ACHAREI MOT LEVITICUS XVI – XVIII and KEDOSHIM LEVITICUS XIX – XX

Some paragraphs of our weekly chapters are given public reading on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of our calendar (in our time it takes on an additional meaning because it has lent its name to the 1973 war between Israel and its neighbors). In the morning of Yom Kippur, we read about the two scape goats that were part of the ritual of the day. A lot was drawn in order to designate which of these animals would be slaughtered. 

After the Kohen’s publicconfessionof the mistakes made by the people, the second of the scape goats was sent into the wilderness. An Ish ití, who was a person designated in advance for this purpose, was in charge of leading that goat into the wilderness. This ritual gives rise to the term “scapegoat” (to blame another) used in most Western languages.

During the night before the Holy Day, the Kohen (the one who officiates the ritual on Yom Kippur is the Kohen Gadol, who occupies a position first held by Aharon, Moshe’s brother) remained awake reviewing the order of the religious services for the following day. Sometimes when the Kohen was not sufficiently learned, the sages repeated with him the different instructions and ordinances he would have to follow during on Yom Kippur. The Kohen was required to take an oath by which he promised not to deviate from the order established by the Jajamim.

This is probably due to the difference of opinion between the Perushim and the Tsedukim with reference to the exact order of the ritual of this sacred day. The Jajamim wanted to ensure that the Kohen Gadol follow the order of the Perushim, since his duties took place privately while in the Kodesh HaKodashim, the holiest site of the Beit HaMikdash. The Kohen Gadol was not permitted to fall asleep throughout the night, and the Pirchei Kehuna (young priesthood apprentices) awoke him, when they observed that he was slumbering.

The Kohen Gadol offered fifteen sacrifices in the process of requesting forgiveness Baado, for his personal sins, for Beito, the sins ofhis family (the word Beito, which means family or home, identifies also with a wife), and therefore it was indispensable that this Kohen Gadol be a married man. A surrogate was chosen for his wife, should his wife die on the eve of Yom Kippur and this death would prevent the Kohen Gadol from completely fulfilling his duties because he had no wife and, therefore, could not request forgiveness for the sins of all the people of Israel.

In the course of the sacrificial offerings, the Kohen Gadol had to change his clothes five times, after each time immersion in a Mikveh, the ritual pool. While fulfilling his obligations the rest of the year, the Kohen Gadol was covered with eight garments containing golden threads. On Yom Kippur, on the other hand, and as a sign of humility, he wore four simple white linen robes. Luxury and ostentation are not compatible with a request for forgiveness that was the essential duty of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur.

Over the course of Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol implores forgiveness on three occasions. First, he asks for forgiveness for his own sins and those of his family. He then asks again for forgiveness for his sins and for those of his relatives, but this time includes a request for forgiveness for the sins of other Kohanim. The request for forgiveness for the entire people of Israel is made by the Kohen Gadol a few moments before sending the second goat into the wilderness. When the people listened as the Kohen Gadol pronounced God’s “explicit name,” everyone prostrated and repeated Baruj Shem kevod malchuto leolam vaed, “Blessed be His majestic Name forever and ever.” This is the same phrase that is usually uttered in silence, but which is recited aloud in the synagogue on Yom Kippur’s prayers.

From the aforementioned ritual of that day, it is clear that our current celebration of Yom Kippur differs greatly from the majesty and solemnity of the times of the Beit HaMikdash. The ritual focused, at the time, on the Kohen Gadol who had to make a series of sacrifices and ablutions and obtain Kaparah, absolution and forgiveness for the sins committed by all. With the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, the Jewish people became inconsolable because they did not know if there was a different traditional way to obtain Divine forgiveness annually.

