Emor
Leviticus 21:1 - 24:23
Précis: This parasha is divided into four sections. First, it reviews rituals for the Priests to use to remain ritually pure. Second, it outlines the festival and holiday calendar. Third, it explains the use of the olive oil and display bread on Shabbat. Finally, there is a brief narrative about a blasphemer who is condemned to death.
Leviticus 24: 19-21 “If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured.”
Our text states the idea clearly: anyone who maims another is maimed in return. This is one of three biblical locations for the biblical phrase, “ayin tachat ayin” (eye for eye); similar language appears in Exodus 21:23-25 and Deuteronomy 19:21.
This expression was troubling to the sages of Israel, as can be learned from an examination of Mishnah, which takes it for granted that the phrase means that we are to pay monetary damages equal to the loss suffered. The Talmudic explanation offers a host of reasons why the Torah’s injunction should not and cannot be meant literally, based on other proof texts. For example, since “one law” applies to all, how could we take the eye of a blind person?
The Rabbis of the Talmudic era also offer a parallel concept called “midah k'neged midah” (measure for measure) which is also referred to as the idea of “correspondence.” In other words, one gets what one deserves. Proof texts deal with the punishments for Pharaoh, Amalek, and Haman as examples of those whose punishment corresponded to their evil acts. Other textual citations refer to Joseph, Moses, and the Israelites who are blessed with rewards corresponding to the mitzvot they performed.
This concept, however, runs smack into the reality of the unfairness of life; could we really believe that the victims of the Holocaust were punished because of their sins? Reality tells us that, at least sometimes, the wicked do prosper, and that the good do suffer.
We can “resolve” this problem by accepting the idea that in olam habah, the world to come, the scales of justice will be righted. But we live in this world. Perhaps we can find our way through the inevitable disparities of outcomes in human events by following the core messages of Leviticus: seek holiness, and seek justice.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Seeking Holiness
Acharei Mot-Kedoshim
Leviticus 16:1-20:27
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. The opening words of Kedoshim are “You shall be holy” (kedoshim tihyu), and it continues with various descriptions of how the People are to strive for holiness. Included are fundamental laws, such as fearing one’s parents and observing Shabbat. Consideration of the poor through the commandments to leave the corners of fields for gleaners is included, as are mandates which compliment the ethical principles of the Ten Commandments (being honest, avoiding vengeance). Specific bans against magicians, soothsaying, witchcraft and defiling the dead follow, as are reminders to avoid human sacrifice. This parasha is often viewed as an essential source of moral teaching for the Jewish People.
Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Adonai your God, am holy.’”
How are we to approach a transcendental concept such as “holiness?” The concept is central to this week's reading and is at the very center of Torah: we are to become holy in imitation of the Ineffable.
Writing in the Chancellor's Parasha Commentary (4/23/94), Jewish Theological Seminary Chancellor Schorsch suggested that holiness has three basic elements: self-denial, boundaries, and community.
First, holiness begins with self-denial. Self-denial implies that we are not governed by mere impulse, and that we should consider how and when we go about activities of daily life. The emphasis is on “self” because the action springs from within. We can think about self-denial as an act of intention: guarding against impulsivity. Just because something is available does not mean we should take it or make use of it. We get closer to holiness when we thoughtfully abstain from eating whatever we want, from working whenever we want, or from keeping everything that we want. Holiness requires a personal moderation of desire.
Second, our path towards holiness asks that we accept boundaries imposed by our tradition (the external parallel to self-denial). By accepting boundaries (what we eat, how and what we do) we can focus our energy on what is truly important and proper. As Chancellor Schorsch comments, accepting boundaries for our behaviors is “a way of contracting the self and shrinking the ego.”
Third, holiness requires a connection to community. Judaism is not a religion of private, isolated contemplation of the Divine. To be Jewish, and to enhance holiness, we must live with and among others. We seek communal holiness in our human daily interactions, in a minyan, at a wedding, or sitting shivah together.
The command to “be holy” – to imitate our understanding of God's holiness - is the central message of this week's reading and perhaps, of the Torah in general. It requires a thoughtful life, a life of limits, and a life of commitment to others.
Leviticus 16:1-20:27
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. The opening words of Kedoshim are “You shall be holy” (kedoshim tihyu), and it continues with various descriptions of how the People are to strive for holiness. Included are fundamental laws, such as fearing one’s parents and observing Shabbat. Consideration of the poor through the commandments to leave the corners of fields for gleaners is included, as are mandates which compliment the ethical principles of the Ten Commandments (being honest, avoiding vengeance). Specific bans against magicians, soothsaying, witchcraft and defiling the dead follow, as are reminders to avoid human sacrifice. This parasha is often viewed as an essential source of moral teaching for the Jewish People.
Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Adonai your God, am holy.’”
How are we to approach a transcendental concept such as “holiness?” The concept is central to this week's reading and is at the very center of Torah: we are to become holy in imitation of the Ineffable.
Writing in the Chancellor's Parasha Commentary (4/23/94), Jewish Theological Seminary Chancellor Schorsch suggested that holiness has three basic elements: self-denial, boundaries, and community.
First, holiness begins with self-denial. Self-denial implies that we are not governed by mere impulse, and that we should consider how and when we go about activities of daily life. The emphasis is on “self” because the action springs from within. We can think about self-denial as an act of intention: guarding against impulsivity. Just because something is available does not mean we should take it or make use of it. We get closer to holiness when we thoughtfully abstain from eating whatever we want, from working whenever we want, or from keeping everything that we want. Holiness requires a personal moderation of desire.
Second, our path towards holiness asks that we accept boundaries imposed by our tradition (the external parallel to self-denial). By accepting boundaries (what we eat, how and what we do) we can focus our energy on what is truly important and proper. As Chancellor Schorsch comments, accepting boundaries for our behaviors is “a way of contracting the self and shrinking the ego.”
Third, holiness requires a connection to community. Judaism is not a religion of private, isolated contemplation of the Divine. To be Jewish, and to enhance holiness, we must live with and among others. We seek communal holiness in our human daily interactions, in a minyan, at a wedding, or sitting shivah together.
The command to “be holy” – to imitate our understanding of God's holiness - is the central message of this week's reading and perhaps, of the Torah in general. It requires a thoughtful life, a life of limits, and a life of commitment to others.
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