Tazria/Metzora 5775, April 2015; Exclusion

Special rules of isolation were placed by the Torah on one who was found to have tzaraas. According to the Sforno and others, specifically, he would be expelled from all the camps including that of B'nai Yisroel, residing outside them all; in the time of the settlement of Eretz Yisroel, he was excluded from any walled city. He had a number of laws individually isolating him as well, involving whom he could live with in his banishment (only with others suffering tzaraas, not with those banished for other reasons); allowing his hair to grow and covering his face and lips; and even verbally warning anyone who approached him.

At Special Olympics games, where everyone is included.

 Of course we don't have anything like tzaraas now. Yet we as communities choose to act as if we do by excluding individual people based on non-halachically supported prejudices. We judge that those people perform specific aveiros which we distain (yet we welcome others who we know regularly perform other halachically prohibited actions) and tell them they are not welcome in our synagogues. We insult or exclude those whose disabilities make them more difficult to welcome, even if they are the very ones who most need our inclusion. We ignore the family whose hashgafa seems different from our own or actively discourage their participation in our community activities. We almost seem to look for opportunities to exclude rather than to enrich our own lives and circles by including others.

Special Olympics Track and Field relay team.

The Torah halachos are quite clear. If a Kohen declared tzaraas, there was no second opinion of his view. But barring the declaration by a Kohen that tzaraas was present, it was not. There was no exclusion, no tearing down of homes, no destruction of property, no negative association at all. We must bear in mind that at all times, we must be inclusive, welcoming, encouraging, for those we are excluding belong in the holiest of places and not outside our walls.

Shemini 5775, April 2015, Mourning

1.By the rivers of Babylon, there, at last, we sat down, and we also wept, when we remembered Zion.
2.Upon the willows in its midst we hung up our harps,
3.For there our captos asked of us words of song and those who had shattered us, mirth: "Sing us one of the songs of Zion."
4.What? Shall we sing the song of the L-rd on the soil of the alien?
… (Tehillim 137, 1-4, trans. Hirsch)

Today we observe Yom HaShoah, the day of remembrance of the holocaust, as we prepare for Shabbos in a few days, to read the portion of Shemini.  How can we combine our unspeakable pain and loss with the joy of Shabbos, the elevation of the omer we are daily counting in anticipation of celebration, and even just with day to day life and its joys and sorrows?

In this parsha, two of the sons of Aharon haKohen die after entering the Holy of Holies. The story of their death is a very complex one which I am not nearly adequately educated to discuss (I have struggled with the Rashi for decades and still can't wrap my thoughts around it completely and consistently). But the aftermath of their deaths is also discussed here in the Torah. Aharon and his two surviving sons are continuing to prepare and offer the decreed sacrifices of the day, and of the dedication of the Mishkan. And the language of the Torah is beautiful and yet terrible. Moshe inquires "darosh darash Moshe," he inquires inquisitively, diligently, as to what has become of the sin offering, the goat offered as a mussaf Rosh Chodesh. He discovers that Aharon and his two remaining sons have not eaten the appropriate portion but have burnt it completely, and Moshe expresses anger at Elazar and Itamar.

The two young men remain silent. Their father Aharon, known for being a peace-maker, responds on their behalf directly to Moshe, "…behold, this day they have offered their chattas and olah offerings before the L-rd, and things such as these have befallen me that if I had eaten the chattas today, would it have been well-pleasing in the sight of the L-rd?" Yalkut Shmonei and Vayikra Rabbah explain that Aharon differentiated between their status as mourners relative to daily and regular offerings, and their status relative to the Inauguration offerings, those commanded just for the dedication of the new Mishkan.  Relative to every day things, they must function as kohanim and not show mourning. Relative to something uniquely special for all of B'nai Yisroel, the inauguration of the Mishkan marking a physical reminder of the relationship between G-d and man, the three men could not possibly help but show some sign of mourning, some reticence, some inner pain at their own losses.  They were tzaddikim, but they were human men. Moshe realizes that this is indeed the proper halachah, and that his anger blinded him to it momentarily, they are all reconciled, and Moshe is given special orders from G-d to directly instruct Elazar and Itamar in the dietary laws he next elaborates for all of the Jewish people (Vayikra Rabbah, Tiferet Zion).

My grandparents Otto and Ilse Gutmann at their home in Riverdale, NY,
with their first 9 grandchildren (more were subsequently born) c. 1980. They
escaped Germany to come the US in the 1940's and worked to rebuild a Jewish people.

