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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Metzora

Leviticus 14:1-15:33

Dvar Torah by ROBERT TORNBERG for ReformJudasim.org

M'tzora, the name of this week's parashah, refers to a person or a house afflicted with a skin condition called tzaraat. Often mistranslated as "leprosy," tzaraat is something totally different than what we, today, call leprosy. Most years, M'tzora is read as a double portion, combining last week's very difficult concepts with this week's equally challenging ideas.

M'tzora can be divided into three distinct, but related sections:

• Part 1 (Leviticus 14:1-32) picks up from the previous parashah, Tazria, which discusses the rituals surrounding those found to have various skin ailments. Someone afflicted with tzaraat was considered tamei1, ritually "impure," and was temporarily banished from the community (Leviticus 13:46). M'tzora outlines the rituals of purification for a person who is found by a priest to be free from tzaraat. We are told in detail about the process and the rituals by which the person may again become part of the general population once he or she is considered tahor 2, ritually "pure."
• Part 2 (Leviticus 14:33-57) discusses in similar detail what happens when a house develops a scaly outbreak on its walls or elsewhere. As with a person, there is quarantine process. No one may enter the house, and specific rituals are outlined for declaring the house tahor once the scaly growth has been permanently removed. In the case of a home that cannot be rid of the outbreak, the entire structure is destroyed.
• Part 3 (Leviticus 15:1-33) tells us that genital discharges (from men and women), abnormal discharges, "normal" seminal emissions, and menstruation also make one tamei. The laws concerning the ways in which people with discharges or emissions can return to a tahor state are also specified.

If, when reading this parashah you find it difficult to relate, you are not alone. Our greatest commentators also found it complicated and wandered far from the p'shat, the "plain meaning" of the text, to make these ideas somewhat comprehensible.

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Shabbat Tazria HaChodesh

Lev. 12:1-13:59 and Ex. 12:1-20

Dvar Torah by ROBERT TORNBERG for ReformJudasim.org

Annoying “Un-Understanding”

What a difficult portion Tazria is! It looks at issues of purity; birth; and illness of men and women, fabric and skin. Even without touching on leprosy (or whatever skin disease it is) there's plenty to discuss in this parashah!

There's more than enough to explore with childbirth and blood, boy babies and girl babies, quarantine and sin offerings. And the questions abound . . .

• Why are there 7 days of isolation and 33 days of "blood purification" for birthing boys?
• Why are there 14 days of isolation and 66 days of blood purification for birthing girls?
• Do 40 (7 plus 33) and 80 (14 plus 66, or twice 40) have anything to do with all the other 40s in our tradition (for example, the Israelites' 40 years in the wilderness, and the 40 days and nights of rain in Noah's time?)
• Why is a woman tam'ah, "impure" at all, after creating life in her body?
• Bringing an olah, "burnt offering" after the period of purification may make sense. But why also a chatat, "sin" (or "purgation") offering?

The questions puzzle and bother! My "un-understanding" annoys!

Our Torah is frequently perplexing. I encounter the Creation story in the first portion of the Book of Genesis, B'reishit, with energy and enthusiasm despite the fact that it is a challenging text. And I approach the account of Revelation at Sinai (Exodus 20) in Parashat Yitro in a similar way. Our text this week demands no less.

How do we examine these questions with all the problems they present for gender scholars?

I turned to the shelf of Jewish feminist literature in our library – commentaries, theology, polemics, and views – for wisdom.

I learned a lot; perhaps, most of all, I understood that the scholars I read had as many – maybe more – questions than I do.

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Shabbat Parah

Shemini, Leviticus 9:1-11:47 & Num. 19:1-22

Dvar Torah by ROBERT TORNBERG for ReformJudasim.org

Learning from a Sandwich

This week's parashah, Sh'mini, consists of three distinct parts that do not appear, on the surface, to relate directly to one to another. Let's begin by looking at a summary of each of these parts.

The first section of this portion appears to be a continuation of the previous two parashiyot. Vayikra and Tzav, deal in great detail with how the various sacrifices were to be offered at the Tabernacle (and later, the Temple), and end with a description of the dedication of the Tabernacle and the ordination of the priests (kohanim). Sh'mini opens on the eighth day of the ordination ceremony. Moses instructs Aaron and his sons to bring specific animals for a burnt offering (olah), a sin offering (chatat), an offering of well-being (zevach sh'lamim), and a meal offering (minchah), to atone for any sins they or the people may have committed.

Suddenly in the next section, the "documentary-style" description we have gotten used to in Leviticus changes to a narrative style as we are told:

Now Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before the Eternal alien fire, which had not been enjoined upon them. And fire came forth from the Eternal and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of the Eternal (Leviticus 10:1-2).

Following this incident, Aaron, whose sons had just perished, is totally silent, and Moses insists that the ceremony be completed as planned.

This difficult, painful, and confusing passage has captured the attention of commentators from the earliest times until today. There are literally scores of interpretations offered in an effort to make sense of this ethically problematic story.1

In the third part of this parashah, the subject abruptly changes as Moses and Aaron hear a detailed cataloging of the laws of kashrut – the dietary laws – directly from God. They are told that from among "land animals" they may eat any animal "that has true hoofs, with clefts through the hoofs, and that chews the cud" (11:2-3). This is followed by a listing of animals that may cause confusion (for example, the camel, the hare, and the swine) because they either have cloven hooves or chew their cud, but not both. They are labeled "impure."

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