"Cat On A Tin Roof, Dogs In A Pile, Nothing Left To Do But Smile Smile Smile (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - He's Gone)

          As we continue to watch the news out of Ukraine, the increased targeting of Ukrainian civilians, the exponential increase of refugees, our family has been in awe of the stories we hear about strangers helping these refugees. Recently we heard about a young boy who traveled alone from Kyiv to Slovenia. His mother had to remain behind in Kyiv to care for her sick mother. So she sent her son with a backpack, his passport, a cell phone, and a phone number of a family member written on the back of his hand. (New York Post March 7, 2022). Despite being alone and scared, and traveling 600 miles, everyone the boy encountered was greeted by his warm and friendly smile. Upon his arrival at that Ukraine/Slovakian border, the border patrol was also greeted with his warm and kind smile. As a result, the border patrol was all too happy to help him. They found the family members and the boy’s Slovakian family found him and picked him up. Needless to say, his mother was incredibly thankful that her son was now safe. 

          This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Zachor. It is the Shabbat that immediately precedes Purim. On this Shabbat,  we begin the third book of the Torah with the Parsha of the same name:  Vayikra.  B’reishit and Shmot are essentially a series of narratives about a family and ultimately an entire people. However, Sefer VaYikra (Leviticus) is presented in both a narrative format as well as a user manual for ritual sacrifices - KoRBonot. This “user manual” seems to be designed for the Kohanim since it was their job to make the ritual sacrifice on behalf of the B’nai Yisroel. The Parsha begins with the general rules for Korbonot, mainly that the animal in question, needs to be pure, that is to say, blemish-free. The Parsha lists the various categories of Korbonot. The underlying assumption of bringing a KoRBonot (an offering) was B’nai Yisroel’s desire to be near God, to connect with God. Even the word KoRBonot -  with the three-lettered root Ku-f Resh- Bet means “close in proximity”. These offerings were designed to allow the person to draw closer to God for the myriad of reasons that a person would want to be near God including thankfulness, forgiveness, joy/happiness, or doubt in the relationship.

          Even before God tells Moshe about all the commandments concerning KoRBonot, God does something very unique, something that God had never done before and could only do because of his relationship to Moshe Rabeinu. Vayikrah El Moshe, VaYidaber Adoshem Eilav M’Ohel Moed Leimor - He called out to Moshe and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of the Meeting saying (Lev 1:1). God called, God spoke and God said; three very similar verbs yet slightly different when examined through the lens of “proximity” “intimacy” and “formality”. One calls out to a person when there is a physical distance that needs to be overcome, or when trying to get another person’s attention. Rashi, the great 11th-century French commentator, offers several explanations. First, this “calling” is Lashon Chiba - a language of endearment. God called out to Moshe in a loving manner and only to Moshe. No one else heard this particular call. Once called, Moshe knew to approach. After Moshe draws closer, God speaks to him. “Speaking” to someone assumes a relationship, a partnership, and a dialogue. The partnership might not be a 50/50 split and the dialogue might not be an equally two-sided dialogue, but “speaking” suggests that there is a response. However “telling” someone something suggests a clear delineation of authority. The party “telling” has the authority and the party being “told”  lacks authority. “Telling” suggests neither partnership nor dialogue but rather the dry transmission of data and information.  For the first time and the last time God Vayikra el Moshe - God called out to Moshe. God singled Moshe out for a vital task: to instruct the Kohanim and B’nai Yisroel how to appropriately connect to God. While it was certainly novel that God called, it was equally important that Moshe heard the call. Indeed, Moshe was spiritually sensitive and in tune with his relationship to God that he, and only he, heard the endearing call from God.

