Well You Know, Hate's Just The Last Thing They're Thinking Of (John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Looks Like Rain")

Earlier this week, the Jewish People celebrated Chag HaShavuot, the Festival of Weeks, and the celebration of the Giving of the Torah. One of the rituals that occurred in many synagogues on Shavuot and occurs on the other two Jewish Festivals: Pesach and Sukkot, is the ceremony known as Duchening. The Kohanim of the congregation stand upon the bimah and with Talis covering them, the make blessing known as Birkat Kohanim. In Israel, the Duchening ceremony occurs every Shabbat. On Friday night, before sitting down to the Shabbos dinner, the father makes the Birkat Kohanim upon his children. When I have attended my first church wedding, I was surprised that the Catholic Priest made the Birkat Kohanim, in both Latin and English. When I made the Birkat Kohanim this past Friday, our dinner discussion included the recent events in Gaza and Hamas call for Gazans to march toward the security wall in the hopes of breaking it down.  There were reports of Gazans flying kites with incendiary devices to be dropped upon the other side of the fence in Israel.  Our daughter asked if there was an Islamic equivalent of Birkat Kohanim that a parent offers his/her child, or to the community for that matter.

This Shabbat we read from Parsha Naso. The Parsha’s 176 psukim make it among the longest parsha in the entire Torah.  Its length is also reflected in the wide variety of topics covered including:  the census for the tribe of Levi, the Priestly tribe, the responsibilities for the maintenance and operation of the Mishkan, the purification of the camp,  the treatment of the wayward wife (the Sotah), the vow of the Nazir ( a vow that limits the behavior of the individual as a means of elevating oneself to a higher level of holiness for only a limited time),  the identical tribal offerings made by each leader in order on twelve successive days that celebrated the fact that the Mishkan was “open for business”. Inserted in these seemingly disparate rules and narratives are the priestly benediction. A quick glance at the different components of Parsha Naso suggests that each is connected to each other because of the idea of Naso – “lift up”. Indeed each component discussed issues of how we can raise ourselves up in holiness, either through our own actions or the actions of the other.

The Priestly benediction is an example of a third party elevating us, or at least offering a supplication to God on our behalf that we indeed are worthy of blessing.  From that perspective, I can’t imagine a more powerful ritual for parents to do with their children. Yevarechecha Adoshem VaYishmarecha, May Hashem bless you and keep you. Ya' eir Adoshem Panav Eilecha VaYichuneka, May Hashem make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you Yisa Adoshem Panav Eilecha VaYaSem Lecha Shalom May Hashem lift his countenance upon you and give you peace.( Num 6:24-26). What does it mean that God should “keep" our children or “guard” our children? Naturally as parents invoking Hashem to protect our children seems like a great idea given all the tsuris in the world. Yet Rashi, the great 11th-century French commentator explains that this first blessing is not Hashem protecting our children. Rather the “blessing” should be the blessing enumerated in the Torah, that our children should be materially well off and Hashem should “protect” our children and their material blessings from those who might take such blessing. The second blessing which speaks of “shining Hashem’s face upon” our child is our desire for our children to become enlightened by Torah and a meaningful relationship with Hashem. The “gracious” is the subliminal understanding that all we can ask for is that our children have an intellectual and spiritual ability to learn Torah and connect to Hashem; we hope Hashem was gracious in giving our children plenty of ability in order to receive such “light”.  The third blessing is perhaps the most relevant for parents and children. Rashi explains that “lifting His countenance to you” means that Hashem should suppress His anger. One could also understand that that the light or the enlightenment we seek is the gift of God raising his face up towards us so that we can cast aside or let go of our anger and hatred in order that our souls shall be at peace in this world.  Both interpretations suggest that we desire for our children to at peace, to be Shaleim, to be whole and complete. Anger and hatred prevent Shleimah – wholeness, harmony, peace.

