This week's Torah is a little long and very full. Go ahead and only read 1/2 this week and 1/2 next week. I will be away next week on a silent retreat and won't have access to a computer to write the "little Torah".
Sh'mita Update and Parashat Emor
Sh'mita (reminder this is the practice of letting the earth lie fallow - every seven years we are not allowed to contribute or gain from the land)
This year, starting August 8th, I took on a personal Sh'mita practice of not gaining from or contributing to the "economy" by refraining from purchasing any clothing, shoes, or jewelry. In general I have been able to keep this practice.
But, I have made some purchases and here they are:
1. In Morocco I purchased a rug, bracelet, 2 pairs of earrings and some ceramics (I did give some of the jewelry away as gifts which was already permitted. But kept the rug, a bracelet and a pair of earrings for myself). Justification: "When will I be back in Morocco?"
2. 1 pair of winter boots.
Justification: I actually needed a real pair of winter boots.
Over time it has definitely gotten easier. In fact, I rarely think about shopping. I am a little nervous about how I will react once the year is over. Will I maintain the practice? Will I end up purchasing more because the "restriction" the "commandment" has been lifted?
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Now for some TORAH
Parashat Emor
We are exploring Parashat Emor. It's a parasha of "CAN'Ts, DON'Ts and SHOULD NOTs. It's filled with a ton of laws around what Kohaniim(Priests) are not allowed to do, what their children are not allowed to do, what cannot be sacrificed, who cannot offer sacrifices and what to do with someone who "blasphemes" God. It might seem irrelevant, antiquated, tedious and perhaps boring. But, I encourage you to read it with an open heart reflecting on the following questions:
1. What is relevant about all of these laws, regulations, and rules?
2. Why would God condone the stoning/hanging of "one who blasphemes God"? Isn't it better to swear against God than another person? Or not?
3. How does this parasha relate to good and evil or rather good vs. evil?
Commentary on Leviticus 22:32
"You shall not profane My holy name, that I may be sanctified in the midst of the Israelite people-I Adonai who sanctify you."
v'nikdashti, "and I will be made holy" (by you)
P'sikta D'Rav Kahana (6 c.e.), one of the oldest collections of midrash and commentaries on the Torah. The P'siktateaches:
"You are My witnesses, says the Lord . . . that I am the One; before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be any after Me" (Isaiah 43:10). Thus said Shimon bar Yohai: "If you are my witnesses then I am the One, the first One, neither shall there be any after Me. But if you are not My witnesses, I am not, as it were, God." (P'sikta D'Rav Kahana, 12)
If you are not My witnesses, I am not, as it were, God."
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BACK TO LP: In the context of the Torah, our lives, our very existence as a people, are dependent on the actions of God. And here for this one shining moment, the Torah teaches us that God's Holiness, God's Presence in the world, is dependent upon us.
This is amazing!!! The only way God exists is if we say God exists! Can you appreciate the amount of power that is in our hands? Can you sense the tremendous level of vulnerability God is expressing (and experiencing) in this moment? No matter how many commandments, no matter if we observe them or not, God can only exist is we say God exists.
QUESTION for each of us to consider: How do we do this? How do we make God holy?
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Some additional commentary to explore: The first one is contemporary and the second is from Rashi.
1. Commentary by Professor Arnold M. Eisen on April 23, 2013 in Jewish Thought - there is an audio piece (about 10 min).
Click on this title and then click on "download": The Spirit of Jewish Leadership
Commentary by Professor Arnold M. Eisen on April 23, 2013 in Jewish Thought
"Two themes in this week’s Torah portion strike me with particular urgency and force: how Israelites should mourn the dead, and the qualifications required for the priesthood. These themes are important in any time or circumstance, and especially..."
2. What does Rashi have to say about the final verse?
| 23And Moses told [all this] to the children of Israel. So they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him, and the children of Israel did just as the Lord had commanded Moses. | כגוַיְדַבֵּר משֶׁה אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיּוֹצִיאוּ אֶת הַמְקַלֵּל אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה וַיִּרְגְּמוּ אֹתוֹ אָבֶן וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עָשׂוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהֹוָה אֶת משֶׁה: | |
| and the children of Israel did: the whole procedure of stoning, described elsewhere [in Scripture]-namely, “pushing” [him off a two-story building-see Rashi on Exod. 19:13 and Sanh. 45a] the actual “stoning” and “hanging” [him afterwards on a pole, taking him down before nightfall and burying him then-see Deut. 21:22-23 and Rashi there]. — [Torath Kohanim 24:252] | ובני ישראל עשו: כל המצוה האמורה בסקילה במקום אחר דחייה, רגימה ותלייה: |
If you are interested in reading more Rashi: go to chabad.org, click on weekly Torah portion, look to the far left and click on "all parashas", click on "Emor" and then click "show Rashi's commentary"
And feel free to "google" - "commentary Parashat Emor" to explore even more.
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