Commentary on Parashat Emor, Leviticus 21:1-24:23
Most of Parashat Emor is similar to the content of other Torah portions within the Book of Leviticus: instructions for priests, a reminder to keep the Sabbath, and the noting of special holidays throughout the year. At the end of the portion, however, we find this unusual story.
There came out one, whose mother was Israelite and whose father was Egyptian, among the Israelites, and a fight broke out in the camp between that half-Israelite and a certain Israelite. The son of the Israelite woman pronounced the Name in blasphemy, and he was brought to Moses — now his mother’s name was Shelomith daughter of Dibri of the tribe of Dan — and he was placed in custody, until the decision of the LORD should be made clear to them. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Take the blasphemer outside the camp; and let all who were within hearing lay their hands upon his head, and let the whole community stone him. And to the Israelite people speak thus: Anyone who blasphemes his God shall bear his guilt; if he also pronounces the name LORD, he shall be put to death. The whole community shall stone him; stranger or citizen, if he has thus pronounced the Name, he shall be put to death. (Leviticus 24:10-16)
According to the text, a fight breaks out between an Israelite and a man born of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian man, in the course of which the latter curses God’s name. Following God’s instructions, the blasphemer is then taken outside the camp and stoned to death.
The story is fascinating in part because of what it does not tell us. We aren’t told about the argument that prompted the blasphemy. Nor are we told the name of the perpetrator. The only name mentioned is that of the blasphemer’s mother, who happens to be the only woman named in Leviticus: Shlomit, the daughter of Dibri. Dibri shares the same root as the Hebrew word daber, which means “speak.” Shlomit stems from the word shalom, which means “peace” and which can serve as a greeting. According to a midrash, Shlomit was so named because she said “shalom” to all she encountered. This then is the story of the son of Peace, who is the daughter of Speaker, a fighter whose only speech is to blaspheme God.
Moreover, this is not the first time that Moses imposes consequences on a dispute between an Israelite and an Egyptian that ends badly for the Egyptian. A major turning point in Moses’ life occurs when he sees an Egyptian man beating an Israelite slave. Moses kills the Egyptian and then flees to Midian, where God eventually calls on him to lead the people out of Egypt. Commentators are quick to pick up on the fact that in both cases the text refers to an “Egyptian man,” concluding that the Egyptian man killed by Moses and the Egyptian man who fathered the blasphemer are one and the same. The Da’at Zekeinim, a Torah commentary authored in Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries, offers this understanding of the connection between the stories:
With your help, My Jewish Learning can provide endless opportunities for learning, connection and discovery.
This son of an Egyptian father was belittled by an Israelite who told him that it had been Moses who had killed his father. When this man asked the Israelite how Moses had killed his father, he was told that Moses had killed him by cursing him using the ineffable name of the Lord. Having heard this, this half Egyptian immediately retaliated by cursing this Israelite using the name of God to do so.
The son of the Egyptian killed by Moses’ pronouncement of God’s ineffable name now attempts to use the very same strategy to retaliate against the Israelite. Once again, the Egyptian is killed.
The blasphemer was faced with a choice. He could have been a son of peace who used his speech for greeting and companionship. Instead, he turns back to Egypt and reenacts the story of his father — fighting with an Israelite and being killed (albeit indirectly) by Moses. His choice is a microcosm of the grander struggle of the Israelites wandering in the desert. They too are faced with the challenge of turning their backs on Egypt and writing a new story of a free people. Like the blasphemer, they fail. They complain and rebel. They build a golden calf. And after the sin of the spies, God condemns their generation to die in the desert rather than enter the promised land.
The choice between turning back to Egypt or moving towards a future of freedom and peace may seem obvious, but it has never been an easy one to make.