We cannot help but feel pain, sometimes extreme emotional pain, loss, for we are human, even if we are tzaddikim. We sometimes remain silent, we sometimes answer back, we sometimes must fight back, even act preemptively. But we cannot do it in anger. We make our decisions based on Torah teachings, and on what is necessary for our survival and protection of each other. We neither forget nor ignore. We turn to G-d and ask for help and for His return to his home among us.

Tzav 5775, March 2015; All Mankind and Karbanos

Twice daily, the High Priest himself was to offer a sacrifice known as the Minchas Chavitin.  This was a true mincha-type sacrifice of flour and oil and spices, burnt entirely on the alter and never eaten by him or any other kohen.

G-d gives us gifts big and small. She looks like
she fully appreciates the gift of the berries she
picked, doesn't she?

Abarbanel, quoting Sanhedrin, teaches that this is to remind us to always improve others before considering reproving ourselves, for before the Kohen Gadol could consider offering sacrifices to atone for the people, he first had to atone for his own sins. In addition, he says, the high priest brought the same form of sacrifice as a poor man, brought it himself as a sinner, and was atoning for the sin of the Golden Calf bit by bit through these small daily sacrifices.

The next discussion of korbanos is that of the Shalmay Todah. This is the thanksgiving offering given by a Jew who had been rescued from certain forms of danger (imprisonment, illness, sea or desert travel; today we say the birkas hagomel for this purpose). The Shlamim sacrifice otherwise is one that could be brought even by a non-Jew who wishes to bring a gift before G-d for any reason. It was shared among many people (it was a whole animal and 40 loaves of bread), so as to publicize the gratitude and the appreciation of the bringer to a maximum number of people. In this way, many people could regularly be reminded in very physical terms of the good G-d does for us daily.

Kohen Gadol or poor sinner, Jew or non-Jew, all came to bring similar gifts before G-d in the Mishkan and then the Beis haMikdash. Daily they had such a physical connection with G-d in mind. At this time as we approach Pesach, we can turn our thoughts towards karbanos but also towards the daily good G-d does for us.

Vayikra 5775, March 2015; Humility

At the beginning of this week's parsha, Moshe Rabbeinu who has travelled directly to Shamayim and sat at the foot of G-d's own throne (figuratively speaking), arrives at the newly constructed Mishkan, and stops there. He will not enter until explicitly invited to (Vayikra Rabbah, Targum Yonatan), no matter that he has already been to Shamayim and back and is regularly visited by G-d in the Ohel Moed. Without explicit permission, he is sure he is not allowed to enter.

It's probably easy to be humble when you're being used as a
step-stool.

When G-d calls to him, he uses the language used by the angels themselves (Yeshayahu 6:3), the gentle "vayikra." Moshe remained so humble at the situation though that on writing the Torah in print, he insisted that the alef in "vayikra" not be written in full size so that it shouldn't be thought he was being directly compared to a heavenly being. He could not re-conjugate the word as it came directly from G-d but could not bring himself to write it in the normal fashion, and so it was written with the small letter (Baal HaTurim).

What are the animals that can be brought as sacrifices? Doves and domesticated beasts, never animals of the forest. A domesticated animal which has been used in idol worship or has been used inappropriately can never be used. For while obviously the beast cannot itself experience haughtiness or pride, the point of bringing a sacrifice is for us to elevate ourselves, and that cannot be done with an animal which has been the focus of what would in us discourage humility.

No, they weren't about to be schechted. We were selecting the
one with the best fleece for the day's use ;)

Bringing a korban (sacrifice) itself would encourage thoughts of humility and mortality. Performing the semicha and vidui as appropriate were of course self-humbling exercises. Seeing the animals parts burned, blood sprinkled on the mizbeyach, seeing the demeanor of the kohen, one could only be driven to teshuva and humility. Seeing others bringing their korbanot likewise would remind everyone that they were on equal footing, for men and women, rich and poor, Jews and non-Jews could bring a korban (non-Jews could bring a korban olah, even if they were idol worshippers)(Midrash HaGadol). And korbanos were brought for good and bad, for teshuva and thanksgiving, for truly despicable deeds and for the sin of inappropriate thoughts.

