Messianic Education Trust
		Living in Exile     Emor   (Lev 21:1 - 24:23)

Vayikra/Leviticus 21:4   [As a] leader among his people [he] shall not make himself impure to profane himself.

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This verse has been recognised as difficult from ancient times. The matter hangs on the meaning of the word בַּעַל. If, as some of the rabbinic world teach, the word here means 'husband', then the text is taken to mean that a priest may not attend, organise or be involved in the funeral of anyone to whom he is related only by marriage. This follows the previous two verses - "except for the relatives that are closest to him: his mother, his father, his son, his daughter, and his brother; also for a virgin sister, close to him because she has not married" (Vayikra 21:2-3, NJPS) - that contain the list of close consanguineous relations whose funerals he may organise and attend. The most immediate effect of this reading is that it forbids a priest organising or attending the funeral of his own wife. The rabbinic world recognised that this was a problem, as What Is ...

Sefer HaChinuch: Originally ascribed to Rabbi Aharon HaLevi of Barcelona (1235-c.1290CE); a book that examines each of the 613 mitzvot in detail, following Maimonides' list and ordered by the weekly Torah portions; includes sources, biblical quotes and halacha
Sefer HaChinuch records: "A cohen is to defile himself for his wife." Who Is ...

Rambam: Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon or Maimonides (1135-1204 CE), Talmudist, philosopher, astronomer and physician; author of Mishneh Torah, Guide for the Perplexed and other works; a convinced rationalist
Maimonides wrote that "as regards the wife of a priest, one must render himself impure, even against his will; but the duty to render himself impure is only by enactment of the Scribes. They gave her the status of 'a dead person whom one is commanded to bury' (b. Yevamot 89b)" (Hilkhot Avel 2.7). Baruch Levine explains that "it was reasoned by the sages that situations might arise where such a woman's only heir would be her husband, and if he failed to attend to her burial, there would be no-one else to do so."

Alternative meanings for בַּעַל include 'lord' or 'leader', thus allowing the translation above, which instead of being a further qualification to whose funeral a priest may attend, becomes a statement of reason: this is why the priest may not defile himself. Targum Neophyti makes this explicit by rendering the verse: "the leader of his people may not render himself impure lest he profane the priesthood." The Who Is ...

Sforno: Rabbi Ovadiah Sforno (1470-1550 CE), Italian rabbi, philosopher and physician; born in Cesena, he went to Rome to study medicine; left in 1525 and after some years of travel, settled in Bologna where he founded a yeshiva which he conducted until his death
Sforno provides a longer explanation: "The reason that a cohen should not defile himself except for a relative is because the cohen is indeed a chief among his people, whose task it is to learn and teach - 'the lips of a priest guard knowledge, And men seek rulings from his mouth; for he is a messenger of the L-RD of Hosts' (Malachi 2:7, NJPS) - therefore it is proper that such a man conduct himself as a prince 'so that his words will be heard' (b. Gittin 52b)." This important teaching role is given directly by HaShem to Aharon, "you must distinguish between the sacred and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean; and you must teach the Israelites all the laws which the L-RD has imparted to them through Moshe" (Vayikra 10:10-11, NJPS) and confirmed by the prophet Ezekiel for the age of the third temple: "They shall declare to My people what is sacred and what is profane, and inform them what is clean and what is unclean" (Ezekiel 44:23, NJPS). A man must have standing and a reputation for his words on such a subject to be heard and respected.

Looking more widely at our parasha, we find that most of the first three aliyot (chapters 21 and 22) are concerned with restrictions concerning the priests - who, for example, they are allowed to marry - in order to avoid impurity or disqualification from being able to approach the altar, enter the Tabernacle or actually carry out any of the priestly functions, mediating between The Name ...

HaShem: literally, Hebrew for 'The Name' - an allusion used to avoid pronouncing the Tetragrammaton, the so-called 'ineffable' name of G–d
HaShem and the Israelites. This is a matter of reputation and association as Walter Kaiser tells us: "G-d's character and person and the sanctuary itself will be profaned when the holy things attached either to G-d's name or to the sanctuary are defiled."¹ If the priests misbehave or are seen to violate the established rules of holiness, they are downgraded in the eyes of the people. They may teach it, but they don't do it! As servants or as representatives of HaShem, His reputation and holiness are also tarnished by the behaviour of the priests. Samuel Balentine points out that "priests, in fact, carry still heavier responsibilities than the laity, for their ordination charges them to be faithful stewards of the rites and rituals that sustain the connection between a holy G-d and a world all too vulnerable to sin and defilement."²

