Vayikra

In the week’s Torah reading, called Vayikra, there is an oddity.  The word Vayikra is written with a tiny aleph as the last letter.  It is actually written that way in the holy Torah.

Why?  Without the aleph the word Vayikra become Vayikar, changing the meaning from “And He called….” to “And he was dear…”

Perhaps it could indicate two meanings at once.  God “called” to Moses and spoke to him the next words.  At the same, time, it is implicit that Moses was very “dear” to God.  Why would there be a need to state both?  Maybe God always holds us very dear when He calls to us….even when we are oblivious to the call.  This is a powerful idea because with other people we want them to respond to us for we connect with them.  It is not so with God.   He reaches out even when we do not reciprocate.

Could this be the lesson we are being taught?  That God wants us to always think the best of one another.  When someone does not acknowledge our efforts or our presence we become offended and want to strike back at them.  Yet, we know the truth: there are times when a person is so self-absorbed they do not see what is happening around them.  Other times they are nursing a wound, which may have nothing to do with us.  And by our misinterpretation of their action we can destroy this relationship.

It is a mitzvah to forgive and judge people kindly.  May we do so.  With all the comments made, especially with which we do not agree, may kindness prevail over bitterness.

Shoftim: Holy Justice

The sidra opens with the command to establish judges. They are clearly told not to add or subtract from any of the given laws, not to show favoritism and to be unyielding the the quest for the truth.

Two ideas jump out of this declaration that demand attention. The first is that this mitzva is not directed at any particular person. It could have been aimed at the kohanim, leviim or a tribe. The law might have been directed at the wisest of the age. Instead, the mitzva is encumbent upon every Jew. Our mitzva is to use justice in every dealing.

King, farmer, jeweller, well-digger all must the same rule of not allowing for favoritism. The laws of the court are the laws of the individual.

Rabbi Isaiah Hurwitz examined the Torah text and saw the words aimed at the newly appointed judges, in your gates. He interpreted in all your gates as the pathways to the soul. When we are listening to another we are supposed to fully utilize all our senses, ears, mouth, smell, touch to ferret out the truth. These sensory areas are the gates which the Torah speak of. Only when we take full advantage of all our God-given attributes do we allow the information to enter our heart.

We are judges. Each time we meet and speak with individuals we are sated with great power; power enough to destroy a person. That is why it is as critical for us as for the traditional court of law to constantly seek truth.

In fact, later in the sidra, the Torah reading notices potential problems with trying hard cases. When that happens, it says, bring those difficult cases directly to the Levites. Why the Levites? Because according to the Rambam, the Levites unlike the other tribes, had no physical stake in the Promised Land. That would give them clearer vision in adjudicating cases as they would not be biased. See 17:8


The second idea is that the Text says "You shall come to the judge .... in those days. What does this mean "in those days?" Not every day? Not in each age? Rashi illumines this odd statement by saying that the mitzva of judgement applies specifically to every age, in your age. We may look backward and declare that since there is no one like Moses, or Rambam, or Akiva or Reb Yohanan that we cannot rely on our own scholars of our day. Such a statement would relegate our faith to a fossilized system.

While we never abandon the ways fo the past we are ever-vigilant to the wise scholars of our time. Their critical task is to be attentive to the needs of the present and to interpret the Law to our time.

Haftara Insight:

Isaiah speaks. Awaken. Get up. Look around. The word God focuses on the heart of the Jew that has been rent. When all seems lost, get up. If you open your eyes and witness the magnifient life that abounds on every side you will come out of the depths of despair that holds you in its grip. All is not lost. A new beginning awaits.

A Matter of Law:

We must always carry justice in our private lives to the extent that we must even reprove a friend if they have done something wrong. We do not judge them but point out where they have erred. To remain silent is to dismiss the ideal of justice. One Sage rules that if we say nothing we are like a judge that has accepted a bribe. What is the bribe? The threat of breaking a friendship.

Ma'asei: Life's Lessons

I. The first verse of the parsha records that these are "their goings according to their journeys, and these were their journeys according to their goings"(33:2). The language is odd as it is both redundant and reverses the two main ideas.

