Parasha Achrei Mot is the foundational section in Leviticus about the chag (holiday) of Yom Kippur whereas parasha Kedoshim is about inter and intra human morals and ethics regarding the holiness of behavior. Both Yom Kippur and human behavior are Torah based and must be viewed through the lens of tahor (pure) and tamai (impure). In the context of the two parshiyot a person better’s themselves by turning (t’shuvah) from human error and sin, hence Yom Kippur, which allows for living a life of what the Torah calls holiness tied into morals and ethics. This week I’d like to look in particular at Leviticus 19 although I also want to begin with chapter 16, and even more so about the curtain, or the parochet.
In the first chapter of Achrei Mot the parochet, or the curtain in the Mishkan, is mentioned 10 times, so it must be important. The parochet was to separate the Holy from the Holy of Holies that only the High Priest was allowed to enter (Ex. 26:35 and Lev. 16:3). Later the parochet was used in the Beit Hamikdash, albeit differently and today the parochet is between the doors of the Aron Kodesh and in front of the Torot, the Torah scrolls. In the Beit Hamikdash, the Temple, the Holy and Holy of Holies was now divided by a wall although the curtain still remained (1 Kings 6), prompting Rashi to ask - why the parochet? In his commentary to the Talmud (Menachot 98a), Rashi writes that the “parochet was spread at the entrance of the Temple of the Holy of Holies for modesty and not because of a partition.” In an early work on Responsa to Jewish Law (Terumat HaDeshen, 68) Rabbi Yisrael Isserlein speaks of the parochet as a separation that is behind the doors of the Aron Kodesh to show respect for the Torah scrolls inside, which is why we never leave a Torah uncovered. This made me think about traditional forms of Jewish practice where women will wear a sheitel, a wig, to cover up their hair for her significant other alone, an issue of modesty and respect. All that to say that I am going to approach the understanding of the parochet a bit differently as we move on to Leviticus 19 that is about holiness.
Looking at the movie, A Few Good Men, I want to call our attention to a scene where Tom Cruise, who plays the Navy Lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee, is questioning Jack Nicholson, who plays the part Colonel Nathan Jessep, in a military court of law. Well, during their heated interaction Colonel Jessep says in his retort to Lt. Kaffee, “I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it.” Well context aside, it’s the part about the blanket that I recalled, and in a similar way we should see the parochet as us, a symbol of a blanket of modesty and respect we offer each other that matters very much how it is provided. In Kedoshim one of the first things Moses taught was “You shall be holy, for I, your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2). While the Jewish purpose was tied into the identity of “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6), the Jewish being is about acts of holiness. Leviticus 19:18 and 19:34 are two like but different verses. The first verse says “Love your fellow as yourself: I am the Lord” while the second is about the strangers (non-Jews) who are given equal rights as "your citizens [who] you shall love each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am your God.” This is why the Jewish DNA supports causes such as immigration, the LGBTQ community, BLM movement and even Palestinian rights (another conversation of course). In a sense we stand upon the wall (another refernce to A Few Good Men) of human dignity and provide the blanket of protection for a person’s modesty and self-respect.
For the most part Leviticus 19 is not about ben Adam Lamakom (between a person and God) but ben Adam Lachaveiro (between a person and a person, because of God). We are to recall that each of us has a holy spark within because we are fashioned B’tzlem Elohim, in the image of God, endowed with the capacity of chesed, the ability to show love to another. In Kedoshim we see that in honoring parents, do not steal, bare false witness or deal with another in a deceitful way, even little while lies or omissions of fact. We are told not to defraud another or withhold wages from a worker longer than allowed. There is an express obligation to feed the hungry, do not cause undue hardship to those with a handicap, rendering fare decisions to the poor and rich alike by avoiding distinction or preference. There are values of personal relationships, not eating blood because it represents life, self-harm, selling children into harlotry, respecting the elderly, engaging in fare business practices and the like; all because we were slaves in Egypt and should know better about being treated with modesty and respect. When it says “You shall be holy, for I, your God am holy,” both friend and stranger, these are the values of God that guides our interpersonal interactions with others. This for Leviticus is the definition of holiness.
