Testing our
Comfort with Contradictions
Shabbat
HaChodesh
This Shabbat is the
third of the four special Shabbatot leading up to Passover. The Haftarah for
Shabbat HaChodesh is taken from the prophet Ezekiel. In it he describes the sacrifices that will
be offered at the dedication of the Third Temple. He also details some of the
rules that will apply to people upon entering and leaving the Temple. The
Haftorah describes the sacrifices that will be brought after the Third Temple
is consecrated – an event the prophet Ezekiel says will occur on the first day
of the Hebrew month of Nisan. And just as the additional reading from the Torah
describes the Passover sacrifice, so too does the Haftorah – making it a
fitting section to be read before Nisan, for that is the month in which
Passover is celebrated
What is striking is
that some of the sacrifices mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel seem to contradict
those mentioned in the Torah. Thus, for example, the prophet states, “In the
first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bullock
without blemish, and you shall offer it as a sin-offering in the sanctuary”
(Chap. 45, verse 18). The Torah, however, states (in Numbers 28:11) that the
special sacrifice to be offered on the first day of a new Hebrew month is a
burnt-offering, not a sin-offering.
How can we explain this
seeming contradiction?
The Talmud in Tractate
Menahot (45a) discusses the apparent discrepancies, which were considered
sufficiently troubling that the rabbis even considered not including the Book
of Ezekiel in the Biblical canon. The Talmud there states, “Rabbi Yehudah said
in the name of Rav: That man is to be remembered for good, and Hananiah son of
Hezekiah is his name. Were it not for him, the Book of Ezekiel would have been
suppressed, since its sayings contradicted the words of the Torah. What did he
do? He took up with him three hundred barrels of oil [to serve for lighting]
and remained there in the attic until he had explained away everything”. Those
explanations obviously were persuasive, because in the end the Book of Ezekiel
was included in the Biblical canon. But the Talmud also records the opinion of
Rabbi Yochanan, who says that only at the End of Days, once the prophet Elijah
comes to herald the onset of the Messiah, will we then be able to resolve the
contradiction, for “This verse will be interpreted by Elijah in the future”.
While it would be hard
not to admire the commitment of Hananiah, son of Hezekiah to explain the
seeming contradictions in the Book of Ezekiel.
Imagine how many nights worth of light is contained in 1200 barrels of
oil. However, our tradition is far more
comfortable with the position of Rabbi Yochanan. Not every mystery needs to be
explained in our time, not every contradiction needs to be undone, not every
question has an answer, not every answer holds.
Come Passover we will place a cup for Elijah on our tables as a reminder
that there are unanswered questions. It
is only fitting that the month of Passover begins with a Haftarah that raises
its own share of question.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Michael Siegel
