Jeremiah

Parsha Shemini: Living A Double Life (Lev. 9:1 – 11:47)

March 17, 2014 by Jeremiah

Leviticus can be a very daunting book, especially when you limit your Dvar to a very loose free association style discussion. In previous posts I mention for this Torah cycle I want to challenge myself by not relying on more scholarly Jew’s commentaries for my weekly Dvar but Leviticus is definitely a book where commentaries can become crucial. For me at least, this week’s portion Shemini is an exception. The life blood flowing from the beating heart of these chapters is separating the sacred from the profane.

Separation is something I have always naturally been good at. I have never lived a secret life I am just really good at compartmentalizing. As a child I had my religious friends and my secular friends, outside of birthday parties the two never mixed. Fast forward to my late teens and early twenties I was thought of as basically two completely different people, this was due primarily to working full time as a ravenous wild eyed prep cook with post shift partying requirements contrasted by my life as a hardcore kid running with a pack healthy eating and clean living punks. I never lived a lie I just didn’t spin hardcore records or eat steaks at work and drinking in back alleys before all ages shows was never my thing. Same guy just really good time management skills, but that doesn’t change the fact that co-workers thought I was joking about vegetarianism and some punks seemed surprised to occasionally witnessing me drinking out of a brown paper bag. This is exactly what Shemini is all about.

In chapter nine of Leviticus a sin offering is followed by a burnt offering which is then followed by a peace offering. The sequence of these offerings is not a coincidence they symbolize the separation of wickedness, atonement, and forgiveness. If we are unable to differentiate right from wrong and why we are right or wrong then we will be forced to remain in the proverbial wilderness. The wilderness is emotional instability, mental anguish, and physical pain only by identifying our faults and actively working to correct them will we be able to leave those burdens behind and move on to something so much greater.

To illustrate the criticality of this concept is the tragic story of Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu. These sons and brothers presented a “strange” fire which Hashem deemed profane and as punishment were consumed by sacred fire erupting from the Holy of Holies. The lesson here is Nadab and Abihu were unable to completely separate their former secular lives from their current sacred lives of Priests. If they had been able to separate who knows they may have played a much more important and positive role within Judaism.

Shemini concludes with a list of Kosher versus Non-Kosher animals. What is so important about this concept of Kosher is not the permission to kill and eat certain animals but demonstrating how important things you consume figuratively and literally are. The easiest way to remember which animals are Kosher is to look at their diets and determine if they are scavengers eating what has been left by others as waste. The lesson here is do not fill yourself with wasteful things because it will only hold you down.

Shemini teaches us how not to live in the wilderness but we have to choose to make that break and enter into a promised life.

Jeremiah@punktorah.org Twitter: @circlepitbimah

Parsha Tzav: Seriously Dude! Another Way Too Short Dvar or Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? (Lev. 6:1 – 8:36)

March 10, 2014 by Jeremiah

Parsha Tzav is the continuation of Torah’s listing of which offerings require this or that and how those offerings should be ceremoniously carried out. Oh and once the list of offerings is complete Moses clothes Aaron and anoints him and his sons as Judaic Priests.

Tzav does not teach us anything new, but what it does do is reiterate important lessons. Making amends and how we present our outward selves are lessons already touched upon within Torah. So why the repeat and why not combine Vayikra and Tzav into one portion? The answer is simple, only people study Torah and its no secret that everyone likes to be reminded of things. This week as you meditate on and study Tzav look through your spiritual spy glass as you would in search of positive reinforcement. Its like being told by someone special that they love you over and over again.

What verbal and non-verbal reinforcement helps you to be a better Jew? Share in the comments below or send me a message: Jeremiah@punktorah.org Twitter: @circlepitbimah

Parsha Bo: This is the Meaning of Life (Ex. 10:1 – 13:16)

December 29, 2013 by Jeremiah

Ahhh Parsha Bo, finally the plagues burdening the Egyptians come to an end and Hashem gives us Jews the holiday Passover. No matter how hard I might try I will never know where to begin to make sense of the final plague which subsequently leaves the first born male in every Egyptian household without life, and yet Bo is an integral portion in trying to understand Hashem and just how we are created in His image.

