Readings for Saturday, May 11, 2024, and Rosh Chodesh Iyar

Readings for Saturday, May 11, 2024, and Rosh Chodesh Iyar

Readings for Wednesday, May 8, 2024

28:9-15 Bamidbar (Numbers)

Rosh Chodesh Iyar is a Two Day Rosh Chodesh.  When a month is 30 days in length, the following month’s Rosh Chodesh is celebrated for two days because the 30th day of the month past is counted as Rosh Chodesh and the first day of the subsequent month as the second day of Rosh Chodesh.  Nissan, the month that comes before Iyar, has thirty days.  Iyar has 29 days.

Rosh Chodesh is the name of the minor holiday that marks the start of each month.  The term Rosh Chodesh is translated as New Moon.  The first day of the month is referred to as Rosh Chodesh because the months are lunar and the first day of each month comes with the start of the new moon.  In the days of the Temple special sacrifices were brought in honor of the new moon.  With the destruction of the Temple, the sacrificial system ended.  In place of the sacrifices, Jews read a description of the sacrificial offerings, which is set forth in the first fifteen verses of chapter 28 in the book of Numbers.  The Torah reading takes place during the daily morning service.  There are many Jews who have no desire to return to the sacrificial system.  They use these readings as a way of providing a connection with the past which is one of the keys to our future preservation.  Because of its connection with the moon, Rosh Chodesh is thought to have special meaning for women.  There are some sages who suggest that wives and mothers should be presented with gifts on this, their holiday.  In lieu of gifts, others suggest giving Tzdekah in their honor.

Iyar is the second month of the year counting from Pesach and the eighth month of the year counting from Rosh Chodesh.  Iyar is a quiet month coming as it does between the tumult of the month of Nissan with Pesach and the climatic moments of the month of Sivan with Shavuot.  According to tradition, Solomon began building the Temple on the second day of Iyar.  Pesach Sheni, The Second Passover, established for those who could not observe Pesach for certain reasons, is celebrated on the 14th of Iyar.  Lag B’Omer (literally the 33rd day of the Omer), a minor but joyful celebration, falls on the 18th of Iyar.  The month of Iyar has taken on renewed importance in modern times. The 4^th of Iyar marks Yom Hazkiron, Israel’s Davy of Remembrance for the Fallen Soldiers of Israel and Victims of Terrorism. The 5^th of Iyar marks Yom Ha'atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. The 28^th of Iyar marks Yom Yerushalayim, Jerusalem Day, the newest holiday which has been celebrated since the liberation and reunification of Jerusalem in 1967.

Torah Readings for Thursday, May 9 , 2024

Rosh Chodesh Iyar

28:9-15 Bamidbar (Numbers)

Today is actually the first day of the month of Iyar.  The Torah reading is the same on the second day of a two day Rosh Chodesh as it is on the first day.

Readings for Saturday, May 11, 2024

Kedoshim (Holy)

19:1-20:27 Vayikra (Leviticus)

Kedoshim is certainly the best sedrah in Vayikra (Leviticus) and some say in the entire Torah.  It contains sixty-one commandments, all of which are listed under Themes below.  There are so many of them and so many of them are so rich in meaning that there will be no attempt to discuss them all.  Some commentators consider that Chapter 19 stands alone as the Holiness Code.  Regardless, Chapter 19 includes a restatement of the Ten Commandments although not in the order found in Shemot or Devarim.  It also contains the first statement of what is now called the Golden Rule (19:18).  The Sedrah takes its name from the opening words, “You shall be holy (“Kedoshim tihyu”), for I, the Lord your God, am Holy.”

Chapter 19 - Holiness Code

Restatement of the Ten Commandments (Plaut)

1.             I the Lord am your God (v. 4,end);

2.             You shall have no other gods (v. 4, beginning);

3.             You shall not swear falsely (v. 12);

4.             Remember the Sabbath (v. 3);

5.             Honor your father and your mother (v. 3);

6.             You shall not murder (v. 16);

7.             You shall not commit adultery (v. 29);

8.             You shall not steal (v. 11);

9.             You shall not bear false witness (v. 16);

10.         You shall not covet (v.18).

As you can see from the list above, the commandments cover a wide range of human emotions and needs from the mundane to the most noble.  And just in case anything specific was left out, the injunctions to not deal deceitfully or falsely with each other covers all of the bases.  This chapter is very popular with a significant segment of American Jewry because it deals with a whole host of what are popularly called Social Justice Issues.  Responding to these issues has been one of the way that many American Jews express their belief in Judaism and make it a living, vital part of their existence.

