Parshas Acharei Mos: Protecting the Law

 Parshas Acharei Mos: Protecting the Law

The 18th chapter of Sefer Vayikra begins a section of the Torah in which Hashem dictates a long list of laws for Moshe to give to Bnei Yisrael. It starts with a very important statement that the Children of Israel must not do like the ways of Egypt, the land from which they had come, or the ways of Canaan, the land to which they were heading, “and in their statutes you shall not walk” (Vayikra 18:3). This injunction against assimilation is followed by what, at first, appears to be simple guidance for staying true to the new path Hashem has put before Bnei Yisrael, and yet the two verses that follow are anything but simple when looked at more closely.

 

“My ordinances you shall do, and My statutes shall you keep, to walk therein: I am the Lord your God. You shall keep My statutes and My ordinances, which if a man shall do, he shall live by them: I am the Lord” (18:4-5).

 

Simple, it seems. Do these mitzvos and guard these laws. So why do the verses seem to flip into themselves? Why is there a seeming repetition with a reversal in order? Is it more important to do – ta’asei – or to keep/guard – shamru?

Ordinances, in Hebrew mishapatim, are basic civil laws – laws that one expects to help society as a whole function. Statutes, in Hebrew chukim, on the other hand, are generally defined as laws for which there is no reason or explanation other than that Hashem told us to do them. Given the different definitions, it makes sense that Hashem instructed Moshe to tell the people to do the mishpatim and to guard the chukim. Setting up and maintaining a civil society requires constant action, whereas the more esoteric rules (chukim) require deliberate cultivation and transmission to the next generation.

But why then the seeming repetition? Perhaps we must remember Hashem's eternal omniscience. Hashem knew that we would be sent into exile, that the Jewish people would have to both develop its own kingship/nation and to live under the governance of others. 

What is the difference between doing and guarding, between la’asot and l’shmor. One is not meant to just keep the chukim close to heart, one must also “do” them. Perhaps Vayikra 18:4 should be read as a warning. Setting up a just society, following the Torah’s civil laws, is important, but it is not enough. The civil system must be sublimated to the statutes, to remembering that what may seem right and just may be a false front if it would not be acceptable within the framework of the chukim – and there are many who have noted that, at the end of the day, all mitzvos are chukim, are mitvos that we do because Hashem told us to.

Vayikra 18:5, on the other hand, reflects galus. Mishpatim, the ordinances, are both very easy and very hard. Mishpatim are often thought of as laws that most societies would develop on their own, even without Divine intervention, laws like “do not steal” and “set up courts.” Living in a society based, as they say, on Judeo-Christian traditions, we cannot even fathom life without these basic standards. At the same time, living in a society that asserts itself as following just laws, but law which may not actually be Torahdik, makes it challenging to hold fast to the mitzvos that we know we are to follow if we are to walk in the way of the Torah. Thus Vayikra 18:5, which switches the order of the injunction and states that we must keep (guard) the statutes and the ordinances and if we do so we shall live (individually). In this, it is fair to say, that living means far more than actual physical existence, but rather the true flourishing of our neshamos.

Right and wrong. Good and bad. Fair and unfair. These are terms that society casts about on every issue, without necessarily taking the time to consider who determines the parameters of those judgments. Interestingly, Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch notes on Vayikra 18:3 that “the ways of the land of Egypt and the ways of the land of Canaan seem to designate the social behavior that marked the relation of men to each other in Egypt and Canaan…the former are regulated by state-laws, the latter less by legislation but rather by rules which become sanctified by custom and convention.” For Bnei Yisrael, there can only be one source for the decision of right and wrong, good and bad, fair and unfair, and etc. The source is concisely stated as the conclusion to this set of pasukim: Ani Hashem, I am the Lord. 

In the era of galus, may we all have the strength to truly guard our paths.

Wishing you a beautiful Shabbas. 

Parshass Metzora – The Lesson of the Interruption

 The parshiot of Tazria and Metzora, which are most often read together, are interesting in that they are, one might say, interrupters. In Parsha Shemini, during the dedication of the mishkan, the Torah describes the unexpected and tragic death of Aaron’s two oldest sons. Parshas Acharei Mos, which is the parsha after Metzora, continues that narrative almost as if Tazria and Metzora did not exist.

 

Although it is not explicitly stated, the affliction of tzaraas and being in the state of being a metzora are tied to lashon harah, and this fact is, perhaps, significant given the narrative which it interrupts. Thinking back to Parshas Shemini, one might recall the variation of commentary on why Nadav and Avihu died. Each of these interpretations is based on tradition and textual evidence, and each of them is meant to guide us on how to live life, not simply on critiquing the behavior of Aaron’s sons.  One could, however, imagine the amount of speculation that occurred when the dedication ceremony ended. Perhaps this is the first place where one learns the lesson that one shouldn’t speak ill of the dead.

 

Vayikra 14, which is the first and dominant perek of Parshas Metzora, first describes the very detailed ritual necessary for one with tzaraas to undergo in order to return to normal life within the settlement of Bnei Yisrael. One would expect this to be the end of the topic of tzaraas, since its appearances and diagnosis were discussed in the previous parsha and here we have the means of purification. The perek, however, continues on to describe what happens when a nega tzaraas,  a plague on a house, appears on a home.

