Hindsight Is 2020: Torah Lessons from a Turbulent Time

By Rabbi Margie Cella

In the field of biblical commentary, Hindsight Is 2020 offers both traditional and contemporary perspectives. Over

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bold Story Press
• Release date: Nov 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9781954805552

Rabbi Margie Cella

Rabbi Margie Cella received rabbinic ordination and an MA degree in Bible from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2019 after retiring from her first career as a high school mathematics teacher. Rabbi Cella is a member of the Rabbinical Assembly and the New York Board of Rabbis. She is currently the rabbi of the Jewish Center of the Moriches in Center Moriches, NY, as well as an educator for the Women's League for Conservative Judaism. This is Rabbi Cella's first book, reflecting her love of biblical exegesis and her desire to inspire others to delve into the mysteries of the Torah. She lives in Port Jefferson Station, NY, where she and her husband, Raymond, are surrounded by the love of their children and grandchildren.

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BOOK 1

Vayikra, Bamidbar, Devarim

Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

BOOK OF VAYIKRA

Parashat Vayikra

FIRST ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 1:1–13

SUNDAY, MARCH 22, 2020

The Little Aleph that Could

Today, we begin the study of the Torah with the book of Vayikra. In this first aliyah, I would like to focus on just the first word of the text, Vayikra, and He [God] called. In the Torah, this word is written with the final letter, an aleph, smaller than the others. Whoa! What’s that all about?

Since nothing in the Torah is deemed as accidental, the rabbis go to great lengths to explain the letter’s diminutive size. A midrash is told by the medieval commentator R. Yaakov ben Raash, also known as the Ba’al haTurim: Moses, being both great and humble, had a disagreement with God when writing down the Torah.¹ He wanted to write the word as vayikar, without the aleph on the end. In this form, the relationship implied is much more casual and one-sided, such as in God speaking to someone in a dream, as He did with the non-Jewish prophet Balaam (see Numbers 22–24). Moses intended to put himself on the same level as Balaam! God disagreed with him. The word vayikra, with the aleph on the end, implies a closer, more intimate relationship of two-sided communication. By calling out to Moses, God’s desire was for him to enter the completed mishkan (tabernacle) and into communion with the Divine. God told Moses to write the aleph. Moses deferred to God but said that he would do so only if he could write it smaller than all the other letters. So, they compromised . . .

That little aleph causes us to stop and pause and look harder in order to be able to see it. It requires a conscious effort on our part. That small aleph, like the still small voice of God, calls out to each and every one of us to enter into communion with the Divine through the tent of Torah. God will meet us there.

As we embark on this study of the Torah, I encourage you to read the text each day—in Hebrew if you can, in English if you’re more comfortable with that. And let it speak to you. Ask questions, seek out answers. No matter what level we ourselves may think we’re at, God elevates us to the level of a partner. But we must answer the call.

SECOND ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 1:14–2:6

MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2020

Opening the Lines of Communication

Here in the book of Leviticus we learn about the requirements for the various types of sacrifices: who brings them, what they bring, how the item is sacrificed. The second half of this aliyah lays out the specifics of the meal offering, which is given freely, usually as an expression of gratitude to God. Since it was comprised of cakes or wafers made from fine flour and oil, rather than an animal sacrifice, it was the type of sacrifice offered most frequently by the person of lesser means.

What is noticeable here is the unusual Hebrew word used to denote the person who brings this sacrifice. Instead of the more common adam or ish, the word used here is nefesh [1:1]. This word is more frequently translated as soul, that part of our being which is separate from our physical self, that is the essence of who we are, and that we hope lives on after death. Frequently throughout the book of Leviticus it is used to refer to the one who brings a sacrifice, as we see here. Why?

For our ancestors, sacrifices were offered as an opportunity to draw close to God. Though this concept may seem strange to our modern sensitivities, the desire to connect with the Divine is no less important to us today when we have replaced sacrifices with prayer.

Prayer may come in the form of the prescribed prayers we find in the siddur, or personal thoughts and feelings. At times, you may feel more comfortable with the former, other times with the latter or sometimes you may want to combine the two. The method isn’t important. What is important is finding the time to reach out to God to find that closeness. Allow your neshama to commune with its Creator. In these trying times, we all need to feel the nourishment provided to our souls that comes with opening these lines of communication.

THIRD ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 2:7–16

TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2021

What’s That Buzz?

In the beginning of today’s reading, we are still receiving instructions about the meal offering: "If your offering is a meal offering in a pan [marcheshet], it shall be made of choice flour in oil." [2:7]

This word, marcheshet, translated as in a pan, is an unusual word that appears only this one time in the entire Tanakh. Rashi, our most famous medieval commentator, says that, because this pan was deep, the oil in it was also deep and thus the pan would not be burned by the fire. Therefore, the meal offerings made in it were creeping [elastic] . . . seeming to move . . .²

Ibn Ezra, a Spanish commentator who was a little later than Rashi, in describing this word marcheshet, which he translates as braised or fried, says that this kind of cooking is very noisy, connecting it to the word rachash in this verse from Psalms: "My heart is astir [abuzz—rachash] with gracious words; I speak my poem to a king; my tongue is the pen of an expert scribe." [Psalm 45:2]

If we look at these ideas in the context of the neshama reaching out for a connection to the Divine that I discussed yesterday, they take on new meaning. Our relationships with God should be elastic and flexible; like the meal offering, they should move, change, when touched by the situations we encounter in our daily lives. When we are sad or anxious, as I’m sure many of us are now, we need to be able to pour out our hearts to God. Often when I pray with patients in the hospital, I ask that God give them the strength to deal with whatever lies ahead. None of us really knows what the future will bring, but we can look to God for strength and sustenance.

On the other hand, there may be times (and God-willing there will be many more of these to come) when our hearts will be abuzz, eager to rejoice in our relationship with God. May God sustain us all in these difficult days and bring us to a happier time, a time of rejoicing.

FOURTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 3:1–17

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2020

God is on the Guest List

This section of Vayikra is the first place in which we read about the zevach shlachim, translated here as sacrifice of well-being [3:1] or in other places as a peace offering. We see several things about this sacrifice from our reading:

•the animal sacrificed could be a cow, a sheep, or a goat [3:1, 6, 12]

•the one who brought the offering participated in the slaughter of the animal [3:2, 8, 13]

•the blood of the animal was not consumed; rather, the priests dashed it on the altar [3:2, 8, 13]

•only specific parts of the animal (the fat, the kidneys, and the protuberance on the liver) were burned on the altar. This was designated as God’s portion [3:3–4, 9, 14–15].

What we will learn later is that only certain parts of the animal (the breast and right shoulder) were designated for the priests. The rest of the animal was designated for the one who brought it, along with his family and any guests he chose to invite.

Sacrificing animals seems strange and cruel to our modern way of thinking, and that is really another discussion for another time.

The point I want to make here is that these sacrifices were offered in times of gratitude and happiness. They were joyous occasions when the entire extended family and their guests sat down together for a giant celebratory meal, often accompanied by wine. The word shlamim [3:3] really means whole or complete. These joyous family celebrations included God on the guest list.

This year, many of us are scrambling to figure out what to do about our Pesach seders. In a time that dictates social distancing, we are saddened to think that we can only sit down to the table with the members of our immediate households, that our usual guest list of twenty to thirty people will this year perhaps be only two to four. The question, How is this night different from all other nights? takes on a new and bittersweet meaning. But let us remember that even though our guest lists may be small this year, God is still on the list. We can still celebrate the deliverance from Egypt as we pray for a deliverance from COVID-19.

May we all be blessed with the possibility afforded us this year to share our seders in the intimacy of our relationship with the Divine.

FIFTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 4:1–26

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2020

Every Day is Like—Yom Kippur?

In this reading, we again encounter the use of the word nefesh to refer to a person [4:2]. Here the person has committed some transgression that will require him/her to bring a sacrifice. The Hebrew phrase is ki techeta, translated as if a soul will sin. In fact, the word ki doesn’t always mean if. Often, it translates as when. I believe that is the case here—not if, but when. When a soul will sin. The implication is that falling short of God’s expectations is inevitable. Not only that but the sin committed here also occurred without the soul being aware of it. It reminds me of that line in the al chet prayer that we recite on Yom Kippur listing all the sins of which we may have been guilty in the previous year: for the sins that we have committed both knowingly and unknowingly.

But what exactly is a chet? Though the word is usually translated as sin, I prefer to think of it as falling short of expectations, of disappointing the other party.

The point is this, we do fall short of what God expects of us, sometimes without even being aware that we are doing so. We can’t help ourselves. And when we do, it puts a strain on the relationship between us and the Divine. The nefesh that longs to be close to God now must work to repair the damage it has caused.

For our ancestors, the way back was through sacrifice, through a sin offering. Even the priests—including the high priest, the Cohen Gadol—had to bring an offering when they sinned. For us today, the way back is through teshuvah, acknowledging our guilt, asking God’s forgiveness, and working to make ourselves better.

Sounds like Yom Kippur, you say? In fact, the weekday morning Amidah includes the following two brachot:

Our Father, bring us back to Your Torah. Our King, draw us near to Your service. Lead us back to You, truly repentant. Praised are You, Lord who welcomes repentance.

Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned; pardon us, our King, for we have transgressed, for You forgive and pardon. Praised are You, gracious and forgiving Lord.

So, just as our ancestors did not have to wait until Yom Kippur to bring their sin offerings, we also do not have to wait to repair our relationship with the Divine. Six days a week we can do teshuvah, and on the seventh day our nefesh can draw near once again to the God with whom we have reconciled.

SIXTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 4:27–5:10

FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 2020

Don’t Put Off Until Tomorrow What You Can Do Today

The second half of today’s reading, beginning with chapter five, outlines the circumstances which obligate a person (again, nefesh) to bring a female sheep or goat as a sin offering: failing to testify after witnessing something, touching anything or anyone that is unclean, uttering an oath and not fulfilling it [5:1–6]. Reading further, we see that if (s)he does not have the means to bring either of these animals, (s)he is to bring two turtledoves or two pigeons [5:7]. Still later, we read that if (s)he cannot even afford the two birds, (s)he is to bring a tenth of an ephah of choice flour [5:10].

The nineteenth century commentator Solomon Kimhi said that if a person does not have the financial means to bring an animal, . . . he is not to borrow the money or work at his trade to acquire it. In fact, even if he has a sheep but does not have the money for travel expenses [since the sacrifice had to be offered at the Temple in Jerusalem], he is to bring a less expensive offering.³ God does not expect us to go beyond what we can afford in order to perform a mitzvah; the seder plate that costs $10 serves the same function as the seder plate that costs $500, as long as both have the six spots allotted for the six required items.

Writing six hundred years earlier in the thirteenth century, Hizkuni said that there is an additional explanation, saying that the priority should be to observe a mitzvah at its proper time, even if waiting would allow one to fulfill it at greater expense.³ In other words, we should not put off observing a mitzvah, even if it means that doing it now will be under simpler, less-than-ideal circumstances.

When I read this, I thought of Pesach Sheni, or second Passover. This event, described in the book of Numbers (9:5–13) originated on the first anniversary of the original Passover as our ancestors wandered the desert. A number of men who had become unclean through contact with a dead body were excluded from observing the Pesach offering and came to complain to Moses. As a result, God decreed that from then on anyone who found himself unable to observe Pesach, either because of a state of impurity or absence due to a long journey, could observe Passover one month later. This is the ultimate second chance. But God also stipulated that any person who could observe Passover at its prescribed time in the month of Nisan—who was not unclean or on a journey but nevertheless neglected to observe it at its appointed time—was guilty of sin and was to be cut off from the nation.

