Neighbors

Achrei Mot-Kedoshim

Lev. 16:1-20:27

 

Précis: Achrei Mot begins with Adonai speaking to Moses after the death (achrei mot) of Aaron’s sons. It describes the rituals for Yom Kippur, including the prescribed sacrifices. 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.  Consideration of the poor through the commandments to leave the corners of fields for gleaners is included, as are mandates which complement the ethical principles of the Ten Commandments (being honest, avoiding vengeance). This parasha is often viewed as the very core of moral teaching for the Jewish People.

 

Lev 19:18:  You shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

 

To whom does this commandment apply? Who is your “neighbor”? Robert Silverman has written about this difficult matter (Mosaic, 12/16/15).

Among the earliest inquiries on record is found in the Christian Gospel according to Luke, composed about 100 CE. There, a “learned Jew” asks Jesus who is the "neighbor" discussed in this verse.  

Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan, when a Jew is robbed and eft for dead on the road to Jerusalem. Two Jews see him lying there but offer no help. Then “a certain Samaritan” finds him and cares for him. Jesus then asks: “Which now of these three was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?” “He that showed mercy,” says the “learned Jew.” (It is important to note that the Samaritans were considered to be enemies of the Jews.

            But how did Jewish exegetes explain the verse? Some suggested that the correct interpretation was more like “friend” or "companion” based on its usage in the book of Job. This implies a closer relationship than the Samaritan.

            Subsequent rabbinic interpretation became (unsurprisingly) ever more complicated, depending of course on how the Jews were being treated by the majorities where they lived after the destruction of Israel. Some, including Rambam, felt that this commandment applied only to fellow Jews (and some extended this to include only those fellow Jews who observed the mitzvot!).

However, the majority of Jewish commentators take note of Lev. 19:33-34, describing the “ger” (resident alien or foreigner) who lives among Jews. The passage emphasizes that the Israelites should treat these foreign residents with respect and kindness, similar to how they would treat their own native-born citizens. Israelites are commanded to love the ger as themselves, because they were strangers in Egypt.  

Of course, the issue of how to treat strangers among us is at the front of the debate regarding immigration. Here, it seems that the Christian and the predominant Jewish thoughts converge: the “ger” (the “alien who lives among you” is to be treated with respect and love. 

Tsara'at - No, It's not Leprosy

 Tazria - Metzorah

Lev. 12:1-15:33

 

Tazria begins with laws concerning the need for ritual purification of women following the birth of children, and the laws of what is usually referred to as “leprosy” of the skin and on garments (although this translation is most certainly erroneous; it appears to refer to an affliction which renders the person, garment, or home ritually impure).

Metzorah 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 a discussion of bodily secretions which are another source of ritual impurity

 

Lev.13:1 “Adonai spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling, a rash, or a discoloration, and it develops into a scaly infection on the skin of his body, it shall be reported to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons, the priests.’”

Rabbi Sacks taught that the Septuagint, the early Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, translated tsara’at, the condition whose identification and cleansing occupies much of Tazria and Metzorah as “lepra,” which in term was translated into “leprosy.”

That concept has been almost universally rejected. As Maimonides stated, “Tsara’at is a comprehensive term covering a number of dissimilar conditions. Thus, whiteness in a person’s skin is called tsara’at. The falling off of some of his hair on the head or the chin is called tsara’at. A change of color in garments or in houses is called tsara’at” (Hilchot Tumat Tsara’at 16:10).

In trying to discern the reasons for the condition, the Sages looked for clues in the Torah. Noting that Miriam was smitten by tsara’at for speaking badly about her brother Moses (Num. 12:10), they concluded that the condition could arise from evil speech (lashon hara). The Sages also noted the linguistic connection between “metzorah” (a person afflicted by the condition) and the Hebrew phrase “motzi shem ra,” (slander). The Sages noted wisely: “Evil speech kills three people: the one who says it, the one who listens to it, and the one about whom it is said.” (Arachin 15b.)

            We live in a time when it is difficult to avoid “evil speech” in our political discourse, particularly when such speech is based on lies. How are we to adapt our tradition’s aversion to evil speech and slander to present circumstances? I do not have an answer, only the question, which leads me to ponder how we can restore essential civility to our families, communities, and the world at large.