It includes everything from rules about paying workers on time to using honest weights and measures to providing for the needs of the less fortunate.  In fact the origin of much of what we call modern social welfare legislation can be found in this chapter.  For example:

 

·         Americans with Disabilities Act - Do not put a stumbling block before the blind.

·         Fair Labor Standards Act - Do not hold the wages of the hired man overnight.

·         Bureau of Standards - You shall have an honest balance, honest weights, etc.

·         Welfare Reform creating Workfare Programs - Leaving the corners of your fields, etc. for the poor.  In other words, the needs of the poor were to be cared for, but the poor were to be workers not beggars.

 

Chapter 20 - Punishment

The Stone Chumash takes the view that this chapter contains the punishments for violating many of the laws given in chapters 18 and 19 of Vayikra.  The sedrah would seem to be reinforcing the notion that there is a connection between what was considered sexual degeneracy and idolatry.  We have said repeatedly that many practices were forbidden to the Israelites because they corresponded to pagan rituals.  In 20:24, we are told why should obey all of these laws.  The Jew is different not because he wants to be different but because God has commanded him to be different, “I the Lord am your God who has set you apart from other peoples.”  And just as the sedrah begins with the term “holy,” its penultimate statement returns to the same term, “You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy and I have set you apart from other peoples to be Mine” (20:26).    

Themes

Commandments

184.        To have reverence for one’s parents (19:3).

185.        Prohibition against turning to idol worship (19:4).

186.        Prohibition against making an idol (19:4).

187.        Prohibition against eating meat of a sacrificed animal on the third day after the sacrifice was brought (19:5-8).

188.        Prohibition against reaping to the very end of one’s field (19:9-10).

189.        Instead, one must leave a portion of one’s harvest for the poor and the stranger (19:9-10).

190.        Prohibition against gathering the gleanings (19:9-10).

191.        Instead, they are to be left for the poor (19:9-10).

192.        Prohibition against reaping all the fruit of one’s vineyard (19:10).

193.        Instead, one must leave part of the vineyard unreaped, and available for the poor (19:10).

194.        Prohibition against gathering the fallen fruit of one’s vineyard (19:10).

195.        Instead, the fallen produce should be left for the poor and the stranger (19:10).

196.        The prohibition against theft (19:11).

197.        The prohibition against acting deceitfully (19:11).

198.        The prohibition against taking an oath over a false denial (19:12).

199.        The prohibition against taking any other kind of false oath (19:12).

200.        The prohibition against cheating another person (19:13).

201.        The prohibition of robbery (19:13).

202.        The prohibition against delaying payment to a day laborer (19:13).

203.        The prohibition against cursing the deaf (19:14).

204.        The prohibition against tripping the blind (19:14).

205.        Directive to judges not to pervert justice (19:15).

206.        Directive to judges not to favor an eminent person (19:15).

207.        Directive to judges to render fair judgments (19:15).

208.        The prohibition against spreading malicious gossip (19:16).

209.        The obligation to defend victims of violence or any person whose life otherwise is in danger (19:16).

210.        The prohibition against nurturing a silent hatred against another (19:17).

211.        – 240. The obligation to rebuke, but not shame, a person who is behaving wrongly.

241.        The prohibition against taking revenge (19:18).

242.        The prohibition against bearing a grudge (19:18).

243.        The Commandment to love one’s fellow human being “as yourself” (19:18).

244.        The prohibition against mating animals of different species (19:19).

245.        The prohibition against sowing together different kinds of seed (19:19).

246.        The prohibition against eating a fruit tree’s produce during its first three years (19:23).

247.        The obligation to set aside as sacred the fruit of the fourth year (19:24).

248.        The prohibition against eating blood (19:26).

249.        The prohibition against practicing divination (19:26).

250.        The prohibition against soothsaying (19:26).

251.        The prohibition against a man shaving the hair from his temples (19:27).

252.        The prohibition against a man shaving the hair from the corners of his beard (19:27).

253.        The prohibition against tattooing oneself (19:28).

254.        The obligation to show respect for the sanctuary (19:30).

255.        The prohibition against acting as a medium (19:31).

256.        The prohibition against acting as a wizard (19:31).

257.        The obligation to show respect to the elderly (19:32).

258.        The prohibitions against using dishonest weights (19:35).

259.        The obligation to use honest weights (19:35).

260.        The prohibition against cursing one’s parents (20:9).

261.        The obligation to execute one convicted of marrying a woman and her mother (as well as the two women) (20:14).

