Emor: Flawless

the emphasis on flawlessness - for priests and sacrificial animals- in this weeks Parsha is unmodern. It is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities act. However, I think that the treatment of the flawed is far better than the Germanic tradition of eliminating them. In fact, recently we have had the Germanic tradition applied to us! Unfortunately, all Jews were defined as flawed.

I think this dovetails with the Mishna Yomi. Today's Mishna describes the " burnt" sacrifices, the most holy of the sacrifices ( Yom Kippur, errors of the Sanhedrin or High Priest). An interesting aspect of these sacrifices was that the carcases were burnt not on the alter but in the trash dump. The blood, the place of the nefesh, was used; but the body, so subject to flaws, whose fundamental use is the propagation of the species, is of no importance when the expiation is so lofty.

Needless to say, the daf yomi discussion of congealed, melted, human corpse material is evocative.