Our
youngest daughter just celebrated her 10th birthday. She had pestered
her mother and me for an ipod nano touch. I heard of the ipod. I had even heard
of an ipod touch and ipod nano. However I had never heard of an ipod nano
touch. When I asked my daughter what a
ipod nano touch was my daughter gave me an answer that suggested she was
interviewing for an advertising job on Madison Avenue. “Abba, and ipod nano
touch is an ipod nano with all the convenience of ipod touch technology in a
nano size.” Of course my sharing her response doesn’t do it justice since her
tone only made my jaw drop lower as I wondered who was this person in front of
me. Her tone was as condescending as a teenager daughter could towards her
father. Her tone almost suggested that I had a mind the size of a peanut and
that the last time I had ever interfaced with technology, Sony was making
Walkmans. Wow, I actually thought that I was an utterly uniformed person. I
asked her to say that again and she did.
I asked her if she had seen a commercial using a combination of those
words since she said them so easily and thoughtfully. Again, she mentioned how
convenient this particular ipod is because of its small size and its technology.
As I looked at my soon to be ten year old and listened to her, of course I knew
that technology is supposed to make our lives more convenient. However there is
something very interesting about “convenient” things. Convenience doesn’t
usually spawn appreciation nor does it spawn commitment. In fact “convenience” does just the opposite.
What happens when an object is replaced by something that offers greater
convenience? The newly “inconvenient” object becomes irrelevant. Interestingly
enough Judaism is all about our removing some “convenience” from our lives in
order to increase our sense of commitment.
This
Shabbat we read from Parshat Emor. In the four chapters that comprise Emor, the
first deals with the Kohanim and their very different way of striving for
holiness as compared to the rest of the nation. For example, because of the
Kohen’s function within society, he must remain in a perpetual state of purity.
He is restricted in terms of who he can marry. He is restricted in terms of for
whom he mourns. He cannot go to a cemetery. He cannot make sacrificial
offerings if he has physical abnormalities. The second chapter reminds B’nai
Yisroel that all animal offerings must be blemish free. These offerings must
come directly from the individual making them and not from “the hand of a
stranger” (Lev.22:25). Both chapters deal with the holiness of certain people,
the Kohen and his family, and certain animals, those designated for sacrificial
offering. The third chapter of the Parsha deals with the designation of
holiness in regards to seasons and the calendar.including: Shabbat, Pesach,
Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. The fourth chapter offers a
narrative in which the son of an Israelite woman and Egyptian man, and another
Israelite man get into a fight. The son pronounced the forbidden name of God
and was charged with blasphemy. The Torah tells us the punishment for blasphemy
is death. This is the same punishment for an individual who commits
murder.
Everything
we do is designed to sanctify God’s name through deed, and convenience is not a
factor. Our sole purpose as Jews is mentioned in Leviticus 22:32. V’Lo T’Chalelu et Shem Kodshi V’Nikdashti
B’Toch B’nai Yisroel, Ani Adonai M’Kadishchem
–“You shall not desecrate my holy
Name, rather I should be sanctified among the Children of Israel, I am the Lord
who sanctifies you.” Refraining from sin or performing a mitzvah; not
because of money, pressure, or honor, but simply because in doing so re-affirms
the relationship with God; one has sanctified God and the relationship with
God. Judaism’s orientation is based on the value that sanctifying God, which
can be “inconvenient” at times, can still remain meaningful. We are all charged
to uphold Torah, and live a life of Kedushah, Holiness. Ultimately we are all
judged by one law (Lev. 24:22). These laws are not denomination specific, quite
the opposite; these laws eliminate denomination and “convenience” from the
religious lexicon.
Certainly
Judaism is difficult. Climbing the ladder of holiness requires effort and
desire. Climbing this ladder will affect and even change our lives. It affects
what we eat, it affects how we relate to our mates, it affects our treatment of
others, it affects how we look at time and space, it affects our relationship
to God, and how we relate to ourselves. If Judaism, the sanctification of the
self, and the sanctification of God were easy, then neither could we appreciate
it, nor commit to it. Therefore we must struggle to climb the ladder of holiness
every day. That means elevating ourselves when confronted with the mundane as
well as with the large ethical issues. Our desire for pleasure and our desire
for purity and goodness provide the impetus for us to climb the ladder. Only by
climbing this ladder we begin sanctifying God as well as ourselves. In my
daughter’s parlance, Judaism is convenient since it offers us a sensible and
achievable means by which we are able to bring holiness into our mundane ordinary
lives. It does so not by preaching extremism or fanaticism but rather
moderation. By doing so, we significantly increase the meaning of our lives.
Peace,
Rav
Yitz
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