The Whisper of Holiness

The Whisper of Holiness,

In this week’s parsha, the Torah opens with: “Emor el hakohanim… v’amarta aleihem” 

 “Say to the Kohanim… and say to them.” 

The question is asked as to why the Torah repeats itself. What can we learn from the double language of say… and say?

One beautiful mystical teaching suggests that the repetition hints to a softer kind of speech.

It hints to a whisper. To the revelation of a secret.

Moshe is asked to whisper this truth to the Cohanim (the priests), and through them, to all of Israel.

The secret is that holiness is not reserved for priests alone.

Yes, the Kohanim have a sacred role. They stand at the threshold between the spiritual and physical worlds. They serve as bridges between heaven and earth. And because of that, they are restricted from contact with death, except when burying a close relative.

A family shares what the mystics call a common root soul. Like branches from the same tree, relatives are deeply connected. When a close relative dies, it is almost as if a part of the rest of the family has also died. So, a Cohen who normally is commanded to stay far from death becomes tamei (impure) when his family member dies. This death affects him on a spiritual level. Therefore, he can and must help in burying his loved one. He has nothing to lose. 

Yet, the Cohen Gadol (the high priest) is different. He may not come into contact with death, even for a close relative, because his service binds him constantly to the Holy of Holies. The place of pure life, joy, love, and intimate nearness to God.

There, death has no place. The Cohen Gadol connects deeply and existentially with the holiest of places (the Holy of Holies in the Temple) on the holiest of days (Yom Kippur). That is the place of his soul.

The whisper, the secret that Moshe is passing on, is that not only does the Cohen Gadol have a Holy of Holies, but every Jew does also.

God breathes the soul into each of us. Within every person is a hidden sanctuary, an inner Holy of Holies, untouched by despair, untouched by darkness, untouched by mourning. It is a place of pure light, pure joy, pure love and pure goodness.

When Moshe whispers “Emor… v’amarta,” he is saying: You are all a nation of high priests. You all have access to God. You all carry deep within a spark of the sacred. You can all feel God’s love. You all have a pure soul connection to the Holy of Holies.

And that matters especially in difficult times.

Because life brings grief. It brings loss. It brings moments that feel full of darkness and death.

But the parsha reminds us: there is a place within us where death does not reign. There is a point of pure soul, a Holy of Holies inside, where God is close.

And if we can find our way there, we can endure the dark times. We can move through sorrow without being consumed by it.

Maybe that is why this teaching is whispered.Because some truths are too holy to be shouted.

They have to be spoken soul to soul. Emor… v’amarta.

Say it gently. Whisper it to one another.

There is a Holy of Holies within you.

And from that place, even in darkness, we can find our way through.

Much love

Shabbat shalom

Elissa