262.        The prohibition against following the customs practiced by the idolatrous nations living in Canaan in biblical times (20:23).

From Biblical Literacy by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

Thou Shalt Not Steal

We read this injunction as part of the Decalogue (Shemot 20:13) and as part of the Holiness Code (Vayikra 19:11).  In Shemot the command is written in the singular and is interpreted to be a prohibition against kidnapping.  In Vayikra it is written in the plural and is interpreted to mean stealing goods or objects.

Stumbling Blocks

The command against putting a stumbling block before the blind (19:13) goes beyond the obvious of somebody with a visual impairment.  The command also means that you are not allowed to take advantage of somebody’s ignorance.  Full disclosure is the rule of the day.  The concept of Let the Buyer Beware is not part of Jewish ethical behavior (i.e., slick business dealings are not holy).

Fairness

“Do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich.”  Both halves of this injunction would seem to be in jeopardy today.  There are those wits that talk about the Golden Rule - he who has the gold makes the rules.  At the same time, there are those who use the lack of material wealth as an excuse for a variety of criminal and/or depraved behavior.  As Jews, our Torah tells us that favoritism based on either consideration moves away from a just society and away from God.

Mothers and Fathers

The Decalogue and the Holiness Code call upon us to honor or revere our mothers and fathers.  (Note - it does not say parents.  This would indicate that in Judaism a child specifically gets a mother and a father).  Children may disobey their mothers or fathers if they command them to do something in violation of the Torah.  As we can see from the daily recitation of the Shema and the commandments about Pesach, mothers and fathers have an obligation to train and teach their children.  It is not a one-way street.

The Golden Rule

The so-called Golden Rule is found in the Torah.  “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (19:18).  Do not feel bad if you thought it originated elsewhere.  No less a scholar than the English philosopher John Stuart Mill did not know it was in the Torah.  There are those who contend that the law as stated in Vayikra refers only to Jews and that it took others to turn it into a universal expression.  The Hebrew word for neighbor is “rea.”  As Rabbi Hertz points out, the term “rea” is used in Shemot 11:2 when talking about the Egyptians.  This command should not be read on its own.  Rather, it should be seen as a continuation of the early writings, “You shall not take vengeance or bear grudge against your countrymen.”  There is a famous story about Hillel concerning this statement.  It is too long for this Guide, but I am sure you can find it in the notes of most Chumashim.  Hillel does add a slight twist to the command by restating it as “What is distasteful to you, don’t do it to another person.”  He then says that all the rest of it (the Torah) is commentary and go study it.  In other words, accomplishing this lofty goal is based on the whole corpus of Torah law and its attendant commentary.

The Whole Torah

“You shall observe My laws” or “You shall observe My decrees.” (19:19).  God does not say we should observe “some of My laws.”  God does not say you should observe the laws you like or the laws that make sense to you.  This statement would seem to go along with others we have seen about not adding to or subtracting from, the Law.  Missing the mark is one thing.  Denying the target exists is another matter entirely.

Holy

“You shall be holy” (19:2).  We are commanded to be holy, but what does it mean to be holy?  "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts.  The whole earth is full of His glory.”  God is holy.  So for us to be holy may mean that we should try to emulate God as exemplified by the laws He has given us.  But while the laws may be a first step towards reaching holiness, observing them in a superficial, rote manner will not bring us to that level of elevation we are seeking.  As far back as the 13^th century, the Ramban (Moses Nachmanides) cautioned against those who followed the letter of the law without letting it shape their lives in a meaningful manner.  When we pray, one of the things we pray for is that our prayers not just become rote and repetitious for this would make them unacceptable; make them unholy.  There is tons of material on this topic that we can pursue over the years.  So for now, let us leave it at this.  To be holy may mean the work of elevating the mundane to the level of the spiritual.  The commandments provide us with the guide for the work of that elevation.  Holiness may also be that sensation we experience when we appeal to the best in ourselves and see the best in others.  Since God is all that is truly holy, then for man being holy is more of a trip than a destination.

