Friday, March 27, 2020

When a leader sins

Lev. 1:1 - 5:26

PrĂ©cis: The title of the Third Book of the Torah, Vayikra (“And He called”) is usually translated as “Leviticus” in English, from its Septuagint (Greek) name, which in turn is based on the fact that much of the Book concerns ritual sacrifices performed under the auspices of the Levites. Many traditional commentators note that the Book is found in the center of the first Five Books and intuit from its positioning the “centrality” of its teachings to Jewish tradition. 
            The introduction to this Book in Etz Hayim reminds us that the “central concern” of the ancient Israelites was “how they were to express their loyalty” to Adonai. The answer from Vayikra: they were “to be holy, for I Adonai Your God, am holy.”   Etz Hayim also reminds us of the importance of ritual: “…[S]omething in the human soul responds to ritual, whether it be the formality of a traditional wedding or the rituals of a sporting event…There is something comforting about the familiar, the recognizable, the predictable. There is something deeply moving about performing a rite that is older than we are, one that goes back beyond the time of our parents or grandparents…There is power in the knowledge that we are doing what generations of people before us have done in similar situations.”
            Yet, as noted in the introduction to this Book in the Plaut Commentary, much of this “holiness” is expressed in terms of rituals which ceased to exist with the destruction of the Second Temple. The word generally used in English for the ritual offerings in the Temple is “sacrifice,” but there is a deeper meaning to be found in the Hebrew word, korban, from a root meaning “to draw closer.” The system of “sacrifices” (“korbanot”) was designed to allow the Israelites to “draw closer” to the Ineffable.
            With the end of the sacrificial system, the instructions of Vayikra for centuries remained an important area of study because of the belief that a restoration of the sacrificial system would occur. As the synagogue became the center of Jewish religious life, prayers were inserted seeking the restoration of sacrifices at the Temple. These remain in traditional liturgy today, as a daily reminder of our ancient ritual life and its core intent of drawing closer to God.

Lev. 4:22 “When a chieftain incurs guilt by doing unwittingly any of the things which by the commandment of Adonai his God ought not to be done, and he realizes his guilt…he shall bring as his offering a male goat without blemish.”
            The wording of this verse is highly unusual. In other cases, the text usually states, “If an individual sins.” Here, the text assumes that a leader will sin.
            The verse includes a two-step process: a sin by the leader followed by recognition by the leader that he has sinned. Traditions tells us that admissions of wrongdoing are to be praised.  It is difficult to admit to ourselves our own errors, let alone admit them to others. A failure to recognize one’s errors is today called narcissism. Symptoms include an excessive need for admiration, disregard for others’ feelings, an inability to handle any criticism, and a sense of entitlement. The term originated from Greek mythology, where the young Narcissus fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water. Narcissists hate criticism, and consider it “toxic," because criticism implies they are not perfect and that they need to change.

            Whether the narcissistic leader is in the United States, Israel, Iran, China, or anywhere else in our world, it is precisely the oppose of what our tradition demands.