I thought about our daughter’s question, I thought about my own childhood dutifully walking towards my father and receiving this blessing. I thought about the blessing itself with its invocation of peace, of God’s shining his glory about the person receiving the blessing. I thought about God raising his face towards the person receiving the blessing.  Maybe I am ignorant, however, I remain unfamiliar with any equivalent in Islam where a priest stands before the community and issues Birkat Kohanim or an equivalent.  I even looked to see if there was an equivalent. I couldn’t imagine why parents of Gaza would listen to Hamas and place their children in harm’s way. I can’t imagine hating so much that I am willing to harm my own children in order to feed that hatred. I thought about the words that Golda Meir purportedly said: Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”  When the Palestinian people stop listening to Hamas, when they stand up to Hamas rather than offer their own children to Hamas’ hatred, then Israel will know there is a partner for peace in Gaza.  

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Ask Me No Questions, Sing You No Names (Peter Monk & Phil Lesh- "Passenger")

Our 8th-grade son participates in a very unique program that only a handful of Jewish Day Schools in North America offer. The program is called “Names Not Numbers”. A small group of 8th-grade students is teamed with a Holocaust Survivor. This “team” goes through a process of interviewing the survivor. Each team formulates interview questions, conducts the interview, tapes the interview, edits the interview, and produces a mini-documentary about their assigned survivor. The team also has a writing assignment and presentation that is made in front of fellow classmates. In about a week, the final product will be shown before a gathering of parents, family, the survivors and their families, as well as school administrators and various members of the community. It should prove to be a remarkably moving and inspirational evening. Certainly, our son’s experience has been transformational on several levels. He learned a powerful pedagogical lesson. He understands what it means to be part of a team, working together to accomplish a common goal. Everyone had a job, each member of the group had to rely upon each other in order to generate this multimedia presentation. Second, our son touched history, history spoke to him in the voice of the Holocaust Survivor. Our son didn’t just read about something from a third party. He didn’t encounter a primary document. Along with his team, he created the primary document by recording the words and the story of his assigned Survivor’s life. While it is very easy to get lost in the numbers of the Holocaust and the enormity of it; our son saw a number on the Survivor’s arm and that number was so much more than just a number. That number belongs to a name, a person, a life.

This week, we begin reading the 4th of the 5 books of the Torah, Sefer Bamidbar, the Book of Numbers. This week’s Parsha is the same name Bemidbar. Numbers is aptly named. The book begins with counting, the counting of people, a census. God commands Moshe to take a census, MiBen Esrim Shana V’Mala Kol Yotzei Tzava B’Yisroel – of all males over the age of twenty, everyone who goes out in the Legion of Israel (1:3). Once the number of fighting age males has been established by tribe, each tribe is placed in a specific formation around the Ark. This will become the formation in which Bnai Yisroel is to travel from the foot of Sinai to Eretz Canaan. Finally the Tribe of Levi, the Priests are counted. However because Levi’s only responsibility is the Ark, and the Mishkan; they will not be able to hold land in Eretz Canaan, nor do they fight. Rather they are now counted and assigned specific functions in terms of maintaining the Mishkan. Immediately after Shabbat, the Jewish People celebrate the Chag Shavuot, The Feast of Weeks, the Festival of First Fruits, the holiday that commemorates Matan Torah – The Giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.  

God order’s a census of people. However for whom is the counting?  Certainly, God is God and already knows the number of souls that comprise B’nai Yisroel as well as those able to fight. When God wants Moshe and Israel or anyone for that matter to do something for himself the language indicates it. Lech Lecha – Go for yourself God commanded Avraham, and Shelach Lecha send for yourself  God will command Moshe in several Parshiot from now.  Here, God commands Moshe Se’u et Rosh Kol Adat Bnai Yisroel count the heads. Since Lecha- for you does not appear; it would seem that the counting is not for B’nai Yisroel nor Moshe, but rather for God. So, why does God need or want a counting? We have already been told that B’nai Yisroel is Am Segula – a treasured nation, meaning B’nai Yisroel possesses some type of value. Each individual has value and from that, each individual has a purpose. Parshah Bemidbar demonstrates that there is an intrinsic value in the individual.  Halachically, we know this because the Legal Principle of Pikuach Nefesh, Saving a Soul exists. This principle appears in the Babylonian Talmud Tractate Shabbat, “the saving of life supersedes the Sabbath (Shabbat 132a). There is a Midrash in Tractate Sanhedrin which expresses the individual’s importance to God, and therefore God’s desire to count us. “If a person stamps several coins with the same die, they all resemble on another. But the King of kings stamps all human beings from the mold of the first person; and yet not one of them is identical to the other one. Therefore every individual has merit and is obliged to say “for my sake the world was created’”. (San4:5).