Predicting the Future

In this portion we read, “Neither shall you practice divination or soothsaying” (16:26).  As Rabbi Micha Odenheimer, a Jerusalem journalist and the Director of the Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews wrote in “Not In The Stars,” “Jewish tradition prohibits the use of the stars, omens and signs to predict the future.…  They believed that human beings, through their actions, could raise themselves beyond the jurisdiction of the stars.…  The Torah prohibits divination not only because the message of soothsayers sets limits on our freedom, but because for Jews, the future itself is holy.  Rather than speak of heaven as the eventual place of bliss and reward, Jews speak of ha’olam haba - the rectified world of the future.  Ha’olam haba is usually translated as ‘the world to come,’ but a more precise translation is ‘the world that is coming.’  The promised, perfected future is speeding toward us at the same rate, at least, that we are rushing toward it.  The future has an existence that stands independent of whatever the signs and omens of the present indicate.  Hidden away in inner dimensions of reality where the astrologer’s eye does not reach, the light of that future is already shining.  (On the Sabbath, ‘the fountain of the world to come,’ this light is partially revealed.)  According to Abraham Yitzhak Hacohen Kook…the task of a righteous Jew is to draw the light of that rectified future into the reality of the present.  ‘To the extent that the light of the coming world shines into this world everything is raised up…In order to love this world properly, one must sink oneself deeply into the love of the world to come.’  The Jewish love affair with the future has the power to transform our concept of time and change our experience of the present.”

Haftarah

22: 1-19 Ezekiel

Ezekiel is one of the Three Major Literary Prophets; the other two being Isaiah and Jeremiah.  Ezekiel lived in the last days of the First Temple and was among those exiled to Babylonia.  He probably was sent to Babylonia with the first wave of exiles about ten years before the actual destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem.  He is a younger contemporary of Jeremiah, who also lived during the last days of the First Temple.  (I have not been able to find a record of the two of the ever having met.  Maybe one of you has come across such a mention in your studies.)  The Book of Ezekiel is comprised of forty-eight chapters, half of which were written before the destruction of the Temple and half of which were written after the destruction of the Temple.  You have already read several summaries about Ezekiel since his writings provide at least ten of the haftarot during the course of the year.

Pirke Avot - (Sayings of the Fathers) is a collection of sayings, teachings, and ethical maxims.  A popular and eminently quotable work, it is one of the sixty-three tractates of the Mishnah.  The Mishnah, consisting of centuries of oral teachings passed down from one generation to the next, was finally codified by Rabbi Yehudah Ha-Nasi in 200 C.E.  Pirke Avot is unique among the tractates of the Mishnah in that it doesn't contain any halachah (law), only aggadah (stories or legends).  Its popularity is reflected in the fact that it is included in most prayer books (including, in part, in Gates of Prayer).

Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut one of the great teachers of the Reform Movement suggests that Pirke Avot "teaches us the essentials of what life might be at its best."  It deals with some of life's most basic and important questions:  What is our purpose and destiny?  What is sin, and how do we conquer it?  What is wisdom?  What is my relationship to God?  Pirke Avot is divided into chapters, and each chapter is further divided into individual statements, each called a Mishnah.  It is customary to study a chapter of Pirke Avot starting with the first Shabbat after the end of Pesach (Passover).  Since Pirke Avot consists of six chapters, the work may be completed by the start of Shavuot.  However, other groups of Jews follow a cycle where they study and re-study each of the chapters until the last Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah.  Regardless of the format you choose, each week the Torah page will include one verse from the chapter of the week with a few comments from a variety of sources.)

Excerpts from Chapter 2

(2:3) “Be cautious of rulers, for they do not befriend a person unless it is for the benefit of themselves; they appear like friends at a time when it benefits them, but they don’t stand by a person in his time of need.”  This statement may be attributed to Rabban Gamiliel.  There are those who say this statement applied only to the despotic government of Rome, which controlled the fate of the Jews at this time.  Other students of history would suggest that this is good advice regardless of who is in power.  While Jews have a tradition of supporting civil government, the Chosen People know how easily it can be chosen to suffer by governments of many different forms.  Pirke Avot is worth reading and re-reading because it is pithy, timely and true.