          Sometimes we are not able to hear so well. Maybe there is too much noise. Maybe we are so out of sorts that we can’t hear past our own fears, our own anxiety, or our own guilt. Sometimes we ignore God’s loud whisper that is meant only for us. So we will listen to God when we take a walk with our children. Sometimes, we sense God and holiness in the smile of a young boy and meet that smile, that warmth, and holiness with a simple act of kindness. Amid all of this we know that God is present, we need to only listen closely,  to the whisper, or experience a smile in order to connect.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Steal Your Face Right Off Your Head (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia- "He's Gone"

          My wife and I are very different. She gets very emotional about every milestone our children reach. Normally with the arrival at a milestone, my wife will think that our child in question has grown older which of course means that she has grown older. I don’t necessarily see our children’s’ milestones as a reflection of my aging. I’m older and I feel that way. No, I can’t believe that we at the milestone, I can’t believe that the child in question is really old enough to achieve this milestone, and I wonder if reaching the milestone will give them a sense of maturity and becoming a person. Three of our four children reached milestones this week. Our 12^th grader had to make a decision about college/university. So she will spend a year in Israel and with the intention of going university in the U.S. Our 10^th grader just turned 16 and she will be taking her G1 test (permit test in America) before the end of the May. Since we had already sent a daughter to college and we have had two daughters turn 16; I wasn’t too emotional about either milestone. However, I was happy for both daughters who reached their respective milestone. However, it was the milestone of our son, our youngest child, which I found most meaningful. Since the second night of Pesach, as is the custom associated with Sefirat Ha’Omer (The Counting of the Omer); I haven’t shaved until this week which was the 33 day of the Omer (L’AG B’Omer). So I prepared to shave. However for 13 years 8 months and 23 days, our son has never shaved. So on L’AG B’Omer, he and I bonded in a way that he could never bond with his mother. I gave him his first shaving lesson. He shaved his upper lip. I shaved my face.

This Shabbat we read from Parsha 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. 

As the Torah upon Holiness and perhaps even Perfection, we learn that striving for Holiness and striving for Perfection requires creating a distinct separation from the mundane, the ordinary, and the less than perfect. The Torah reminds the Kohen, “Lo Yikrechu Korcha B’Rosham U’Fa’at Z’Kanam Lo Y’Galeichu UVivsaram Lo Yisr’tu Saratet- They shall not make a bald spot on their heads, and they shall not shave an edge of their beard; and in their flesh, they shall not cut a gash (Lev21:5). Rashi, the great 11th-century French commentator, explains that certain tribes that lived in Biblical Canaan, as well as Ancient Egyptians, would engage in these types of behaviors while mourning the death of a loved one. Literally, the Torah reminds the Priestly class to be sure and NOT behave like other people, don’t mourn like other people, don’t worship like other people, don’t behave like these ancient tribes of idolaters. The Chatam Sofer, one of the great 19^th century Central European Rabbis, explained that the verse has a homiletical meaning as well. The Torah reminds us not to create a bald spot upon our head, we don’t create an emptiness on our head. The Chatam Sofer understands the emptiness as ignorance, a lack of learning. The head should be filled with Torah, with mitzvoth, with doing good things in the world, and making sound, thoughtful, and intelligent choices. Sometimes that requires the person to be just a bit separate, distinct and apart from those who create an emptiness in their own respective heads. We strive to fill our heads knowledge, with Torah. We avoid creating “empty spaces”, bald spot, in our heads, knowing that what our heads are filled with or not, will be expressed in our behavior, our attitudes our relationship with our loved ones and with God.

So there we stood in front of the mirror. As I looked into the mirror, for a brief moment through the steam of the hot water, and as the mirror began to fog over I saw my father standing with me all those years ago showing me to shave. I saw my grandfather telling me to grow a mustache like he has in order to avoid shaving. My son wiped the mirror clear in order to see and the images of my father much younger than I am now and the images of my grandfather healthy, vibrant, smiling at me was wiped away. As my son and I stood there, I thought about what I had learned from these two men and wondered I would transmit all that I learned from them to my son. One thing is for sure, I won’t wait until our son has to shave his upper lip for the next time to offer them the wisdom of his grandfather and great-grandfather.