We all are given numbers some numbers are branded upon us because of hatred. Some numbers are ways in which government can keep track of its citizens such as Social Insurance cards Social security cards. Some numbers are given to us to keep track of how we spend. Some numbers are assigned us so that we can contact each other. It would seem that it is very easy to lose oneself amid the numbers that are used to identify each of us. However, as our son pointed out, amid each number, amid each survivor there is a story. Each individual, like the giving of the Torah, has his/her own narrative, a code that allows survival. Like the Torah’s survival depends upon study and transmission, the same could be said of the survivors and for each member of the Jewish People. Everyone has a story and a code. As our son explained to us, his connection with the past and any connection he has with the next generation depends upon his ability to receive the transmission of the story, and then transmit and teach that story as well as his story to the next generation.

Peace,

Rav Yitz  

Hearts Of Summer Held In Trust, Still Tender Young And Green (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - Days Between)

My family and I were at a Bar Mitzvah last Shabbat. I was speaking to the Bar Mitzvah boy’s uncle who came in from Israel. As we spoke, and I told him that I was a Rabbi of a large synagogue that was about 4 miles from my home; his eyes grew very large and he exclaimed, “You’re him!” He proceeded to clarify himself by explaining that he had heard of this Rabbi in Toronto that walks over 4 miles each way to his shul. He then asked me what I think about when I walk. I explained that on Shabbat morning if the weather is pleasant; I will always begin my walk with the weekly Parsha. I will think about it in terms of my Shabbat morning class, the Divrei Torah that I present in two different minyanim (services). Depending on how much preparation I did during the week; that thinking, going through it in my head; may last a couple of miles or it may last the whole walk. However, if the weather is unpleasant, then at some point my thought will drift to Lottery 649, the New York State Lottery, or the Mega Millions. I will think that I should have bought a ticket. I will think about winning the lottery. I will think how I will set aside some for my children in trust funds. I will think about the various charities I wish to donate. If the lottery is large enough I will think about creating a family foundation where I can spend my days giving Tzedakah (charity).

            Parsha Behar and Parsha Bechukotai. These are the last two Parshiot of Sefer Vayikra (Book of Leviticus). Throughout the entire book, we have read how to elevate our lives with holiness. We elevate our lives by thanking God and atoning to God, through a variety of Korbonot. We elevate our lives by avoiding behavior that defiles us; we don’t marry our sisters. We elevate our lives in everyday physical behaviors; we only eat certain types of food. We elevate our lives by consciously setting aside holy times throughout the day, week, and season. In Parsha Behar, we elevate our lives and our land with holiness by setting aside another type of sacred time, Shmita (the seventh year.) Just like the seventh day (Shabbat) is a day of rest. Shmita is a year of rest. Every seventh year, all outstanding debts are canceled. The land lies fallow. Slaves and servants are set free. Agriculturally speaking, there is a benefit. Resting the soil for a year allows for replenishment of nutrients. Rabbinically speaking, less time devoted to agricultural concerns meant more time devoted to Torah study! Parsha Bechukotai, being the end of Leviticus, tells us the ramifications for behavior. “If you’ll keep the commandments… then I’ll send the rains in their time, the earth and trees will give forth their produce, you’ll settle securely in the land…I will multiply you…I will walk with you” (Lev. 25:3-10). If we don’t live up to these standards, if we neglect to add Kedushah (holiness) to our lives, if we “don’t perform these commandments, if we consider these decrees loathsome, if we reject these ordinances, if we annul the covenant, then I will do the same to you…. (Lev. 26:14:17) God will annul us. All blessing will become curses.