Judaism is monotheistic period. This means everything, or lack thereof, emanates from one source, Hashem. Whether it is righteousness, wickedness, or something in between the root, the seed, the source is the same and never wavering. We as human beings are created in Hashem’s image and this does not mean He looks like us externally but that we encapsulate pure dualism just like Him. Every act, belief, and feeling we have is only present because its opposite is not acted upon. Sure we exist but we emanate good and evil based on our will just like our creator.

Passover is the perfect lesson to explain the compulsions of good versus evil we all have seeded inside of us. In fact this week’s portion is the blossomed fruit matured from the seed sprouting out of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Hebrews marking their door posts is a conscious choice to do good when faced with doing evil. This choice to mark themselves apart saves their sons and leads directly towards breaking the yoke of bondage. The Egyptians refusal to do the right thing results in the evil inclination running rampant in their hearts and minds leading to death, sorrow, anger, and the lust for vengeance. Such a heavy portion.

Bo is the perfect moral lesson to carry as a reminder while navigating all of life’s temptations. Sometimes we are the ancient Hebrew yearning to cast off the burden of evil inclinations and sometimes we are the ancient Egyptian willfully afflicting those around us. Bo is more than just the first Passover it is the morality of where we as human beings created in the divine image of Hashem exist. Actions have consequences and only you the individual can choose which path to take.

Jeremiah@punktorah.org Twitter: @CirclePitBimah

Parsha Va‘eira: Career Suicidal Gestures (Exodus 6:2 – 9:35)

December 25, 2013 by Jeremiah

And I appeared or by its proper Hebrew name Va-eira is probably best known to everyone as the Torah portion where Pharaoh’s heart softens and then hardens while Hashem afflicts the Egyptian populace with plague after plague after plague. Moses and Aaron continue their presence in Pharaoh’s court demanding the end of slavery for the Hebrews, and Hashem in a very indirect way appears and then disappears with the hardening and softening of Pharaoh’s heart. Makes for a great moral lesson tackling ones intent and the motivation for actions emanating from the heart, but Pharaoh is not the only example for this so is Moses.

Va’eira begins with Moses doubting his ability and really not wanting a leadership position, and from what the Torah tells us the Hebrews agreed with Moses. This personality trait of Moses I can relate to in a complete and whole way, because like Moses I have made the same suicidal gestures with my career. On multiple occasions and to different levels of leadership I have made it clear that taking the step into management is not my goal and in so many words something I never plan on pursuing. This is not career suicide but it can be read as a suicidal gesture, in reality the incredibly small increase in pay is just not worth the stress of having to be available around the clock while “parenting” grown adults most of whom are many years older than me, and worse of all terminating the income of someone with children. I like to think this is Moses’s outlook as well besides it is not like there are no other candidates for the position, there is Aaron who becomes the head of the Hebrews 40 years after liberation and we learn later on of other Hebrews who really want the job as well.

Moses is smart enough, educated enough, and a believer enough to know the Hebrews will be set free. . . eventually. He knows it will be a long hard road to lead, move, and settle a new land with a people who have a collective body disfigured with deep scars from generations of slavery. Moses’s life is different than those he is charged to lead he understands more and leads for the greater good not the lesser few. Growing up in the west in a pursuit of wealth driven society it is nice to see that Moses’s lesson on humbleness over power is what makes him the most influential leader to Jews and one of the most influential leaders to all other people.

What does Moses’s reluctance say about Jews today? Are we as human beings scattered across a globe living comfortably under different types of government at odds with the type of character and leadership Hashem would like? Or are we so far removed from the Exodus that model is no longer relevant?

Comment below or send me a message jeremiah@punktorah.org Twitter: circlepitbimah

Parsha Lech-Lecha: All is Fair in Love, War, and Faith (Gen 12:1 – 17:27)

October 9, 2013 by Jeremiah

This week’s Torah Portion is all about the misadventures of one of mankind’s most important people. . . Father Abraham. I never truly understood Abraham not even a little. He is the Patriarch of more than one major world religion, in fact scholars use the term “Abrahamic Religions” in reference to Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and he is a major prophet within the Bahai’I faith. Not too shabby for a liar!