So, why was I thinking about this? Several weeks ago, it became clear that Pesach would be a very different experience for all of us this year, that we would not be able to hold the large gatherings so many of us are accustomed to. As such, a number of rabbis in an online discussion group that I participate in suggested that perhaps this would be a situation that justified observing Pesach Sheni. The thought of Passover in May does sound tempting. After much debating back and forth, however, everyone agreed that the bottom line was that there is no justification for postponing the seders. Yes, we must make adjustments. No, they will not be as festive and joyous as the seders we have become accustomed to. But, so long as we are here and able to celebrate the holiday in a timely, albeit reduced fashion, we have every reason to do so.

May we all be blessed to have meaningful seders in these very trying times.

SEVENTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 5:11–26

WRITTEN FOR SHABBAT, SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2020

Visiting the Lost and Found

During my first semester studying in Rabbinical School at the Jewish Theological Seminary, after having just retired from a thirty-year teaching career only three months earlier, I often felt overwhelmed by the magnitude of all of the major life changes I had experienced that year, as well as by a five-hour round-trip daily commute to Manhattan via the Long Island Rail Road and the New York City Subway System (not to mention all of the awesome learning I was experiencing). One night, lost in thought on my way home, I got off the train at the last stop only to realize as the train pulled away that I had left my backpack behind. It contained my iPad that had all my class notes on it, as well as my tallit and tefilin. I was devastated. Calls to the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) brought the discouraging news that I would have to wait at least three to four days before I could even inquire at the railroad’s lost and found about the bag—about which they were not very optimistic that I would get it back. Those few days seemed endless. When I finally was able to go and ask, I was relieved not only to retrieve the backpack, but to find that only some wire phone and iPad chargers had been stolen. All of the important things were still there.

In discussing the sin offerings in today’s reading, we find here a list containing a number of sins that are defined as a trespass against the Lord and yet in reality are distinctly sins that have human victims [5:21–22]: deceiving someone, robbery, defrauding someone, finding something lost and lying about it, and swearing falsely about having committed any of these transgressions.

The rabbis of the Talmud went to great lengths to define the parameters of the mitzvah of returning a lost object, including the answers to some of the following questions: To what extremes must a person go in order to find the owner? At what point may one take ownership of it? Are we equally obligated to return the lost property of both our friend and our enemy?

As a fitting end to our first week of studying Torah together, I would like to quote from my teacher, Rabbi Danny Nevins, [now former] Dean of the JTS Rabbinical School, who wrote in his commentary The Jewish Lost and Found on Parashat Ki Tetzei in August 2010:

. . . What is the most valuable property of the Jewish people? Is it not the Torah itself, which is called the inheritance of Jacob’s congregation (Deut. 33:5)? The Torah, which belongs to all of us, is nevertheless a lost inheritance for most Jews . . . The Hasidic author Sefat Emet said that every day a heavenly voice announces that a valuable lost object—the Torah—has been found and is waiting to be claimed . . . On Shabbat, the Jewish soul remembers that it is missing something, and it goes to seek . . . the Torah and study it . . .⁴

In these days when we are denied the possibility of hearing the Torah portion chanted and studying it together on Shabbat morning, may we each find the opportunity to reclaim our lost heritage by studying on our own.

I hope that you have found some meaning in these words of Torah I have shared with you this week. May we continue to nourish our souls by reclaiming that which may have been lost to us.

Parashat Tzav

FIRST ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 6:1–11

SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2020

Keeping the Home Fire Burning

In this section, we read about the laws of the burnt offering, which was to be totally consumed on the altar. What caught my attention is the fact that in the first six verses of this reading, we are told three times [6:2, 5–6] that the fire on the sacrificial altar was to be a perpetual fire, never to be extinguished. This commandment, repeated three times in close proximity, appears nowhere else in the entire Tanakh. Surely there is a message there.

Was it really meant to be perpetual? Rashbam (grandson of Rashi) says that what is meant is that the fire burned by night and day alike.¹ The Ramban says that the meaning was that the fire should not be allowed to go out at all.² The Tur says that this fire must be kept going on a year-round basis.³ Chizkuni not only says that the implication is that the fire should be kept burning every day, even on Shabbat, he also says that even while the people of Israel traveled through the desert, they were required to take precautions to ensure that this flame be kept going.⁴ Pirkei de Rabbi Eliezer cites a midrash which states that this fire began the year after we left Egypt, and burned continually for one hundred sixteen years, thirty-nine years in the wilderness and an additional seventy-seven in Eretz Israel!⁵

So, indeed we are to believe that this was a perpetual fire, maintained through years of traveling in the desert and beyond. Why is it important that we hold this belief?

Abarbanel makes a beautiful comparison between these three mentions of the perpetual fire and the three daily services, shacharit (morning), minchah (afternoon), and maariv (evening). He says that . . . the love of God that impels one to pray burns like a flame.⁶

This means that for us today the responsibility to keep the flame burning rests with us. The fire that leads us to reach out to God in prayer should burn in our hearts perpetually. And reaching out to God in prayer is so important to sustaining our daily existence, quite possibly more so now than ever before.

SECOND ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 6:12–7:10

MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2020

Not Just Holy—Most Holy

The phrase kodesh kodeshim hi (it is most holy) is used to describe either the various types of sacrifices or those who offer them on the altar (i.e., the priests, Aaron, and his descendants). It appears twelve times in the Tanakh, all but one of them in the Torah. Of these, ten are found in the book of Leviticus with four of them appearing in today’s reading [6:18, 22; 7:1,6]. The first two refer to the sin offering, and the third and fourth to the guilt offering.