            While the curses in the Torah portion don’t paint a very pleasant picture, both parshiot reflect the vital importance of Bitachon, trust in God. In Behar, this idea of Bitachon is evident in the commandments of Shmitta (the 7-year agricultural cycle) and Yovel (Jubilee). In the Jubilee year, all debts are canceled, and there is a quasi-national “reboot”. While it may sound nice for those of us with credit card debt, consider the turmoil. The economy would come to grinding halt in the months and perhaps year or two before. What lender would lend knowing that the loan gets canceled in 6 months or a year?  In the Shmitta year, the land lies fallow. We all agree that the field needs a rest, a Shabbat, just like we do. If the fields lie fallow, what would people eat? We are urged to trust God. “I will command my blessing upon the sixth year and it will bring forth (enough) produce for three years (Lev. 25:20-21). Just like God provided a double portion of Manna on Friday and thereby guarantee enough food for Shabbat, so too God will “guarantee” enough produce in the sixth year. B’nai Yisroel won’t starve in the seventh (Shmita) year.

            So what does the Torah teach us? We learn that every rung climbed towards Kedusha, confirms our trust in God. We trust that God is Holy, otherwise, we would have no need to be holy. We trust that everything pure and good is attributable to God. Otherwise, we would constantly defile ourselves. We trust that we are created in God’s image. Otherwise, there is no reason to treat people with kindness first. Trust in God, in a sense, provides the foundation for our own individualized Mishkan. The Mishkan was built so that God would dwell among us. The very act of Bitachon (trust in God) is a demonstration of Holiness. As I finished explaining what I think about during my hour and ten-minute walk each way, the other fellow became more intrigued. From his perspective, a person had the opportunity to think/study Torah for several miles and when not thinking about Torah, he was thinking about his family, Tzedakah (charity), and helping those in need (Chesed). Funny, I just needed something to think about on Shabbat while walking back and forth. This mean reminded me that I had figured out a way to make that particular walk just a bit more holy than a walk on any other day.  

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

Take Me To The Reaper Man, To Pay Back What Was Loaned ( Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Mason's Children"

     This past Monday, Toronto experienced something that cities like New York, Boston, Paris, London, Jerusalem have all experienced. Toronto experienced a random act of violence that was designed to call to attention the perpetrator’s anger, disillusionment, and alienation. The recent tragic event that occurred on Yonge Street in North York might not considered to be an act of terrorism, that is to say, the politically/religiously motivated terrorism that we have all seen occur in other locales; driving down a side walk in a van and purposefully hitting pedestrians in a wanton act of random violence because the driver was angry, alienated, disillusioned and misguided still caused terror in the all those in the area at that time. His senseless act of violence caused terror in an entire city until he was apprehended.  Like all the other cities that have experienced wanton mass murder, whether by gun, bomb or car; I am always intrigued by how cities and its citizens respond. As a family, we went to the spontaneous memorials that have popped up along Yonge Street between Finch and Sheppard. As a family we have noticed something different after the deaths of these Ten innocent people who were walking along Yonge Street on a beautiful spring day.

      This Shabbat, we read the double portion of Acharei Mot/Kedoshim. The Torah resumes its narrative following the death of Aaron’s two eldest son’s in Shemini (two Shabbatot ago). The narrative appeared interrupted with a presentation of the laws of purity and impurity found in Tazria/Metzorah. The Parsha begins with Moshe telling Aaron about the procedure the Kohen must undergo in preparation for atonement: both personal and communal. Essentially, this is the section of Torah that discusses the details of the Yom Kippur service, the scapegoat offering, the fasting, and sprinkling of blood. The Torah reminds us of the sanctity of blood; blood is life and as a result, we are prohibited from eating the blood of an animal. Following the presentation of of the Yom Kippur offerings and the sanctity of blood, the Torah spends the rest of Acharei Mot reminding us of those relationships that are considered to be sacred and those that are considered to be categorically unholy. Kedoshim which literally means “Holy”, continues the theme that Acharei Mot introduced. There are sacred/holy relationships and unholy relationships. In every instance when the holy and the unholy presents itself, Moshe tells us to choose the holy relationship. Every seemingly mundane activity including: the treatment of employees, the treatment of customers, idolatry, every human relationship is distilled to the most common element. Every mundane act, every mundane human interaction has the potential for achieving a degree of Holiness.

