Parshas Emor – Teacher Conduct
In this week’s Parsha, the Torah tells us the halacha that Kohanim are not allowed to become tamei mes by being involved in the burial of the dead, other than for their relatives. A regular Kohen can for his father, mother, sister, brother, wife, son, and daughter, and a Kohen Gadol for his father, mother, wife, son, and daughter. The Sforno explains that the reason the Torah is so particular about them remaining tahor is because kohanim were milamdei Torah and dayanim, and through becoming tamei they would become degraded, ultimately weakening their effectiveness as Torah leaders.
The Balei Mussar see from this Chazal a few very important lessons. Firstly, is that a proper Torah leader isn’t supposed to be one of the guys, rather they must hold themselves to a higher standard. Their conduct, language, character, mode of dress, and standard of living must be different. Secondly, which is relevant to other circumstances as well, is that even the slightest decrease of respect negatively affects receptivity. This point highlights how nuanced our minds can be and how sensitive we are to those differences. Thirdly, is that it’s worth it for a kohen to miss out on thousands of mitzvos of burying the dead since he is effectuating a higher level of regard for the honor of Torah. This underlines the unfathomable value of raising the crown of Torah.
But I know what you are thinking, “I am not a Kohen, and I am not a Rabbi, so what does this have to do with me?” To such an argument I say, that although you may not be a Kohen paskening halacha or an ordained Rabbi serving the community, however, in your home, at work, in the car or in any other public setting, you are being watched as a FRUM JEW who bears the responsibility to teach people about Hashem and His Torah. From the 8 billion people in the world, there are approximately only 15 million Jews of which only approximately 2 million are frum. That’s 0.025% of the world population, a ratio of 1:4000! We must understand that people are learning from us ALL the time, and that any miniscule diminishment in our conduct is going to prevent us from sending the correct messages.
HAVE A WONDERFUL SHABBOS!
Rabbi Anton
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