All of this tells us how much God values our repentance, our teshuvah. Indeed, the fifteenth century commentator Abarbanel says that the guilt offering, like the sin offering, is called most holy because it honors those who have sinned and then repented. This, he says, is a higher level of spirituality than one who is completely righteous.⁷ Sin causes a rift in our relationship with the Divine. For our biblical ancestors, the way to repair that rift was through the offering of a sacrifice. For us today, prayer—sincere, honest heart-felt prayer—is the way back to God. And we need to remember that this prayer is most holy. Yes, a life of mitzvot is important, but it is only meaningful when it is part of an open and honest relationship with God that involves ongoing communication.

THIRD ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 7:11–38

TUESDAY, MARCH 31, 2020

God is Here, God is There, God is Truly Everywhere

This passage talks about the laws of the sacrifice of well-being as well as the elevation offering. I would like to look at the tenufah, the wave offering (which is sometimes referred to as an elevation offering). Both translations are accepted, as both actions were part of the priests’ actions as they presented this offering: they both waved it and elevated it, as explained in these two Talmudic texts:

How does one perform this waving? He places the two loaves on top of the two lambs and places his two hands below the loaves and the lambs, extends the offerings to each of the four directions and brings them back, then raises and lowers them . . . [BT Menachot 61A:7]*

. . . the two lambs are waved in the following manner: The priest places his two hands below the lambs, extends them to each of the four directions and brings them back, then raises and lowers them . . . He extends the lambs and brings them back in order to dedicate them to He to Whom the four directions belong. He raises and lowers them in order to dedicate them to He to Whom the heavens and the earth belong. [BT Menachot 62A:14]

The sacrifice is waved in all four directions—east, south, west, and north—then lifted up and lowered down. In doing so, the priest acknowledges the One who is responsible for all our blessings, and Whose presence fills the world all around us and above us and below us.

Does this sound familiar? Indeed, the text of Menachot goes on to explain that one should perform the same actions with a lulav on Sukkot, and for the same reasons. [BT Menachot 62A:16]

This beautiful, ancient ritual that we still perform in the same way today on the Festival of Sukkot is not just a meaningless exercise of hocus-pocus. Rather, like the wave offering, it is meant to acknowledge the transcendent and yet present God with gratitude for all the blessings that we have received.

May we be privileged to wave our lulavim together once more this coming October. That would truly be a joyous celebration.

FOURTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 8:1–13

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2020

I’ll Meet You Halfway

Now that we have learned all the laws of the various types of sacrifices, we read in today’s aliyah how Moses anointed Aaron and his sons to serve as the priests who would serve the religious needs of the community, bringing the various sacrifices to the altar to be offered to God on behalf of the people. After ritually washing his brother to serve as high priest, Moses adorns him in his priestly garments in preparation for his holy task.

Okay, so are you ready for a little Trivial Pursuit, category Torah? Here’s the question: How many verses are there in the Torah? Answer: Well, that depends.

According to the Masoretic text of the Torah, the sum of the verses of the Torah is 5,845.⁸

But according to the Talmud, there are 5,888 verses. [BT Kiddushin 30A:14]

How can there be such a discrepancy? According to R. Yehudah Epstein, there are eight verses from the Torah that are quoted in the Psalms [therefore making them not really new verses] and thirty-five such verses in the books of Chronicles. 8+35=43, and adding forty-three to the original 5,845, we get a total of 5,888!⁹

Further, half of 5,888 yields 2,944.

So, why do I ask about this? Because the Masoretic text of the Torah contains this comment on verse 8 of today’s reading: Half of the Torah in verses.¹⁰ That would mean that this verse is the 2,944th verse of the Torah, the end of the first half. Also, this verse and the next verse [8:9] together are the middle of the Torah in verses. When we think of the middle of something, we think of a climax of sorts, an apex. And what do we find being described in these two verses?

Moses is placing on his brother Aaron the two most important parts of the garments of the High Priest: the breastplate containing the Urim and Thummim, and the headdress that contains the words, Holy to God. The Urim and Thummim were used to discern the will of God, and the headdress served to remind God that the people were holy.

So, in a way, we could say that the center of the Torah represents the place where the Divine and the human come together in the most holy of relationships.

Today, we have no high priest to intercede on our behalf. Today, each one of us is called upon to remind God that we are holy, and, as such, we daily seek Divine guidance to help us navigate the world and all the confusing circumstances that present themselves to us.

FIFTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 8:14–21

THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2020

Time to De-Sin?

Now that we have learned the laws of all the sacrifices, it is time for Aaron and his sons to be consecrated for the sacred task they have been chosen by God to fulfill for the nation, serving as the priests who will offer up all the people’s sacrifices on the altar. As a first step, a bull is brought as a sin offering. The priests must cleanse themselves of their own sins before they can offer the sacrifices for anyone else. Why a bull? Remember that it was Aaron who helped the nation build the golden calf. Through the offering of this bull, he will be reminded that it is his job to help lead the people to, not away from God. Not even the Cohen Gadol, the high priest, is above sinning. This par hachatat, bull of sin offering, is mentioned twice in verse 14. Notice the word chet, sin, embedded in this phrase.

But it was not only the priests who needed to be consecrated. We see in verse 15 that the blood from the bull was used to cleanse the altar. The altar itself on which the sacrifices would be offered needed to be consecrated before it could serve its sacred purpose. Let’s examine the word vayecheta, translated here as cleanse. Notice that this word, too, has the root word chet, sin, contained in it, meaning that it is closely related to the concept of sin! (For those who understand biblical Hebrew verb forms, this is the pi’el form of the verb.) This verb literally means to de-sin. In other words, remove sin.

Personally, I love that there is this connection between the words. The message for us today? If we wish to approach God for a closer relationship, we need to de-sin ourselves—find the areas of our lives in which we are falling short, or missing the mark, and work to change them.