     No commandment within the Torah indicates the tension between base primitive emotions (human instinct) and holiness (Godly instinct) more than the idea of revenge. Lo TiKom V’Lo TiTor et Bnai Amecha – You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against member of your people (Lev. 19:18). V’Ahavta L’Rei’acha K’Mocha Ani Adoshem – you shall love your fellow as yourself – I am Hashem (Lev. 19:18). Revenge is a primary instinct. Someone hurts us or our loved ones, we want to return the hurt. Someone insults us, we want to return the insult. A young man who has been described as socially awkward, who was disillusioned and alienated decides to rent a van and drive it on a sidewalk for the sole purpose of killing as many people as possible. Our children were amazed that the policeman didn’t shoot the man even though he repeatedly made threatening motions with what turned out to be a cell phone. Our son sacastically commented that if we were back in the States, the police officer would have shot him, especially if he was a man of color.  No doubt some would have hailed that policeman as a hero. Even after his arrest and arraignment, we can all appreciate any family member or friend of the ten who were murdered and the fifteen who were injured wanting this murderer to suffer, and eventually die. I have no doubt that in the moment the murderer told the cop to shoot, there were those who felt the policemen should have obliged him, and killed the man on the spot. Revenge probably would have left us with a sense of closure, ‘that he got what he deserved”. Yet the Torah tells us that we are supposed to figure out a means by which we rise above our basest human emotions (even if those emotions are justifiable). The point is that emotions are human.  What makes us holy is our actions and behavior. Acting on our emotions without thought, without concern, with out some type of check or balance makes us comparable to animals. We are supposed to strive to be be better than the animals. Better than the four legged variety or the two legged variety who doesn’t know how to channel or deal with his emotions.

     Our son pointed out the difficulty of Judaism. Judaism recognizes basic human emotions. However, to be Holy to be Kodesh, to be separate and distinct means to separating emotions from deed and action.  Yes, it is easy to separate one day of the week from six days. Yes, for some it is easy to separate milk and meat.  No one would disagree that treating those who are most needy in our community with dignity and respect demonstrates a degree of holiness and decency for that matter. Yet such a person has not caused harm or brought terror to us. So how do we elevated ourselves when dealing with terror, anger, fear, and death? Our children felt something when we went to the memorials. They found a sense of comfort. While nothing brings back the deceased, we found solace on Yonge Street. We discovered that a community and a society has within it, the ability to strive towards holiness Acherei Mot – after death.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Now The Shore-Lights Beckon, Yeah There's A Price For Being Free ( John Barlow & Bob Weir - "Lost Sailor")

          The Middle East was a busy place this week. Israel celebrated its 70^thyear of being an independent country. Palestinians marked the day with what is known as Nakba – The Catastrophe. The leader of nearby Syria, Bashir Al Assad used chemical weapons upon his own people yet again.  England, France and the United States, despite Russian pressure to ignore Assad’s use of chemical weapons, bombed several sights as a warning that the West would not tolerate a dictator’s use of chemical weapons upon his own people. As our children watched the news, read the Tweets, I was asked why a leader would want to kill his/her own people, let alone kill them with an illegal weapon. For them, this was the first time that they paid attention enough to follow the news and ask the question. I reminded them that this was not the first time, and sadly it won’t be the last. In a recent speech to the European Parliament warned of the rising fascism with “antidemocratic and illiberal ideas, the deadly tendency which might lead our continent to the abyss, nationalism, giving up of freedom.” (NY Times Editorial Board April 18,2018). Macron didn’t mention anyone nor any country by name: not Hungary, not Poland, not Russia, not Turkey, nor any leader enthralled with strong armed dictators nor the populist movement that these types of leaders claim to represent. What seemed so fascinating was the way Macron spoke about it, an impurity that infects the soul of individuals, leaders and nations.

