Passover and Yom Kippur

Acharei Mot

Leviticus 16:1 -18:30

Précis: Acharei Mot begins with Adonai speaking to Moses after the death (acharei mot) of Aaron’s sons. It describes the rituals for Yom Kippur, including the prescribed sacrifices. There are specific details about the purification of the Sanctuary, vessels, and the priests. Following this descriptions, rules for the slaughter of meat (including the prohibition against eating blood) are reiterated. The parasha concludes with a listing of prohibited marriages. 

This year, we read this parasha on Shabbat HaGadol, the Sabbath immediately preceding Passover, our celebration of freedom.  I thought that I would try to make a connection between the holiday we read about (Yom Kippur) and the holiday we are about to celebrate. 

            Our observance of the Passover Seder is (ritually) highlighted by eating. Many of our holidays have the over-simplified theme of “they oppressed us, we won, let’s eat.” On Passover, however, the foods are a central part of the celebration. We celebrate freedom by recalling the foods we ate in (or while escaping from) captivity: the bitter herbs, the salt water, the charoset. But the central mitzvah relates to matzah, the “Bread of Affliction.”

            On Yom Kippur, we observe the singular Jewish holiday where a festive meal is not held, and where the focus is instead on fasting. In the words of the Torah, we “afflict our souls” by fasting (until, at least we get to the celebratory break-fast meal). On Passover, we eat the Bread of Affliction and on Yom Kippur we engage in a day of self-affliction.

            What do these holidays have in common besides “affliction?” I would suggest that both holidays teach us that change and renewal are difficult, but necessary. On Passover, we celebrate the Israelites' change from being slaves to being a free people. On Yom Kippur we hope for change within ourselves. Change and renewal are important for individuals and for Peoples as well. 

             I wish all a Shabbat Shalom and a Chag Sameach.

Holy Mold

Metzorah

Leviticus 14:1-15:33

Précis: The parasha discusses laws for the purification of “lepers” with sacrifice and water. It also discusses growths on walls of a house which cause ritual impurity. The parasha concludes with secretions from the body which are another source of ritual impurity.

Lev.14:34-35 “When you enter the land of Canaan which I gave you as a possession, and I inflict an eruptive plague upon a house in the land you possess, the owner of the house shall come out and tell the priest, saying ‘There is something like a plague which has appeared on my house.’”

             In last week’s parasha, we read about an affliction of the body (usually and erroneously called “leprosy”). This week, we learn about a mysterious plague of tza’raat, which is found on the walls of homes. (Perhaps this is some kind of mold, of the kind which ruined homes following the Superstorm Sandy.) The Talmud teaches us that this plague never in fact took place, but that this verse is here for “our edification” (BT Sanhedrin 71a). So what are we to learn from this verse?

            The S’fat Emet [Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter (1847–1905), also known by the title of his main work, S’fat Emet] was a leading Hasidic Rabbi and teacher in Russia during the 19th century. He commented as follows on this verse: “The real meaning of these afflictions of houses is in fact quite wondrous, a demonstration that Israel’s holiness is so great that they can also draw sanctity and purity into their dwelling-places....This is the real ‘hidden treasure’--that in the most corporeal of objects there are hidden sparks of the greatest holiness” (S’fat Emet 3:139F).

            This implies that everything in one’s life is capable of being sanctified or defiled. When the home owner goes through the process (with the Priest) of restoring the “purity” of his house, the homeowner is at the same time taking note of God’s presence in the bricks of his home. Holiness, the theme of Leviticus, is not limited to the Mishkan, but can also be found in the most humble of places, even a moldy house. 

            Jewish thought does not confine holiness to the synagogue, the clergy, the scholar, or the individual who observes mitzvot. Rather, holiness is to be found in (and made a part of) every element of our lives. This means we are obligated to seek holiness not only in our prayers and rituals, but in our business dealings and relations with others. Nothing in our lives is immune from a “plague” and everything has a holiness we can perceive, if we look for it.