(2:9) “Rabban Yochanan, the son of Zakkai, received the tradition from Hillel and Shammai.  He used to say, If thou hast learnt much Torah, ascribe not any merit to thyself, for thereunto was thou created.”  This sage lived at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple (70 A.D.).  According to legend, his disciples smuggled him out of Jerusalem; that event led to a fortuitous encounter with the Roman general whom Ben Zakkai predicted would become Emperor.  As a reward for his prophetic vision, Ben Zakkai was allowed to establish an academy at Yavneh.  Yavneh became the gathering place for Jewish scholars and sages after the fall of Jerusalem.  Thanks to Yochanan Ben Zakkai, the dimming light of Judaism was kindled anew as our people used Torah (in the broadest meaning of that term) to turn a new chapter in our history.  Obviously Ben Zakkai felt that it was praiseworthy to study Torah.  The admonition is against bragging about studying, since study of Torah is what a Jew is supposed to be doing in the first place.

(2:15) Rabbi Tarfon says:  The Day is short, the work is great, the workers are lazy, the reward is great and the Master is insistent.

(2:16) He used to say:  You are not expected to complete the work and yet you are not free to evade it.  If you have studied a great deal of Torah, you will be given great reward and your Employer can be trusted to pay you with the reward for your work, but know that the reward of the righteous will be paid in the World to Come.

“The work” refers to the study of Torah and “the Employer” is God.

Rabbi Tarfon is an interesting personage.  He was actually born into the Priestly family and served in the Temple during the days just prior to the destruction by the Romans.  According to one legend he had three hundred wives.  He married them in a time of great famine and hunger.  By marrying these women he made it possible for them to partake of those parts of the sacrifice that were reserved for the families of the Priests.  The legend continues that he was so respectful of women that when his aged mother would arise from her bed he would let her use his back as footstool to ease her way to the floor.  According to some he favored the strict teaching of Shammi (consider the tone of the quote), but he was in accord with Rabbi Akiva in working against the death penalty.  After the Roman victory, he went to Yavneh and set up an academy at the town of Lydda.  He wrote at a time when the people were demoralized by the seeming victory of the wicked.  So he provided them a prod for studying - just because you cannot learn it all is no reason not to begin or continue.  And he reminded the Jews that in the Jewish concept of Justice there was a final judgment that took place in the World to Come.  Hence, the victory of the villain was only superficial and not lasting.  For those who grapple with the issue of God and the Holocaust this is an answer supplied by a man who lived through what, for his generation, was an equally devastating event.

(2:18) “Rabbi Shimon says:  ‘Be meticulous in reading the Shema and in prayer.  When you pray do not make your prayer a set routine but rather (make it a request) for compassion and supplication before the Omnipresent.  As it is said:  For gracious and compassionate is He, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and relenting of punishment; and do not consider yourself a wicked person.’”

Prayer is a serious business.  It is a conversation between man and his Maker.  This is one of a series of admonitions in Jewish writing about thinking about what you are saying when you are praying.  There are those who believe that God is as “meticulous” in his response as we are in the words we speak to Him.  The command to not consider yourself a wicked person is directly tied to the quality of ones efforts at praying.  If you consider yourself unworthy of God’s compassion and forgiveness, you will pray in that manner.  Furthermore, if you think of yourself as evil you will lose heart and not fight against the Evil Inclination.  Yes, this does begin to sound something like the modern concept of self-esteem.  But Jewish self-esteem does not come just come from convincing yourself you are a good person.  It comes from studying Torah, serving God and performing acts of loving-kindness.

Copyright May 2024 Mitchell A Levin

 

 

Readings for Saturday, May 4, 2022 and Pirke Avot Chapter I

Readings for Saturday, May 4, 2024

Acharay Mot (After the death)

16:1-18:30 Vayikra (Leviticus)

The sedrah takes its name from a reference to the deaths of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu that we read about in chapter 10 of Vayikra (Leviticus).  “The Lord spoke to Moshe after the death (“Acharay Mot”) of the two sons of Aaron who died when they drew too close to the presence of the Lord.”  This explication will follow the scheme of Etz Hayim in which each of the three chapters that make up Acharay Mot is seen as dealing with a separate issue.