Luke tells us twice in his gospel that the authorities were watching Yeshua minutely to catch Him in some of His teaching that would enable them to denounce Him. The first time came after He had been invited to a meal by a Pharisee. At the end, Luke reports that "As He went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press Him hard and to provoke Him to speak about many things, lying in wait for Him, to catch Him in something He might say" (Luke 11:53-54, ESV). They were asking lots of questions, non-stop, trying to push Him into saying something in a hurry or carelessly that they could then use against Him; they wanted to destroy His reputation in the eyes of the people. Later, during His days of teaching in the Jerusalem Temple, the scribes and chief priests "watched Him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch Him in something He said, so as to deliver Him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor" (20:20, ESV). Now they play a larger game, looking for evidence of sedition that they could present to the Roman governor so that he would imprison or execute Yeshua.

Nevertheless, on the contrary, throughout His time in Israel, Yeshua never put a foot wrong and the people consistently hung on His words and recognised the authority of His teaching: "they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes" (Mark 1:22, ESV); "when Yeshua finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes" (Matthew 7:28-29, ESV). Yeshua was clear and consistent; His teaching was part serious, part parable or story, so that everyone could interact with what He was saying. Even in the last days of His ministry, "every day He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. And early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him" (Luke 21:37-38, ESV). Yeshua taught faithfully, truthfully, the things of G-d and the things of the Spirit; He was, as He Himself taught, like a "scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven ... like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old" (Matthew 13:52).

Like Ezekiel, the prophet in exile in Babylon, who taught the exiles the things of G-d and brought them His words, whether they wanted to hear them or not - "To them you are just a singer of love songs, who has a sweet voice and plays skillfully; they hear your words, but will not obey them. But when it comes -- and come it will -- they shall know that a prophet has been among them>" (Ezekiel 33:32-33) - we are the prophets in this time of exile, teaching the people, declaring the truth of the kingdom and often receiving the same response: "Here is what the L-rd says: 'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask about the ancient paths, "Which one is the good way?" Take it, and you will find rest for your souls.' But they said, 'We will not take it'" (Jeremiah 6:16). Walter Brueggemann explains it well: "You know how it is. On any given occasion of proclamation ... there may be informers who came only to report ... there may be some who have the day off from intelligence work in the empire and come out of curiosity. There may be some who stumbled in and thought it was the train station."³ But everyone gets to hear and, like it or not, the seed of the kingdom is sown.

As the current generation of witnesses, exiles though we are, we are guided by the Spirit as Yeshua promised: "The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" (John 14:26, ESV). We have the words of truth - the truth that sets free - that Yeshua spoke: "when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me" (15:26, ESV). We speak truth - of things past and things yet to come - into the world with His authority: "When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come" (16:13, ESV). Strange as it may seem, we are G-d's ambassadors in these days, not self-appointed but called and chosen by Yeshua Himself - "All this is from G-d, who through Messiah reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:18, ESV) - so that "we are ambassadors for Messiah, G-d making His appeal through us" (v. 20, ESV).

But - and that brings us back to our starting point in our text from Vayikra - ambassadors are supposed to look like ambassadors and behave like ambassadors, both diplomatically dressed and faithfully representing the words and values of the principal who sent them. Speaking of candidates for office and service in the Body of Messiah, Walter Kaiser is clear that "a higher level of dedication, holiness and spiritual achievement must be evidenced if they are to occupy positions with such dignity as teachers or rulers of G-d's flock."⁴ In practice, this applies to all of those who represent G-d in this world (read: us). When table waiters were needed to manage the daily distribution of food for the poor in the early church, the apostles said, "Pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom" (Acts 6:3, ESV). Since we have been chosen by Yeshua to represent Him, that verse must be talking about us: that is our job description and we have to live up to it. Are you of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom?

1. - Walter C. Kaiser, "Leviticus" in The New Interpreter's Bible Commentary Vol I, edited by Leander E. Keck, (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2015), page 630.

2. - Samuel E. Balentine, Leviticus, Interpretation, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), page 167.

3. - Walter Brueggemann, Cadences of Home, (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1977), page 84.

4. - Kaiser, page 631.

Further Study: Luke 12:42-48; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9

Application: Look in the mirror today and then ask the Spirit to tell you: are you bearing true witness for Yeshua or are you profaning His name by the things you say and do? It is time, in these days, that we looked and behaved more like Yeshua - to carry His authority and glory on our sleeves - so that the world may know that He is real and that the kingdom of G-d really is at hand!

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© Jonathan Allen, 2025

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