TO PROFANE OR TO SANCTIFY – “Emor” – Lev. 21-24 – by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Baruch

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TO PROFANE OR TO SANCTIFY – “Emor” – Lev. 21-24 – by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

The section called “Emor” – literally “Say!” – will be read this coming Shabat in traditional congregations outside of Israel. It was read last Shabat in Israel and in Reform congregations elsewhere. Just a calendar discrepancy. Personally, of course, I feel a special connection to “Emor” because I read this section at my own Bar Mitzvah. That was a long time ago, but the message of this reading rings just as strongly in my ears today.

Opening with some detailed rules and regulations for the priests – the Cohanim, Aaron’s sons and descendants – from their personal conduct to their sacrificial duties, and continuing with the entire sequence of the Jewish religious calendar, “Emor” is quoted at other times of the year besides these two weeks. In Chapter 23, for example, we read the sequence of counting the Omer, the very period we are in right now, leading us from the freedom holiday of Passover to the anniversary of becoming a nation on Shavuot. Which by the way always comes at the same time in Israel or outside of it.

Between these two sections, we find two short sentences that give all these laws their basis. They come at the end of Chapter 22. Verse 31 says: “Keep my commandments and do them; I am G-d.” And verse 32 adds: “Do not profane My holy name, and I will be sanctified among the Israelites; I am G-d who sanctifies you.” Divinely inspired rules that, if we follow, enable us to achieve Kiddush haShem – sanctifying the divine name. Violating those rules amounts to khillul haShem – profaning that name.

Violations can take many forms, some more obvious than others. For example, our Torah instructs us to use true measurements – weights, lengths, coins, all must be accurate. Prevent cheating. In legal disputes we are cautioned to do justice “justly.” Tricking a witness in a trial, or manufacturing evidence against a litigant – even if you deeply believe him guilty – is unfair, and therefore prohibited. Acceptable conduct in family affairs has countless Mitzvos to be observed, including the rights and duties of wife and husband to each other, of parents and children to each other, and of all to the care of ill and dead family members. Crime and punishment get dealt with in this section too. “One who strikes [wounds or kills] an animal shall pay for the damage. One who kills a human shall die.” But it takes two eye witnesses to convict the killer.

All these and many more Mitzvos can be fulfilled – or violated. Violating a principle of conduct in business, particularly when dealing with Gentiles, can bring serious trouble to the entire community. Every Jewish businessman carries the responsibility for the good or bad effect of his actions on all his people. The Hertz commentary quotes the story of the fellow in the boat drilling a hole under his seat. It’s only under his seat, but all will drown. A Jewish crook can give an open door to anti-Semites. That is definitely khillul haShem. And what about the opposite? Suppose we are doing right?

Our commentators frequently relate Kiddush haShem to Kiddush hakhayim – sanctifying life. Throughout our history, tragic events occurred that caused pious heroes to give up their lives for their faith, and they are said to have died al Kiddush haShem – for the sake of sanctifying the divine name. Whether they had a choice or not. Inquisitors demanded: “Convert or die.” Nazis and jihadis offer no alternative: “Kill the Jews!” Their victims are mourned with the righteous.

All-important in this principle is not death but life. Living in such a way as to sanctify the name of the G-d we worship involves fulfilling Mitzvos. From observing the occasions of our calendar – Sabbath, festivals, matzoh on Passover or fasting on Yom Kippur – to how we interact with other human beings, Jewish or Gentile. How we live our daily lives makes us aware of those Mitzvos, and carrying them out builds our character. Do we deal honestly in business? Do we respect our elders? Do we teach our children Torah? Do we help the poor? Do we support just causes? It is that kind of life that sanctifies G-d’s name. That kind of behavior sanctifies our lives. That is Kiddush haShem. Kiddush hakhayyim too.

This week and every week, every day, let the words of “Emor” remind us of our ongoing choice: profane or sanctify. Judaism offers us some practical help to make our lives count.

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BE HOLY BECAUSE G-D IS HOLY? — “Ah’rey/K’doshim” Lev. 16-20 — by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Baruch

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BE HOLY BECAUSE G-D IS HOLY? — “Ah’rey/K’doshim” Lev. 16-20 — by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Coming right after Passover, this Torah portion challenges us. We just celebrated our freedom from ancient slavery, and welcomed Elijah’s promised heralding of a great time to come. Now we resume the narrative of Israel’s trek toward the Promised Land. Moses continues teaching the people all the laws based on the revelation at Sinai. And here comes something really basic. “Be holy.” What is holiness?

The Hebrew word “kadosh” signifies something reserved, set aside, special. If it is set aside for a sacred purpose, it is accurately translated “holy.” So how are we to become holy? The first sentence of this week’s reading says “be holy because G-d is holy.” So we should follow the Divine example. “Imitatio Dei” is the Latin term for the same idea. But now comes a problem. The second sentence goes Into detail: “Each of you, revere your mother and your father.” How’s that again? Does G-d have parents?

