The Importance of Ritual

Tetzaveh

Ex. 27:20-30:10

Précis: The parasha continues with a description of ritual items in the Tabernacle, including oil for the lamp, priestly clothing, the ephod, breastplate, robes, plate, and miter. Aaron and his sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eliezer and Ithamar are designated as Priests and are consecrated with sacrifices and ceremony. The parasha concludes with a description of the daily sacrifices and incense to be offered at the Tabernacle.

Exodus 29:39. “One lamb shall you offer in the morning, and the second lamb you shall offer in the afternoon.”

            Lord  Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has noted (Mosaic 2/19/16), that the Sages of the Talmud offer four different opinions on which verses are the most important in Torah. Three are of little surprise: “Love your neighbor,” “Hear O Israel the Lord is our God,” and “Man is made in the likeness of God.”  The fourth is this verse! Sacks suggests that it represents the Jewish ideal of regular ritual.

            To many outsiders, and to many Jews, the Jewish obsession with ritual seems strange, a relic of antiquity, and devoid of any religious meaning. This is certainly so during the readings about Temple rituals which have not been observed for almost 2,000 years. A common complaint heard from younger generations is that much of what they see of Judaism is rote ritual which, to them, has lost any emotional context.        

            Modern human beings, regardless of their particular faith, have adopted what we might call an “extraordinary” view of religious experiences. We feel it when something unusual overwhelms us. It is usually something outside of the normal, be it the birth of a child, the view from a mountaintop, a forest vista, or being part of a cheering crowd. Most of us have had such transcendent experiences.

            Sacks reminds us that theses are, in fact, merely experiences. They may remain imprinted in our memory, but they are not part of everyday life. What makes life “real” are those daily rituals in which we engage. Jewish tradition has developed what Sacks calls a “choreography of holiness” to be performed every day. While most of us ignore those elements of ritual which do not engage our spirits, we should not forget the important contribution which Judaism has made to the world: living our lives, interacting with others, caring for the stranger, engaging in ethical business practises, all based on rituals inspired by a sense of holiness.

The Last Commandment

Yitro

Ex. 18:1 - 20:23

Précis:  Following last week’s trip through the Red Sea, Moses is reunited with his father-in-law Jethro (“Yitro”) and with his family. Yitro acknowledges God, gives wise advice to Moses about delegating responsibility, and Moses appoints assistants (judges). The Israelites come to the foot of Mount Sinai where, in the ultimate transcendental experience, Revelation takes place as the “Ten Utterances” (Commandments) are spoken to the People by the very Voice of God.

Ex. 20:13 “You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

            Abarbanel (the 15^th century Spanish commentator) noted that “After the admonition not to harm your fellow man in deed, neither his body (You shall not murder), nor his wife (You shall not commit adultery), nor his goods (You shall not steal), comes the admonition not to harm him by word of mouth…This includes, besides bearing false witness, one who mocks his fellow man, slanders and denigrates him, insults him publicly and the like.”

            At the conclusion – perhaps the summation? -  of the Ten Commandments, we are reminded of the critical importance of human speech. The Sages place the sin of denigrating another person on a par with murder, adultery, and theft of another’s possessions. By denigrating another, we “murder” a reputation. By denigrating another, we may cause a spouse to lose faith in the mate. By denigrating another, we steal one’s most prize possession (one’s good name).

            12 years ago, I wrote in a weekly d’var on this verse, “A common complaint in 21^st century America is that our language has been “coarsened” and that we have morphed into a society where what we say can always be “spun” as circumstances demand.”  Unfortunately, more than a decade later, we find that the “coarsening” of our utterances has reached an undeniably lower point, where some in public life feel free to cast aspersions in ways that would have ended their careers a decade ago. Some may call this just an end to “political correctness,” but I call it a loss of civility, decorum, and decency.

            I suggest that our Torah reading this week should make us focus on the importance of honest and respectful discourse in all parts of our interactions with others.