But the genius of our people did not remain inert. The Synagogue, with its teaching that word and prayer are the true “service of the heart” in the happy expression of the Talmud, offeredan alternative to the Jerusalem Temple. Indeed, during the course of Yom Kippur’s prayers, the order of sacrifices is “recited” and all of Kohen Gadol’s activities are recalled. Uneshalma farim sefatenu, “and our lips will take the place of the bulls”, (the animals that were sacrificed) the phrase of the prophet Hoshea, offered biblical support, for the substitution of sacrifices with prayers.

At the conclusion of the fast of Yom Kippur, most feel a kind of catharsis, emotional relief, and spiritual elevation as they leave the synagogues. In earlier times, according to the Talmud, at the conclusion of Yom Kippur there were celebrations of rejoicing at the longed-for and anticipated Divine acceptance of the supplications of the Kohen Gadol. The young women, elegantly dressed, danced in the streets and asked the young men to choose a partner. “Young man, don’t look at shallow beauty and look more at the ancestor and the provenance”, they used to exclaim. 

Perhaps, because of this popular tradition of the search for Shiduchim on this date, the Torah reading chosen for the afternoon of Yom Kippur exhorts against forbidden marriages and against incest in particular. Or perhaps, since large groups were gathered in Yom Kippur, the time was consider appropriate for repeating the list of sexual prohibitions, knowledge of that is essential to the structure of every society.

The following is a list of sexual intercourse prohibited according to our biblical text:

    to. Between mother and son. 

B. Between stepmother and stepson.

c. Between brother and sister, or stepbrother and stepbrother. A man may marry the daughter of a stepfather or stepmother, the product of a previous marriage.

d. Between father and daughter, or between grandfather and granddaughter.

E. With the father’s or mother’s sister.

F. With the wife of the brother of (his) father.

G. With her daughter-in-law, even if she’s no longer married to her son.

H. With his brother’s wife or his half-brother’s wife.

i. With a woman and her daughter (The Torah conceived the possibility of having more than one wife).

j. With a woman and the daughter of his (of the woman) son.

K. With a woman and the daughter of his (of the woman) daughter.

l. With his wife’s sister (during his wife’s life).

We conclude our weekly notes with a brief reflection on the fact that in Judaism sex is not a taboo, nor an exclusive and obsessive manifestation of the carnal desire of humans. In no way should we regard sex as a concession to the animal instinct of the individual and to his absolute need for the survival of the species. Of course, our considerations are nuanced by the scientific knowledge of our day. 

However, it can be widely documented with biblical texts, with sources of Midrash and Talmud, that in Judaism there is a positive attitude towards sex. Moreover, the Kabalah, in particular, contains numerous quotations that exalt the the sexual act. Our chapters, however, set limits on sexual activity, (to which we must add the amendment imposed by Rabenu Guershom Maor Hagolá’s Beit Din which banned polygamy) limits that have been adopted, almost to the letter, by modern Western society.