Next, “Keep the Sabbath.” And a number of negative commandments, starting with “Do not practice idolatry,” and later, significantly, “Do not completely harvest your field, but leave a corner for the poor and the stranger.” The qualities of holiness begin to add up. “Don’t steal, don’t lie, don’t deceive each other. And don’t swear falsely, profaning G-d’s name.” Prime clues to our character concern how we treat each other. “Don’t curse the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind.” Consideration of this kind, say our rabbis, also applies beyond physical misdeeds, and includes economic or intellectual “tripping” someone who is less savvy.

How we dispense justice is a measure of holiness, says the Torah. “Don’t favor the poor, and don’t honor the ‘gadol‘ — the Big Shot, the aristocrat, but judge your fellow ‘b’tzedek‘– fairly.” Notice that the description of fair judgment uses “tzedek” the word for “righteousness.” The same Hebrew root-word “tz’dakah” also means “charity.” Tying concepts like these together helps to approach holiness.

“Don’t oppress the stranger…treat him like one of your own…for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” “Keep honest weights and measures.” And one climactic sequence: “Do not be a talebearer among your people, and don’t stand idly by your neighbor’s blood. I am the L-rd. Don’t hate your brother in your heart; reprove your neighbor, but don’t bear sin because of him… Love your neighbor as yourself.”

The last of these principles gets quoted most often, and raises a question of its own. It seems to mandate equality. It assumes that you love yourself. Therefore if you lack self-respect, what value does your regard have for your neighbor?

Of course, the reading does not stop here. It goes on to define proper and invalid religious ceremonies. It also mandates penalties for violating Torah laws on family relations, dietary standards and sexual contacts.

We must conclude that this is not “imitatio Dei.” Whatever we may individually believe about G-d, we cannot imagine that He has any of these problems. So when the Torah says “be holy because G-d is holy,” what can we learn from it? Try this idea: G-d is described as “holy” in our tradition. G-d is beyond human understanding, but has revealed a way of life to Moses and our other teachers. To the extent that we can follow that way of life, we can attain some degree of that holiness. Not the kind of personality popularly derided as a “holy Joe,” (too often a synonym for hypocrite) but the upright, honest, fair, considerate and positive human being that we truly respect. We might not altogether reach that goal, but hey — isn’t it worth a try?

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CONTAMINATED! – Lev. 12-15 Tazria-Metzora – by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Baruch

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CONTAMINATED! – Lev. 12-15 Tazria-Metzora – by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Some tribal societies have medicine men who treat physical ailments with mystery cures. Ancient Israel left that function to the cohanim, the priests, Aaron and his descendants. The Book of Leviticus prescribes the treatments in three of the less pleasant chapters in the Torah. Most of these treatments involve declaring the patient to be taMEY – contaminated. That condition could last for a day, or could go on for months. Sometimes that condition just meant that the patient could not enter the sanctuary and was prevented from eating sacrificial meat. The most dreaded of diseases was leprosy, and its treatment is the most extreme. One device used is familiar to us today as quarantine. The leper had to pitch his tent outside the main camp, must wear torn clothes, let his hair hang loose, cover his upper lip and cry out taMEY taMEY – “Contaminated, contaminated!” — thus warning people to stay away from him.

Surprisingly enough, this entire section starts with a law that is not about disease, but about childbirth. When a woman conceives and bears a son, we are told, she is considered to be contaminated by the blood she has shed. This condition lasts one week, the same length as her menstruation. Then she takes a ritual bath, and by most rabbinical opinions she can and should resume relations with her husband. But she is not to enter the sanctuary for another 33 days, after which she brings an offering to the sanctuary and the cohen declares her pure. When the baby is a girl, the length of her contamination is doubled – 14 days before the bath and 66 days thereafter. Theories about this difference are varied, but it would seem to place special importance on the birth of a female who will grow up to experience the monthly cycle, and some day may also bear a new life.

So how do we move from the joy of new life to the plague of leprosy? Contamination – tum’ah — is the key word. It can affect the healthy mother, or the suffering patient. It can even afflict the house we live in and the clothes we wear. While the Torah’s remedies have no obvious connection to modern science, we get the definite message that sometimes we cause our own contamination. In fact, the rabbis note, the word for a leper – metzora – is a contraction of the words motzi shem ra, which means “bringing out a bad name,” that is, slander.

Whether it starts as thoughtless gossip or as deliberate character assassination, loshon hora – the evil tongue – contaminates our lives. No cohen and no medicine man can cure it. It was the great Maimonides who wrote that the evil tongue destroys three people: the one who spreads the bad report, the one who is the subject of it, and the one who listens to it. The only antidote is prevention. If we fail to prevent it, if we participate, we might do well to cover our upper lip and cry “Contaminated!”

Throughout this week’s reading we learn how the cohen must examine the patient, or the clothing or the house, and if he finds the plague cleaned up, he pronounces the verdict tahor – “pure.” So let it be said of us.

