Category Archives: Leviticus

5783, AI art, Bat Ayin, Bechukotai, Behar, Leviticus, Parsha

Divine Israeli Meals (Behar-Bechukotai)

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Divine Israeli Meals (Behar-Bechukotai)

The act of putting into your mouth what the earth has grown is perhaps your most direct interaction with the earth. -Frances Moore Lappe

The Seven Species

The reading of the Torah portion of Behar introduces us to the laws of the Sabbatical year, Shmita, when farmers in Israel are biblically mandated not to work the land. The Bat Ayin on Leviticus 25:20 gets philosophical and wonders as to why God would make such a materialistic world in the first place and make us humans so vitally dependent on physical sustenance to survive. If God ostensibly wants us to focus on our spiritual development and connection to the metaphysical, why would He create a system that has us preoccupied with food and material survival throughout the day and which creates the real possibility of us transgressing multiple commandments if we aren’t careful with what and how we consume things?

He answers that it has to do with the land of Israel. There is some intrinsic holiness to the land of Israel. Furthermore, the land of Israel has seven species of produce for which it is praised, namely wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and dates. He explains that when a person consumes from these seven species (including Israeli bread, wine, olive oil and date honey) in purity and purpose, it’s a fast track to a correction of the seven traits of the soul and to somehow connect to God. He further states that it is more challenging to improve these traits and connect to God without the assistance of these seven species and the transcendent thoughts we should ideally have when consuming them.

However, he does provide two other remedies for those who don’t have easy access to Israeli products. The Shabbat meals, when eaten with the proper preparation and intention can have the same power as eating from the produce of Israel. The other remedy is that when eating any other food that is not of Israeli origin, to have in mind the land of Israel. It is no wonder that the Birkat Hamazon, the Grace after Meals that we recite after eating, makes notable mention of the land of Israel.

So, in summary, God purposely made a very material world, but gave us some avenues, through the very physical act of eating, to connect with Him. With the proper intention, just eating from the seven species of Israel can enable that connection. Additionally, a Shabbat meal and thinking of the land of Israel can likewise assist us in bridging Heaven and Earth.

May we remember that even the basic act of eating is something that can be elevated.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To my friend, Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell, on his new Bible Tour Guide initiative. See below for more details.

 

5783, AI art, Bat Ayin, Emor, Leviticus, Parsha

Holy Daughter, Sister, Mother (Emor)

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Holy Daughter, Sister, Mother (Emor)

Other things may change us, but we start and end with family. -Anthony Brandt

Daughter Sister Mother

The Torah portion of Emor discusses the roles and rules regarding the Kohen, the newly formed priestly caste of Israel. It also highlights some of the guidelines relating to the High Priest, the Kohen Gadol.

The Bat Ayin on Leviticus 21:10 delves into the Talmudic statement (Tractate Horayot 9a) that “if the Kohen Gadol doesn’t have anything, he is to be aggrandized.” The Talmud expounds the statement as instructing that if the Kohen Gadol is poor, his Kohen brethren contribute funds to him until he can be considered financially wealthy. However, the Bat Ayin reads another aspect into the Talmud’s explanation.

He elaborates that when the Talmud states that the Kohen Gadol doesn’t have anything, it can also mean that he has no arrogance, and that rather he is fully possessed of the trait of humility. If the Kohen Gadol is indeed a humble servant, then he reaches a higher level of service than his brothers.

The Bat Ayin further develops that there are three general levels in one’s possible connection to God: “daughter,” “sister,” and “mother.”

The simplest level is that of “daughter” and it is founded on the trait of awe and fear of God. The middle level is one of “sister” that is predicated on love of God and is the level of Israel and the Kohens. The highest level is the level of “mother,” and it is one of divine bounty and transcendence and is represented by the Kohen Gadol, who due to his great humility serves as a conduit for abundance and holiness from above that reaches all of Israel.

May we appreciate the different levels of relationship with God, whether it’s daughter, sister, or mother, and may we build from awe of God, to love of God and finally to divine abundance and transcendence.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the Mizrahi organization for their extremely successful inaugural World Orthodox Israel Congress.