MITSVA: TORAH ORDINANCE IN THIS PARASHÁ

CONTAINS 2 POSITIVE MITSVOT AND 26 PROHIBITIONS

1. 184.Leviticus 16:2 A Kohen must not enter the Temple at any time (only for Temple Service) but still should not enter who is not a Kohen
2. 185.Leviticus 16:3 Temple Service in Yom Kippur
3. 186.Leviticus 17:3,4 Do not ritually slit the offering outside the temple yard
4. 187.Leviticus 17:13 Mitsvah to cover blood (after the rite of slitting)
5. 188.Leviticus 18:6 Having no pleasure with people who are forbidden to the individual
6. 189.Leviticus 18:7 Not having sex with one’s father
7. 190.Leviticus 18:7 Not having sex with one’s mother
8. 191.Leviticus 18:8 Not having sex with the father’s wife, even if it is not his mother
9. 192.Leviticus 18:9 Not having sex with a sister, be it your sister in any way
10. 193.Leviticus 18:10 Not having sex with a son’s daughter
11. 194.Leviticus 18:10 Not having sex with a daughter’s daughter
12. 195.Leviticus 18:10 Not having sex with a daughter
13. 196.Leviticus 18:11 Not having sex with the sister of a son, daughter of the same mother and of a different husband
14. 197.Leviticus 18:12 Have no sexual relationships with one’s father’s sister
15. 198.Leviticus 18:13 Not having sex with one’s mother’s sister
16. 199.Leviticus 18:14 Having no relations with one’s father’s brother
17. 200.Leviticus 18:14 Having no relations with the wife of one’s father’s brother
18. 201.Leviticus 18:15 Not having sex with a child’s wife
19. 202.Leviticus 18:16 Not having sex with a brother’s wife
20. 203.Leviticus 18:17 Not having sex with both a woman and her daughter
21. 204.Leviticus 18:17 Not having sex with both, a woman and her son’s daughter
22. 205.Leviticus 18:17 Not having sex with both, a woman and her daughter’s daughter
23. 206.Leviticus 18:18 Having no relationships with 2 sisters while both are alive
24. 207.Leviticus 18:19 Not having sex with a woman during menstruation
25. 208.Leviticus 18:21 Do not dedicate any son or daughter to the idolatry of Molech
26. 209.Leviticus 18:22 A man should not have relations with another man
27. 210.Leviticus 18:23 A man should not have sex with animals
28. 211.Leviticus 18:23 A woman should not have sex with animals

KEDOSHIM

LEVITICUS XIX – XX

“HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER”

The title of our biblical reading comes from the Hebrew root Kadosh which means holy or sacred. God tells Moshe to instruct the entire congregation of Israel to be   Kedoshim, sanctified, because He is also sanctified. According to Rashi, Kedoshim’s instruction must be understood as keeping apart, not participating in incestuous sexual intercourse, the subject of previous chapters. At the same time, we must remain separate from any Averah, which is disobedience to a Mitsvah, which is a Divine ordinance contained in the Torah.

The central prayer of Shabbat afternoon affirms: “Atah echad, veShimcha echad, umi keamecha Israel goi echad ba’arets”, which means “You (God) isOne (unique), andYour Name is One, and who is as Your peopleIsrael, a unique people on earth”. Indeed, since the beginning of our history as a people, we have been Kedoshim, different and “other” in relation to the rest of humanity. According to the Midrash, Avraham was called Ivri, because he was located on one side of the river and the rest of the world was on the opposite bank. Avraham confronts the rest of the world and invites all to accept the existence of a unique and only God.

Golda Meir also referred to this characteristic, when, at the United Nations, she noted that each of the nations that belong have some special affinity with others. Whether because they belong to the same ideological and political bloc, either because of cultural or historical reasons, or by sharing language or religion. Venezuela, for example, belongs to the Latin American group. Spanish, which is its language, is shared by a large section of the continent. The Catholic religion is practiced by the majority of its inhabitants and by a large number of the inhabitants of the other nations of the Americas. The affinity between the different Arab countries is well known. The case of Israel, on the other hand, is unique. It shares neither language nor religion with any nation. Israelis different. Israelis unique. Israel is “the Jew of the United Nations”.

The Jewish people do not adhere to the principles and norms of universal history. Historian Arnold Toynbee had great difficulty integrating and including this people in his scheme of humanity. It is possible that he had not expressed prejudices of anti-Semitism when he called us a fossil people. It seems that he could not comfortably place us in his historical model: “It is the only case in the annals of humanity, where a people remain faithful to their national and religious identity, for the long span of two millennia, without their own land under their feet”. Scholars offer various reasons and causes for this fact. But reality remains the same. We have defied all theories and continue to be, when according to accepted norms we should have ceased to exist.

Similarly, the nomenclature that applies to other peoples does not really fit us. Judaism is not exactly a religion. (The late Rabbi Dr. Leo Jung of the Jewish Center in New York used to teach us in a course he taught at Yeshiva University, where he stated that in Judaism, there are no dogmas, knowing that dogma is fundamental to religions). (Others argue that the existence of the One and Only God is a dogma in Judaism). Being Jewish does not (is not identical) to the practice of Judaism. It’s much easier to answer the famous question of who’s Jewish than what is a Jew? (although politically it is a hot issue today and has an impact at this historic moment when we should join forces and refrain from additional internal divisions).