Olah sacrifices themselves could be brought for not having successfully performed a positive commandment (for something as simple, say, as not having been able to buy a proper esrog or for not having been able to put on tefillin one day); for having broken a negative commandment (the modern equivalent often suggested is thoughtlessly turning on a light or otherwise breaking the laws of the Sabbath by mistake); or they could be brought for the transgression of sinful thoughts (Midrash Tanchuma).  For as Rambam says, "Sinful thoughts only enter a heart which is devoid of wisdom."  Not only what we do but what and how we think are the realm of Torah.  That idea alone can only invite humility on reflection, for we are in control of our thoughts even if we are not fully in control of our mood in some cases. Imagine if we today were liable for korbanos for such transgressions. How careful would we be with our thoughts, our actions, our speech? When we pray and when we perform positive mitzvahs, we should bear this in mind, for those are our modern ways of performing korbanos. We can enrich our daily actions by reminding ourselves we are expiating sin by being conscious of sinful thoughts, doing teshuva, and throwing ourselves wholeheartedly into the performance of our mitzvahs. This is an idea which invokes humility in me in truth.

Vayakhel/Pekudei 5775 (Shabbos Parah), March 2015; Justice and Judgement

This week I am writing about a subject I am very vocal and passionate about personally: justice and judgement within the Jewish community, by individuals and by the common consent of communal practice and discourse.

At the end of sefer Bereishis, there came a culminating lesson of the entire Torah to that point related to achdus, perfect brotherhood and love. Likewise, we now end sefer Shemos with a cumulative lesson. This time though in these last parshiyos of the sefer it relates to a new concept, that of when and how we pass judgement on the actions of others and when we leave judgement off the table to simply continue to show achdus. (Note: we are reading two separate parshiyos, but these are in fact read together almost every year of the calendar cycle with only a few years in which the two are separated)

Not Jewish judgement just a silly 5 year old

At the end of last week's parsha, the tribe of Levi joined Moshe in forming Batei Din, courts, to judge the people following the sin of the Golden Calf. Whoever was found guilty of having been warned clearly not to worship the idol AND had been later observed doing so by two kosher witnesses who would stand before the court was liable to the death penalty by the court (Midrash haGadol, Zohar). G-d thereafter sent a plague which served as justice killing those who were not liable to the human courts but who were liable for their sins before the Heavenly Court (Yoma, Midrash haGadol).

Now at the beginning of this week's reading, Moshe instructs the Jews on the laws of Shabbos observance. He warned them that anyone who violated the laws of the 39 melachos of Shabbos after being halachically warned and who did so in the presence of two kosher witnesses was liable again for capital punishment, and that anyone who had performed melachah on Shabbos but who could not be convicted before Beis Din for want of warning or witnesses or both would be judged and punished through Divine Retribution (Mechilta D'Roshvei).

We then finish parshas Pekudei reading about the glory of the Mishkan, the Shechinah which rested within, and the visible power G-d had over all of his creation, particularly visible to the Jews at every moment when they could see the Mishkan, the Cloud of Glory, the Cloud of Fire. There could be no questioning at that time whether G-d had the ability to see into every heart and judge accordingly.

Yet today, we do not let judgment rest within Beis Din and the Heavenly Court. We judge others constantly within our own hearts and minds, and within communities. We even approach legislators of the civil government and support legislating what we feel is political sentiment supported by Torah because we pass judgement on others' behavior rather than supposing that the halachic court and Heavenly Tribunal will do so. I am not going to take a stand on specific political issues here because I feel this isn't my personal venue to do so (though all who know me personally already probably can infer areas I have in mind here and are welcome to discuss them with me privately).

But I will simply remind us all that G-d is perfect in his love and perfect in his judgement. We have just learned the Heavenly Attributes we invoke at our holidays to this day begging for mercy on ourselves. We will in fact say these words at the upcoming Passover holiday. Yet how can we beg for mercy on ourselves if we judge others outside of what the Jewish law allows?

If an individual is guilty of a halachic violation, they can be judged by a Beis Din. If an individual is actually "guilty" in action but cannot be judged by a Beis Din because they have not been appropriately warned or two kosher witnesses cannot be produced to testify about their sin, that individual cannot be judged by other Jews in this world. It is fully incumbent on us in that case to trust in Divine Wisdom, and to trust that the Heavenly Court will fully reward or punish the individual in this world and the world to come, exactly as the individual deserves.

