Ethics, the "other," and creation

 Ki Tetze

Deut. 21:10 - 25:19

 

Précis:  The week’s reading begins with the phrase “when you go forth” (ki tetze) to battle. This parasha, according to Maimonides, contains 72 mitzvot (commandments). They cover a wide variety of topics, from family life, human kindness, respect for property and animals, the safety of others, sexual relationships, escaped slaves, financial loans and charging interest, keeping promises, and remembering to blot out the name of one of Israel’s greatest enemies. This assortment of commands included requirements that there be sex-distinct clothing; that mother birds not be separated from their eggs; that roof-tops have parapets; that seeds not be mixed in a field, and that “tzitzit” (fringes) be worn on garments.

 

Rabbi Rachel Sabath Beit-Halachmi has carefully brought into focus the variety of laws appearing in this parasha (ReformJudaism.org, 8/20/18). She suggests that there are three areas to consider: upholding an ethical society, understanding the “other,” and preserving God’s cosmos.  

            We create an ethical society when we regulate competition between brethren, wives, and disobedient children. We create an ethical society when we are commanded not to ignore the losses suffered by others, to guard the property of others as though it was our own, and to respect the fact that gender is important (whether we agree or disagree with the specific commandment here).

            We are taught to understand what she calls the “face of the other.” We are commanded to recognize the fundamental humanity of even our enemies during and after war. Victory does not permit us to engage inhumanely with those we have defeated.

             Finally, this parasha demands us to be guardians of God’s creation, and remember His creation through our conduct and clothing. We must not interfere with natural processes by mixing seeds improperly.  We must treat animals with kindness, not separating the mother bird from its offspring. We cannot yoke animals of uneven strength, as one will surely suffer. It is our responsibility to maintain the sensitivity which helps preserve our humanity, and to remember that God created a natural order which our lack of humanity can threaten.

            In other words, these details of human behavior provide a matrix for an individual not only to prosper as part of a community, but to be concerned with the fate of others, and of God’s creation itself.

Making Sense of the Red Heifer

 Chukat

Num. 19:1 - 22:1

 

Précis: The parasha begins with a discussion of the Red Heifer, used for ritual purification after one comes into contact with a dead body. The story then shifts to the death of Miriam, and the mourning by the entire people for her. With her death, the well of water which had accompanied their travels disappears, and Moses strikes a rock to provide water to the People. Soon thereafter, Aaron also dies, and the Israelites engage in a series of battles which conclude the parasha.

 

Num.19:2 “This is the statute of law which Adonai commanded….”

 

We are faced with the riddle of the Red Heifer. It is paradoxical. God states that those who prepare the ashes of the Red Heifer become impure.  Nevertheless, the ashes are used to purify others.  How can we reconcile this seeming contradiction?

            Perhaps we can find a hint: by using something impure, we acknowledge that we have something which must be remedied.  

            To be more specific, we all engage in actions we wished we did not do. For some, such actions are self-destructive and life-threatening. Those with knowledge or experience of addiction know that behaviors can really change only when the sufferer hits the bottom and sees that fact.  Knowing that one is helpless to rectify an addiction, but also knowing that there is a “Higher Power” which can help one change, is at the heart of 12 step programs. Truly negative behavior, in this light, is seen as a way to stimulate change.

            The ashes of the red heifer ashes are impure, but give us a way to return to ritual purity. Our self-destructive actions, once we admit to them, can be a “first step” to a restoration of a life worth living.