The “choice” of the Jewish people, which is a notion that we repeat when we are called to read the Torah by reciting: “Asher bachar banu mikol haamim”, which means “Who chose us among all peoples”, has to be understood and explained in some way. It’s arrogant and surely wrong, to presume that we’re better than others. If we excel in some disciplines, we are weak in other fields. 

There is no doubt, however, that the world in which we have acted considers us different and “other”. Our “choice” must perhaps be manifested, in the firmness of our convictions and in the willingness to give our lives, to remain faithful, loyal and consistent with our ideals, that at the end of the day it must be the model to follow for all mankind. We have been compared to a current in the vicinity of the Bermuda Islands, which is in the middle of an immense ocean and which, however, does not allow its waters to be confused with the waters that surround it while this current maintains its special characteristics.

The Torah places an additional framework and limit on the relationship between parents and children by including in the same verse of our weekly text, fear of parents and the obligation to care for Shabbat. The Jajamim use this apparent coincidence to teach that obedience to parents is conditioned on the teachings of tradition. So that the Torah is supreme when a father orders a challenge to its Laws. This topic, that of parent-child interaction, is included in the Ten Commandments. 

According to the Jajamim, the opinion ordering “honor your father and your mother” serves to bring about the transition between human obligations to the obligations to the Creator. God is the creator of the cosmos and our parents are our biological “creators”.

In our day, when we observe the weakening of the family unity, the emphasis on fulfilling this law of “honoring and fearing” parents becomes imperative. The Talmud specifies this relationship by noting that a child should not sit in the parent’s fixed seat at the table, should not contradict him, and when his father is debating with another person, a child should refrain from participating. Not even to side with his father. The above is part of Mora, “fear” of the father. The “honor” owed the father, Kibud, in Hebrew, translates into providing him with food and drink (in case of poverty)) of providing him with clothing (if necessary), and allowing him to enter or leave from anywhere first.

The Talmud, also in the Treaty of Kidushín, states that the father also has specific obligations toward his son. The father has the responsibility to teach Torah (since in ancient times the task of education was transferred to teachers and schools), to provide him with a trade so that he can defend himself in life (during the Middle Ages, Jews were excluded from craftsmen’s guilds and therefore had to engage in other activities).

The father must circumcise him (Brit Milah) at eight days, “redeem him”, when applicable, at thirty days (Pidyon haben). A parent has to teach his child to swim (¿physicalfitness?). Perhaps the intention of this instruction is that a parent must help his child defend himself in different situations that life and nature can present to him. A parent should find a wife for their child (the likely reference is to prepare him emotionally and financially for marriage). In this way, Jewish tradition is not satisfied with abstract instruction, but defines how we should implement this relationship between parents and children.

Our weekly chapters contain numerous additional laws and instructions that are of paramount importance and deserve careful study. We conclude our lines by quoting below the Law that forbids not only idol worship, but also forbids to consider the mere possibility of their existence. It is obvious then that consulting the horoscope daily, or going to a fortune teller or sorcerer, is not something in line with our Law. 

Our astonishment was enormous, when we learned that President Ronald Reagan’s wife was in consultation with an astrologer from Los Angeles, because she feared for her husband’s life. For Nancy Reagan, the secrets of astronomy (which could be discovered by the Challenger spacecraft) do not compare to the foolproof prognostications the astrologer provided. If so, those who may belittle the urgent need for the study of the Torah (with its rules prohibiting the practice of magic and superstition) obviously remains vital in modernity.