5783, Acharei Mot, AI art, Bat Ayin, Kedoshim, Leviticus, Parsha

Sorcerous Overconfidence (Acharei-Kedoshim)

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Sorcerous Overconfidence (Acharei-Kedoshim)

Sorcery is the sauce fools spoon over failure to hide the flavor of their own incompetence. -George R. R. Martin

Coins by Wall

There is a fascinating Midrash connected to the Torah reading from last week, which relates that the Canaanites would hide their wealth and treasures in the walls of their homes. After the conquest of Canaan, the young Israelite nation took over their houses. Some of these houses developed Tzaraat, an unusual discoloration of the walls. Following the commandments of the Torah, and after careful inspection by the Kohen, the discolored stones from the wall were removed. And lo and behold, the new Jewish occupants of these houses discovered treasure and wealth in those walls.

The Bat Ayin on Leviticus 18:3, which states that we should not do acts like the Egyptians or the Canaanites, asks why the Canaanites didn’t take their wealth with them when fleeing from the Israelite invasion. He answers that the Canaanites had among them powerful sorcerers. These sorcerers may have been from the same school or group as the ones in Pharaoh’s employ during the showdown with Moses and the onslaught of the plagues that devastated Egypt. In any case, the Canaanites were so confident in their sorcerous power and so unbelieving in God or in God’s ability to harm them that they couldn’t imagine being overrun by the approaching mass of former slaves. Hence, they kept their treasure hidden inside the stone walls of their homes. When the Jewish nation finally did conquer Canaan, as promised by God, it was too late for the Canaanites to retrieve their hidden wealth.

The Torah states how the Canaanites were a highly corrupt people. Besides for their corruption, their promiscuity and their idolatrous practices, the Canaanites apparently believed in their superiority, sorcerous prowess, and control of their world. They didn’t believe in an omnipotent God who may have other plans. Their overconfidence and hubris caused them to underestimate the non-sorcerous Jewish people approaching them. Not only did they lose their homes and their lands, as God promised, but they also lost their portable wealth.

May we be wary of our own overconfidence in the works of our hands or our belief in the extent of our control of the world.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the community of Congregation Beth Torah for their fantastic hospitality and a wonderful Shabbat.

5783, AI art, Bat Ayin, Leviticus, Metzorah, Parsha, Tazria

Idolatrous Self-Gratification (Tazria-Metzora)

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Idolatrous Self-Gratification (Tazria-Metzora)

Mankind are an incorrigible race. Give them but bugbears and idols — it is all that they ask; the distinctions of right and wrong, of truth and falsehood, of good and evil, are worse than indifferent to them. -William Hazlitt

Mirrored Idol by BSpitz

The Torah readings of Tazria and Metzora delve into what may seem arcane laws of ritual impurity and the treatment of the physical-spiritual skin malady called Tzaraat (popularly mistranslated as leprosy). The Bat Ayin on Leviticus 14:34 explores some of the attitudes that a Jew may have in observance of these commands. While it is clear that the commands need to be observed, he explores what some of the inner motivations might be. One of the highest levels of service of God is to do so out of pure love and awe of God. It is God’s desire and that is motivation enough for a fully devoted servant.

It is still good, though not an ideal motive, to perform the commands because God will provide a reward to those who perform His commandments. There will be a reward both in our current world and in the world to come.

The Bat Ayin explains that even the performance of commandments for what might appear to be a transactional reward is still vastly different and superior to the idolatrous belief that there is no reward or punishment or that there is even a Creator who is involved continually in our lives. The idolatrous belief is centered around self-gratification, with little regard for truth, ethics, or compassion. An idolatrous belief is that as long as it makes them feel good, that defines their moral compass.

May we appreciate God’s presence and intervention and may we feel it more strongly.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To Rabbi Leo Dee and the inspiration he is providing.

5783, AI art, Bat Ayin, Leviticus, Parsha, Shmini

A Kosher Pig? (Shmini)

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A Kosher Pig? (Shmini)

Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another. -Homer

The Torah reading of Shmini introduces us to the laws of keeping kosher. It details what type of animals we can eat and which we must avoid. We can only eat fish that have scales and fins, so any other type of fish, including shellfish, is prohibited. There is a long list of birds which we are told are forbidden. The common denominator is that they are all birds of prey. Interestingly, the tradition that has been passed down as to what birds are in fact kosher is relatively scant, leaving us with a limited selection of kosher fowl. Perhaps best known are the distinguishing features of kosher mammals. They need to be mammals that have split hooves and that chew their cud.

