פרשת אמור

... אמר אל הכהנים...

… Say to the Kohanim…

            Throughout the תורה we (the readers) see ה' talks to the משה who in turn relays the message to the בני ישראל, however in this week’s פרשה the לשון that He uses is a little strange. Instead of saying דבר, which is that way that ה' usually speaks to us, He says אמר. What is the reason for this? It seems that ה' is speaking to the כהנים in a “softer” tone than usual. WHAT IS THE DEAL?

            To answer this I will bring a “modern” example that we may see in our everyday lives. Take a career like construction (or any job for that matter). On One side we have the older more experienced workers. These are the guys who have been on the job for a few years; they have been around the block a few times and really know what they are expected to do. On the other side we have the new guys (the “Fresh Meat”). These kids arrive on the job-site with their brand new tools that have never been used, their new construction belts and most of the time DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE IN FOR. When the boss shows up he the more he goes to both groups and tells them what to do. The older guys listen to their specific job and are on their way. The new boys however have to be told “this is what I need you to do, at this specific time, with this tool, in this way” he needs to “impose his will” and maybe be a little harsher with them, because he needs to make sure that they are ready to not slack off and take responsibility for their work.

            Now, you may ask, how am I going to connect this fine little example to this week’s פרשה? Well, it goes a little something like this. We see that the כהנים are very similar to the older construction workers. They are on a much higher level than the rest of בני''י, and they already have accepted the many “regular” מצות. Therefore ה' doesn’t have to worry about all the specifics of the other מצות. That is why He is able to speak to them in that “softer” manner here.

Have a Great Shabbos

Yoni Spigelman