Seeking Perfection

Hol Hamoed Passover   On the Shabbat which takes place during Passover, we omit the regular Torah reading and instead chant a section from the Book of Exodus (33:12-34:26).

            

Ex. 34:6-7 “… ‘Adonai! Adonai! a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin—yet not remitting all punishment, but visiting the iniquity of parents upon children and children’s children, upon the third and fourth generations.”  

            

This special reading includes the story of the Golden Calf. Those of us raised on Cecil B. DeMille’s Ten Commandments have the story down fairly well, although much of the nuance has been lost. It’s the nuances I wanted to take a closer look at this week. 

            

Moses winds up taking three trips up the mountain. On the first, he gets the first set of Tablets, created by God and given to him. He descends, sees the Golden Calf, and destroys the tables. He goes back up where God threatens to destroy the People and in effect substitute him for Abraham. Moses pleads and succeeds, thereby saving the people, and goes back down the mountain. There, he carves a new set of tablets, and climbs a third time to have them inscribed by God. While there, he experiences a close personal encounter with God, where he is informed of the Thirteen attributes of God which are articulated in this verse.

             

Moses comes down the mountain with the second set of tablets, knowing that God is a forgiving God. While the first set of Tablets were by definition perfect, coming directly from the Hand of God, this second set was a joint project, necessarily including a metaphorical reference to humanity’s weakness as well as to God’s power of forgiveness.

            

Later, the second set of tablets is placed in the Ark along with the crumbled remains of the first. Another metaphor: we dream of perfection while we live with the knowledge of our imperfection.  We can find peace in the contest between our dream and our reality by accepting God’s compassion. I hope your holiday concludes with great joy.

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.