The most infamous non-kosher animal is most likely the pig. What is interesting about a pig is while it doesn’t chew its cud, it does have split hooves. The Bat Ayin on Leviticus 11:7 quotes the Midrash that states that a pig typically likes to display its hooves, as if to say “Look at me! I have the hooves of a kosher animal!” even though it knows that not chewing its cud makes it non-kosher. What is perhaps even more interesting is that there is a Kabbalistic idea, that in Messianic times, the pig will become a kosher animal when it will start to chew its cud.

The Bat Ayin compares the status of the pig to our own behavior. Just as the pig shows one thing on the outside, the kosher symbol of the split hooves, but possesses a non-kosher trait on the inside, the lack of chewing its cud, how many of us present a certain façade of righteousness to the world but our inner reality is vastly different? Do we pretend a certain behavior in public, but in private prove ourselves to be hypocrites? Do we show false friendship and flattery to those we want to impress or connect to, but privately despise them? These are all traits of the pig.

The Bat Ayin then flips the cause and effect of the transformation of the pig into a Kosher animal in Messianic times. It is not the final redemption that transforms the pig, but rather the transformation of the pig that brings about the redemption. Only when the inside of the pig matches its outside, can the Messiah come. Only when the pig is somehow purified of its hypocritical nature, when it becomes completely pure, can the world be redeemed.

Similarly, only when our noble exterior is matched by a similar internal reality can we expect to reach both personal and universal redemption. May it happen speedily and in our days.

Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the memory of Lucy Dee and her daughters, Maya and Rina, may God avenge their blood.

5783, AI art, Bat Ayin, Leviticus, Parsha, Tzav

The Two Portals (Tzav)

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The Two Portals (Tzav)

I’m trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You’re the one that has to walk through it. -Morpheus

Two Portals (AI-generated parsha illustration by BSpitz)

The Torah portion of Tzav has God telling Moses to command his brother Aaron, the High Priest, as to the service of the Tabernacle sacrifices. The Bat Ayin on Leviticus 6:2 wonders why the stronger term “Tzav” (command) is used, as opposed to “Daber” (speak).

The Bat Ayin explains that it has to do with the very creation of existence. God created the universe with an underlying attribute of justice. The firm foundation of justice is reflected in the stronger language of “command.” However, God saw that the world could not continue to run exclusively with strict justice, so He also introduced the attribute of mercy and kindness. Justice is reflected in the awe or fear one should have of God, while kindness is reflected in the love we should have for God.

By way of explanation, the Bat Ayin references a Talmudic dictum that states: “A person should always enter two doorways into the synagogue” (Tractate Berachot 8a). The Talmud itself finds the statement to be unclear. What does it mean to “enter two doorways”? How does one enter two doorways? What if the synagogue has only one doorway? The Talmud explains the line to mean that a person should enter at least the length of two doorways into the synagogue. One should not hang around by the entrance as if either isn’t sure they want to stay or is ready for a quick departure.

The Bat Ayin, however, focuses on the original language of the dictum, that there are indeed two separate portals that a person should go through to approach God. The correct entry to God is through two different doors. There is the door of awe and there is the door of love. That is what it means that one should always enter into the synagogue through two doorways. We need to feel proper awe, respect and trepidation when approaching God. At the same time, we need to seek closeness, tenderness, and love, when coming close to the Almighty.

By entering these two portals simultaneously, we increase the chances of that divine connection occurring.

May we increase both our awe and love of God.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To The Dragon Haggadah. A new, experimental Haggadah designed for Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) players and their families. It weaves some light roleplaying, riddles, puzzles and D&D action into the text and rites of the Seder night. First draft and free for download. Please share with people who would be interested.

5783, AI art, Bat Ayin, Leviticus, Parsha, Vayikra

Two Illuminations (Vayikra)

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Two Illuminations (Vayikra)

There are two kinds of light — the glow that illumines, and the glare that obscures. -James Thurber

Moses Squints at Sun

At the beginning of the Book of Leviticus, in the Torah portion of Vayikra, God calls out to Moses twice. He uses two different verbs. The first is “Vaykira,” to call, and the second is “Vayidaber,” to speak. The Bat Ayin on Leviticus 1:1 explains that there are a number of parallels and lessons to learn from the duality of God communicating to Moses in apparently two different fashions:

He compares the first level of communication to both the creation of the world and to the sun. The creation of the world is something that is “hidden” from mortal perception and easy to not believe in, or to not believe in a Creator. Relatedly, the sun is difficult to look at directly and to truly perceive. In a sense, the true essence of the sun is something that is not really visible to mortals. So too, God’s higher level of communication and revelation is something sublime and only perceptible to a few people.

The second level of communication is compared to both the Egyptian Exodus and to the moon. The Exodus was a loud, public event, clearly visible to all. It was felt and witnessed directly by the Egyptians and reverberated throughout the region, if not the world. Similarly, the moon, even at its most brilliant, is fairly easy to see.

The Bat Ayin then compares the two levels of communication to two additional phenomena: clouds and fire. Clouds relate to the first, higher level. They are indistinct, obfuscating, hard to see through. Fire is the second, lower level of communication. Fire is bright, illuminating, distinct.

The Bat Ayin then brings our attention to the fact that the Jews in the desert were exposed to both of these phenomena. A pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire were both present at the Tabernacle. God, in essence, was revealing Himself and communicating with the young nation of Israel at both levels of communication. He was communicating via the hidden, sublime, barely perceptible channel, and he was concurrently communicating in a more open, direct, and discernible way.

It was a confluence of a certain closeness, attachment, identification and even transcendence that permeated the people of Israel during that special, formative period of our nation.

May we find further moments of closeness and transcendence in our own lives.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To having five planets in view next week.

https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/planetary-alignment-how-to-see-march-2023

5782, Bechukotai, Chidushei HaRim, Leviticus, Parsha

Wandering Aimfully (Bechukotai)

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Wandering Aimfully (Bechukotai)

It is the first of all problems for a man to find out what kind of work he is to do in this universe. -Thomas Carlyle

The beginning of the Torah reading of Bechukotai has God declaring that if we walk in His ways, in His laws, He will bless us with plenty. The Chidushei HaRim on Leviticus 26:3 focuses on the verb of walking and draws our attention to a Midrash about King David and walking.

King David is quoted as saying “God, every day I would say to myself I’m going to walk to such and such place, but my legs would take me to synagogues and study halls.”

The Chidushei HaRim provides two different homiletical explanations for the message of the Midrash. The first explanation is that every day, every person has a different mission to accomplish. Our missions are not static. It’s not the same mission every day, rather every day presents a new challenge, a new task, a new twist, even a new nuance we are meant to undertake. Related to the point of our missions, is that every mission is unique to each person and no person can accomplish or do someone else’s mission for them. Our legs are what take us to our missions. While we might have thought we were going to one place, in fact, we’re being led to confront, deal, help, intervene, say a kind word, or do whatever it is that our personal unique mission for the day is.

The second explanation is geared towards introverts, or those who don’t like crowds or public gatherings. The Chidushei HaRim explains that King David is talking about how his original intent was to perform some commandment or to study Torah on his own, but his feet would take him to the synagogue or the study hall to perform the commandments in a group, with the community, to pray and study Torah with people as opposed to on his own. While of course there is a value and often a need to perform things on one’s own, there is a much higher value when we perform these things in a group.

May we let our feet take us to good things and places as well as to wander with purpose.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To Congregation Agudath Sholom of Stamford, CT, for their warm hosting, and to Howard and Eileen Spielman of Sharon, MA, for knowing how to wonderfully surprise.

5782, Behar, Chidushei HaRim, Leviticus, Parsha

Tangible Breath (Behar)

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Tangible Breath (Behar)

A people which is able to say everything becomes able to do everything. -Napoleon Bonaparte

Hebrew is a language with many amorphous words. The same word can have multiple meanings which will vary based on the context or even the interpretation. One of my favorite is the word “Havel.” It is most commonly translated as vanity or futility, as in the opening verse of King Solomon’s Ecclesiastes (Kohelet) “Havel havalim, amar kohelet, havel havalim, hakol havel. – popularly translated as “Vanity of vanities, said Kohelet, vanity of vanities, all is vain.”

However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Chidushei HaRim on Leviticus 25:8 gives a vastly deeper and more significant explanation to what “Havel” may be referring to.

He starts off with a seemingly dichotomous use of the word “Havel” by the sages who state that the world is in existence solely thanks to the “Havel” of the mouths of young students. That begs the question that if “Havel” is vanity or futility, how does such “Havel” maintain the universe? The classic translation of “Havel” in this context is the “speech” of the young students. Somehow something as nebulous as the sounds of Torah which emanate from young children’s mouths are so precious and vital that they give the universe the capacity to exist, that the breath they use to repeat the Torah they learned is so powerful that the breath in a sense creates reality.

The Chidushei HaRim compares it to God’s own “breath” which brought life to Adam and all of existence. He then takes this concept to the mortal plane. Man has the capacity to create and destroy with the breath of his mouth. The words we use have very tangible, real-world consequences. We can build up or tear down people, their identity, their reputation, their livelihood, their opportunities and everything that makes them who they are and gives them life.

In the context of the Torah reading of Behar, a person can decide whether to give instructions regarding keeping the agricultural laws, specifically the Sabbatical and Jubilee years. Proper observance of these laws is what gives the land and those who dwell on it continued existence and blessing. One opinion as to the reason the Jewish people were exiled from the land of Israel millennia ago was exactly because of their failure to keep these laws. That failure revoked their right to exist on the land and led directly to their forceful and violent expulsion.

So, another understanding of the word “Havel” might be “divine breath.” Therefore, instead of translating King Solomon’s famous phrase as “Vanity of vanities, all is vain,” we might read it as “Divine breaths of divine breaths, all is divine breath.” It is a fundamental understanding that God is behind everything and responsible for everything, and that we ourselves have the gift of “divine breath” to make a positive impact in His world.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To Yair Maimon of Tekoa, for his bravery, alertness and presence of mind to shoot the terrorist attacking him right outside his home.

5782, Chidushei HaRim, Emor, Leviticus, Parsha

Sabbath Radiance (Emor)

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Sabbath Radiance (Emor)

Light is the first of painters. There is no object so foul that intense light will not make it beautiful. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Among the many commandments included in the Torah reading of Emor is a listing of the various holidays of the year. Launching that festive list is the Sabbath. While the Sabbath is not strictly a holiday, and it does occur in a consistent seven-day schedule it, perhaps unexpectedly gets to top the list of the holidays of Israel.

The Chidushei HaRim on Leviticus 23:3 digs deeper into the significance of the Sabbath being considered a holiday. He explains that the nation of Israel is responsible for establishing the dates of the holidays. Holidays in Hebrew are also referred to as “Zmanim” – literally it means Times. Somehow, the establishment of Time is the domain of Israel and in some mystical sense, Israel creates Time. Continuing with this esoteric line of thought, the Sabbath is the “life” of Time, the kernel that allows Time to proceed. The existence and the observance of the Sabbath are the foundation for the continued stream of time as we know it. Hence, it starts off the list of all other holidays.

Linking these ideas together, that Israel is responsible for Time and the Sabbath is the foundation of Time, is the corollary that the Jewish people and the Sabbath are one. The Chidushei Harim expounds this parallelism from two biblical verses in which each one refers to “dwelling places.” The verse in the reading here of Emor states “it is God’s Sabbath in all your dwelling places.” The other verse in the Book of Exodus describes the plague of darkness, with which God struck the Egyptians, and the verse continues “and for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwelling places.” Just as light dispels darkness, the Sabbath dispels darkness.

The Sabbath has the power to dispel the darkness of the soul, to shine a light of spiritual radiance into the dark recesses of our existence. The Sabbath has the capacity to banish what ails us, to polish our inner selves to the point where we can more truly and clearly appreciate and connect to God.

May we merit to bask in the full radiance of a divine Sabbath.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To our son Netanel on his engagement to Adina Spielman of Bet Shemesh. Mazal Tov!