A Thought on Parshas Emor

"...emor el haKohanim..." "...say to the Kohanim..." (21:1) There are many places in the Torah where Moshe is instructed to teach the Kohanim about their responsibilities and tasks. Our verse is somewhat unique in that it gives this preface, "say to the Kohanim" rather than just launching into the more familiar instructional formats found in most other verses. The Gan notices this, and ponders whether the casual phrase "say to them" implies that Moshe was already in a dialogue with HaShem. It would seem that way, in that there is no formality to the verse, such as the use of words like "you shall command them" might imply. The Gan finds a midrash which addresses this, noting that the prior verse at the close of last week's parsha (20:27) contains the prohibition of seeking out "spirits" in order to guide oneself. Meanwhile, our parsha which begins "say to the Kohanim" focuses on how a Kohen must avoid contact with a dead person. Is there a link between those two thoughts? Are prohibitions about seeking spirits, and Kohanim avoiding the dead, somehow connected? The midrash proposes a link, indeed. It writes that the deeper background of these passages is that HaShem provided Moshe Rabbeinu with a panoramic vision of all of the scholars and rulers who would eventually lead the Jewish nation throughout the centuries to come. As Moshe scanned the saga of unfolding history as it would develop in each generation, he stopped at the image of King Shaul. Shaul haMelech was seen, as the Navi depicts the tragic scene (Shmuel I 31:4), impaled on his sword, dead. Moshe called out to HaShem, "Master of the Universe, the very first king who will lead Your children will die by sword?". HaShem, says the midrash, answered Moshe, "are you telling Me? Say this to the Kohanim as you prepare them to avoid contact with dead people. Look closer into that future event. Shaul sought counsel from someone who claimed to conjure spirits (Shmuel I 28:7 ) which is forbidden (as our prior verse relates, as cited above). Shaul also had the Kohanim of Nov executed (Shmuel I 22:17-18). For these actions, it was decreed from Above that Shaul would in fact be punished by that tragic death. The Torah links the two topics in adjoining verses with a soft statement to the Kohanim. With this midrashic linking of the contiguous parshios, and an atypical wording of how Moshe should address the Kohanim, the Gan reveals another of the deeper themes which can be found when one studies the Torah with the tools handed to us by our Sages. The Gan offers a glimpse into how later events which befall the Jewish nation, and individuals, are alluded to in the Torah itself. Hofuch bah d'kula bah - les mila d'lo ramiza b'Oraisa. Good Shabbos. D Fox The Gan was written by 13th century Rabbeinu Aharon ben Yosi haCohen, Baal Tosfos More pirushim presented by Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox at http://thoughtonparsha.blogspot.com/