Torah: Humbling the Self Before the Other
It’s no secret that this world is becoming more and more polarized. I’ve experienced this in many settings, but perhaps the most difficult is in discourse surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In many of my group interactions both internally and with guests this year in Israel, it’s become clear to me that we no longer know how to have conversations with each other. We’ve forgotten how to afford the other a basic level of respect. There is no baseline assumption that their statements are not intended to cause us harm, but come from a genuine place, even when they may be antithetical to our very existence and values. While there are many strategies for healthy communication, I want to suggest one such strategy from our parasha.
Parshat Vayikra explains, in what at times is excruciating detail, the specifics of the different sacrifices that can be brought to the Mishkan. In one such instruction, it says “Any meal-offering that you offer to Hashem shall not be prepared leavened (chametz)…” (Leviticus 2:11). The Torah here is prohibiting leavened bread from being brought as a sacrifice, instead instructing the Israelites to bring matzah for their meal-offerings. All this talk of matzah and chametz leads us to a big question: What do chametz, matzah, sacrifices, and Passover have in common?
Rabbi Binny Freedman points out that many commentaries compare chametz to the evil inclination. For example, the Rambam compares the rising of dough to the swelling of ego and sexual desires. In the Talmud, Rabbi Alexandri ended his daily prayers with: “Master of the Universe, it is revealed and known before You that our will is to perform Your will, and what prevents us? On the one hand, the yeast in the dough, the evil inclination that is within every person” (Berachot 17a). Rabbi Freedman teaches that every Passover, we gather up all the chametz and destroy it. This does not only have to be a physical process, but can be accompanied by a spiritual seeking out of those forces and attitudes within us that are holding us back and that distance us from the Divine. So what does this have to do with sacrifices?
The bringing of sacrifices (korbanot) is an human act in an attempt l’karev, to come closer, to the Divine. Some sacrifices (see T’fillah section) are brought to atone for sins, while others are brought out of gratitude and praise for Hashem. All of them evoke awe in the one sacrificing, a humbling before the Creator. They would take of their own time and resources (which was even more time consuming after the Temple was built) to find Divine favor.
Imagine now a conversation where, instead of blindly trudging down the path of righteousness, we stopped ourselves in humility to realize that we may not be 100% correct. That there may be a kernel of Truth in what the other person has to say. That even if we wholly disagree, the person before me is made in the image of the Divine, and there’s a basic a level of respect and benefit of the doubt that we should afford them. How different might that look?
May it be your will, Holy Blessing One, that we are able to open our hearts to others and to ourselves, to be challenged and to challenge, with a loving spirit and an open hand.
T’fillah: Four Types of Sacrifice
Previously, I have taught about sacrifice as a Rabbinic model for prayer. Today, I want to go even deeper, by exploring the different types of sacrifices as models for different types of prayers. There are four different types of offerings presented in our parasha: (1) Burnt-offerings, (2) Meal-offerings, (3) Peace-offerings, and (4) Sin-offerings. ArtScroll says the following about each one:
- “A burnt-offering may be brought by one who has intentionally committed a sin for which the Torah does not prescribe a punishment, one who failed to perform a positive commandment, one who had sinful thoughts, and by everyone who comes to Jerusalem for the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. Similarly, it may be brought by anyone who wishes to raise their spiritual level.”
- “A meal-offering consists of nothing more than flour, oil, and frankincense and is most likely brought by a very poor person. Because he extends himself to bring an offering despite his poverty, it is as if he had given his own soul.”
- Peace-offerings are brought voluntarily by a person or a group of people who are moved to express their love of God and their gratitude of His goodness, and to enhance their closeness to Him… Alternatively… its name symbolizes the peace that results when the legitimate needs of all groups are satisfied.”
- “Sin-offerings atone for deeds that were committed inadvertently, as a result of carelessness… As Rambam points out… such deeds blemish the soul; for if the sinner had regarded them with the proper gravity, the violations would not have occurred.”
Each of these cases represent different points in our lives. In the first, we intentionally act to come closer to the Divine because we’ve done something to distance ourselves from the Divine. In the second, we may not have long to pray, or might not connect to the words in a given moment, but we still show up with whatever we able to bring to that moment and that relationship. Like the half shekel for the Temple, there are no excuses; Everyone participates. In the third, we seek to come closer to the Divine from a place of gratitude and praise. The fourth is perhaps most akin to the High Holidays, where we beseech forgiveness for all the things we’ve done throughout the year, but also has hints in the daily tachanun prayer, where we also ask for forgiveness.
Which model of prayer could you use today?
Sam Blustin is an alumnus of the Conservative Yeshiva (2014-2015) and a current Rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary (Class of 2020). You can view more divrei Torah at www.samblustin.com or contact Sam directly at samblustin@gmail.com.