This is a very difficult time for us all, for ourselves, our families, our congregations, our country, and the world. May we take advantage of the time and opportunity that has been granted to us to slow down, examine our lives, de-sin, and experience a renewed and deepened closeness to our Creator.

SIXTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 8:22–29

FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2020

He Who Hesitates

Today’s reading continues the description of the ceremony in which Moses ordains his brother Aaron and his sons to serve as the priests who would oversee the sacrifices and the religious life of the nation. Moses slaughters the ram of ordination then smears its blood on three parts of Aaron’s body: his right earlobe, his right thumb, and his right big toe. Ibn Ezra explains that the thumb and the big toe are the prominent digits on their respective limbs, and as such represent the essence of action, which must now be subjugated to the will of God; the ear is a reminder to hear that which is commanded by God.¹¹ The priests must be the exemplars of holy behavior to the rest of the people.

There is an unusual trope note on the first word of verse 23, vayishchat (and he slaughtered), which resembles a lightning bolt. This note, called a shalshelet, consists of three cycles of about five notes up and five more back down. There is no mistaking it when you hear it; the repeated up and down quivering implies some hesitation taking place in the narrative. There are only four places where this note is found in the entire Torah (three times in Genesis, and this one time here in Leviticus). These are the three characters in Genesis who appear to hesitate:

•Lot and his wife were reluctant to follow the angel’s instructions and leave the city of Sodom before God destroyed it because of the immorality of its inhabitants. [ Genesis 19:16 ]

•Abraham’s servant Eliezer asked God to make his mission to find a wife for Isaac successful; some believe that he secretly hoped that Isaac would marry his own daughter. [ Genesis 24:12 ]

•When Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce Joseph, he refused her advances; but apparently, he had been seriously tempted by her. [ Genesis 39:8 ]

So, what then, you may be wondering, is the hesitation in our situation? Moses is anointing his brother Aaron to serve as the High Priest. After everything that he himself has done for the nation, including receiving the Torah from God and disseminating it to the people, it would be natural for him to experience some element of jealousy here. Why, he might have wondered, had God chosen Aaron as High Priest and not himself? And yet, when God instructed Moses to anoint his brother as the High Priest, he did so, despite any personal misgivings he might have had.

So, the message is this: when God asks us to do something, whatever it is, do it without hesitation.

Torah trivia with a message.

SEVENTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 8:30–36

WRITTEN FOR SHABBAT, SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2020

Sheltering in Place

After finally completing the process of the ordination of Aaron and his sons, Moses instructs them that they are to remain at the entrance to the tent of meeting (Tabernacle) for seven days before their ordination is complete. In verse 35, he commands them that they remain at the entrance to the Tabernacle day and night for seven days . . . in order that they may not die. Now that they have been purified, they must not directly encounter the outside world; they cannot risk coming into contact with any impure thing. Abarbanel says that Moses . . . may have been hinting to them here that leaving the sacred enclosure to bring fire from outside it would entail death . . .¹² In other words, Moses instructs the cohenim to shelter in place! Though their confinement was only for seven days, the analogy to our current situation is unmistakable: leaving the confines of the Tabernacle could possibly expose them to something dangerous and lethal, something that could cause their death.

The last verse of the parashah tells us that they did indeed comply with God’s wishes as they were transmitted to them through Moses (at least for now, as we shall see a decidedly different incident in the next parashah).

Today, we have all been ordered to shelter in place. Indeed, going into the outside world could potentially expose us to something very dangerous, possibly leading even to death. This instruction has been enjoined upon us by our political leaders, but also by our religious authorities.

Shabbat is here. We cannot go to synagogue to hear the Torah reading or the rabbi’s sermon, or the cantor’s beautiful davening. But we can daven at home, study the parashah alone or with family members, enjoy the company of our loved ones, and use the time to draw closer to God. Let us take advantage of this most auspicious opportunity which has been offered to us in these days of uncertainty and worry.

---

* See note page 609

Parashat Shemini

FIRST ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 9:1–16

SUNDAY, APRIL 5, 2020

Who Knows Eight? I Know Eight . . .

This parashah, Shemini, which means eighth is the only parashah that includes a number in the name. The opening verse tells us that the action takes place on the eighth day. We may wonder, eighth day of what? We need to look back to the end of the last parashah, Tzav, for the answer. It left off with the story of the ordination of Aaron and his sons as the priests of the nation. After all the sacrifices had been completed, Moses instructed them to remain inside the door of the Tent of Meeting for seven days. So, our parashah opens on the eighth day of the ordination process. In terms of the calendar, most commentators believe that the actual date was the first of Nisan. The Baal HaTurim even uses some gematria (Hebrew numerology in which each letter is assigned a numerical value) to prove this.¹ He says that the phrase hashmini kara Moses, "[on] the eighth [day] Moses called," has a gematria of 1,061.

And the phrase hayah bayom rosh chodesh Nisan, (it) was on the first day of Nisan, also has a gematria of 1,061!

Michael Carasik points out that the first of Nisan is considered by some to be the date of the creation of the world, and, he says, the inauguration of the Tabernacle is considered a new stage of creation.²

The number eight is significant in our tradition. While seven may be the number that represents completeness, wholeness, eight is the number that stands for continuity. Probably the most well-known eight in Judaism is that a baby boy is circumcised on his eighth day of life and brought into the covenant. In much the same way, the priests here begin to serve in their holy capacity on the eighth day of the ordination ceremony.

Probably the second most well-known eight in our tradition is the eight days of Chanukah. The eighth day of the holiday celebrates the idea that the one cruse of holy oil that should have lasted only one day lasted instead for eight days—until new oil could be made. It also celebrates the unlikely victory of the Maccabees over the Syrians, and the rededication of the Temple that took eight days, just like the original dedication in Solomon’s time. Both elements of the story assured our survival as a people.