Peace,

              Rav Yitz

Steal Your Face Right Off Your Head (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "He's Gone")

Our daughter turns 13 years old this week. Generally, I do not think about birthdays until the birthday is a few days away. However for the past couple of months, our daughter took it upon herself to remind me of her upcoming birthday and her desire to receive a puppy for her 13 birthday.  Every quiet moment, when there is a lull in the conversation she will tell us about the puppy she wants, she would even put her phone in front of me with a puppy on the phone screen. Ironically, when her grandparents ask her what she wants for her birthday, she grows quiet, shy and unsure of what she wants. Just the other day her grandmother, while speaking to me and my wife commented that she understood that her granddaughter’s hesitancy was a function of not wanting to appear greedy and needy.  How ironic! With her parents, our daughter has no problem telling us what she wants. With her grandparents, our daughter grows quiet and unsure because she is keenly away that she cares doesn’t want her grandparents to think that she is greedy and needy. How her grandparents perceive her genuinely matters.

           

This week’s Torah portion is Acharei Mot/Kedoshim; a double Parsha like last Shabbat. Yes, there are discussions about sacrifices. After all, we are still in the book of Leviticus. Like everything else in Leviticus, the Torah tells us how to increase holiness in our lives, and how we can atone for that lack of holiness when we fail to live up to this moral standard. Two Shabbatot ago, we learned how to make the physical activity of eating a more spiritual and holy endeavor. Last Shabbat, we learned how to make the physical activity of procreation between a husband and wife a more spiritual and holy act.  In Acharei Mot, we learn that we must not defile ourselves in unholy relationships. In Kedoshim, we are reminded of a series of positive and negative commandments that emphasize our behavior towards God as well as community members.

           

Parsha Kedoshim begins with a rather peculiar reminder. God tells Moshe to speak to the entire assembly of Israel, remind them that Kedoshim Tiheyu Ki Kadosh Ani Adoshem Elokeichem – “You Shall be holy because holy and I, Hashem, your God. Al Tifnu El Ha’Elilim V’Elohei Maseicha Lo Ta’asu Lachem Ani Adoshem Elokeichem – Do not turn to the idols and molten gods you shall not make for yourselves – I am Hashem your God. Why are we reminded of the prohibition of Idolatry and everything associated with Idolatry at this point when the rest of the Kedoshim will focus upon the way B’nai Yisroel must treat the members of the community? What does Idolatry have to do with gifts to the poor, caring for neighbor, weights and measures  and caring for employees, servants, maidservants and children?(Chap 20 and the prohibition of offering children to Molech). If we look at these laws concerning those less fortunate in language Ten Commandment language, then the connection becomes clearer. The first few psukim (verses) talk about acceptance of God, Shabbat, Respecting Parents, Idolatry.  Failure to leave a corner of the field for the poor, not paying an employee in a timely manner, cheating a client in with unfair weights and measures and even offering children to Molech, is the equivalent of Stealing. Those with less power, less money, less statues are easily taken advantage. It is easier to steal from those with less money, less power, less status. The question then becomes why would anyone steal from those with less, especially of the “thief” as more to begin with? One word comes to mind, one modern idol comes to mind, Greed. Sure, it is easy to be in awe of God and ones’ Parents. Observing laws focused upon God, Shabbat, ritual and even parents are easy. We tend to worship those that have more than us: more power, more authority, more respect. However we also are reminded that true holiness means seeing godliness, and holiness in those who have less than us and rather than taking from them because they are easy prey, to give of ourselves like we give of ourselves to Shabbat, to God and to our parents.   

Certainly, our daughter wants a gifts for her birthday. We are all conditioned to desire recognition on our birthday through cards and gifts. We know that on a certain level our daughter’s constant refrain “I want a puppy” is a perfectly safe thing to desire and say since she knows that there is no way her mother would allow a puppy in the house or even near the house. When asked what she needs, she quickly replies that she needs nothing. When asked about what she wants, she comments that there isn’t anything that she really wants either since she is comfortable with what she has. So as our daughter turns 13, and becoming a teenager, I find it comforting that she is not needy. I find it comforting that she is self-aware enough to appreciate what she has and as a result doesn’t want for anything. Her mom and I can only hope that her “wanting for nothing” will continue throughout her teenage years: probably not!

Peace,

Rav Yitz