Emor

Leviticus 21:1−24:23

Dvar Torah by Robert Tornberg, RJE, for ReformJudasim.org

What Would Moses Say?

In the Babylonian Talmud (M'nachot 29b) there is a wonderful midrash1 in which Moses is depicted as watching God sitting and writing crowns (embellishments that look a bit like crowns) on some of the letters in the Torah. Moses asked God why the Holy One was doing this. God responded "There is a man who will appear at the end of several generations and Akiva ben Yosef is his name. And he will need these crowns, because from each and every mark he will derive scores and scores of laws." (In a sense, Akiva will create midrash to explain the presence of these marks, and anything else unusual in the text of Torah.)

Moses retorted, "Ruler of the Universe, show this man to me." The Holy One said, "Turn around!"

Moses found himself sitting in the back of Rabbi Akiva's beit midrash (classroom) and he did not understand a word that was being said. He felt faint and frustrated. When the class reacted a certain point in the discussion, a student asked Rabbi Akiva, "Rabbi, what is the source for this ruling?" He said, "It is a law given unto Moses at Sinai."

In the opening sentence, I called this midrash "wonderful." I did so, because I find it to be a "wonder-filled" example of how Jewish tradition changes, and yet, remains rooted in Torah.

This week's Torah portion is Emor meaning "Speak." In this parashah we find an extended discussion of the regulations regarding the priests who must remain in a state of "holiness" in order to offer sacrifices in the Temple. There are rules relating to the Tabernacle and laws about one who blasphemes the Name of God. This parashah also has an extended section discussing the observance of Shabbat, Rosh HaShanah (not identified by that name, however), Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Sh'mini Atzeret (not actually called this in the Torah), Pesach, and Shavuot (also not referred to specifically by this name).

Each description of the festivals and observances of the Jewish calendar obviously focuses on how the day was marked in biblical times. Some of what we hear is familiar and some is quite foreign to our experience. In our learning this week, I would like to focus on what the text tells us about Pesach:

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Kedoshim

Leviticus 19:1-20:27

The Holiness of Our Bodies

Kedoshim: A resource for families.

By Rabbi Dianne Cohler-Esses; Reprinted on MyJewishLearning with permission from Torah Topics for Today.

It is difficult in our society to have a sense of respect and acceptance for our own bodies with all their inherent differences.

Women especially are often held to impossible standards when it comes to body weight. Eating disorders abound, mostly for girls, but also amongst boys. Boys and girls, men and women, become obsessive about weight and appearance, and the importance of bodily appearance can, unfortunately, overshadow other life interests and relationships.

In this Torah portion there is a law against making gashes in one’s flesh and also against tattooing oneself. We are commanded to be holy, and one of the ways to become so is through treating the body as sacred, not permanently marring it in anyway. No matter what its size, shape or appearance, the body, just as it is, is considered holy.

When raising children we can counteract some of society’s messages, which place so much emphasis on the body as object. Using the Torah's concept of the body as holy, we can present an important alternative to children. By placing emphasis on caring for one's body through healthful eating, bathing, and dressing in clean and attractive clothes, we can teach that a sense of bodily sanctity can be nurtured. We can communicate to girls or boys struggling with body image issues that they are acceptable, even holy, just as they are.

TALK TO YOUR KIDS about the Torah's concept of their body as being holy.

CONNECT TO THEIR LIVES:
· What are the best ways to take care of your body?
· How does bathing contribute to your sense of the holiness of our bodies?
· How do healthy food choices contribute to your sense of the body's holiness?

Shabbat Chol HaMo-eid Pesach, Passover Intermediate Days

Exodus 33:12-34:26

Dvar Torah by Rabbi Joe Rooks Rapport for ReformJudasim.org

The Cleft in the Rock

On the Sabbath during Passover, we take a break from the sacred and the profane, from sin and sacrifice, from what fits and what is unfit; we set aside all things Leviticus and step into another world. This week's special portion carries within it one of the most luminous and awe-inspiring images in all of the Torah: Moses, cradled gently in the hand of God, emerges from the cleft of the rock to glimpse a sight of the Divine Presence just as the Glory of God passes by (Exodus 33:21-23).

This vision is one of the most unabashedly human representations of God as can be found anywhere in the Bible. God has a face, which Moses cannot see. God has a hand, which protects Moses until the moment when God's shining Presence has passed by. And God has a back, which Moses glimpses momentarily, though we have precious little description of what this vision of "God from behind" may have looked like.

Such anthropomorphisms-in this case, visions of God in human form-drive the classic interpreters of the Torah to distraction. They try desperately to recast these physical characteristics as metaphor and literary device rather than the touchable, tangible, actual descriptions of God's Presence which, we might-on their surface- consider them to be. So strong is the pull of the second commandment not to create for ourselves a picture or an idol of God's physical form that the very allusion to any human characteristics becomes the source of endless consternation and debate.

I have always sat in wonder at our tradition, which posits an invisible and unknowable God who, nevertheless, has the power to affect our physical world through signs and wonders, who harbors human emotions like compassion and anger, and who has the power to carve ten divine words with a finger on the face of a stone (30:18). Somehow, such completely human descriptions of the Presence of God in our world can pass muster, and yet even the slightest mention of God's physical characteristics launches a legion of commentators to smooth out the "more primitive language" within the text.

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Shabbat HaGadol - Acharei Mot

Leviticus 16:1-18:30

Dvar Torah by Robert Tornberg for ReformJudasim.org

Stretching to Make Sense (And Not Fully Succeeding)

This week's Torah portion, Acharei Mot, "After the death" [of two of Aaron's sons], continues the focus on ritual purity that began earlier in Leviticus, and begins the section of the book known as the Holiness Code. Included are commandments regarding sacrifice and food (Leviticus 17:1-16), limitations on sexual behavior (18:1-30), and a substantial section on the ritual observance of Yom Kippur (although the term "Yom Kippur" does not appear in the parashah) in the wilderness, and, presumably, later when the Temple stood in Jerusalem.

In the section on Yom Kippur, " . . . a law for all time: to make atonement for the Israelites for all their sins once a year" (16:34), we learn about the atonement sacrifices that the High Priest – in this case Aaron – must make on behalf of himself, his family, and the people. We are told what clothing he must wear for each part of the ritual – he has to change numerous times. And we learn the High Priest must make expiation for himself, his household, and the people.

In Reform tradition, there is a whole section of the afternoon service on Yom Kippur that recaps all this pageantry as part of the day's liturgy. It is especially interesting and somewhat curious that despite the fact that most references to the sacrificial cult have been removed from Reform prayer books, an abbreviated rendition of this section is included in Gates of Repentance (pp. 421-424)!

In our portion, one aspect of this detailed atonement observance is especially unique. According to our parashah, after Aaron has made expiation for himself and his household, he must take two he-goats to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and draw lots to determine which goat will be marked for sacrifice to God and which one will be marked for "Azazel." The latter will be kept alive and the following takes place:

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