 

There are many interesting, although perhaps strange, concepts attached to the idea of a nega tzaraas. Beyond the idea that a house can be afflicted because of its residents’ behavior, there is the idea that the kohain can minimize the impact of his assessment by pushing off his inspection or by making certain the resident has removed anything he wouldn’t want destroyed before he comes to inspect the affliction. But really, what is fascinating here is the very idea that the consequence of tzaraas, or the impact of lashon harah, goes so much further than an individualized punishment.

 

It is fairly obvious why speaking ill effects both the individual who spoke ill and the person about whom they spoke. It is even obvious how lashon harah can affect those who heard the negative talk, whether first hand or multiple iterations later (which can sometimes be far worse for the distortion). The development of nega tzaraas, of an affliction upon a house, is an important reminder that lashon harah can be detrimental to the very fabric of society, and why it needs to be curtailed as quickly as possible.

 

We today live in a society that is woefully high strung and incredibly willing to accept and react to lashon harah. Fair and just reporting and the opportunity to examine the facts have been buried under that pressure of competition and immediate gratification. In other words, the 24 hour news cycle and social media fire the flames of constant lashon harah.

 

Imagine if Bnei Yisrael in the wilderness existed under 21^st century conditions. Not only would the ceremony dedicating the Mishkan not have been able to carry forward, but within minutes the entire structure of the kahuna (priesthood) might very well have been decimated. Public speculation about why Nadav and Avihu were struck down would have maligned not just the deceased priests, but their father and their brothers as well.

 

There is much commentary on the fact that Aaron continued on with the ceremony after his sons perished, and it would seem a strange narrative to be interrupted by laws that seem to have no connection to either the actions of Nadav and Avihu or the modified reactions of their family. On closer consideration, however, one might see that it is not completely random, that there is yet another valuable lesson to be learned from this narrative. (And, one might even, perhaps, speculate that this is a lesson that had less meaning before we entered the era of social media!)

 

Lashon Harah is complicated… It takes people of tremendous fortitude to truly abstain from it in all forms. Human nature, with ego and jealousy and righteous indignation, constantly finds ways to justify lashon harah. When we remind ourselves of how dire the consequences can be, however, perhaps we are able to strengthen ourselves just a little; perhaps the next time we are on the bring of sharing our judgements we will remember how very detrimental lashon harah can be.

 

Wishing you all a good Shabbas and, if I don’t get to post next week, a chag Pesach Kasher v’sameach.

 

This Dvar Torah is dedicated to continued Besoros Tovos and Refuah Shelaimah for Rivka bas Golda.

 

Parsha Tazria - So Many Ways

There are many parshiot in Sefer Vayikra that are difficult for us to truly understand. While Vayikra most often deals with sacrifices and the actions of the kohanim, in parsha Tazria the subject turns to a seemingly mysterious skin ailment for which a person must be isolated outside of the encampment of Bnei Yisrael. This ailment is quite often mistranslated as leprosy, which we now know is a contagious bacterial infection. The actual affliction, tzaraas, has no real English translation.

 

From reading the parsha and the multitude ways in which tzaraas can appear, one might wonder at the frequency of diagnosis. While diagnosis is a medical term, and there are many dermatological medical conditions, tzaraas could only be determined by a kohain. This is important because the source of tzaraas is not viral, bacterial, or auto immune; it is spiritual. Tzaraas is caused by the inimical yet pervasive behavior of lashon harah, speaking badly of others.

 

Lashon Harah is one of the most impactful transgressions of Jewish law. It is famously stated by Hillel that the essence of Torah is “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor: that is the whole Torah while the rest is commentary; go and learn it.” Loshon Harah, or, better, refraining from lashon harah, is critical to this essential dynamic of bein adam l’chavero (interpersonal relationships).

 

The laws of guarding one’s speech are complex and rather extensive. Lashon Harah can be the obvious gossip or verbal denigration of a person, but praising a person publicly can also fall into categories of speech to be cautious of. And this, the complexity of the laws of Lashon Harah, is a fascinating fact when reviewing parshas Tazria.

 

One might expect that a spiritual affliction such as tzaraas to have very clear and obvious symptoms. One might expect one or two fairly consistent descriptions of how the skin blemish would look. And yet, while there is only one perek dedicated to the subject, that perek is 59 pasukim long. The parsha goes on and on… if it looks like this and if it looks like that, if it is on a bald spot and if it is on hair, if it goes away and if it comes back, and etc. For the description of an affliction that must be diagnosed by a priest, that’s an awful lot of detail and variation.

 

When we remember that tzaraas is an affliction that is caused by a spiritual malignancy, by an act that undermines the fabric of interpersonal relationships, perhaps we can better understand why tzaraas is not described in a straight-forward way. Lashon Harah is certainly not straight-forward. If one were simply told not to speak ill of another, one might refrain only from outright statements such as “Jack is a liar.” But Lashon Harah, like tzaraas, is not simple.

 

The Torah does not specify the laws of Lashon Harah, but the lengthy discussion of tzaraas as expressed in the parsha is an excellent indicator of just how varied and complex the source of the disease can be.

 

We today can only imagine what it would be like to live in a world where our physical selves manifest deficiencies in our spiritual selves. Instead, we must put in great effort to guard our tongues and monitor our actions knowing that this is how we not only keep our own neshamos healthy, but how we strengthen klal Yisrael and the whole world.

 

This Dvar Torah is dedicated to continued besoros tovos/refua shelaima for Rivka Bas Golda.