We finished celebrating Pesach
and our home will soon return to normal. For a week, our kids lived on Matzah
Pizza. For a week they managed to get by without a bowl of cereal for
breakfast. As Pesach departed and our family did Havdalah, our children quickly
screamed “Bring on the Chametz” and desperately wanted us to order Pizza. Too
bad the wait time for Pizza was nearly two hours which was way past everyone’s
bedtime. The disappointment was palpable
and they asked what could be done to solve the problem. From their perspective,
a solution would have been to run to the store, buy pizza dough, and make pizza
for everybody. However Mommy and Daddy’s
solution was a bit different. “You can
have Chametz in the morning! Now go to bed.” Their request as absurd as it was
revealed so much about human nature.
When a restriction is lifted, or permission granted, it is human nature
to want to be first in line. When a new I Phone is released, a group of people
are always in line to be first. When tickets go on sale for Beyonce, apparently
people stand in line. I remember when I was in college near Philadelphia and
the tickets for the Grateful Dead Philadelphia shows went on sale, a group of us
quickly organized ourselves to camp out for the few days so that we could get
tickets. People want to be first in line to a premiere and some run to be first
on the block to buy the newest car model or gadget. Although it may be human nature to desire and
strive to be first, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is smart or even cost
effective to be first. Sometimes we need to be smart enough and mature enough
to put aside human nature.
This week we read from Parsha Kedoshim,
which literally means Holiness. Hashem
speaks to Moshe telling him that he should gather all of B'nai Yisroel and tell
them that every aspect of life must be infused with Holiness. From the treatment
of the stranger, the widow, the orphan, an employee and even our parents, there
is a way to behave that is infused with Holiness and there is a way to behave
that is less infused with holiness. We
are reminded that certain relationships are inherently unholy. We are reminded
that certain types of worship are unholy as well. Throughout the Parsha the
Mantra Ki
Kadosh Ani Adonai Eloheichem – Because Holy am I the Lord your God is repeated.
Of course the underlying message aimed at B’nai Yisroel was to remind them that
they needed to strive beyond human nature. They needed to act differently than
other people. Being involved in a covenantal relationship with Hashem means
striving towards holiness; something that is beyond human nature.
This idea of acting beyond human
nature and striving for something more is emphasized at the very beginning of
the Parsha. Imo V’Aviv Tira’u – Your mother and Father you shall fear. This Commandment appears quite similar to the
one of the Ten Commandments: Kabeid et
Avicha v’ Et Imecha – Honor your
father and mother. However there are a few differences. The first
difference is that Parsha Kedoshim talks about “Tira’u” or Fear, while Ten
Commandment version talks about “Kabeid” or Honor. The Second difference is the
order of the parent. Regarding the commandment that invokes “fear”; “mother”
appears before father. Regarding the commandment that invokes “honor”; “father”
appears before “mother. At first glance we might think that the Torah is
telling us that the Father is more important than the Mother hence the father
should be honored first. Rashi, the 11th Century French commentator
and vintner, citing the Talmud Kiddushin 31a explained that “mother precedes
father, because God knows that the father is feared more than the mother. In
the Fifth commandment, which commands us to honor our parents, the mother, who
generally comforts the child and is therefore honored more, is preceded by the
father.” Generally speaking, children are more fearful of fathers therefore the
Torah commands us to be fearful of mother. Generally speaking children honor their
mothers more therefore the Torah commands us to honor fathers. Striving towards Holiness means that we are
supposed to transcend our human nature and instinct. By doing so, we emulate God and are able to
achieve holiness.
Our kids eventually had a pizza after
Pesach. They eventually got their fill of Chametz. No it wasn’t the first thing
they did after Pesach. By waiting, even for one extra night, there was a deeper
appreciation of what they were doing, rather than the rush of being the first
do it. Maybe the first bite of Pizza was not necessarily a holy act, but having
them wait a few extra hours to begin ingesting Chametz added a little holiness
to what is otherwise a rather mundane event known as cleaning up after Pesach.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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