Bachya tell us that the first us that the first part of the phrase refers to the past. We study the wanderings and actions of the past to learn what works and how to behave. The second part refers to the future. This is the blank slate that is waiting to be written. Inasmuch as the past provides clues for us it does not mean that we are stapled to what has already happened. We do not have to repeat what we or others have done before. God has given us the leeway to be free from addictive or well-trodden pathways.

The word that means "goings", motza'hem, comes from the Hebrew root word that means "find". The goings that we experience must always be fresh and novel. In truth, we never know what we will find on any day. It is vital that we do not become depressed or so blasé about ourselves that life becomes something that we cannot wait to get over.

Another commentator, Sefat Emet, observes that when we move out of our past –the Egypts of our lives – and move toward the future –- Israel – we experience a growth in our neshama, soul. Leaving behind us the baser elements of our past allows our soul to reach new spiritual heights.


II. The reading details the division of land between the various tribes of Israel. The single exception was the tribe of Levi. They were to be dispersed among the existing cities of the Israelites. They had a special mission. The Levites were to present moral behavior to the rest of the populace. As strangers among the people their job was remain slightly apart from the rest of the community and register whether others were going astray. Their function was to be the rudder for each of these communities. At the same time, each Levite lived in galut, exile. They did not have a parcel of land to hold as their own. There was no territory possess or defend. For the Levites, it was a long, seemingly endless exile.

Perhaps the Levites are supposed to be an example to us. With their lives living amongst foreign faces they were to function with their peers, study Torah, observe the mitzvot, and maintain a purposeful existence. We must never forget our covenant.


III. Who is the only person whose yahrzeit, date of death, is mentioned in the Torah? Aaron. He died on the first day of the fifth month, Av. There are not many Torah readings that coincide with the actual anniversary date of that event. The yahrzeit of Aaron is an exception. The first of Av comes now in the summer. Why is this date so noteworthy?
1. The month of Av is a time of deep mourning for the Jewish people. Terrible tragedies occurred throughout the epochs at this time.
2. The Clouds of Glory disappeared from the Israelite camp on the day Aaron died.
Both historical notes are important because they are antithetical to the life of Aaron. Remember this was the man who strove to make peace between husbands and wives, children and parents, and even avowed enemies. Now that he no longer traveled in the land of the living surely the plight of the nation would worsen. The death of Aaron would only fuel the pain of the people.

No. The point of his yahrzeit is to remind us that nothing is ever hopeless. We must never give up. In recalling the life of Aaron we are supposed to carry on his legacy of mending the brokenness inside and outside of us.


IV. The Torah reading tells the Israelites to establish Cities of Refuge. The purpose of these Cities was to be a haven for people to flee from vengeful relatives. Say a person dropped a stone on his peer and they died. The family of the dead person may be so full of rage that they want revenge on the poor person that killed their relative. In such an instance the person who committees the manslaughter may run for safety.

In the Talmud it informs us that the road to the Cities must be kept clear of any obstructions and needs to be wide. The Court is obligated to straighten the roads to the Cities of Refuge to both repair and widen them. They must remove all impediments and obstacles. REFUGE REFUGE was written at every crossroads so that no one would miss the route to the City.
- Mishneh Torah

It is so easy to be judgmental and unforgiving. All we have to do is look at pothers with a superficial superior air and with the facts at our disposal pronounce them guilty. It is one of the gravest acts that friends and neighbors do all the time to one another. Perhaps the law of the Cities of Refuge is to teach us that we must not impede someone from teshuvah, repentance, by blocking their way. When we form an opinion of them that we share with others we effectively seal the pathway to healing. The roadway must be kept wide, like our opinion, because we may also be totally wrong in our assessment of them.

Haftara Insight:

To remember is important. We are not to hold onto grudges and bitterness but recall the lessons of the past. God warns His people that we should gaze at the miraculous past and then understand the power of God. We are not alone. We have not been abandoned. The great sins of our life begin with forgetfulness. Even the creatures of the first remember their father. Why do we not recall ours? The prophet concludes with a word that is familiar and yet need repeating: Return.

A Matter of Law:

Cain murdered Abel and God protected him from retribution. Following the same line of thought, even the most heinous crime cannot be summarily dispatched by a person. Law requires and investigation, a tribunal and justice. Vigilante justice is not justice but evil disguised as virtue. That is the deepest meaning of the Cities of Refuge.