Chapter 16 - Yom Kippur

The sedrah describes the elaborate rituals surrounding Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  The rituals begin with the Kohein making atonement for his own sins and for those of his household.  This is followed by the ceremony of the goats where one goat is selected for God and the other for Azazel or Scapegoat.  The chapter ends with what the editors of Stone Chumash call the “Eternal Commandment of Yom Kippur.”

Chapter 17 - Holiness Code

This marks the start of what some call the Holiness Code.  It will run through chapter 26 of Vayikra, which is the last chapter of the third book of the Torah.  As can be seen from the wording of 17:2, the rules that follow apply to the whole House of Israel, not just to Aaron and the Priestly Class.  This chapter contains a series of commandments (see Themes below) concerning proper ritual behavior outside of the Tabernacle.  Once again, we see strong emphasis on the prohibition against consuming blood.

Chapter 18 - Definition and Protection of the Family

This chapter contains a rather lengthy list of prohibited sexual relations (see Themes below).  Why does God prohibit these incestuous relationships?  Why does God prohibit sodomy and bestiality?  Why does He order us to avoid the practices related to Molech?  This is part of God’s plan to make us separate from other nations.  He tells us in 18:3 that we are not to be like the Egyptians among whom we have lived.  Nor are we to be like the inhabitants of Canaan, the land to which we are going.  As He says in 18:4, we are His people, which mean we follow His laws. We may not like the laws.  We may not understand the laws.  But at least this time we know the reason for the laws.

Themes

Commandments

184.       The commandment that priests should enter the inner sanctuary only when it is necessary for them to do so (16:2-3).

185.       The specification of the Temple rituals to be performed by the High Priest on Yom Kippur (16:3ff.).

186.       The prohibition against offering a sacrifice outside the sanctuary (17:3-4).

187.       The commandment to cover the blood of a permissible wild animal or fowl after it has been slaughtered (17:13).

188.       The general prohibition against incest (18:6).

189.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with one’s father (18:7).

190.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with one’s mother (18:7).

191.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with your father’s wife, even if she is not your mother (18:8).

192.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with one’s full or half-sister.

193.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with granddaughters born of one’s son (18:10).

194.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with granddaughters born of one’s daughter (18:10).

195.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a daughter (18:6).

196.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a half-sister (18:11).

197.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a paternal aunt (18:12-13).

198.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a maternal aunt (18:12-13).

199.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with an uncle (18:14).

200.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with an aunt through marriage.

201.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a daughter-in-law (18:15).

202.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with sister-in-law (18:16).

203.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a woman and her daughter (18:17).

204.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a woman and her paternal granddaughter (18:17).

205.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a woman and her maternal granddaughter (18:17).

206.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with two sisters while both are alive and if the man is married to one of them (18:18).

207.       The prohibition against having sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual period (18:19).

208.       The prohibition against sacrificing one’s child to the idol known as Moloch (18:21).

209.       Prohibition of male homosexuality (18:22).

210.       Prohibition of male bestiality (18:23).

211.       Prohibition of female bestiality (18:23).

From Biblical Literacy by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

Yom Kippur

Obviously, our concept of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement has grown and developed since the words of Vayikra 16:1-34 were written.  We will discuss the holiday in greater detail again next fall when we celebrate it.  However, the core of Yom Kippur is found in this sedrah.  Yom Kippur is to be observed for all times on the tenth day of the seventh month.  It is to be a day of complete rest and complete self-denial.  It is an annual Day of Atonement for sins that have been committed.  Aaron’s need to offer sacrifices of atonement for himself and his household probably provide the origin of the confessional apology offered by the Rabbi and Cantor before they begin the Kol Nidre Service on Yom Kippur.

Acharay Mot

Why begin the sedrah with a reminder of the death of Aaron’s two sons?  There can be several reasons.  One is that God wants to impress upon Aaron the importance of following the rituals exactly as outlined.  Failure to do so could lead Aaron to the same fate as his sons.  Another may be that God wanted to remind Aaron to make sure that he had a way back from the spiritual ecstasy that he would experience during the Yom Kippur rituals.  According to some commentators, the sons perished because they sought to reach God at a level of spiritual ecstasy without any thought of maintaining contact with the world of man - the world in which they had responsibilities as Kohanim.  While the Jew may reach toward God, he is not to forget the work that he is to do in the world, which is to help make it a Godly or holy place.