This week we combine two Parshiot: Tazriah and Metzorah. God tells Moshe the laws of purity and impurity as it relates to birth. God instructs Moshe about the appropriate korbanot (sacrifices) that a mother should make as she re-enters the camp. God also instructs Moshe about Tza'arat, or for lack of a good translation; leprosy. Throughout the rest of Tazria and Metzora, we are told all about Tzaarat. We are told what it is. We are told how it is diagnosed. We are told how it is treated. We are told how it spreads. We are told what to do in case it spreads. Basically, Tazriah is a type of Tza'arat, a type of skin ailment which is commonly thought of as leprosy. However this skin ailment is not treated by the resident dermatologist. Even if they had dermatologists in the Torah, we would not bring someone suffering from Tazriah to the dermatologists. Why? The skin ailment was not a symptom of any type of physical malady. Since the person with the skin ailment appears before the Priest, the Kohen, we know that the skin condition must be spiritual malady and not a physical one. Adam Ki Yiheyeh V'Or B'Saro S'Eit O Sapachat O Va'Heret V'Hayah V; Or B'Saroh L'Negah Tzara'at V'Huvah El Aharon H'Kohen O el Achad Mi'Banav Ha'Kohanim- If a person will have on the sin of his flesh a swelling, a rash, or a discoloration and it will become a scaly affliction on the skin of his flesh; he shall be brought to Aaron the Kohen, or to one of his sons the Kohanim(Lev. 13:2-3). The rest of the Parsha teaches us the appropriate protocol for treatment. The Kohen checks again to determine if that person has become ritually impure. If so, they must be sent out of the camp in order to avoid the risk of the skin ailment spreading to others. The quarantine would last for seven days. Afterwards, the Priest would check again, if there was no contamination the person was brought back into the camp, However if the contamination remained, then the quarantine would continue for another seven days. Then the process would begin all over again. We also learn that if this contamination spread to the clothes or vessels; then everything would be burned and destroyed.

In the Talmudic Tractate of Arichin, which primarily focuses upon the laws of valuations; we learn that the skin ailment is a punishment for the sins of bloodshed, false oaths, sexual immorality, pride, robbery, and selfishness (Arichin 16a). All of these physical occurrences are accompanied by a spiritual component. These occurrences all demonstrate the offender's failure to empathize with the needs of others. It is fascinating to think that in an ideal community, we are not only concerned with our own well-being. We should also be concerned about others as well. Our failure to do so leads to a spiritual sickness including: petty jealousy, alienation, and a further erosion of community and society. All of which diminish the holiness within the individual and the holiness within the community. By removing the contaminated offender from the community two positive results occur. First the welfare, integrity and holiness of the community is spared from spiritual sickness. This is the primary concern since we fear that God will cease dwelling in a community that becomes spiritually sickened or spiritually dysfunctional. The second positive result is that the contaminated offender has experienced the isolation and concern from others. This is exactly what he/she wrought upon the community with such behavior.

            Certainly we can understand that power be a source of impurity. When leaders and their political parties focus so much on obtaining power and do everything possible to remain in power; leaders, political parties, and a society’s values become corrupt. That corruption leads to cynicism which eventually destroys the purpose of power: a tool, a mechanism to help those who need help, bring relief to those in need, and bring those who are alienated and in the dark back into the light.  The Torah reminds us that our spiritual shortcomings can also affect our physical well-being.  Our psychological well-being, our spiritual well-being, and our physical well-being, according to Tazriah/Metzorah must reflect life. Just as important, we need to have life affirming rituals that we can engage in when we are confronted with things that threat our life affirming existence. Each act of kindness reaffirms the idea that freedom and democracy are the only viable means by which one can to strive towards Kedushah (holiness) and Chesed (kindness).