Probably the next most well-known eight in our tradition is the eight strings of tzitzit on each corner of a tallit. The tzitzit remind us of the commandments of God, the observance of which is the foundation of our religious lives.

Other eights in Judaism include: the Cohen Gadol, High Priest, wore eight garments when serving in his ritual capacity; animals in biblical times had to remain with their mother eight days before they could be offered as a sacrifice; following the holiday of Sukkot, we have the one-day holiday of Shemini Atzeret, the Eighth Day of Assembly; and, finally, and perhaps most timely and relevant for those of us living in the diaspora, the holiday of Pesach is eight days long.

As we enter this eight-day celebration, which will be far different this year than any other year that any of us can remember, may our commitment to our relationship with God be renewed. May we all find a new strength to guide us through our new reality and beyond.

SECOND ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 9:17–23

MONDAY, APRIL 6, 2020

Live Long and Prosper

³

Now that Aaron and his sons have been initiated, the altar and the Tabernacle itself must be initiated as the ritual center of the nation. After offering several more sacrifices, we are told that Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. [9:22] What was this blessing? Rashi says that this was what we know today as the priestly blessing, the birkat Cohenim, found in the book of Numbers:⁴

(24) The LORD bless you and protect you! (25) The LORD deal kindly and graciously with you! (26) The LORD bestow His favor upon you and grant you peace! [Numbers 6:24–26]

Indeed, this is the blessing chanted by the Cohenim on every holiday. During this mystical experience, those of us in the congregation avert our eyes and/or cover our heads with our tallitot. We do not look upon the hands of the cohenim as they extend God’s blessing to us. This ancient ritual has been handed down to us over the centuries. According to Rashi and other commentators, this incident in our parashah at the dedication of the Tabernacle was the very first time that the cohenim blessed us in this fashion.

Today, this blessing is incorporated into the blessing that parents give to their children on Friday nights and other special occasions. Rabbis also use these words to give their blessings on special occasions. If you have ever been on the receiving end of such a blessing, it can be a truly awesome experience.

We can only begin to imagine how it must have felt for the nation of Israel, poised at the entrance of the Tabernacle, waiting for the presence of God to come and fill the space, to be the first recipients of this blessing.

THIRD ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 9:24–10:11

SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2020

Curb Your Enthusiasm

⁵

Today’s reading contains perhaps one of the most discussed and disturbing incidents in the Torah. After the construction and dedication of the Tabernacle, and seven days of ordination of Aaron and his four sons to the priesthood, and all the sacrifices, the entire nation now gathered expectantly, waiting for the presence of God to fill the holy space. In what was surely an awe-inspiring moment, fire came forth from God and consumed the parts of the sacrifice that were on the altar. This happened in the first verse of the reading: "Fire came forth from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar . . ." [9:24]

The next two verses go on to describe how Nadav and Avihu, Aaron’s two oldest sons, were so carried away with the moment that they put alien fire in their incense pans to offer to God. However, something went horribly wrong, and, using exactly the same language as the first verse, the Torah tells us that they, too, were consumed by the fire that came forth from God! "And fire came forth from the LORD and consumed them . . ." [10:2]

This leaves us with many questions, the biggest and most obvious of which is Why? What did they do wrong? How could God punish them for being over-zealous? And why this day and time of all times?

These questions and many more have been debated by the rabbis and commentators for centuries. Many different explanations have been offered as suggestions for the reason why God took their lives at all, and especially in such a shocking way. Here are some of them:

•Plain and simple, they were disobedient. They brought alien fire that God had not commanded.

•They were drunk. A priest should never be drunk when administering sacrifices. [ Rashi ] ⁶

•They had refused to have children, thus spurning the primary commandment given by God, pru ur’vu (be fruitful and multiply ). [ BT Yevamot 64A:2 ]

•They showed disrespect for Moses and Aaron. Walking behind them one day, they said to each other, When will these two old men die so that we can take over? [ BT Sanhedrin 52A:11 ]

•They made a halachic decision in the presence of Moses regarding the sacrifices. [ Rashi ⁷ and BT Eruvin 63A:15 and Yoma 53A:20]

•They acted on impulse, seeking the advice of no one—not Moses, not Aaron, not even each other.

The Baal HaTurim, citing the word otam (them) spelled here with a vav (whose numerical value is six), says that they actually were guilty of all six of these infractions!⁸

Rashbam says that they brought their firepans at the exact same moment that the fire came forth from God to consume the sacrifices on the altar, and simply got caught in the middle—literally the line of fire.⁹ The support for this argument is that the language is identical.

Even if any or all of these were so, we may still say, isn’t God’s reaction here a bit extreme? We struggle to make sense of this story to this day. Perhaps the best answer is to acknowledge the fact that, since the sages themselves have offered so many varied and contradictory explanations, we know that they, too, struggled to reconcile this story with the image that they had of a just and loving God. If the greatest minds from the Talmudic period until today have not been able to sufficiently explain the rationale for God’s actions here, then we, like them, must continue to wrestle with the text.

Perhaps, then, like the Haggadah that we just read this past week, that is the real point: to cause us to pause and to take note—and to ask the questions—even though there may be no satisfactory answers.

FOURTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 10:12–15

MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2020

Holier Than Thou

In this very short reading, Moses gives instructions to Aaron about how he and his two remaining sons, Eleazar and Itamar are to behave in the aftermath of the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, beginning with the very first verse: "Moses spoke to Aaron and to his remaining sons, Eleazar and Ithamar: Take the meal offering that is left over from [Adonai’s] offerings by fire and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy." [10:12]

We see here that the same Hebrew word, notar, is used to describe both Aaron’s remaining sons, and the meal offering that is left over.