Parshas Ki Sisa 5775, March 2015, Leadership

Moshe was told by G-d that Betzalel ben Uri ben Chur was to be the builder of the Mishkan, with Ahaliav of the tribe of Dan as his assistant. As Betzalel was only a youth who had just reached the age of bar mitzvah Moshe felt unsure that he could possibly take on a task of such import and detail. Hash-m corrected Moshe, though that not only was Betzalel fit for the job, it had been his responsibility designated at the creation of the physical world. Midrash Lekat Tov says in fact that "No leader is ever given charge of a community unless he was previously designated by Hash-m."

Megillas Esther read at Purim this week. Esther had leadership thrust upon her to her own surprise!

Yet still we are human and being given the task of leadership does not by any means guarantee that an individual will fulfill his task faithfully or even that he will show any competency at it. We know from the time that G-d designated Moshe as the leader of the Jewish people, he pleaded to be allowed to have his older brother Aharon take on that role rather than himself. Now we see Moshe ascend to Shamayim to receive teachings from G-d and to return with the luchos and Aharon is given the task of leading the Jewish people; and while he is an incredible tzaddik in his own way, he still is not up to the task of preventing the creation and worshipping of the golden calf.  At the same time in this week's parsha we are told that Yehoshua ben Nun, Moshe's own designated successor, "would not depart from the tent [of learning]." Yehoshua had indeed been chosen by G-d to lead the Jews both as a general and as a teacher, and he would prove to have nothing but success in those roles. Was Yehoshua a greater tzaddik than Aharon, was he somehow more close to G-d? Certainly not. But we see that there is nothing we can fully understand of G-d's ways, and that our task is simply to do our own personal best to fulfill the roles thrust upon us or presenting themselves to us.

We do our personal best in the roles G-d grants us within the community.

To prove the point we can look at this week's haftarah. The rasha King Achav confronts the prophet Eliyahu. Unquestionably, Achav is king and Eliyahu is navi. Yet Eliyahu strives with all his being to serve Hash-m at all times and to lead the Jews towards G-d and Torah. Achav has been given the kingship yet turns entirely from G-d. It is his own choice and his own doing, and of course eventually it proves his own undoing. He could have accomplished many great works had he been a true king with fear of Heaven, but his yetzer hara had far more strength than he did, and he is remembered only for his evil deeds and decrees.

Being granted a position of leadership at any level within the Jewish community is both an honor and a responsibility. The honor comes directly from G-d. The only one who can decide what one's legacy as a leader will be though is the individual him or herself. The blueprint, as clear as that shown to Betzalel, is the Torah.

Parshas Teruma 5775, February 2014, Ahava

In this week's parsha, the B'nai Yisroel are given the commands from G-d to collect materials for the construction of the Mishkan itself and the items which will be held within it. Each of the materials--gold, silver, copper, techailes, crimson silk, tola'as shani, fine white linen, goat's wool, dyed rams skin, Tachash skin, cedar wood, oil, spices, and fine stones--has a direct symbolism of atonement or exhortation for the people (Midrash haGadol).

Red-blue

Fine linen

But while the items individually represent G-d's forgiveness for various sins of the past, his promises for the future, and his protections for the present, the whole, the Mishkan itself, has an entirely different symbolism. It symbolizes not the parts, not the relationships within G-d's creation, but the very universal creation we experience itself (Bamidbar Rabbah, Tosafos).

The curtains above and below are the heaven and earth; the water is obviously the waters. The mizbeach haolah, the alter on which we sacrifice animals, represents those very animals, which G-d created so that they can serve their purpose. The mizbeach of the ketores represents the vegetation. The menorah is the lights of all the heavenly bodies, as well as the figurative light we can create ourselves in worship (Beraita de'Maasei).

Love across generations

In the whole Mishkan, all that was created was done exactly as G-d commanded, not as humans envisioned. Every part was geometric and exactly as it needed to be with one exception: the Keruvim of gold atop the aron. The Keruvim were in the form of an angelic boy and girl embracing each other. G-d told Moshe that from the time this was created and set atop the aron, his voice would emanate from the space between the two Keruvim. For this was the holiest spot of the whole Mishkan, indeed of the whole creation from that point on. Not because it was a solid piece of gold, not because the aron held a sefer Torah, not because the whole piece resembled heaven and earth and the angelic realm. Rather, the spot between the two figures can only represent absolute love of B'nai Yisroel one for another. Love, caring, support, all these platitudinous expressions we so easily throw around are truly G-d's greatest,  most important messages to us and what He most wants from us.