וְיֵעָשׂוּ כֻלָּם אֲגֻדָּה אֶחָת לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנְךָ בְּלֵבָב שָׁלֵם
וְיֵעָשׂוּ כֻלָּם אֲגֻדָּה אֶחָת לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנְךָ בְּלֵבָב שָׁלֵם
Parashat Aharei Mot gives us much to think about, to learn from, to understand and to challenge ourselves with. I’ve chosen to devote my D’var Torah to the anonymous and fascinating individual in this parashah, the ish iti – or “man of the hour” or “time-bound man”.
“Hokheiah tokhiah et amitekha.” “You shall surely reprove your fellow.” (Leviticus 19:17) Giving critical feedback, or tokhehah (often translated as “reproof” or “rebuke”), is a positive mitzvah in the Torah.
Perhaps this shouldn’t surprise us, as constructive critique and feedback is a primary way that we learn and grow. And yet, already in the time of the Talmud, two of the greatest sages of their generation indicated that almost everyone who attempts to fulfill this mitzvah is doing it wrong.
In the Babylonian Talmud, Arakhin 16b, Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah differ about why the system of tokhehah seems to be broken. According to Rabbi Tarfon, “I would be surprised if there is anyone in this generation who can receive rebuke. If the one rebuking says ‘Remove the splinter from between your eyes,’ the other responds: ‘Remove the beam from between your eyes!’” In other words, the experience of receiving criticism, even when generously offered, tends to activate Read More >
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
A D’var Torah for Parashat Aharei Mot
By Rabbi Michael Rothbaum (’06)
In an instantly-classic scene from Fiddler, Tevye the dairyman comes to an agreement to marry off his daughter Tzeitl to the butcher Lazar Wolf. The two men celebrate by singing the rousing anthem L’Hayim — “To Life!” The lyrics report that:
Life has a way of confusing us,
Blessing and bruising us.
Drink, l’chaim, to life!
This modern Jewish sacred text reflects an elemental hasidishe teaching — namely, that that even when the material conditions of existence are meager, we raise up the sparks of holiness that surround us. Even in the most difficult of circumstances, we can lift a glass of shnapps “to life.”
The toast l’hayim stretches much farther back than Sheldon Harnick’s lyrics, of course, no matter how much we revere them. Some scholars trace the custom all the way back to Talmudic times, as illustrated in this text Read More >
Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
| A D’var Torah for Parashiot Aharei Mot / Kedoshim By Rabbi Jill Hackell (’13) You shall rise before the aged and respect the elderly; you shall fear your God, I am the Lord.” [Leviticus 19:32] This verse is found in parashat Kedoshim, a parashah which begins with Moses transmitting these words of God to the community of Israel: “You shall be holy [kedoshim tehiyu], for I, the Lord God, am holy.” [19:1-2] What does it mean to be holy? What does God ask of us? Let’s look at our verse as an example. At one time, Israeli buses displayed the first part of this verse – mip’nei siva takum – literally, ‘Rise before the gray-hairs’, on signs, to remind younger riders that society expects them to give up their seats to their elders. What a wonderful way to create a society which teaches the value of Read More > |
A D’var Torah for Parashat Aharei Mot Kedoshim
By Cantor Sandy Horowitz (’14)
Parashat Kedoshim consists of a series of commandments which God wants Moses to convey to the Israelite people. As is God’s wont, God has a lot to say as the verses in this parashah jump from one topic to another– keep My sabbaths; when you reap your harvest, leave the corners of your field for the poor and stranger; do not curse the deaf; do not cross-breed your cattle; and so on. These are a few of the laws which appear just in the first two aliyot of the Torah reading. Imagine how the Israelites might have listened to this series of commandments while trying to remember it all; it must have felt overwhelming, and perhaps a bit confusing. What harvest? What stranger?
