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Parshat Emor
By: Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron

בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו 

Connecting to the Holy Presence in Our Holy Land

"בתרומת הקדשים"

"Sanctify us with Your commandments, and give us a portion in Your Torah...” (Shabbos prayer)

In the past we have mentioned the relationship between sanctified articles and truma, which is also called 'kodesh' - holy. In this week's parsha we learn numbers of lessons on the treatment of truma, to whom it can be given, and more. One of the important issues dealt with in our parsha is the level of connection to the Kohanic family one must have in order to be eligible to eat truma. One of the explicit laws dealt with in the parsha is the case of a Israelite woman who married a Kohen, thereby being eligible to eat truma, but was after widowed/divorced. According to the verses, and so is accepted in halacha, the widow can only eat truma if she has offspring alive from her former husband. In a parallel nature, but in an opposite instance, when a daughter of a Kohen marries an Israelite she can no longer eat truma, but if her husband dies/divorces “she returns to the household of her father to eat from the bread (truma) of her father.” In this case too the offspring of the former husband continues the woman's status as if she were still married, thereby invalidating her still to eat truma.

Similarly, these rules apply to the eating of the sacrifices. This said, there is some differentiation between truma and sacrifices, such as the return of a widow to eat the bread (truma) of her father Kohen, which applies only in regard to truma, but not in regard to sacrifices. This exception is learned from the words 'from the bread of her father shall she eat', interpreted by our Sages to mean that she is to eat only 'from' these breads, I.e truma, but is not allowed to eat all of these breads, I.e the more severe sacrifices. These laws highlight the strong spiritual connection between husband and wife that may continue even after death/divorce through their mutual offspring.

The Prophet Isaiah declares: 'in your sins your mother has been expelled/divorced'. The Zohar interprets the term 'Mother' to refer  to the Supernal 'Mother', the Holy Presence, the more 'revealed' Godly manifestation, versus the Supernal 'Father', coined as 'the Holy Blessed be He', the more 'abstract' Godly manifestation. This 'expulsion' is interpreted to be no other than the concept of the 'Exile of the Holy Presence' that came as a result of the sins of Israel, the 'children' so to speak.  If we follow this analogy fully using the methods of the Torah, we might say, that just as in halacha the children continue on the husband/wife relationship even after death/divorce, so too here too Israel 'the children' continue on the unity, to a certain extent, of the Supernal 'Father' and the Supernal 'Mother' even in Exile.

As such, it is also Israel, through repentence and through the seeking of the Holy Presence, as described by our prophets, that will yet again return this Supernal Union in Redemption. Hebron itself shows us time and time again how husband and wife are considered one unit as we see in its name Kiryat Arba, named as such after the four couples buried in Maarat HaMachpela, highlighting its 'double' (kefel)-'couple' nature. This is Hebron ('unity'), the City of Unity. 

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Real Stories from the Holy Land #117:

“A boy in my yeshiva became deathly ill with cancer. After much searching we found only one private doctor that has a special medical technique that can cure this boy. However, this doctor takes $130,000 for this surgery, and taking advice from prominent Rabbis it seems that we would have to give up this treatment and not burden the public... However, the next day this boy's sister called saying that she had fully decided to sell her apartment for the cheap price of $130,000 in order to save her brother's life, and so she did... On the day that the doctor arrived I suddenly received a phone call from a different student of mine, telling me of a suitcase found in a cab. The cab-driver asked me to help return the suitcase to the person whose name is written on the suitcase (apparently so he would not be suspect of stealing - m.g). It 'turns out' that the owner of the suitcase was no ther than the doctor we summoned. When I returned this suitcase to the doctor, he told me that this suitcase contains expertise equipment for the surgery which cost $400,000. I took the opportunity and told the whole story to this doctor, how the boy's sister sold her apartment for the surgery, and the Providence involved... The doctor 'digested' this for a few minutes and then proclaimed: 'I will not take any money for this operation!!” R.Z

Sources: Rambam Trumot 6-9 (Kohen truma)

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