Lev. 1:1 - 5:26
Précis: 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.” They expressed their loyalty to God and their commitment to be holy through a system of sacrifices, while for 2,000 years that loyalty and commitment have been through prayer, study, and acts of righteousness.
Lev.5:1 “And should a person offend when he has heard a voice in adjuration, he being a witness, or has seen or known, if he does not tell, he shall bear his punishment.”
Through commentary, we learn that this text teaches that if one is a witness to wrong-doing, and has been told not to withhold testimony about it, that a failure to provide the testimony incurs guilt, and the individual is to be punished.
In recent weeks, we have seen officials of the current U.S. administration appear before Congressional committees to explain a variety of instances in which they not only witnessed improprieties, but in fact participated in them. For example, the recent revelations about the use of unofficial messaging systems and Gmail containing items of national security has been shrugged off as “nothing important, a glitch.” In 2016, the phrase “lock her up” may well have resulted in the close loss of the presidential election by Hillary Clinton. Do you remember why this phrase was chanted? It was because of her alleged breach of security by her use of unofficial emails! The hypocrisy is palpable.
Getting back to the verse in question this week. A failure to withhold testimony incurs guilt. The obverse is also true: keeping silent in the face of transgressions is similarly prohibited. When we are daily faced daily with barrages of “executive orders” that are on their face either illegal or unconstitutional, it is easy to look away. We must not.
No comments:
Post a Comment