Acharay Mot II

According to Rabbi Jonathan Blass, Nadab and Abihu, the two sons of Aaron, were slain because they represented an old style of Israelite religious practice and they were incapable of adjusting to the new regime.  Prior to the giving of the law, people were free to sacrifice in any place of their choosing; or in modern parlance wherever and whenever the spirit moved them.  Under the law, the people were to bring sacrifices to the Mishkan.  Sacrifices were now a part of a social and moral system that acknowledged the supremacy of the Lord and His ways.  In other words, Nadab and Abihu were stressing the “spontaneous aspect of worship, preferring it to a fixed routing of Tabernacle service dictated from above.”  The problem with sacrifices brought based on human impulse is that they are just that, the product of human impulse.  In other words, they individual is the central figure, not God.  In addition to which, religious observance based on human impulse relies on a level of emotionalism that is not sustainable.

Blood

“And if anyone of the house of Israel…partakes of any blood, I will set My face against the person who partakes of the blood” (17:10).  This is not the first or the last time that we are commanded not to consume blood.  Kosher meat does not contain blood.  After being properly slaughtered the meat is salted and soaked to ensure that it the blood is removed.  Beef or calves liver must be broiled if it is to be considered kosher.

Sexual Orientation

“Do not lie with a male as one lies with a woman; it is an abhorrence” (18:22).  This prohibition concerning homosexual behavior was later enlarged to include lesbian relations.  According to some this prohibition really was part of Torah’s anti-idolatry stance.  Homosexual practices were tied to certain idolatrous cults and one of the themes of the Torah is that whatever idolaters do, we do the opposite or at least refrain from doing ourselves.  Both Reform and Conservative Judaism welcome all Jews regardless of sexual orientation.

Assimilation

“You shall not copy the practices of the land of Egypt…or of the land of Canaan…nor shall you follow their laws.  My rules alone shall you observe, and faithfully follow my laws…” (18:3-4).  Assimilation is the great challenge for the Jew.  These verses have provided several different interpretations.  There are those commentators who take them literally and say that God was only talking about Egypt and Canaan.  There are those who view the mention of these two nations as a metaphor.  To them these words are a clarion call to avoid any contact with learning that is not Jewish.  And then there is the middle ground, which allows us to learn from the civilizations in which we live so long as those teachings do not compromise our Judaism.  There are those who would say that American Jews in the middle of the twentieth century went too far in their zeal to become Americanized.  Recently we have seen reaching out for more tradition or the updating of those traditions to ensure that our lives are rich as both Americans and as Jews.

The Land of Israel

“For all those abhorrent things were done by the people who were in the land before you, and they became defiled.  So let not the land spew you out for defiling it, as it spewed out the nation that came before you” (18:27-28).  This sedrah reminds of the uniqueness of the Promised Land.  Nations outside of the land of Canaan sinned in the same manner, as did the Canaanites.  But those people were not exiled.  What may be tolerable in other places will not be allowed in what is supposed to be a Holy Land.  According to some interpreters of these verses, the ultimate punishment is not death, but exile from the land.  To be in exile from the land is thought to be a form of exile from God.

Quick Quiz

1.             What is the origin of the English Term “scapegoat?”  In Leviticus 16:22, the Torah describes the goat on which all the sins of the Israelites were placed.  The scapegoat is the innocent individual on whom unfair blame is placed for myriad of individual or social ills.

2.             What two offenses carried the punishment of being “cut off from one’s people?”  According to Leviticus 17:8-10, sacrificing at a place other than the Mishkan and the eating of blood would be punished in the manner.  Note that being cut off from the house of Israel, what we call excommunication or ostracism, was seen as a severe punishment - a form of spiritual and social death that could be more painful than capital punishment.

3.             What reason does God give for driving out the current inhabitants of the Promised Land?  According to Leviticus 18:24, the Canaanites would lose possession of their land because of their sexual excesses.

