The Shepherd and the Lamb

Parashat Emor, Leviticus 21:1-24:23; Haftarah, Ezekiel 44:15-31

Rabbi David Wein, Tikvat Israel, Richmond, VA

You are not obligated to finish the work,

But neither can you refrain; so don’t just sit there and lurk.

That’s from “The Sayings of the Fathers” or Pirke Avot

And 2:16 is where I got that quote

Now in Ezekiel 1, in the thirtieth year

(“But of what?” we may ask — perhaps birthday cheer)

So it’s Ezekiel, perhaps, that is turning 3-0. 

In which case, that’s the year that a priest starts the show!  

But he can’t, there’s no Temple, it’s all been destroyed

So Ezekiel, the priest, must feel distraught and annoyed

But even if the 30 doesn’t refer to ole’ Zeke

The situation where a priest can’t do his calling is unique.

Now he’s sitting on the bank of the Kebar River

Wondering how the Lord could ever deliver

If the Temple is gone, whence the Presence of God?

And how could he ever fulfill his priesthood abroad?

By the Rivers of Babylon, where we sat down

There we wept, when we remembered Zion

Then the wicked carried us away in captivity

And required from us a song

But how can we sing the Lord's song

In a strange land?

When suddenly the heavens opened, with strange weather features

Wind, fire, and lightning, and four living creatures

And a blazing heavenly chariot: the God-mobile

A movable throne with tricked-out bejeweled wheels

That for some reason in Jerusalem — at that moment — was not found

For the Lord God of Israel cannot be geographically bound

And Ezekiel may have wondered how his assignment was even knowable

But God’s gift and his calling are irrevocable

We may say this to God as well: “How can I do it?

“I’m ill-equipped, incomplete, and I already blew it.

“Plus the forces around me are beyond my control

I’m bruised and I’m broken — just a weary soul.”

And in this week’s parasha, something lingers like mist:

The incomplete priests are apparently dismissed

He cannot be blind, or disfigured, or lame

In the Holy Place — this desecrates the Name.

He cannot have scars or boils or scurvy

Or be missing a limb or be from New Jersey

(Not because something’s wrong with the great Garden State

But because he’d be anachronistic — 3000 years late).

But here is the catch — he’s not put out to pasture

He can still eat the holy food — not a total disaster

He can pray, lead, and guide — gather wood for the altar

He can judge, teach, and worship, and sing from the psalter

He can worship God with the Levites orally

He’s unclean ritually, but for sure not morally

Remember ole’ Zeke — well he’s not just a priest

But one of the greatest prophets to come out of the East

You’re not defined by one thing that you do

You’re a complex, integrated, and valuable you!

Our defects are setbacks, but they’re not who we are

They throw a wrench in our calling, but can’t totally bar

And even if circumstance brings you outside the Land

And the Temple’s gone — nonetheless, God has a plan!

Perhaps he will bring his Presence right to your spot

To comfort and guide you, ‘cause he likes you a lot

Now, the story doesn’t end with limitation

The Gospels show a move toward wholeness and restoration

For Yeshua heals the blind, the sick, and the lame

And what he did years ago, he still does the same

So if you have a defect, a blemish, or blight

It might be a weakness to accept until all things are made right

Or a skill to develop, to learn over time

Or a job to delegate, like the seeing priests did for the blind

Or perhaps a change in belief is rising to the surface

Like you think you can’t do something just because you’re not perfect

We are not required to complete God’s work on the earth 

But neither can we refrain because we doubt our inherent worth

‘Cause we are made in his image, loved more than words can express

He’s not looking for perfection — he’s looking for a “yes.”

And if you’re wondering why this drash was done in coupled rhyme

Perhaps I’m full of whimsy, or just have too much time

Or perhaps I wanted to share, in ordered pairs,

How God makes things whole, restores, and repairs

Plus I wanted to show through conventional poetry

How God brings life and order — from wasteland to “grow-a-tree.”

But there’s another pairing besides these rhyming couples

It’s in the parasha this week, there’s a purposeful double:

The sacrifice and the priest have the same laws and stipulations

They both must be whole and unblemished creations 

There is One who exists without any defect in the least

Both the perfect, final sacrifice and eternal High Priest

The offering and Priest — the Shepherd and the Lamb

The offering and Priest — the Shepherd and the Lamb

Glory to the One who died and rose again

And is the great I Am

The Shepherd and the Lamb

Hallelujah!

Yeshua went from whole to broken, to make the broken whole. Yeshua absorbed uncleanness, sin, and death into himself, to bring cleansing, forgiveness, and eternal life. 

Therefore if anyone is in Messiah, this person is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. (2 Cor 5:17,21)