Wishing you a happy and healthy Shavuot!
The Times They Are a-Changin’ – Parshat Bamidbar 5773
“Those were the days.” We say it with a hint of nostalgia as we think back to yesteryear, remembering an especially great family vacation from childhood or the easy summer nights when the only rule was be home by dark. When we think back,it’s often with a selective memory. That perfect family vacation was probably with great moments . . . and some moments that were not quite as idyllic. We might not choose to recall that one fight,the bout of grumpiness, or a stubborn moment that briefly disturbed the peace. Instead, we let the shining moments take center stage in our memories.
This week we begin the fourth book of the Torah, Sefer Bamidbar. The Israelites are now in the desert, and the structure of their lives has been set. Army leaders are appointed to lead alongside Moses and Aaron, a census is taken of the people, and we learn that the camps are situated in a specific order, each with a flag in the center that tells us which tribe is there. The time spent in Egypt is a distant memory at this point.
Journey of a Thousand Miles – Parshat Behar/Behukotai 5773
If you finish your broccoli, then you can have your dessert. That’s the incentive we use with kids, but trust me, it works on me too. I often need the promise of a reward to finish a task I’m either not particularly excited about or one that requires major decision making. For instance, when I was studying for the big Talmud exam at the end of rabbinical school, I would make a deal with myself. If I finished reviewing a certain number of pages, then I could play one game of FreeCell. Even writing these weekly divrei Torah, I sometimes incentivize myself by allowing a quick check of Facebook once I hit the halfway point. An incentive can go a long way to helping a task, no matter how big or small get accomplished.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we all acted responsibly or out of the goodness of our hearts without the dangling carrot of chocolate ice cream or five minutes of free time? The reality is that we work with a reward or a return on our investment in mind all the time. In our Torah portions this week, Behar-Behukotai,we see laid out for us the ultimate reward system for living a life of mitzvot. These two portions detail laws of the land. This includes when it is appropriate to use the land and when it must rest, how we treat workers, prohibitions of idolatry,and the value of our words and promises to others.
Animal, Mineral, Vegetable – Parshat Emor 5773
I have long struggled between my love of animals and, to be blunt, my love of meat. I cry tears of sadness during the ASPCA commercials and tears of joy when my Uncle Larry ships us a salami from Romanian Kosher Sausage in Chicago. Of course that’s hyperbole; I am in no way suggesting any similarity between humane food processing and the unthinkable animal cruelty that regrettably still exists in the world.
I do have many vegetarian friends who offer strong cases for their lifestyle choices, but I myself have never been compelled to be a vegetarian. However, my regard for my food choices and their sources has its roots in the Torah and its requirements that we show respect to animals both as food and as living creatures.
This week’s parshah, parshat Emor, teaches us the value of intention. We learn specifically about the laws surrounding the role of the priest and the extra steps the priest must take in order to remain eligible for that position. Each of these steps requires heightened sensitivity, first to what is ingested in the body, then to special times of the year such as holidays. These laws require a keen awareness of how our days and weeks are spent, and theparshah ends by enumerating the punishments for those who do not adhere to this way of life.
Catching On – Parshat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim 5773
We often associate things that are contagious with something bad. During the winter months, it becomes survival of the fittest when it comes to staying flu-free. People take extra precautions to protect themselves from the contagious spread of infection. Rightly so, as the flu or even a nasty cold is nothing to sneeze at (hardy har). We protect ourselves from the germs around us by not hugging or shaking hands and,especially at school, using hand sanitizer every chance we get.
Illness isn’t the only kind of contagion. Ever have a song get stuck in your head because someone else was singing it? Or have you succumbed to a certain trend because of peer pressure? But despite these connotations, “catching”something isn’t always negative, it just depends on the situation.
This week we read the double portions of Acharei Mot and Kedoshim. Parshat Acharei Motreminds us of the laws regarding our food and observance of the holiday of Yom Kippur. It also teaches us the value of an appropriate and intimate relationship with family and friends. Parshat Kedoshim expands upon these rules by teaching us about what makes a community into a holy community, including additional rules about how to treat friends and what we can and cannot do for those in need. This entire set of instructions comes to form the basis of what it means to be a part of a caring community.
Why is it important for us to be holy? The text of parshat Kedoshim begins in the plural, “Kedoshim Tihiyu.” You all shall be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. The commentators find it odd to see holiness in the plural form, as if holiness could be applied both individually and as a group, regardless of who makes up that group. In fact, one insight teaches that this is precisely because the capacity for holiness is not restricted to spiritually gifted people. Holiness is not reserved for the rabbis or those on a “higher plane.” Rather,holiness is for the masses; anyone can attain it.
Furthermore, the plural phrasing suggests that not only is group holiness possible, it is most easily achieved in the context of a community. Think about how difficult it would be for a person to live a life of holiness without others. And our parshah suggests that it’s not enough for each individual to be holy on his own. In this case, the whole (or holy) is greater than the sum of its parts. When a community dedicates itself to the pursuit of holiness, its members support and reinforce the holiness in each other.
Our theme as a school this year is Kedushah, holiness. It stands for holiness in our relationships with others, holiness in the way we view ourselves, and holiness in the way we treat our school, our homes, and the world in which we live. May we learn to think in the plural when it comes to holiness so that the good we do catches on.
THIS TOO IS TORAH: Acharei Mot is where we get the English term “scapegoat.” Part of God’s instruction is that Aaron should lay his hands on a live goat, confess the sins of the Israelites, and then send the goat off into the wilderness, carrying all of the community’s transgressions with it. How do you deal with feelings of guilt after you’ve done something wrong?