The book of Genesis covers a lot of time and ground and that is something very easy to forget. At the start of this portion Abraham and his wife Sarah are young, married, childless, and still going by their birth names Abram and Sarai. We are led to believe Sarai has an attractiveness no man could resist not even the Pharaoh of Egypt who at that time was the most powerful man in the world. A few things transpire (we’ll get to that in a moment), a little more time passes Abram rescues his nephew Lot and gets blessed by Melchizedek. Decades pass Abram and Sarai are elderly and still childless a few more things transpire and Hashem changes Abram and Sarai’s names and commands circumcision, , , phew so much to digest.

Here is why I just can‘t seem to understand Abraham at that time he is one of the most righteous men on the planet. So why lie and basically negotiate your wife for your life and land? Here is a young man in a foreign land with a gorgeous and exotic young wife. He knows Pharaoh is the only person in a position to take her from him so what does he do he says this is my sister and then goes about his business literally. I don’t want this post to be apologetic or condemning I am a different man and live in a different time. We know this deal really really really bothers Sarai, and rightfully so, but I keep wondering just how angry does this make Hashem. Eventually Pharaoh learns the true nature of Abram and Sarai’s relationship and Hashem steps in inflicting Pharaoh with a plague.

The Torah never really goes into detail how Abram and Sarai get over this episode in their relationship, but we do know they continue to live together and hopefully do that happily. During this time Abram matures a lot and leads the efforts to rescue his nephew Lot. In his last adventure it ended with a plague inflicted on Pharaoh this time it ends with Melchizedek blessing Abram.

Now for the final part of the Lech-Lecha trilogy Abram and Sarai have entered their golden years childless, and it is no secret having an heir is Abram’s hearts desire. Obviously feeling bad for her husband Sarai decides to do what she can to make having a son happen. So what does she do? She arranges for her husband to step out of their tent and into Hagar’s, and of course a son Ishmael is conceived. Jealousy and tempers erupt as each compete for Abram’s affection. . . and then Hashem steps in again. Hashem changes Abram and Sarai’s name to Abraham and Sarah, tells Abraham his children will spawn nations, and then tells him to clean up himself, his son, and his male servants down there. Oy vey my head is spinning.

All of the above is why I could just never understand Abraham there is no denying he meant well and loved Hashem and his family, but c’mon MAN! What are your thoughts on Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and Ishmael? Have you ever felt that Hashem has had to step in after your well intended actions didn’t really end up being so well intended? Am I being too hard or not hard enough on Abraham? Let me know post below or send me a note: jeremiah@punktorah.org

Ki Teitzei: People Places and Things (Deut 21:10 – 25:19)

August 14, 2013 by Jeremiah

If you like doing the right thing Ki Teitzei is for you. In fact this week’s portion contains something like seventy different mitzvahs laid out across five chapters. Ki Teitzei reminds us of the importance of environmental conservation, living compassionately with animals, and leaving excess for the poor.

Living in balance with our environment is extremely important because Hashem emanates this creation to sustain our lives. Without food and water our body would shrink and wither, without oxygen our lungs could not enrich our blood as our hearts pumps life to our most basic cells. If we as individuals compromising a whole abuse the air, land, and water around us we can only expect a life of sickness and despair.

Ki Teitzei is a reminder, it reminds us that there is more involved in taking care of this world than just keeping water clean and the soil toxins free. Compassion to animals is stressed in this week’s portion because animals play a critical and complex role in this world. They provide companionship, they can aid in farming, and they contribute to the bio-diversity that makes this wonderful world tick. If we are unable to show compassion to over living, breathing, and feeling species how can we ever show compassion to other humans or even to ourselves? The answer is we can’t.

Environmental exploitation and cruelty towards animals are not the only things Ki Teitzei prohibits, not providing a level of subsistence living for our poor is prohibited. We all worry about health care, housing, etc. . . but everyone regardless of age, race, gender, tax bracket are entitled to knowing they are responsible for bettering their life and their families life without the fear of living cold, hungry, stigmatized, and more diseased than your neighbor.

We as Jews and as human beings are not just responsible for “getting ours” we are responsible for living a conscience life that does not lessen the quality of life for our neighbors.