Peace,

Rav Yitz

You Say It's A Living, We All Gotta Eat (Robert Hunter & Mickey Hart- "Fire On The Mountain")

The holiday of Passover has passed over and our kitchen has returned to normal. Perhaps the happiest person was our 10th-grade daughter who has been experimenting with vegetarianism. Her commitment to this additional dietary restriction created some difficulties for her during Pesach. Obviously, there was no regular pasta. Even though there is a Matza based pasta on the market, she did not like it. There was no such thing as a Kosher For Passover vege-burger. There was no Tofu on Passover as soybean (and all beans for that matter) are considered kitniyot (legumes) and we hold by that restriction during the Passover festival. She ate lots of quinoa and lots of fish, eggs and cheese. Throughout the entire week, her mother and I constantly worried about her getting enough protein in her diet. I even told her that it was time she acknowledges her rightful place atop the food chain and enjoys her mother’s chicken and brisket. While our daughter smiled at my joke, she will not be persuaded to begin eating meat. So whenever we do eat meat, we always make sure that she has a “vegetarian option. Despite the inconvenience for the one cooking and our perpetual anxiety about her protein intake, I actually admire her discipline.

This week’s Parsha is Shemini. It is comprised of three chapters. The first chapter tells us how sacrificial offering is supposed to work. While receiving instructions from Moshe, Aharon, his brother, and the High Priest, makes sacrificial offerings on behalf of the people. Following every instruction down to the minutest detail, and remaining in the highest state of spiritual purity, Aharon slaughters the animal, sprinkles the blood, and burns the animal. Once finished, Moshe and Aharon leave the Mishkan and come out to bless the people. V’yeirah Kavod Adonai El Kol Ha’Am-“And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people” (Lev 9:23). Obviously, we can see how sacrifices are supposed to work. We see how God’s pleasure is displayed and the people's response to witnessing such glory. They bow their heads. This chapter essentially explains God’s response to the sacrifices. When everything is appropriate and in the proper spirit, God accepts our approach. The second chapter concentrates much more on the priests and what happens when things are not appropriate or not conducted in the proper spirit. Aharon’s eldest sons die for their inappropriate approach toward God. Moshe reminds Aharon and his remaining sons that one must be physically and spiritually pure when offering sacrifices both on their own behalf and on B’nai Yisroel’s behalf. However, what do either of these chapters half to do with Kashrut?

The discussion of Kashrut is confined to the last chapter of the Parsha, chapter 11. In it, we read a list of animals that we are forbidden to eat. Some of which I probably would not eat even if it was kosher. However the answer to why we keep kosher is provided “For I am Adonai your God-you are to sanctify yourselves and you shall become holy, and you shall not contaminate yourselves…For I am Adonai who elevates you from the land of Egypt to be a God unto; you shall be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the animal, the bird, every living creature that swarms in the water, and for every creature that teems on the ground; to distinguish between the impure and the pure, and between the creature that may be eaten and the creature that may not be eaten.” Kashrut is merely a physical expression of our purity. God accepts offerings of all kinds. Priests purify themselves in order to make offerings acceptable to God. What about the rest of us? What everyday activity do we engage in which allows us to demonstrate our sense of purity and our own sense of holiness?  We eat! We separate animals as acceptable for consumption and unacceptable for consumption. We separate milk from meat. We separate the time from when we eat by the time when we do not eat with a blessing. We remind ourselves every day of our own sense of holiness and our relationship to God through Kashrut.

How wonderful! Parsha Shemini teaches that we all have a means to approach God. Priests make sacrifices, and the rest of us eat. By engaging in such physical activity in a manner that consists of limits to that physical activity, we remind ourselves of our relationship with God.  We are reminded that our natural state of existence is entirely physical, only when we infuse our existence with spirituality are we able to embody the sacred. However, the object is to be able to elevate every aspect of our physical existence and infuse it with holiness, even something as physical as eating. Just like God was able to make things holy, so too, are we able to make things holy as well.

Peace, 

Rav Yitz