Comments on Leviticus
Chapter 6:1-6
[1] The Eternal One
spoke to Moses – [2] Command Aaron and his sons thus - This is the ritual
of the burnt offering: The burnt offering itself shall remain where it is
burned upon the altar all night until morning, while the fire on the altar is
kept going on it.
The path to peace is one that
entails vigilance - the type of devotion that would entail being watchful every
moment. all day and all night. Another understanding of “the fire on the altar
is kept going on it” is “v’esh hamizbay-ach tukad bo” - the fire on the altar
is kept going IN HIM - in the priest. There must be some sense of the
holy purpose on the outside that enters into the soul of the priest. The
same goes with peacemaking - forging a true agreement cannot be done on the
surface - it must reach the depths of the soul.
[3] The priest shall
dress in linen raiment, with linen breeches next to his body; and he shall take
up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar and
place them beside the altar.
The vestments worn by the
priest signify the holy purpose related to each burnt offering and the disposal
of the ashes, as if each task is done with an approach based in awe. We
should also consider peacemaking with that same sense of reverence, knowing
that an end to conflict and the beginning of cooperation bring us closer to God
and godliness.
[4]He shall then take
off his vestments and put on other vestments, and carry the ashes outside the
camp to a clean place.
Perhaps the ashes can
represent the disposal of old idea - and even old resentments - in the middle
of peacemaking - such feelings should not be taken lightly - but given their
place in history and then - let go to give way to fresh ideas and new
attitudes.
[5] The fire on the
altar shall be kept burning, not to go out: every morning the priest shall feed
wood to it, lay out the burnt offering on it, and turn into smoke the fat parts
of the offerings of well-being.
Every morning, people who
find themselves in the midst of conflict should take note of how their lives
would be without that strife ruling their lives - they should focus their
energies and channel their deep-seeded feelings of pain toward the alleviation
of past hurts not through revenge but through reconciliation.
[6] A perpetual fire
shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out.
The constancy of the
fire sustained by human hands should help us realize that our hands can build a
world of peace if we set them to peaceful tasks.
*************************
From the Haftarah/Prophets reading - Malachi 3:23-24
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the ETERNAL ONE to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and their hearts of children to their parents.
**************************
The thoughts that I shared about the Torah reading focused on
ending conflict by engendering peace and reconciliation within ourselves and
within a community. The desire for peace can and should be like a fire
burning within us, leading us to foster unity and understanding that can bring
peace.
Last night, I participated in the New Mexico
State University Interfaith Council annual Interfaith dialogue program.
The event began with participants rotating through tables which each had a
representative of one religious group. The two-minute speech about
Judaism that I was supposed to give became five minutes, but I enjoyed this
opportunity to try to crystallize Judaism down to its essence. Taking
from Jewish theologian Franz Rosensweig’s “Star of Redemption,” I spoke about
the interrelationships of the Jewish themes and concepts of God, Creation,
Humanity, Revelation (Torah and wisdom), the world where we apply the values we
learn from study and ritual, and finally redemption, the ultimate goal of a
time of peace and freedom for all people. Peace, reconciliation and
accepting all human beings as created in the divine image formed the essence of
my presentation on Judaism.
During the dialogue portion of the program, we
discussed what we look for in another religion that gives it value. One person
suggested that she seeks to know if a particular faith leads a person to
develop a good heart. I didn’t get to share the quote, but one of
my favorite sayings in the Wisdom of our Sages – PIRKEI AVOT – echoes her
sentiment. We read in Pirkei Avot Chapter 2 Mishnah 9: The
great Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai asked his students, “What is a right path for
one to take?” Rabbi Eliezer said, “A good eye.” Rabbi Joshua said, “A
good friend.” Rabbi Yosay said, “A good neighbor.” Rabbi Simeon
said, “Foresight.” Rabbi Elazar said, “A good heart.”
Yochanan ben Zakkai said to his students, “I prefer the words of Elazar, ‘a
good heart,’ because his words include all of yours.”
So at the end of the Haftarah
reading for this Great Sabbath/Shabbat Hagadol that precedes Passover, what did
the prophet Malachi mean about the hearts of parents and children that would
turn one to the other, uniting the generations? I believe it meant
that each generation would follow the path suggested by Rabbi Elazar – to seek
to create a good heart within. Having a good heart means showing
consideration and respect and being attentive to and accepting of both
similarities and differences. So what would the prophet Malachi and Rabbi
Elazar have told members of each generation, older and younger? I think
they would have said that “hearts of the parents turned to the children” means
that the parents need to let go of the past enough for their children and
grandchildren to grow and to create their own style of leadership and making an
impact on society. “The hearts of children turned towards their
parents” means that children should try to be aware and respectful of the
difficulty involved in the parental process of “letting go.” The new
generation can also come to value the wisdom of the past and use it as a
foundation for the future, retaining the best of what came before and reshaping
it in a way that can fit changing times. That process of respect
and reconciliation, of tribute and honor between the generations, can happen in
the best way possible when people follow the words of Rabbi Elazar – act toward
each other with a “good heart.”
The prophet Malachi was
speaking about our ultimate redemption when he envisioned reconciliation
between the generations, between past, present and future. The
traditional Jewish view of the Messiah’s coming suggests that Elijah the
prophet will return first before that day of the Messiah’s arrival which many
Jews have hoped would come in their lifetime. I explained at the interfaith
program last night that I, as a Reform Jew, speak about a time of redemption or
Messianic age brought about by humanity. In that spirit, I believe that
we could interpret the words of Malachi and Rabbi Elazar to mean that we gain a
foretaste of redemption whenever we allow our hearts and our spirits to guide
all that we do, when we bring peace and reconciliation into our lives and our
community. So from old to new, from past to future, from one generation
to the next, may we follow the path of the “good heart” that can bring all
people together in unity and in peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment