Category Archives: Shmini

5784, AI art, Kli Yakar 2, Leviticus, Parsha, Shmini

The Holy Fraud (Shemini)

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Print version: Kli Yakar Shemini

The Holy Fraud (Shemini)

The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat one’s self. All sin is easy after that. -Pearl Bailey

There is a creature that walks amongst us, sometimes it is us, who wear the garments of a saint. That creature dresses in the latest holy fashion. He wears the right garb and makes the right noises. He hangs out in holy enclaves and demonstrates great devotion. He shows the world how holy he is and makes sure his signs of holiness are visible for all to see. The Torah has a name for such a creature. The Torah names him a pig.

Yes. For some reason, the innocent, intelligent and highly sociable hog is considered traditionally to be the vilest of creatures. Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim of Prague, the Kli Yakar (1550-1619) on Leviticus 11:4, suggests why. As is widely known, pigs are not kosher animals – if anything, they are the antithesis and symbolic of the most non-kosher food one can consume. What is curious about the pig is that he actually does possess one of the two kosher mammalian traits and the most visible one at that: split hooves.

The pig has another interesting trait. It apparently sleeps with its hooves stretched out, as if to say: “Look at me! I have split hooves. I am kosher!” The Kli Yakar states:

“This teaches that all whose insides are not like their outside, as the fraudsters who present themselves as righteous; they are without doubt worse than the purely bad, whose insides and outsides are the same.”

May we beware of the fraud within ourselves and others.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

On the marriage of Hadassah Pieprz and Sason Sofer. Mazal Tov!

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.

5782, Chidushei HaRim, Leviticus, Parsha, Shmini

Instructions Grant Existence (Shmini)

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Instructions Grant Existence (Shmini)

I count life just a stuff to try the soul’s strength on. -Robert Browning

On the eighth day of the very detailed and instruction-filled consecration ceremony of the Tabernacle, Aaron’s two older sons, Nadav and Avihu, bring a “strange” fire, an unscripted part of the ceremony. The response is immediate and fatal. God sends a fire that kills both of them instantly.

There’s a plethora of commentaries as to what exactly Nadav and Avihu’s sins were and why the repercussions were so severe.

The Chidushei HaRim on Leviticus 10:1 provides a fascinating thought as to the actual mechanics of what was going on.

He states that Nadav and Avihu were in a state of total devotion to God. They wanted to cleave and attach themselves to God, and at what they thought was a propitious time, they created this innovative offering of bringing a fire which was not commanded into the Sanctuary. Their devotion to God was indeed supreme and admirable. However, their innovating to such an extent and putting their entire heart and soul into something God didn’t command proved to disrupt the mechanics of their very existence.

The Chidushei HaRim explains that when we do something for God, when we perform a Mitzva, we are somehow expending our soul. It seems the soul seeks to connect to God more seriously and wants to “jump ship” from our mortal forms. However, the very Mitzva we perform, the instructions that God has given us, are what reinstate and keep the soul in the body. The Mitzvot, the instructions which God has commanded in some spiritual sense are the very things that grant our existence.

However, when Nadav and Avihu “gave it their all” for something which God had not commanded, there were no instructions, there was no Mitzva to revitalize their souls and make sure they stayed alive. Therefore, immediately after they offered this “strange” fire, they couldn’t remain in physical existence. Their souls could no longer stay in their bodies as there was no Mitzva, no instruction set, that would “reinstall” their souls. Hence we have the Midrash that states that God’s fire consumed Nadav and Avihu’s souls but their bodies remained intact.

May we keep to the instructions as much as possible. They’re challenging enough.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the memory of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky zt”l.

5781, Bechor Shor, Leviticus, Parsha, Shmini

Ritual Distancing (Shmini)

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Ritual Distancing (Shmini)

Distance has the same effect on the mind as on the eye. -Samuel Johnson

The Torah provides a substantial amount of detail regarding the laws of what animals we’re allowed to eat as well as those we are commanded to stay far away from. No insects or shellfish are allowed. The only seafood we’re allowed is those fish that have scales and fins.

The Torah also gives a long list of all the birds we’re not allowed to eat. The number of kosher birds we can partake of is relatively limited and are exclusively non-predatory.

In the mammal category, there is the general guideline of only being allowed to eat animals who both chew their cud and have split hooves. Beyond that general guideline, the Torah also specifies mammals who have one or the other of those attributes which are not kosher. Having split hooves or chewing its cud is not enough; the animal is only kosher if it has both attributes. The prime and notorious example of a non-kosher mammal is the pig, which even though it has split hooves, doesn’t chew its cud.

The verse immediately after the one that singles out the pig and its other non-kosher mammal friends states that not only should you not eat these animals, but you shouldn’t even touch their carcass.

The Bechor Shor on the verse (Leviticus 11:8) wonders about the seeming redundancy. If you’re not allowed to even touch the dead meat, then how would one come to eat it?

He explains that while the prohibition regarding non-kosher food is quite strict, the statement regarding not touching the non-kosher item is just some good advice and not a legal obligation according to Jewish law.

He elaborates that there is something intrinsically filthy and disgusting about non-kosher food that even touching it could somehow contaminate us. It possesses an impurity and foulness that can somehow be conveyed not only into our bodies but to our very souls. However, if one were to find a dead carcass of non-kosher meat in one’s home, one would be obliged to remove it, even though it would entail touching it. The slight contact with the contaminating food in order to remove it is justified in comparison to keeping the putrid item in your home.

May we always remain far away from items that may contaminate us and only partake of clean, healthful food.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the opening up of venues in general, and Yeshiva in particular.

5780, Leviticus, Meshech Chochma, Parsha, Shmini

We’re all in the Same Boat (Shmini)

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We’re all in the Same Boat (Shmini)

When a man has done all he can do, still there is a mighty, mysterious agency over which he needs influence to secure success. The one way he can reach it is by prayer. -Russel H. Conwell

 

When Moses was apparently delayed in returning from the top of Mount Sinai, the people panicked and forced his brother Aaron to construct the infamous Golden Calf. God, in His fury, was ready to wipe out the people of Israel, but thanks to Moses’ intervention God relented and the nation was spared.

Fast forward many months later and Aaron, the newly inducted High Priest, during the consecration of the freshly built Tabernacle, is commanded by God to bring a sacrifice of a calf to atone for himself as well as for the entire nation. The Meshech Chochma on Leviticus 9:7 explains that this calf comes to atone for the sin of the Golden Calf.

He further elaborates that Aaron had not been completely spared from punishment. The older two of his four sons, Nadav and Avihu, were killed by God in a dramatic divine fire which emanated in the Tabernacle. Moses’ prayer led to God sparing only the two younger sons. Moses’ prayer did half the job.

The Meshech Chochma explains that the people still required atonement. While it was Aaron who physically constructed the Golden Calf, the people of Israel are the ones who had forced him to do it, and therefore they had a measure of responsibility that had not been forgiven. Therefore, Aaron’s sacrifice of the calf as an atonement for his sin of the Golden Calf would also serve as an atonement for the nation’s role in demanding of him to construct the idol.

They were in the same boat. They were essentially partners in the sin and the sacrifice would serve to atone for both Aaron and the nation. Aaron, the High Priest, needed to pray both for himself as well as for the rest of the nation. Thankfully, his sacrifice and his prayers were subsequently accepted.

May our prayers be rapidly accepted and may we see health restored to the entire world, quickly.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To those smart enough to be careful with social distancing.

5779, Berdichever, Leviticus, Parsha, Shmini, The Times of Israel

Preparing for Prophecy (Shmini)

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Preparing for Prophecy (Shmini)

My strength has the strength of ten because my heart is pure. -Alfred Lord Tennyson

In the middle of this week’s Torah portion we’re told:

“And God spoke to Moses and Aaron, to say upon them…” and then provides a long list of the various animals that Jews can and can’t eat.

The Berdichever explains that the repetitious phrase, “say upon them,” hints that in the future God will speak directly to us. He will enable all the Children of Israel to reach a measure of prophecy.

He recalls the Midrash regarding when Moses was an infant, was discovered and rescued from the Nile, and adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter. It seems Moses refused to nurse from any of the Egyptian nursemaids. Finally, his sister Miriam intervenes and arranges to have Moses returned to their mother to be nursed and to subsequently be returned to Pharaoh’s daughter once he’s been weaned.

The Midrash explains that baby Moses at some level understood that in the future he would be speaking with God, that he would be prophesizing to the Nation of Israel the words of God. For such an important role he couldn’t allow himself to nurse from the impure idolatrous Egyptians. The mouth that would speak divinely ordained words couldn’t sully itself with anything impure.

Similarly, the Berdichever states that at the end of days, the entire Jewish people will prophesy. Therefore, in preparation, we should not defile our mouths with impure foods. That is the deep link between the hints of prophecy and the laws of a Kosher diet.

Non-kosher creatures have a cruel aspect in their nature, and by consuming the products of non-kosher animals, we absorb some measure of cruelty in ourselves. The Jewish ideal is to aim for purity and kindness and to avoid anything that can taint our body, our character and our soul.

May we aim for purity of character as well as purity in our diets.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To our soldiers on the Gaza border. May God protect you and the rest of Israel.

5778, Leviticus, Parsha, Rabbeinu Bechaye, Shmini, The Times of Israel

Fatal Alcohol (Shmini)

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Fatal Alcohol (Shmini)

All excess is ill, but drunkenness is of the worst sort. It spoils health, dismounts the mind, and unmans men. It reveals secrets, is quarrelsome, lascivious, impudent, dangerous and bad. -William Penn

Two sons of Aaron the High Priest, Nadav and Avihu, die in a consecration ritual gone awry. They offer unauthorized fire in the Tabernacle and are instantly killed by a fire sent by God. Immediately after this horrific scene of death the Torah commands Aaron and his remaining sons to refrain from drinking wine or strong drink while serving in the Tabernacle, lest they die. Many commentators point at this command as the unspoken reason why Nadav and Avihu were killed. They had entered the Tabernacle drunk.

Rabbeinu Bechaye on Leviticus 10:9 (Shmini) expands on the dangers of alcohol. The first danger that directly affects the priestly service is that drunkenness prevents a person from distinguishing between what is holy and what is mundane. A drunk cannot differentiate between the sacred and the profane – a vital skill in any holy work.

Additionally, he states three other outcomes of drinking too much alcohol that are alluded to in the verse: drowsiness, arrogance and confusion. Alcohol causes “warm and humid vapors” to rise to the brain, causing sleep, which one is expressly forbidden to do in the Tabernacle.

Alcohol also “heats the forces of the heart,” leading to an inflated ego, namely arrogance, erasing any distinction between holy and mundane, making everything equal in his eyes, including the pure and the defiled.

Finally, the “vapors” that rise to the brain create a division between the brain and the other forces of the body, creating confusion and literally “mixing up of the brain.”

Rabbeinu Bechaye ends his discussion of the dangers of drinking by quoting King Solomon’s Proverbs that a drinker’s end is like a snake’s bite. The snake from the Garden of Eden was an enticer, who led humanity to death. It is the same with alcohol. It is seductive, but it is a poison that if mishandled can ultimately lead to ruin and death.

May we always drink responsibly and if we can’t, avoid it altogether.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To Alcoholics Anonymous.

 

5777, Hirsch, Leviticus, Parsha, Shmini, The Times of Israel

Inversely Proportional Punishment

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Inversely Proportional Punishment

Those who know the least obey the best. -George Farquhar

After the Revelation of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, the consecration of the Tabernacle was meant to be the next high point of the sojourn of the Nation of Israel during their desert journey. This portable Temple with the concentrated presence of God amongst them, would accompany the young nation, keeping God ever close.

But amidst the induction of Aaron and his sons as the Kohens, the priestly caste; amidst the festivities, the sacrifices, the rituals and the celebrations – something goes horribly wrong.

Nadav and Avihu, Aaron’s two older sons, decide, on their own initiative, to introduce a “strange” fire to the proceedings. This uncommanded change to the day’s ritual was met with immediate and devastating results. A fire from the heavens immediately descends and kills Nadav and Avihu instantly.

Commentators offer a range of explanations as to what exactly was the sin of Nadav and Avihu and why they deserved what on the surface appears to be a wildly disproportional punishment for what we might think was a minor infraction at worst.

Rabbi Hirsch on Leviticus 10:3 interprets the event as clearly an error on the part of Nadav and Avihu and learns something as to God’s view of moral responsibility, obedience and punishment based on intellectual capacity:

“God says: ‘The more a person stands out from among his people as a teacher and leader in relation to Me, the less will I show indulgence for his errors. Even by having him die I demonstrate that My will is absolute and that not even – indeed, least of all – those nearest to Me, the highest before Me, may permit themselves the slightest deviation from it. This will make the entire nation realize the full, solemn import of the obedience they owe Me.’ Seen in this light, these words of God should be sufficient consolation for Aaron, so that the text can indeed state: ‘And Aharon was silent.” Had his sons not been close to God, allowance might have been made for their aberration, and the Heavenly decree that overtook them might not have come to them as a warning of such solemn import for the entire nation. In sharpest divergence from the modern view, which regards intellectual attainments as a license for moral laxity and tends to make allowances for violators of God’s moral law if they happen to be men of intellect, Judaism postulates that the higher the intellect, the greater must be the moral demands placed upon it.”

Indeed, to paraphrase, borrowing a line from modern culture, we might say that, “With great intellectual power, comes great moral responsibility.”

May we harness our intellects and intelligence morally and not see it as an exemption from our many responsibilities to family, friends, community and society.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the Education Ministry’s Department for Evaluation of Foreign Academic Degrees. They demonstrated great intelligence and responsibility in evaluating my degrees.

5776, Leviticus, Parsha, Sfat Emet, Shmini, The Times of Israel

Words of Grandeur

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Words of Grandeur 

 By words the mind is winged. –Aristophanes

Talking

In a Kabbalistic view of the physical world, there are four categories in creation in ascending order of importance:

  1. “Domem” (literally “silent”) referring to inanimate objects, the earth, water, minerals, etc.
  2.  “Tzomeach” refers to things that grow, trees, flowers, grass, vegetation.
  3. “Chai” (literally “alive”) are animals.
  4. “Medaber” (“speaks”) are human beings that have the unique capacity of speech.

The Sfat Emet in 5634 (1874) states that humans are at the top of this existential pyramid, but only as long as they use proper speech, elevated speech, namely, words of Torah. This is particularly the case with the Children of Israel who received the Torah directly from God. The Sfat Emet claims that a person for whom words of Torah are not present in his dialogue, not only is he not using his divinely ordained capacity as intended, but he may even be lower than animals. The reason is that we would be abusing our gift of speech, the main thing that differentiates us from animals.

However, a person that does use words of Torah has the power to elevate all of creation, from the simplest pebble to the most sophisticated human and everything in between. Speech has a unique ability to connect heaven and earth, and to transcend the strictures of the physical and material and bind us to the spiritual and eternal.

May words of Torah – wise, sacred and kind – ever be on our lips.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, a fountain of words of Torah, on his receipt of the prestigious Templeton Prize.

 

5775, Baal Haturim, Leviticus, Parsha, Shmini, The Times of Israel

Bugs in Paradise

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First posted on The Times of Israel at: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/shmini-bugs-in-paradise/

Baal Haturim Leviticus: Shmini

Bugs in Paradise

picnic1We hope that, when the insects take over the world, they will remember with gratitude how we took them along on all our picnics. -Bill Vaughan

The laws of keeping Kosher can at times seem complex and involve much minutia. One can paint in broad strokes the basic laws: no mixing of meat and milk products, kosher mammals must have split hooves and chew their cud, they must be slaughtered and checked according to strict guidelines, kosher fish are only those that have scales and fins, and a few other fundamental guidelines.

However, matters get interesting when we start mixing things, when we deal with modern manufacturing processes, when there are doubts and uncertainty about what exactly we are eating. Then the Rabbis in all their glory attack the subject matter with encyclopedias worth of details, arguments, counter-arguments, decisions and responsa.

One interesting detail is that in some mixtures a rule of thumb is that if there is less than one sixtieth of the offending substance in the mixture (which is not a lot), the entirety of the mixture is permissible to eat. However, a curious exception is bugs. Any food or mixture of food that has even a tiny bug makes that food prohibited.

The Baal Haturim on Leviticus 11:29 adds an unexpected explanation as to why. He writes that snakes are included in the group of insects, bugs and general “creepy crawlies” (sheretz is the exact Hebrew word) that are prohibited. And because the snake is considered so repulsive we can’t allow any of it, not even a little bit, no matter how big whatever it’s swallowed into is, to be consumed. The snake implicates all other bugs in this prohibition, making life more challenging for all those people checking for bugs in the food we eat, but ostensibly also making it better to eat.

May we stay clear of bugs and snakes in our lives and in our food.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To all those who were so careful to avoid chametz (unleavened bread) throughout Pesach.