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STRANGE FIRE – “Shmini” – Lev. 9-11 – by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Posted on April 15, 2015 by Baruch

STRANGE FIRE – “Shmini” – Lev. 9-11 – by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

This week, along with detailed instructions for offering sacrifices, we will read the story of the tragic and mystifying death of Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu. They were consumed by fire, we are told. But it was a fatal flash of fire from within, like a stroke of lightning. Their clothes were not burned. All this sudden shock took place because they brought to the Tabernacle a “strange fire,” rather than the holy flame they were expected to use. Why did this happen? And what lesson can we learn from the strange fire?

Our rabbis famously linked this episode to the very next message that Aaron receives from On High: “Drink no wine or liquor, neither you no your sons, when you enter the Tent of Meeting.” Did Nadab and Abihu dare to officiate while drunk? True, to this day, you might see Cohanim bless the people at a different time on Simhat Torah, doing so during the Shaharit morning service rather than during Musaf which comes after the Torah reading, since many congregations give a drink to each member who is called to the Torah to celebrate Simhat Torah. So perhaps Nadab and Abihu got careless because they were tipsy?

Another commentary charges them with insubordination. Looking at their father and their uncle as over-the-hill, they grumble “When will these old men die, so we can lead the people?” So perhaps their attitude prompted them to bring strange fire.

Variant opinions and questionable policies are sometimes cited as forms of Strange Fire. If officiants choose or change traditional standards of Jewish practice, are they jeopardizing themselves and their followers? Do they dilute religion with politics? Do they accept behavior prohibited by the Torah? Do they ask Divine blessing on interfaith ceremonies or on sexual perversion? Or do they condone breaking the Sabbath or eating pork? Some or all of these policies can be called Strange Fire.

While certainly such differences cause religious infighting among us, perhaps the bottom line is a matter of individual choice. But that choice must have a basis in knowledge, not what’s trendy but what’s true. What I know and believe is wrong, must be discarded as Strange Fire. What I know and believe is right, can be my way to true worship.

Nadab and Abihu still have a lot to teach us.

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IS G-D A MAN OF WAR? – “Song of the Sea” Ex.15 — by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Baruch

IS G-D A MAN OF WAR? – “Song of the Sea” Ex.15 — by Rabbi Baruch Cohon

Of all the Torah portions assigned to Passover, perhaps the most dramatic is scheduled for the Seventh Day, this Friday. Also probably the most familiar, since it is part of every morning’s prayers, it is the Song at the Sea – Shirat ha-yam – intoned by Moses and the Israelites on the shore of the Red Sea. That’s the far shore, the free shore, after they reach safety, and the pursuing Egyptian army doesn’t. As the Torah recounts, Moses split the sea, giving his people a path they could walk on.

However, the sea did not split so easily. Facing the danger of drowning, the people yelled at Moses: “Were there no graves in Egypt that you had to bring us here to die?” Desperate, Moses calls on G-d to help. He gets a curious answer: “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the people to go on!” Nobody moves, says our Midrash, until one man – Nachshon by name – sets foot in the water. He walks in, deeper and deeper, until the water reaches his chin and even wets his lips. And then suddenly the sea divides. The message? Take the lead, and with G-d’s help you can make things happen!

Once the people walk to freedom between walls of water, those walls then fall onto Pharaoh’s chariots and horsemen, submerging them. Impossible, you say? Just a few years ago, archeologists discovered something on the bottom of the Red Sea that added a new dimension to this miracle tale. They found the remains of gold covers from those ancient chariot wheels. The wooden wheels of the Egyptian chariots were long since decomposed, but the gold hubcaps survived!

Thrilled by their rescue, the men of Israel sang with Moses, and the women with Miriam: “I will sing to G-d for He triumphed gloriously!.. Horse and rider He threw in the sea… G-d is a man of war!”

Now wait a minute. We pray for peace in every service. The Priestly Benediction ends with the words “give you peace.” “Hello” in Hebrew is “shalom – peace.” How could Moses call G-d a man of war? Is that really what our faith is about?

Or do those words speak a warning? When a human force uses violence and perfidy to destroy selected victims, if that force cannot be contained or dealt with peacefully, will G-d inspire those potential victims to take action for themselves? Moses and Aaron tried negotiating with Pharaoh, time after time. Egypt had warnings, ten plagues in fact. But their policies did not change.

Why not? Maybe because Pharaoh saw how the Israelites multiplied. Arriving in Egypt with Jacob, they were 70 people. Over the course of 400 years of slavery, despite miserable living conditions, despite the royal order to the midwives to toss male Israelite babies in the Nile, by Moses’ time their birthrate produced 600,000 men of military age. Probably close to 2 million total population. Pharaoh’s answer? Genocide.

Facing genocide, whether from Pharaoh’s Egypt, Hitler’s Germany or – very possibly – Khamenei’s Iran, violent action may be a Divine imperative. Nachshon walked into the sea. Then G-d fought. Modern heroes dared danger to create the State of Israel which became a refuge for many Holocaust survivors. We needed more Nachshons then, and we need them now.

First comes victory. Then comes peace.

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