Daf Yomi, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Torah and Psychology, Marriage Counseling, Psychotherapy
Our Gemara on Amud Aleph asks: Who ruled over Miriam’s tzoraas, which requires a cohen? It could not be Aharon, because he is her brother, and a close relative cannot make a ruling of tzoraas. The Gemara reflects:
“Rather, the Holy One, Blessed be He, bestowed a great honor on Miriam at that time, and said: I Myself am a priest, and I will quarantine her for seven days to see if the shades of leprous marks persist, and I will declare her a leper if she is impure, and I will exempt her if she is not impure.”
This is not the only time Hashem is described as a Cohen. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 39a) records the following discussion:
“A certain heretic said to Rabbi Abbahu: Your God is a priest, as it is written: ‘That they take for Me an offering [teruma]’ (Shemos 25:2), and teruma is given to the priests.
He asked, sarcastically: When He buried Moshe, in what ritual bath did He immerse? A priest who contracts impurity from a corpse must immerse in order to be able to partake of teruma. And if you would say that He immersed in water, but isn’t it written: ‘Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand’ (Yeshayahu 40:12), that all waters of the world fit in the palm of God, so He could not immerse in them.
Rabbi Abbahu said to him: He immersed in fire, as it is written: ‘For, behold, the Lord will come in fire’ (Yeshayahu 66:15).”
Tosafos (ibid.) asks why the heretic was not troubled by how Hashem could have exposed Himself to the corpse in the first place if He was a cohen. Tosafos answers that since we are as sons to God, He is permitted to engage in our burial, just as a cohen may engage in the burial of close relatives.
It’s a touching idea that God engaged directly with Miriam and later with Moshe as a loving parent. I don’t know what this really means, but we must say that God counts as a Cohen but not a Cohen Gadol, since a Cohen Gadol cannot render himself impure for a relative (Vayikra 21:11). What are the theological implications that God counts as a Cohen but not a Cohen Gadol? In effect, He subjugated Himself to the High Priest at the Temple. This might explain the interlude described in Berachos (7a), where Hashem asks for a blessing from Yishmael Cohen Gadol.
Additionally, I wonder why Tosafos doesn’t give a different answer. Hashem is, so to speak, always exposed to the impurity of corpses. Since He “rides the clouds” (Tehillim 68:5), He is affected by tumas ohel, the impurity that comes from passing over or being under the same roof as a corpse. Furthermore, we can argue that God is always touching corpses too, since “His presence fills the entire Earth” (Yeshayahu 6:3).
However, there is a debate amongst the Rishonim regarding a cohen who is already impure—whether he is prohibited from becoming re-exposed. This dispute may also be contingent on whether there is merely ohel or physical touch (see Hasagos Ra’avad, Rambam, Laws of Nazir 5:8, and Nosei Keilim, and Ramban Makkos 21b). Since Tosafos does not offer this answer, perhaps he sides against the Ra’avad. However, the Ra’avad has a simpler answer, which is a moderate proof to his position, since there would be no need to have concern regarding God exposing Himself to Moshe’s corpse as a cohen who is already exposed.
Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation
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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com