Sunday, April 13, 2008

Aharay Mot:

                                             Where Life Becomes Alive

Two disparate ideas converge in this parsha.

The first is the Avodah service that we read and hear on Yom Kippur. The other seemingly random idea is the admonition of HaShem to Aaron that he may not enter in the mishkan, Tabernacle, any time he wished. Aaron could only come when he was summoned by the Holy One, blessed be He.

The Avodah service is one of the least meaningful parts of Yom Kippur for modern Jews. Many progressive synagogues have eliminated the service entirely or have re-written it with a different meaning. It a nutshell, the Avodah contains the lengthy tale of the kohen preparing for a meeting with God in the Holy of Holies. From immersing in the frigid waters of the mikveh to the numerous changes of clothes to the tying of a rope around the kohen’s ankle to pull him out of the Holy of Holies if his actions and intent were not appropriate and he died to the poetic verses extolling the grandeur of the kohen gadol, the entire story is long and far removed from our life.

Most of the story is consumed with the arduous and meticulous preparations of the kohen. It is an instruction manual, not a gripping nail-biter. Finally, the climax of the story tells of two goats; one carrying the sins of Israel and the other to be offered up to God. It is an exhaustive, long and dry narrative.

In the next section of the parsha Aaron was reminded by God of the death of his two sons. Remember they came into the mishkan without preparation and subsequently died? The cautionary note to Aaron was that he was no longer welcome to come into the mishkan, except on special days.

Both stories reveal a great truth for our time. They are a great paradigm for our era.

Listen: Everything begins with a pinpoint of desire. When we want to buy a car we do research to find the one that best fits our need. We would not buy the first automobile we see on the lot. Purchasing a house requires thinking, reading and close examination. Running a marathon means deliberate and careful training. The same could be said for a business plan, an important meeting, writing a book, painting a picture…..

Praying is no different. It is not a passive endeavor. For some, it is gathering with other like-minded people for mutual support. At other times we come because we feel soulfully empty. At yet other times we come because we need healing. A religious service made meaningful when we come with an agenda. Unprepared for the event, the moment is squandered. We enter into a holy sanctuary with a purpose in mind.

For the children of Aaron the experience in the mishkan ended in death and mourning. For us the tale winds up in a withering spiritual desert, which may be worse than death because it is a life devoid of meaning. Both tales have the identical meaning: make for yourself a life worth living. Prepare for that event. Be aware. Open your senses to all that the universe has to offer.

One hasidic rebbe was asked what he did in the solitary time he spent before davenning each morning. He said, “I pray that I might pray.” Against this, there is a comment by a contemporary sage who said that ‘when someone says ‘let us pray’ you know he is ignorant. In other words it is no simple task to utter true words of prayer. It requires focus, determination and desire. To be so frivolous with words in believing that prayer can be conjured up like a cup of tea is a misuse of prayer
*
Later in the Torah reading there is the phrase, “You shall observe My laws and keep My statutes to walk in them…Leviticus 18:4

In the Talmud, a question about this is raised. What does it mean "walk in them"?

In its inimitable style Talmud answers that we must strive to make mitzvot, the commandments of God, a priority. They ought to foremost in our thoughts, not second or third but first. When our primary focus is meting out the Word of God; when nothing else comes into conflict with fulfilling the mitzvot, the force of the cosmos - every breath and action - becomes imbued with strength.

The Sefat Emet , Reb Yehudah Leib Alter, talks about his beloved zayde, grandfather, who said that this pasuk directs us to fold almost our energy into every act in order to make it holy. What does this mean? It means that we need to take ourselves, our actions and interactions very seriously. It means that the words we utter and actions we undertake can have cosmic repercussions. Done for the sake of the Almighty our life becomes holy and meaningful.

Note that he did not say we must devote all our energy to God: that is too much to ask of anyone. Yet, if we try to elevate a perfunctory and unthinking life through conscious living; if we know that there is a God who intensely cares about us and what we do, every act has the potential of being holy.


   -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Davar Acher

Before the famed Maggid of Mezritch died he blessed his disciples. To one, he gave good health. To another, he gave wisdom.  To a third, he gave his sense of humor.  And to Rebbe Elimelech he gave him the power of Tikkun Ha-Olam, improving the world.

When the Maggid passed away, Rabbi Elimelech went into the world, to work among people and improve their lives. At the end of two years she returned home and pondered, “Have I succeeded? Are the people any better off now than they were before?” He thought, “No.”
Falling asleep, he dreamt that he was in front of his master, The Maggid of Mezritch.

He said, “Other disciples have all succeeded but I have failed.”
His master replied, “It is true you went out into the world in order to make people better but what about those in your own city of Lizensk?”

Rabbi Elimelech took his words to heart and begin working with the people of his own town. Some time later, he asked himself again, “Have I succeeded? Are the people any better off now than they were before?” He thought, “No.”
The Maggid came to him again and instructed him to focus on his family before attempting to fix an entire city.

Rabbi Elimelech took the words to heart and begin working with the people his wife and children. Some time later, he asked himself again, “Have I succeeded? Are the people any better off now than they were before?” Once more he thought, “No.
“What about yourself?” asked the Maggid that night. “Have you begun with yourself?


This is the meaning of the passage in the Torah this week which states, “When Aaron made atonement for himself, for his household and then for the entire people Israel…” Lev 16:17



     -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Davar Acher                      Kippur



                                                                                             
16:2  Moshe is directed to tell the Great Kohen (Aaron, his brother) that he should not come within the Kapporet.  Interesting word.   Some people say the word means “lid”.  They are the same ones that say it probably means "curtain".  Others say it is the “seat of mercy”.  What is the shoresh (root) of the word?  The same as Kippur, isn’t it?

It is no accident that the next p’seukim (sentences) speak of Yom Kippur.

The times in a person’s life when they are  most likely to come close to holy places are when they are in deep pain.  And the Torah deliberately warns: “Man may not see Me and live.” (Ex 33:20).  That is what Nadav and Avihu did (the two sons of Aaron who mysteriously died).    The reason why Moshe is told by the Lord to keep to the outside of the kapporet is to avoid the same fate.  What similar place is there today where people could fall into the same trap?

What then follows in the Torah is what we call the Avodah Service.  This is the story we recite yearly on Yom Kippur.  The Great Kohen would do these things to ensure the forgiveness of the people.  Scholars are not quite sure what the word ‘kippur’ means.  Some believe that it means to verbally acknowledge how we have erred.   Others tell that it means canceling out the crimes of the past.  I think it means something entirely different.

 When Yom Kippur comes Jews will do teshuva.  What does this word teshuva mean?  It denotes ‘returning’.  What we can learn from this is that when we do not act with God we distance ourselves from Him. 
                          
‘Kippur’ may well meaning going away from the ways of God.  Name some ways people distance themselves from their Maker.


No comments: