Plan to attend the
Priestly Caste Still
Survives In Judaism
RABBI RICHARD C. HERTZ
Special to the Jewish News
T
his week's Thrah por-
tion deals with var-
ious laws concerning the
priests.
The Torah ordains that the
ancient Tabernacle was to be
presided over by the sons of
Aaron (the priests), and their
descendants, forever. The sons
of Levi were the assistants to
the priests on a lower level in
rank and sanctity. After the
Babylonian Exile and the
rebuilding of the 'Ibmple in
Jerusalem, the priests gained
more power and prestige than
ever, with the High Priest the
chief executive representing in-
Shabbat Emor:
Leviticus
21:1-24:23,
Ezra 44:15-31
dependent Judea in dealings
with the surrounding empires.
Moreover, the priests were the
custodians of the Thrah, a
hereditary aristocracy that
often became corrupt with
power. They were a distinct
class separate from the rest of
the people.
As time went on, the priests
became more and more iden-
tified with the upper classes.
Some sided with the Greeks
tryin to Hellenize the Jews of
Judea. Though other priests
sided with Mattathias and his
five sons in the Maccabean
revolt, a popular revolt against
the priestly party developed. A
goodly number of laymen
became more learned than the
priests. They challenged the
leadership and spiritual
authority of the priests. They
came to be known as Pharisees.
they wanted a more democratic
form of leadership and to inter-
pret the Torah laws more
liberally. The priestly party
became known as Sadducces.
Thus began one of the most
ancient rivalries between
religious parties of ancient
Israel. After the destruction of
the Second Temple in 70 CE,
the priests had little to do. It
was the Pharisee who worked
out the survival of Judaism by
making it a portable religion,
to be taken wherever Jews set-
tled in the Mediterranean
world and practiced by good
deeds and learning.
But persons of priestly origin
continued to remember their
high estate. To this day, Jews of
priestly and levitical lineage
remember their special
Dr. Hertz is rabbi emeritus of
Temple Beth El.
privileges. When the Torah is
read in an Orthodox synagogue,
the blessing over the first sec-
tion is recited by a kohen
(priest). The blessing over the
second section is assigned to a
levi (levite).
The laws regarding the
priests described in this sidrah
include many already recorded
in previous chapters. Repeating
them here indicates that the
editors of Leviticus must have
drawn upon various documents
and traditions when they
copied the scrolls on parchment
containing the sacred text of
the Torah. Priests must be free
from physical defects. Sacrifices
must be without blemish.
The chief new laws added in
this sidrah include ritual defile-
ment caused by a; corpse. The
- ordinary Jew considers it a
mitzvah to bury the dead or
visit a cemetery. Not so the
priest. He was to avoid being
contaminated by the dead. To
this day, a traditional Jew who
is a kohen will not enter a
cemetery or funeral service
where there is a corpse.
We Jews no longer have a
holy Temple in Jerusalem
where hereditary priests and
levites tend the altars with
pomp and dignity and with
animal sacrifices offering up
sweet savor to the Lord. What
55th Anniversary Banquet
Council of Orthodox Rabbis
of Greater Detroit
Paul Borman
David Hermelin
MONDAY, JUNE 29
at the Renaissance Ballroom Westin Hotel
Cocktails at 6 p.m. • Dinner at 7 p.m.
Couvert $100 Per Person
Free Parking
Temple Beth El is:
Solutions to
roblems.
Problem solving is an everyday occurrence at
Temple Beth El.
It happens in counseling sessions with the
rabbis on personal matters.
Its repeated in
widowed
discussion -
groups,
sisterhood
projects, special
programs for
blind members of
the Temple and in
any number of
youth classes.
People join
Temple Beth El
for more than religious services.
They do it because all of us have problems we
could use some help with.
And Temple is a good place to come to for that.
Were a good place to belong to.
TORAH PORTION
we have instead is a "kingdom
of priests and a holy people"
where every person is con-
secrated to God's service, to
repair the world, tikkun olam,
and build a Temple of God in
every human heart.
Chapter 22 of Leviticus ends
with a time-hallowed prescrip-
tion for the Jewish people: "Ye
shall not profane My Holy
Name." Nothing that tarnishes
the honor of Judaism or the
Jewish people should ever be
done in daily life. As Chief Rab-
bi Hertz reminds us in his com-
mentary, every Jew should
remember that the glory of God
is entrusted to his care. Every
Jew holds the honor of his faith
and that of the entire Jewish
people in his hands. A single
Jew's offense can bring shame
on the whole House of Israel.
That is as true in today's
newspaper headlines as in the
days of Moses.
r
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/1
Guest Speaker
Rabbi David A. Nelson,
spiritual leader of Cong. Beth
Shalom, was the guest speaker
at Beth El Congregation in
Akron, Ohio, on behalf of the
Jewish Theological Seminary.
Temple Beth El
We want to belong to your family
Telegraph & 14 Mile Birmingham
For information, including how affordable
membership can be, call Herb Maistelman 851-1100
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