders of the people, and therefore the leaders must be productive and occupied with the essence of life, not with a constant fear of absence. On the other hand, the priest does not ignore reality; he meets the leper and the afflicted in their homes, he is bound to the people, to its needs and its life – but he must always remember that the ability to lead lies in the aspiration toward life, and in aspiring from life and not from absence.
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From the community archive of Mishpetei HaRav Kook — studying Rav Kook's teachings since 2011.