A theme that runs through this week’s Parasha
is that of order,
hierarchy, what or who is in and what or who is out when it comes to the sacred. Who can bring what kind of sacrifice to God, and what
happens if you bring an unwanted offering. As a holy people, what kinds of
animals may we eat, and which are off limits?
This week, the sacrificial worship system is
initiated by the priests, and everything seems to be working pretty well. God’s
Presence (kvod YHVH) actually appears before the people, and fire comes from
God to consume the offerings on the altar. But immediately after this, Aaron’s
two sons Nadav and Avihu bring “outside”
fire
(aish zarah) and are consumed by God’s fire in the
process. The
chapter ends with Moses questioning whether Aaron’s remaining sons have made
another offering according to the correct order/rules. We see the danger of entering into the holy here, and how that contact is
intensely regulated and ordered. We also learn
that priests’ job is to maintain that order and separation and that anything
they might do to dim their abilities to make distinctions (getting drunk, for
instance) is prohibited.
The
final chapter of the parasha deals with the various categories of animals and
insects that the Israelites may or may not eat. This section is almost poetic,
with its refrains: “it is detestable to you!” and “it is impure (tamei) for
you.” The last verse of the parasha states that we must follow this instruction
(torah) so that there may be separation (l’havdil) between the impure and the pure.
It is also pretty clear that these rules around eating are meant to separate us
from other peoples who are not holy.
In
his commentary on pages 554-555, Everett Fox suggests the meaning we are to
glean from this narrative of Nadav and Avihu as well as from these regulations
of what we eat:
There is a complex system of ‘graded
holiness’ (Jenson) informing Israelite life, with two basic messages: (1) God
is to be approached in stages, and (2) the world is set up in a tight, ordered
structure which reflects the distinctions between God and humans, Israel and the
other peoples.. . . Human activity is to reflect the inherent orderliness of
creation, a kind of imitation of God (namely, as he kept things clear at the
beginning, you should do the same with what enters your body.
Does
this spiritual system of hierarchy and order still speak to us today? What is
the role of separation and distinction in our lives? Do we sense danger in
overstepping boundaries and bringing something from the outside, in?
No comments:
Post a Comment