MITSVAH: TORAH ORDINANCE IN THIS PARASHAH

CONTAINS 13 POSITIVE MITSVOT AND 38 PROHIBITIONS

1. 212.Leviticus 19:3 Fearing the father and the mother
2. 213.Leviticus 19:4 Do not turn to idolatry in thought, nor verbalizing, including witnessing
3. 214.Leviticus 19:4 Do not make an idol for personal use or for others
4. 215.Leviticus 19:6,8 Do not eat remaining offering meat after the prescribed time for it
5. 216.Leviticus 19:10 Leaving part of the field planted for the poor
6. 217.Leviticus 19:9 Do not harvest to the edge of the field
7. 218.Leviticus 19:10 Leaving spikes for the poor
8. 219.Leviticus 19:9 Do not collect spikes dropped during harvest
9. 220.Leviticus 19:10 Leaving a vineyard boundary for the poor
10. 221.Leviticus 19:10 Do not harvest the boundaries of the vineyard
11. 222.Leviticus 19:10 Leave the fallen grapes on the ground in the vineyard for the poor
12. 223.Leviticus 19:10 Do not collect fallen grapes from the vineyard
13. 224.Leviticus 19:11 Don’t steal (Not to steal of the Ten Commandments refers to kidnapping according to Jewish tradition
14. 225.Leviticus 19:11 Do not deny possession of an object belonging to another person
15. 226.Leviticus 19:11 Don’t swear falsely about an object of value
16. 227.Leviticus 19:12 Don’t swear falsely
17. 228.Leviticus 19:13 Do not retain other people’s property
18. 229.Leviticus 19:13 Do not commit theft
19. 230.Leviticus 19:13 Do not delay paying a wage laborer
20. 231.Leviticus 19:14 De not curse a Jew, man, or woman
21. 232.Leviticus 19:14 Do not lead an individual to error by giving him equivocal counsel
22. 233.Leviticus 19:15 Do not pervert justice, in a civil trial
23. 234.Leviticus 19:15 Do not give special honors in a trial to an eminent individual
24. 235.Leviticus 19:15 The judge must make a correct judgment
25. 236.Leviticus 19:16 Do not defame (gossip)
26. 237.Leviticus 19:16 Do not remain indifferent at the blood of another
27. 238.Leviticus 19:17 Don’t hate another Jew
28. 239.Leviticus 19:17 Reproach the Jew who is not behaving properly
29. 240.Leviticus 19:17 You will not place another Jew in an uncomfortable situation
30. 241.Leviticus 19:18 You will not avenge
31. 242.Leviticus 19:18 You will not hold a grudge
32. 243.Leviticus 19:18 Loving another Jew
33. 244.Leviticus 19:19 Don’t mate animals of different species
34. 245.Leviticus 19:19 Do not sow seeds of different species together in the Land of Israel, the same with trees of different species
35. 246.Leviticus 19:23 Not eating the fruit of the tree for the first 3 years
36. 247.Leviticus 19:23, 24 Laws of the ‘Fruit of the Tree’ in the Fourth Year
37. 248.Leviticus 19:26 Do not eat or drink like a glutton
38. 249.Leviticus 19:26 Do not practice divination 
39. 250.Leviticus 19:26 You will not conjure (magic)
40. 251.Leviticus 19:27 You will not remove the hair from the sideburns of the face
41. 252.Leviticus 19:27 You will not destroy the ends of your beard
42. 253.Leviticus 19:28 You will not do a tattoo on your flesh (skin)
43. 254.Leviticus 19:30 Respect the Temple
44. 255.Leviticus 19:31 Do not act like a spiritualist (magic species)
45. 256.Leviticus 19:31 Do not practice Yidon (magic species)
46. 257.Leviticus 19:32 Honor Torah scholars
47. 258.Leviticus 19:35 Do not deceive with measures
48. 259.Leviticus 19:36 Create exact balances, weights and measurements
49. 260.Leviticus 20:9 Do not curse your father or mother
50. 261.Leviticus 20:14 Incinerate the person who has been sentenced to die by fire
51. 262.Leviticus 20:23 Do not follow the behavior of idolaters