In
this week’s parasha, Emor, we read a verse that is critical in both ancient and
modern Jewish discourse (Lev. 22: 32):
וְלֹא תְחַלְּלוּ, אֶת-שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי, וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי, בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲנִי יְהוָה, מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם
“Do not profane My holy name, that I may be sanctified in the midst of the Israelites, I the Lord who sanctify you.”
Beginning
in the late Second Temple period, Israel battled the Seleucid Greeks and
Antiochus IV, and later the Roman Empire, both of whom sought to outlaw Jewish
practice. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks identifies that this is the first time
that martyrdom became a significant feature in Jewish life. The question arose:
under what circumstances were Jews to sacrifice their lives rather than
transgress Jewish law?
While
Jewish tradition affirms that saving a life takes precedence over most of the
mitzvot, and that the preservation of life supercedes almost anything, Judaism
simultaneously holds sacred the lives of Jews who have been murdered by virtue
of the fact that they are simply Jewish. We remember all of our
brothers and sisters who have given their lives under this overarching category
of Kiddush hashem, of sanctifying God’s name, as found in
this week’s Torah portion.
Rabbi Sacks explains that central to Jewish self-definition is the notion that while God is the God of all humanity, that God has chosen Israel to be God’s witnesses, God’s ambassadors, to the world. When we fulfill this role, we are sanctifying God’s name.
We
at Anshe Emet are honored to host the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum,
as we fulfill this command of sanctifying God’s name as being witnesses to one
of the greatest tragedies in world history. Next week, you can join us for a
riveting presentation by Dr. Wendy Lower entitled Some were Wives, Some were
Mothers. Dr. Lower, a former Museum fellow, will speak about the research
from her chilling book on the role of female perpetrators during the Holocaust.
I
hope that you will join Michelle
and Glenn Holland,
our co-hosts, as we fulfill this week’s parasha’s affirmation to stand as God’s
witnesses in our world.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David Russo