Then we arrive at the beginning of the third aliyah: “When you come into the land and plant Read More >
| Yom Kippur Asks “Answers” – Not Just “Afflictions” A D’var Torah for Parashat Acharei Mot By Rabbi David Markus This week’s parashah (Acharei Mot) brings Torah’s first mention of Yom Kippur (#sorry), so each year this parashah starts me thinking about the High Holy Days (#notsorry). Each year, I recall how three words in this parashah once drove me from Judaism. So each year, I renew my commitment to wrestle these words that challenge me. This parashah’s three challenging words are: “afflict your souls.” Torah “sets a law for all time that [on Yom Kippur] you will afflict your souls (t’anu et nafshoteikhem) and do no work” (Lev. 16:29). That day is to be a “complete shabbat (shabbat shabbaton) [on which] you will afflict your souls (v’initem et nafshoteikhem)” (Lev. 16:31). For Yom Kippur, one mention of “afflict” didn’t suffice: Torah had to say it twice. From “afflict your souls” evolved Yom Kippur’s fasting, abstinence, and Read More > |
Torah, sexuality and #MeToo
A D’var Toroh for Aharei Mot/Kedoshim
by Rabbi Irwin Huberman ’10
Within Judaism, there exists a debate regarding the reading of some explicit sexual material on the afternoon of Yom Kippur.
Orthodox Judaism encourages us to read from the Torah what are commonly referred to as the arayot – forbidden sexual relationships.
Conservative Judaism offers an alternative — suggesting a second reading dealing with interpersonal relationships, business practices, ritual behavior and criminal law.
Reform Judaism often bypasses sexuality, choosing Biblical texts that highlight reconciliation, ethical behavior and social justice.
Indeed, the discussion of forbidden sexual practices on the holy and reflective day of Yom Kippur is a challenging one.
Yet, is it possible that the same Torah reading, which so many rabbis and congregations have struggled with in recent years, demands a rereading in light of so many sexual abuses and allegations that have come to light this past year?
More specifically, is there a thematic connection between the Read More >
by Cantor Sandy Horowitz
Parashat Aharei Mot-Kedoshim: A Look Back
Max: Aaron has asked us to divide into groups and share our reflections about what we heard from Moses today. So many laws! I lost track after fifty.
Hannah: “You, who are on the road, must have a code that you can live by….”*
Max: What?
Hannah: I heard that in a dream once.
Shira: How long will this take? Miriam’s doing folk-dancing tonight and I promised her I’d bring my timbrel…
Shmuel: What’s with all those Ani Adonai (“I am Adonai”)s? He kept repeating it.
Max: Perhaps it helps us remember a Higher Purpose whenever we consider these laws.
Shmuel: Or maybe he’s still mad about the golden calf…
Max: I was struck by hearing the laws regarding land: we’re commanded to leave the corners of our fields for the poor and hungry, fruit-trees grow unpicked for three years and then we sacrifice the first fruits before we can Read More >
by Rabbi Michael Pitkowsky
Death. Why is there death in this world? Is there a meaning to death? We often ask these questions as we try to make sense of death or when we are confronted with tragedy that seems to overwhelm our sense of right and wrong. We are not alone in asking these questions.
R. Abba b. Abina enquired: For what reason was the section recording the death of Miriam placed in close proximity to that dealing with the ashes of the Red Heifer? Simply this, to teach that as the ashes of the Heifer effect atonement (mekhaper), so the death of the righteous effects atonement (mekhaperet). R. Judan asked: For what reason was the death of Aaron recorded in close proximity to the breaking of the Tables? Simply this, to teach that Aaron’s death was as grievous to the Holy One, blessed be He, as the breaking of the Tablets.
The midrash Read More >
by Rabbi Isaac Mann
In parashat Kedoshim we come across what some of our rabbinic sages (Hazal) tell us is the most important principle of the Torah — ve’ohavta le’reiakha ko-mokha — “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). In particular, it is Rabbi Akiva of the second century C.E. who selects this phrase in a debate with Ben Azzai over what should be considered the most fundamental teaching of the Torah. (see Gen. Rabbah 24:7)
We also find Hillel in an earlier century expressing the same idea. In a famous Talmudic story a potential convert comes to this sage seeking to learn the entire Torah while standing on one leg. Unlike Shammai, who rejected him outright, Hillel tells him “that which is hateful to you don’t do unto others; that is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary; go learn it.” (Shabbat 31a) No doubt Hillel had in mind Read More >
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