Every person is a world unto themselves. By sharing our Light with just one person, we become a servant to all of humanity.
This week’s portion of Emor contains the precepts pertaining to qualities and responsibilities of the High Priest (Kohen HaGadol). But what do these priestly duties have to do with us? Are we meant to simply ignore this section of the Bible? On the contrary, the kabbalists teach that every passage of the Bible contains wisdom and energy we can utilize in our own lives in every generation. There is not one superfluous word or even letter in the entirety of the Bible. Thankfully, the Zoharsheds some much needed Light on the hidden lessons within Emor.
A few weeks back, you may recall we were examining a portion which laid out the details of the Holy Temple – how it was built and what was to take place there. The lesson was that although there is no Holy Temple that exists today, it is up to each of us to create the Holy Temple within ourselves by doing everything from a place of love. In this same vein, we can begin to understand the lesson of this week. Each and every one of us has the power to become a High Priest for the world. The sum of the precepts for the Kohen HaGadol was to fulfill a singular purpose: To be of service to all humankind.