(Questions inspired by Nelson’s Amazing Bible Trivia)

Haftarah

9:7-15 Amos

The Man:  Amos was probably the first of the literary prophets, even though his book has been placed third among the so-called Twelve Minor Prophets.  Unlike other prophets we have studied, we know a fair amount about him from the text itself.  He was from Tekoa, a small town near Bethlehem in Judah, the Southern Kingdom.  He was “a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees” and not a professional seer.  He only assumed the role of prophet because God said, “Go prophesy unto My people Israel.”  Although Amos lived in the Southern Kingdom, he preached in Israel, the Northern Kingdom.  The text says that he lived at the time of the King Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam II, King of Israel.  The text also references an earthquake and an eclipse.  Therefore we can safely assume that Amos preached from 765 B.C.E. to 750 B.C.E.  For the Northern Kingdom, this was a period of great wealth and prosperity.  But it was also a time of increasing income disparity with the newly emerging rich, exploiting the ever-growing number of poor people.  It was this lack of social and economic justice that would animate the preaching of Amos.  Trouble came when he predicted the death of the king and the destruction of the kingdom.  It was at this point that the Amaziah, the “false priest” at the shrine of Beth-el condemned the prophet for treason.  However, instead of being put to death, Amos was banished and forced to return to Judah.  This lenient treatment may have hinted at his popularity.  We do not know how Amos met his death.

The Message:  The verses found in this haftarah are the final lines in the Book of Amos.  He reminds the Israelites that they are not the only nation God has brought forth (9:7).  But in mentioning the liberation from Egypt, he is reminding the Israelites that their liberation was different.  It took place so that they could go to Sinai and receive the commandments.  The Israelites have forgotten this part of the unique relationship.  Since they have turned their back on God’s laws, the will be punished.  God will destroy “the sinful monarchy” (referring to the monarchs of the Northern Kingdom) and punish the whole house of Israel.  There is hope.  “I will not utterly destroy the House of Jacob.” (9:8).  The haftarah and the book itself end with a majestic vision of a future redemption (9:13-15).  Just so you will not think that I am the only who views it this way, consider what Norman Podhoretz says about these verses in his new book, The Prophets.  “These sumptuously lyrical verses fall upon our ears with something of the same effect as does the first movement of Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony, entitled by the composer ‘glad and grateful feelings after the storm.’”

Theme-Link:  The sedrah ends with a warning that God will expel the Israelites from the land if they “contaminate” it by not following the commandments.  The haftarah begins with a prophecy of destruction because the Israelites have turned their back on the commandments and contaminated the land.

Pirke Avot (Saying of the Fathers) - Saturday, May 4, 2024

Pirke Avot is a collection of sayings, teachings, and ethical maxims.  A popular and eminently quotable work, it is one of the sixty-three tractates of the Mishnah. The Mishnah, consisting of centuries of oral teachings passed down from one generation to the next, was finally codified by Rabbi Yehudah Ha-Nasi in 200 C.E.  Pirke Avot is unique among the tractates of the Mishnah in that it doesn't contain any halachah (law), only aggadah (stories or legends).  Its popularity is reflected in the fact that it is included in most prayer books (including, in part, in Gates of Prayer).  Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut, one of the great teachers of the Reform Movement, suggests that Pirke Avot "teaches us the essentials of what life might be at its best."  It deals with some of life's most basic and important questions:  What is our purpose and destiny?  What is sin, and how do we conquer it?  What is wisdom?  What is my relationship to God?  Pirke Avot is divided into chapters, and each chapter is further divided into individual statements, each called a Mishnah.  It is customary to study a chapter of Pirke Avot starting with the first Shabbat after the end of Pesach (Passover).  Since Pirke Avot consists of six chapters, the work may be completed by the start of Shavuot.  However, other groups of Jews follow a cycle where they study and re-study each of the chapters until the last Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah.  Regardless of the format you choose each week the Torah page will include selections from the chapter of the week with a few comments from a variety of sources.)

Pirke Avot - Chapter 1

“Shimon Ha-Tzadik was among the last (members) of the Great Assembly.  He would say: ‘On three things the world depends: on Torah study, on the service (of God) and on bestowing kindness.’”(1:2). Simon the Just was the High Priest who served in the Second Temple at the time of Alexander the Great.  According to the Talmud, he is the one who convinced Alexander not to destroy the Temple as he had been requested to do by the Samaritans.  Simon the Just sees the world as resting on a combination of study, ritual observance and positive human behavior.  Like a three-legged stool, the world would collapse if any one of these elements were missing.  All three are mutually inclusive and required if the world is to survive.  The Hebrew term translated, as “on bestowing kindness” is “Gemilut Chasidim” which is also translated as “acts of loving-kindness.”  Reform Jews should know this line well since it is sung to a perfectly marvelous tune during the Torah Service.

Copyright; Mitchell A. Levin; 5/01/24