R. Tali Adler on Parashat Emor: A Tale of Two Structures

Parashat Emor features two types of ritual buildings: the first, the mishkan (tabernacle), later transformed into the beit ha-mikdash (Temple); and the second, a sukkah.

We encounter the mikdash this week, mostly in the form of limits on who may serve in it and how they must conduct themselves. Those who may serve there are not allowed to engage with the world as other Jews are: kohanim (priests) are not permitted any contact with the dead, except for their closest relatives. The Kohen Gadol may not even become impure through contact with the dead for his closest relatives—even his mother, even his father.