This parshah very clearly establishes that there are three parents that a Jew has, and G-d is very much one of them.
The parshah discusses the purity of a simple kohen/priest, the kohen gadol/high priest and a nazir/a man who has taken on some purity stringencies. If a simple Kohen’s immediate family dies, he is allowed to attend to the needs of the dead permitting himself to become impure thereby. But the kohen gadol and the Nazir are not permitted to do so. Why?
The simple kohen is born into his lot, it is a position he inherited from birth, from his family. In recognition of this fact, although he is dedicated to the service of G-d, he acknowledges that this status also came through his family, and he is permitted to become impure to honor them when they die.
A kohen gadol is imbued with his elevated status from G-d because of his own worthy status, therefore he has to remain dedicated to G-d at all times, and cannot become impure caring for his immediate family when they die.
A Nazir has taken upon his elevated state of his own volition. Therefore, if his immediate family passes while he is still a Nazir, he cannot become impure to bury them.
The parshah tells us, what the torah tells us throughout, sanctify yourselves because I am sanctified. I am kind, so you be kind, I am charitable and you be charitable, as the parshah tells us that when we harvest our fields, we must keep a corner of the field remaining so that the poor can come and collect it. So relevant as we near the holiday of Shavuoth and read the megillah of Ruth, who was poor and went into the field of Boaz to collect wheat for food.
This parshah discusses the topic of our daf yomi in Zevachim this week, discussing which kohen cannot do service in the holy temple because there is an issue with his physical body or purity. These few verses in the parshah, create pages of Talmudic discourse, which remind us that while the Torah contains the bricks of Judaic law, it is the Talmud that is the grout that brings it all together. As revealed further in this parshah which discusses compensation for injuries, and the torah states “an eye for an eye,” one might mistakenly think that it is literal, that if one pokes out the eye of another, his eye should be poked out as well. The Talmud reveals that this is figurative, not literal, that money compensation will do.
Then the parshah discusses our holy festivals and reminds as we remind ourselves daily, that G-d took us out of Egypt to dedicate us to Him as a chosen nation to obey the 613 commandments in the torah and celebrate the momentous history of the Jews, and to repent for our sins in failing to obey the commandments.
ALL building up during this 49 day countdown period between Passover and Shavuoth when we celebrate our receiving the Torah on Mt. Sinai. G-d took us out of Egypt to be His chosen nation, He gave us the Torah to give us the opportunity to get closer to Him and to be more G-dlike doing commandments which are purely between man and G-d and to elevate our G-dliness in ourselves by being G-dlike and kind to others. Be kind to others…it brings out the G-dliness in us.
Shabbat shalom.
Suri