Scrollers Preview - Shabbat Chol Ha Moed Pesach

Moadim L’simcha! (may the intermediate days of this Pesach festival be joyous!)

This week we take a break from the weekly Torah portion cycle to read selections chosen for the Shabbat during the intermediate days of Pesach (Passover.)

From Torah we read Exodus 33:12-34:26, which is the account of Moses persuading God to forgive the people after the sin of the Golden Calf. This section includes God’s putting Moses in the cleft of the rock and passing by which declaring the 13 attributes of God’s mercy. It also includes laws of the Passover festival.

In the Haftarah, we read Ezekiel 37:1-14, which is the well-known vision of the dry bones assembling themselves, growing flesh, and coming back to life.

And the Megilah, or scroll from the Writings, is Song of Songs. Song of Songs is a cycle of beautiful love poetry with springtime motifs.

As we study together, we’ll look at each of these sources as well as some Midrash and liturgical texts and explore themes of resurrection, renewal and rebirth. Yes – resurrection is a Jewish concept! And it is a perfect theme as the green shoots finally begin to poke out of the cold ground.

Scrollers Preview - Tzav 2013

Scrollers Preview

Parashat Tzav 2013

Rabbi Rachel Goldenberg

Leviticus can feel so foreign to us, and this Torah portion is no exception. Whereas in last week’s parasha we learned about the purpose of each type of sacrifice, this week we read more of a manual for the priests, outlining how to conduct the ritual of each sacrifice.

We learn which portions of the sacrifice are burned up completely, which portions the priests consume, and which portions the Israelite bringing the sacrifice would consume. This week we find the prohibition against consuming blood or fat, a rule we see repeatedly throughout the Torah. And we read the instructions for the ordination of the priests. The story of the first ordination of the first priests and the actual initiation of the sacrificial system will come in next week’s parasha.

Over the years, I have found that when I come back to these sections of Torah, I feel closer and closer to them. They make more and more sense to me the more I explore them. I also feel a sense of gratitude that we have this Torah which captures this ancient way our people had of connecting to God. Now that it’s gone, we at least have this record. So, as we study this week, I want us to try to wrap our heads around this ritual that no longer exists. Before judging it, I want us to try and understand this system and what it must have meant to those who participated in it and those who facilitated it.

Then, we will turn to the Haftarah from Jeremiah, who does judge this system very harshy and who asserts that God never meant for us to engage in sacrificial worship. Jeremiah opens by instructing the people to, “add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat!”, an act which would desecrate the sacrifices mentioned.

According to the introduction in Etz Hayyim:

. . . it is best to follow those commentators who regard Jeremiah’s words as an altogether ironic “instruction,” implying that the people may as well desecrate the burnt offering (olah) for all that it is worth, because God did not command them about burnt offerings or sacrifices during the wilderness sojourn.

So many questions!

Did God ever want us to worship through sacrifice? Is Jeremiah unaware of the book of Leviticus, or is he rebelling against it? Why did our people cling to this sacrificial system for so long, even as the prophets were announcing that God did not want them anymore?

Scrollers Preview - Ki Tissa 2013

The focus of this week’s parasha is the episode of the Golden Calf. The Israelites have been waiting for weeks for Moses to come back down the mountain. Their patience wears out, and they prevail upon Aaron to “make us a god who shall go before us.” The result is the construction of a molten calf around which the Israelites celebrate and offer sacrifices. As you might imagine, God and Moses are not pleased!

God’s response is (after sending a plague to kill off the guilty ones) to allow Moses to continue leading the people forward. But God will no longer be in their midst. The entire enterprise of the Mishkan – of having God dwell among the people – seems to be falling apart.

Ultimately, Moses is able to convince God to stick with the people. But Moses needs reassurance from God in order to continue with this journey. Moses wants to “know” God’s ways. God’s response to this is to reveal God’s self to Moses in a an intimate and mysterious scene. God places Moses in the cleft of a rock, and God’s Presence passes by while God pronounces God’s attributes of mercy and compassion. Moses isn’t allowed to see God’s face – only God’s back.

The big questions I’m left with this week are – How is the yearning to experience God’s presence that the Israelites express (by asking Aaron to make them a god) any different from Moses’ yearning to know God’s ways? Why is it that God will show God’s self to Moses but not to the people?

It seems that the people and Moses are both looking for proof that God is with them. The Haftarah, from the Elijah cycle in I Kings, has a similar theme.

So – what then, is the role of proof when it comes to our ability to rely on God? Do we relate to the people’s need for some outward sign?