Chol HaMoed Shabbat Pesach

Day 7 Malchut of Hesed

    In entering exile with Am Israel, the Shekhinah embodies malchut b'chesed—sovereignty in lovingkindness. In giving up her throne to suffer alongside her people, the Shekhinah teaches us both grace and empathy.

    —Sivan Butler-Rotholz

During Passover, we read from the Megillat Shir HaShirim, the Scroll of the Song of Songs. The racy love epic poem is traditionally interpreted as the love story between God and the People of Israel. The narrator and the presumed gender roles between the loves flip back and forth throughout the poem, making it somewhat hard to follow narratively, but all the more beautiful poetically, especially when considering the agender or multigendered nature of the lovers as God and an entire community. Different communities have different traditions of when during Passover to read this, so it is not necessarily tied to this day of the Omer, but I find it very fitting with the Kabbalistic realm of Malchut Sheb’cheshed.

We consider what it means in our modern lives to be lovers with God, to envision Shechinah dwelling on Earth among us, subjecting Herself to exile and oppression along with Her children rather reigning from above. Are we seeing the world with empathy? Do we embrace life in love? Are we doing the work to help bring others out of Mitzrayim, out of the Narrow Places of strife, spreading peace and justice in our wake? Are we building this world from love? Do we recognize that none of us are free until all of us are free?

Only when each person in the Jewish community can answer all those questions with a resounding yes can we honestly say that we have learned the lessons of the Passover story, and that we are living in a palace of loving-kindness. Only then are we truly intertwined with the Divine, engaged in the sacred relationship with the Holy Blessed One. As our festival comes to an end, let us pray at this time next year there may be freedom and dignity for all, and may we each find ourselves in the comforting loving embrace of a holy and just community. Amen and Shabbat Shalom.  

Parashat Metzora - Universal Healthcare

Shabbat Shalom! This week's Torah portion is Parashat Metzora, which continues last week's discussion of skin diseases and the proper way to purify oneself of these afflictions. Being that the Torah was written in a time before modern medicine, the cure for leprosy described in this parasha is to quarantine oneself for a time, then returning to the community to offer a sacrifice and be declared clean.

The Torah recognizes that not all Israelites have equal access to the means with which to make the proscribed sacrifices. About halfway through this week's portion, the Torah spends a whole Aliyah describing the adjustments to be made for a person living with poverty. The word the Torah uses to mean “poor” (dal/דל) is a word that is often associated with “poor health” rather than poor funds, but then the verse continues, “And their means are insufficient…” and the next several verses suggest cheaper offerings for sacrifices. Many of the Rabbinic commentaries on this section point this out, ensuring that the readers in no way misunderstand the interesting choice of Hebrew word for “poor” here. The rabbis are clear that the Torah here is talking about accessibility for what passed for healthcare in that time for everyone, regardless of material wealth.

Rabbi Elliot Dorff, a modern day halakhist for the Conservative movement, wrote in 2009 that Judaism supports universal health care. The value of saving a life and taking care of each other is consistent throughout Jewish texts and is a central Jewish value. It is further clear from Parashat Metzora that this does not just apply to life and death situations. Parashat Metzora makes clear that everyone must be able to obtain care even for dermatological issues, which may seem minor to today's understanding, and as the ancient Israelites understood the skin disease as reflective of social ills, then one could also extrapolate that treatment for behavioral health should be accessible as well. Rabbi Dorff suggests that there are multiple options for how universal healthcare could be provided and doesn’t advocate for any particular legislation in his ruling on the matter, but is adamant that a healthy society is one that is concerned for the health of all its residents, whether they can afford three lambs or one or maybe even merely two turtle doves.

As modern day Jews, we uphold our Torah when we ensure that everyone in our community is properly cared for. Whether that means advocating for better and more affordable healthcare at a national level, or giving tzedekah to assist those without the means to cover their medical costs, or becoming healthcare professionals, as long as we are supporting each other's well-being, we are working toward building a healthy society, physically, mentally, and socially. May you always find the care you seek at a price you can afford, and may you ensure that those around you can do the same. Amen and Shabbat Shalom.

Parashat Shemini

Shabbat Shalom! This week's Torah portion is Parashat Shemini, a portion which I feel deeply connected to yet also continuously troubled by. It tells the stories of the sacrifices in the Mishkan. Aaron and his sons being freshly ordained, Moses walks them through the first official sacrifices, one of each sort described in Parashat Vayikra. After Aaron officiates all the correct korbanot, then two of his sons bring forth a “strange fire” and make an offering that was not commanded to the Lord. A different fire comes forth from the Lord and kills them.

Some years I feel very sympathetic toward Nadav and Avihu. The Haftarah especially draws the emotion toward sympathy for the characters. The haftarah comes from II Samuel and it tells us of Uzzah, son of Avinadav (I don't think the similarities in the names is a coincidence), who reaches out and grasps the Ark of the Covenant to steady it as it the wobbly oxen transport it to King David's tower in the newly established capital of Jerusalem. Uzzah too is killed instantly by God for disobeying the commandment forbidding contact with the Ark, but if he hadn't the Ark would have fallen and the tablets may have been broken again. His death seems cruel and unfair, and so the deaths in the connecting Torah portion also seem extreme.

However, in light of recent events, this year I am reading Nadav and Avihu as the extremists. Bringing an offering of unprescribed incense may not sound all that extremist, but the fact that they took it upon themselves to bring a gift for the Lord that was not asked for, instead of offering any of the number of sacrifices that were explicitly asked for, points toward zealotry. The jump from zealotry and presumptive over-enthusiasm in worship to religious extremism is not a far leap. In fact, 13th century French rabbi Chizkuni comments on Leviticus 10:1 that not only was this strange fire not asked for, God specifically commanded them not to bring it. Yet in their arrogance, they presumed to know the secret desire of God and brought this forbidden fire anyway.

This calls to mind those who kill in the name of religion. If they kill because they believe their idea of God and faith to be the correct one, does that not violate one of the 10 commandments, “Thou shalt not murder”? If they kill because they believe those whom they target are members of a violent and dangerous religion, does that not violate laws of logic and country? These terrorists too act only out of their own arrogance, a presumption of knowing some deeper truth than the one that tells us we are all made in the Divine image and have an equal right to live with dignity and to worship freely without fear.

I don’t wish death upon anyone else. But I hope that akin to the fire of the Lord that went forth and struck down Nadav and Avihu in their tracks, a Divine spark might strike people inclined to extremism such that they might awaken to the harmful reality of their rhetoric and actions and turn them from their paths before more they incite more violence.  As human stewards of this earth, we can aid in this by spreading our own messages of peace and solidarity. May we stand together against hate and bigotry, and usher in a new world of acceptance and love. Amen and Shabbat Shalom.