A Separation of Powers

Tetzaveh
Exodus 27:20-30:10
Précis: The parasha continues with a description of ritual items in the Tabernacle, including oil for the lamp, priestly clothing, the ephod, breastplate, robes, plate, and miter. Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eliezer and Ithamar are designated as Priests and are consecrated with sacrifices and ceremony. The parasha concludes with a description of the daily sacrifices and incense to be offered at the Tabernacle.

Ex. 30:7 “And Aaron shall burn the incense on the alter incense of sweet spices; every morning, when he dresses the lamps, he shall burn it.”
                As we approach the election in Israel, to many American Jews a key question is whether the Israeli government will continue to kow-tow to the religious parties in any new government. Can’t there be religious pluralism in Israel, or must it remain a state where religion is largely either/or (Orthodox/secular)? Yes, the Reform and Conservative movements have made some minor inroads in recent years, but the truth remains that most Israelis are either “dati” (religious) or “lo-dati” (secular). Among secular Jews, there remains a tendency for many of them to say that while they are not religious, the only “authentic” religious Jews are “dati” (meaning Orthodox). Further, there is no doubt that the Orthodox rabbinate exercises enormous power and control over vast parts of Israeli “civil” society. Which brings us to this week’s Torah parasha.
                Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, writing in Covenant and Conversation (2/3/14) looked at the concept of a separation of powers through a Jewish lens. As we read in this week’s Torah selection, in Judaism the Prophetic role was distinct from the Priestly leadership. In this week’s reading, Moses is not even mentioned. This underscores the separation between the prophet (Moses) and the priest (Aaron). With a few exceptions, prophets rarely served as priests. Priests and prophets were quite different in many ways. The priesthood was hereditary and strictly male; prophets were charismatic and could be female (e.g. Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, etc.) Whereas priests focused on what was forbidden or accepted, the prophets focused on righteousness, love, compassion and justice. The High Priest could be substituted for if he was unable to act; there was no substitute for a prophet. Finally, the priestly family constituted a religious establishment, while prophets were loners who tended to fight against the establishment. The priesthood essentially ended with the destruction of the 2^nd Temple, while the prophets had disappeared centuries beforehand.
            When Israel had its first king, Saul, he was anointed by the head priest, who retained his own religious authority, thus maintaining the separation between Priests and the civil authority. It was 800 years later that the Hasmoneans upset the tradition, taking on the kingship and the High Priesthood in the same individual, earning the enmity of the emerging rabbinical authorities.
           Sacks suggests that the lesson of Torah is that leadership cannot be confined to one class or to one role: a division of power is essential. I would expand this suggestion in a way which Rabbi Sacks might find objectionable: the modern priestly class, in the form of the Orthodox rabbinic elite, must be separated from the civil authority of the State of Israel. I can find no justification for this elite to have the power over civil institutions such as marriage, divorce, adoption, and issues of Jewish status. Their political parties have held a balance of power in most governments throughout modern Israeli history, and the time for this role is over. Orthodox Jews must take their part in Israeli society as full members: serving in the military, forgoing subsidies for “torah study” and getting off the government dole. Let “dati” Jews support their congregations as do other segments of Israeli Jewish society.

                The age of prophecy came to an end, as did the age of Priestly dominance of religious life. It is time for the Orthodox establishment to end its domination of Jewish life in Israel, and this upcoming election offers that opportunity.