Leviticus 19 is an ethic of behavior more so than a moral deed. Loving your neighbor or the stranger in our midst is not an option or a deed alone, but it is a Torah based ethic that by definition means to govern behavior or the conducting of an activity, again it is like a blanket of protection for others, let alone ourselves. A fare question; what about the people who we feel differently about or may not care for? We find the answer for that question in Pirkei Avot 2:16 that says,“ It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it,” meaning that just because we struggle to love another person does not mean we lose our value of love, showing modesty and respect to others just like the parochet does for the scrolls of Torah. Maybe this is why our Rabbis choose the words of the prophet Amos (9:7-15) for the Haftarah, the lack of holiness created a community that harmed itself and the prophet wanted to remind the people that it is never too late to fix what is broke, making what is tamai relationally tahor. This is a curtain call that has lasting value.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Adam
In the first chapter of Achrei Mot the parochet, or the curtain in the Mishkan, is mentioned 10 times, so it must be important. The parochet was to separate the Holy from the Holy of Holies that only the High Priest was allowed to enter (Ex. 26:35 and Lev. 16:3). Later the parochet was used in the Beit Hamikdash, albeit differently and today the parochet is between the doors of the Aron Kodesh and in front of the Torot, the Torah scrolls. In the Beit Hamikdash, the Temple, the Holy and Holy of Holies was now divided by a wall although the curtain still remained (1 Kings 6), prompting Rashi to ask - why the parochet? In his commentary to the Talmud (Menachot 98a), Rashi writes that the “parochet was spread at the entrance of the Temple of the Holy of Holies for modesty and not because of a partition.” In an early work on Responsa to Jewish Law (Terumat HaDeshen, 68) Rabbi Yisrael Isserlein speaks of the parochet as a separation that is behind the doors of the Aron Kodesh to show respect for the Torah scrolls inside, which is why we never leave a Torah uncovered. This made me think about traditional forms of Jewish practice where women will wear a sheitel, a wig, to cover up their hair for her significant other alone, an issue of modesty and respect. All that to say that I am going to approach the understanding of the parochet a bit differently as we move on to Leviticus 19 that is about holiness.
Looking at the movie, A Few Good Men, I want to call our attention to a scene where Tom Cruise, who plays the Navy Lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee, is questioning Jack Nicholson, who plays the part Colonel Nathan Jessep, in a military court of law. Well, during their heated interaction Colonel Jessep says in his retort to Lt. Kaffee, “I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it.” Well context aside, it’s the part about the blanket that I recalled, and in a similar way we should see the parochet as us, a symbol of a blanket of modesty and respect we offer each other that matters very much how it is provided. In Kedoshim one of the first things Moses taught was “You shall be holy, for I, your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2). While the Jewish purpose was tied into the identity of “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6), the Jewish being is about acts of holiness. Leviticus 19:18 and 19:34 are two like but different verses. The first verse says “Love your fellow as yourself: I am the Lord” while the second is about the strangers (non-Jews) who are given equal rights as "your citizens [who] you shall love each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am your God.” This is why the Jewish DNA supports causes such as immigration, the LGBTQ community, BLM movement and even Palestinian rights (another conversation of course). In a sense we stand upon the wall (another refernce to A Few Good Men) of human dignity and provide the blanket of protection for a person’s modesty and self-respect.
For the most part Leviticus 19 is not about ben Adam Lamakom (between a person and God) but ben Adam Lachaveiro (between a person and a person, because of God). We are to recall that each of us has a holy spark within because we are fashioned B’tzlem Elohim, in the image of God, endowed with the capacity of chesed, the ability to show love to another. In Kedoshim we see that in honoring parents, do not steal, bare false witness or deal with another in a deceitful way, even little while lies or omissions of fact. We are told not to defraud another or withhold wages from a worker longer than allowed. There is an express obligation to feed the hungry, do not cause undue hardship to those with a handicap, rendering fare decisions to the poor and rich alike by avoiding distinction or preference. There are values of personal relationships, not eating blood because it represents life, self-harm, selling children into harlotry, respecting the elderly, engaging in fare business practices and the like; all because we were slaves in Egypt and should know better about being treated with modesty and respect. When it says “You shall be holy, for I, your God am holy,” both friend and stranger, these are the values of God that guides our interpersonal interactions with others. This for Leviticus is the definition of holiness.
Leviticus 19 is an ethic of behavior more so than a moral deed. Loving your neighbor or the stranger in our midst is not an option or a deed alone, but it is a Torah based ethic that by definition means to govern behavior or the conducting of an activity, again it is like a blanket of protection for others, let alone ourselves. A fare question; what about the people who we feel differently about or may not care for? We find the answer for that question in Pirkei Avot 2:16 that says,“ It is not your duty to finish the work, but neither are you at liberty to neglect it,” meaning that just because we struggle to love another person does not mean we lose our value of love, showing modesty and respect to others just like the parochet does for the scrolls of Torah. Maybe this is why our Rabbis choose the words of the prophet Amos (9:7-15) for the Haftarah, the lack of holiness created a community that harmed itself and the prophet wanted to remind the people that it is never too late to fix what is broke, making what is tamai relationally tahor. This is a curtain call that has lasting value.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Adam
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