In a very chilling moment, we realize the comparison: Elazar and Itamar are the sons who were spared by the consuming fire of God, just as the part of the offering that the priests are now instructed to eat is also the part that was spared by the consuming fire of God. Following this analogy, we see that the meal offering is declared by Moses to be most holy. By inference, then, Aaron, the nation, and we the readers all know that Elazar and Itamar (and their descendants) are also most holy to God. Their priesthood has been confirmed for all time.

FIFTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 10:16–20

TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2020

The Heart of the Matter

Okay, so first off, a little more Torah trivia. In Parashat Tzav, we had the middle verse of the Torah; in the first verse of today’s reading, we have the middle two words of the Torah: Then Moses inquired about the goat of sin offering, and it had already been burned! He was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s remaining sons . . . [10:16]

The two middle words of this verse are darosh darash ([he] surely sought). Since the sefer Torah is written without vowels, they appear identical in the scroll, thereby setting up a kind of mirror image in the middle of the scroll. The Hebrew root ד-ר-ש can sometimes mean to teach or to preach, as in someone giving a drashah. Here, however, it has another meaning: to ask or more precisely, to demand. The first word, darosh, is an infinitive construct form of the verb, making the verb emphatic, as in the word surely. The second word, darash, is a simple past tense form of the verb he asked or he demanded. This two-word phrase has sometimes been translated as [he] diligently sought or [he] inquired insistently. Most translations, unfortunately, ignore the emphasis of the first word altogether, simply translating the phrase as [he] inquired or [he] asked.

The early eighteenth century commentator Or HaChaim has a different translation.¹³ He says that the phrase indicates that Moses kept on asking. He goes on to explain that Moses had not yet decided what the halakha was regarding the three sacrificial goats he was inquiring about, that the repetition of the words is an indication that there were two possible halachic rulings that could have been made in this case.

This reminds me of how our Law Committee (CJLS, Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, the deciding halachic body for Conservative Judaism) functions today. Sometimes there are two different ways of interpreting halacha. Tshuvot are presented, discussed, and voted on. A majority opinion is recognized as the accepted ruling, but sometimes a minority opinion receives enough votes and support to be recognized as also acceptable. This is clearly an oversimplification of the process, but my point is that halachah is an ever-evolving process, beginning with Moses and continuing to our day. May it continue to be a vibrant force, leading us to ask, to learn, to study, and to continue to commit ourselves to lives of mitzvot as proud Conservative Jews.

SIXTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 11:1–32

FRIDAY, APRIL 17, 2020

To Your Health!

This chapter of the book of Leviticus is one of two places in the Torah where we find the laws concerning which animals we may and may not eat:

•Beasts (or land animals) must have hooves that are cleft all the way through and must chew their cud (digest their food partially, regurgitate it, then digest it further) [11:3]

•Just in case we have any doubts, we are told which are the only four animals that do only one of these things and not the other: the camel, the daman, and the hare (chew their cud but don’t have split hooves), and the pig (has split hooves, but does not chew its cud). These are not to be eaten [11:4–7].

•Water animals must have both fins and scales [11:9–10].

•Birds are not defined by their characteristics, rather we are given a list of the birds we cannot eat: the eagle, vulture, black vulture, kite, falcons, ravens, ostrich, nighthawk, seagull, hawks, little owl, cormorant, great owl, white owl, pelican, bustard, stork, herons, hoopoe, bat [11:13–20].

•Winged swarming things may not be eaten, except for locusts, bald locusts, crickets, grasshoppers [11:22–23].

•Among other swarming things, moles, mice, lizards, geckos, crocodiles, chameleons are not allowed [11:29–30].

The other place in the Torah where we find these instructions is in the fourteenth chapter of Deuteronomy. There is one major noticeable difference between the two lists: the text in Deuteronomy includes the prohibition on boiling a kid in its mother’s milk (from which the rabbis extrapolate the separation of meat and dairy). Interestingly, our text here in Leviticus does not include this prohibition.

Practically since these texts were first given, scholars and laypeople alike have debated the rationale for them, with no definitive answer. The Torah text does not give us the reason(s) for the observance of these laws.

What we do know is that observing the laws of kashrut infuses our tables with a sense of holiness. When we make a conscious decision to not eat something because the laws of kashrut forbid it, we are acknowledging our identity as Jews, and our relationship with the Divine. God calls us to be holy because God is holy. And making conscious decisions about what we do and do not eat, and how we eat, is part of a life of holiness. For centuries, it has been suggested by many people that we are forbidden to eat certain animals for sanitary reasons, and just as many people have disproven that theory.

The laws of kashrut may not be designed to improve our physical health; it could be argued, however, that they are designed to improve our spiritual health.

SEVENTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 11:33–47

WRITTEN FOR SHABBAT, SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2020

Let Me Take You Higher

¹¹

Okay, one more bit of Torah trivia. We’ve seen the middle verse of the Torah and the middle words of the Torah. Now we have the ultimate middle: the middle letter of the Torah. The word gachon in verse 42 appears in the Torah scroll with the letter vav written larger than the others. The reason given for this is that this letter is the middle letter of the Torah. So, we have officially reached the point where it is better to call a right-handed person than a left-handed person for hagbah, raising the Torah!

On another note, I want to point out verse 45: "For I the LORD am He who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God: you shall be holy, for I am holy." [11:45] Usually, when God talks about bringing us out of Egypt, the verb that is used is ha-motzi (yes, just like the blessing over bread). God says that God brought us forth out of Egypt. Here, however, the verb is ha-ma-aleh, who brought you up from Egypt. This is the same verb from which we get the word aliyah that is used to refer both to being called up to the Torah and to moving to Eretz Israel. What is implied in all these cases is a spiritual elevation. Leaving Egypt is a spiritual elevation to a closer relationship with God. We have just finished celebrating the holiday of Pesach, commemorating our liberation from Egypt. Though we are all going through some very difficult times right now, I hope that the uncharacteristic celebration of Passover has brought you up closer to God and that you will continue to be sustained by that relationship in the days and weeks to come.

