44 | MAY 4 • 2023 

SPIRIT

Life Here & Now
T

he portion of Emor 
opens with a strange 
commandment to the 
kohanim: “
And the Lord said 
to Moses, ‘Say to the priests … 
and tell them: “Do not defile 
yourself by contact with the 
dead of the nation.
’” 
(Leviticus 21:1). 
The Bible goes on 
to delineate the only 
dead with whom the 
kohen may have contact: 
his wife, his mother, 
his father, his son, his 
daughter, his brother and 
his unmarried sister.
Judaism is not chiefly 
concerned with death 
and the hereafter; rather 
it is principally engaged 
with life in the here-and-
now. Our major religious 
question is not how to ease the 
transition from this world to 
the next, but how to improve 
and repair our own society. 
What does seem strange, how-
ever, is that our same portion 
goes on to command: “You 
shall not desecrate the name of 
my holiness; I shall be sancti-
fied in the midst of the children 
of Israel.
”
Our sages derive from this 
verse the necessity of sacrific-
ing one’s life — sanctifying the 
name of God — for the sake 
of the commandments of the 
Bible. Jews must give up their 
lives rather than transgress any 
of the three major prohibitions 
of murder, sexual immorality 
or adultery; and, in times of 
persecution, Jews must die 
rather than publicly transgress 
even the simplest or most 
“minor” of Jewish laws. 
The sages insist, however, 
that when Jews are not being 
persecuted, it is forbidden for 
Jews to forfeit their lives in 

order not to desecrate Shabbat; 
it’s better they desecrate one 
Shabbat and remain alive to 
keep many Shabbatot. Then 
why command martyrdom at 
all? And the truth is that our 
history is filled with the many 
sacred martyrs who gave 
up their lives in sanctifi-
cation of the Divine.

The answer lies in the 
very juxtaposition of the 
law of priestly defilement 
emphasizing the impor-
tance of life and the law 
of martyrdom enjoining 
death, within the very 
same biblical portion. 
Yes, preservation of 
life is crucial, and this 
world is the focus of the 
Jewish concern — but 
not life merely for the 
sake of breathing. Living, and 
not merely existing, means 
devoting one’s life to ideals and 
values that are more important 
than any individual life. One 
enables one’s life to participate 
in eternity by dedicating it 
to the eternal values that will 
eventually repair the world and 
establish a more perfect society.
The memorials of Holocaust 
Remembrance Day and 
Remembrance Day for the 
Fallen of Israel’s Wars quickly 
followed by Independence 
Day and Jerusalem Day must 
remind us that Israel is not 
merely a destination but is truly 
destiny. Israel is not only the 
means of our survival, but it is 
also our mission for world sal-
vation, from whence the word 
of God, a God of life, love and 
peace — will spread to all of 
humanity.

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is chancellor 

of Ohr Torah Stone and chief rabbi of 

Efrat, Israel.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi 
Shlomo 
Riskin

Parshat 

Emor: 

Leviticus

21:1-24:23; 

Ezekiel

44:15-31.

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