Parashat Tazria

FIRST ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 12:1–13:5

SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2020

Postpartum Blues

Here we read about the laws referring to a woman who has given birth:

•For a son, she is unclean for seven days, followed by another thirty-three days of purification [12:2, 4].

•For a daughter, she is unclean for fourteen days, followed by another sixty-six days of purification [12:5].

•At the end of her time of purification, she brings a burnt offering, and then a sin offering [12: 6].

At first read, we may find several things here that are offensive to our way of thinking. Therefore, we surely need to examine this a little more deeply.

•The translation unclean of the word tameh , used to describe the woman’s postpartum status, carries a very negative connotation; a better translation is "impure . " In ancient Israel, a state of impurity resulted from close contact with death; we know that the instance of death in childbirth was much greater then than it is today, so the experience of giving birth was most assuredly perceived as having a brush with death. The Baal HaTurim points out that these seven days of impurity can be compared to the seven days of shiva following the death of a close family loved one. ¹

•Purification following the birth of a girl takes twice as long as purification for a boy. Or perhaps a better way to look at it: the initial period of impurity for a boy ends at seven days so that his mother can attend his bris (circumcision) on the eighth day [12:3]. This is, of course, a commandment that had already been established from the time of Abraham. There is no such requirement for a girl, thus allowing the new mother more time alone with her daughter.

•Quoting the Baal HaTurim, " Chasam Sofer suggests that the term ‘male child’ in this context may not refer to gender but to a person of accomplishment . . . one who engages in procreative activity with modesty . . . will be rewarded with creative and accomplished children [whether male or female] who will leave their mark on the world." ²

•Regarding the offerings that the new mother is required to bring: the burnt offering, the purpose of which is to draw closer to God and express gratitude, precedes the sin offering.

•Why a sin offering? According to Ramban, the rabbis understood this in the context of things she might have angrily said during childbirth, such as swearing that (and here I paraphrase a little) she would never let her husband near her again. ³ Perhaps the rabbis understood more than we give them credit for!

SECOND ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 13:6–17

SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2020

Quarantine-while

⁴

Now we learn about a skin disease, tsara’at, most often translated as leprosy, although it is generally not considered to be what we call leprosy today. We do not know exactly what this skin affliction was but what we do know is that it was highly contagious. A person who was suspected of having this condition had to be examined by the priest. If the priest determined that the person had this condition, (s)he was declared unclean. If the priest suspected that the person might have this condition but couldn’t be sure, (s)he would be isolated (i.e., quarantined) for seven days then reexamined. If the results were still inconclusive, a second seven-day isolation period could be imposed. If the infection had turned white, the person was declared clean. If two weeks passed and the rash cleared up, the person was declared clean.

Regarding this quarantine, Rashi says that the priest should confine the afflicted person to one house and that (s)he should not appear until the end of the seven days.⁵ Several commentators actually use the word quarantined to describe this isolation.

Keeping in mind the idea that a state of being unclean resulted from some experience of being exposed to a brush with death; it’s very difficult to escape the obvious correlation to what we have been experiencing of late with COVID-19. The maximum isolation period of fourteen days to determine whether the disease is present or not equates exactly to the fourteen days of self-quarantine required of anyone who suspects that they have been exposed to or are exhibiting symptoms of coronavirus (i.e., a potential brush with death).

The ancient people may not have understood everything about sickness, but it certainly seems that they had a good handle on avoiding its transmission. We would do well to follow their lead.

THIRD ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 13:18–23

MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2020

To Quarantine or Not to Quarantine

Now that we have learned about this mystery skin disease, tzara’at, the Torah goes on to address several other situations of skin afflictions which might possibly be confused with it. Instructions are given for the priest to be able to determine if tzara’at is present or not. This first of these is a scar that results from an injury. Again, the person must present him/herself to the priest for examination. If there is clear evidence of tzara’at the priest declares the afflicted person unclean. If the evidence is inconclusive, again a seven-day isolation is ordered. At the end of this quarantine, if the infection has spread, (s)he is declared unclean. If it has not spread, it is then declared to be only a scar. Did (s)he have the infection? If so, does (s)he no longer have it? Again, we see that extreme caution is being exercised here when it comes to this highly infectious disease. Sounds familiar, no?

FOURTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 13:24–28

MONDAY, APRIL 20, 2020

Testing, Testing . . .

The situation addressed here is a scar from a burn that begins to display possible symptoms of tzara’at. Again, if there are clear symptoms, the individual is declared unclean. If it is questionable, the individual is isolated for seven days before being reexamined by the priest. At that time, if the symptoms have spread, (s)he is declared unclean; if not, it is declared to be just a scar from the burn.

Again, we see that the Torah is being overly cautious in addressing every possible situation that could be perceived as tzara’at. Equating this to our situation today, the one thing that we do know is that there is still much we don’t know about COVID-19. The symptoms and their severity are as varied as its victims. We do keep hearing, however, that the key to solving the mystery is testing, testing, and more testing. Kind of like the priests here, leaving no stone unturned and examining (testing) every possibility.

FIFTH ALIYAH: LEVITICUS 13:29–39

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2020

See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me

⁶

This section continues to deal with various types of infections that occur either on the scalp or in beards. The word used here is netek scall [13:30], defined in modern dictionaries as a scaly eruption of the skin or scalp. Again, we are not quite sure exactly what this is. Some suggest it is dandruff, some suggest acne, or something else. In any event, the same procedure applies: upon examination by the priest, if it is definitively determined to be netek, the individual is declared unclean. If it is suspicious but not confirmed, the individual is isolated for seven days before being reexamined by the priest. If it has not spread, the individual must shave him/herself and wait seven more days for a reexamination to determine if the scall has spread or not. If not, (s)he is clean; if yes, but