Shmini 5774

Parashat Shmini

Over the years I have discovered that of all the mitzvot (commandments) and minhagim (customs) those associated with the laws of kashrut probably pose the greatest challenge to meaningful Jewish observance.  So many Jews were taught in their youth that the basis of our dietary laws were to be found in Biblical notions of hygiene and cleanliness and others were taught that they had to keep kosher to placate traditional parents and grandparents that the idea that there could be a spiritually satisfying message behind the prohibitions against eating certain kinds of creatures or mixing meat with dairy seemed ludicrous.

But as Conservative Jews we are known for promoting Jewish practice that while progressive is rooted in traditional but meaningful constructs.  I found the research of the late Professor Jacob Milgrom of Berkley (who once served as an assistant rabbi at Anshe Emet) helpful in this matter.  Professor Milgrom noticed that the only creatures which this week’s parasha allows us to eat are those creatures whose survival was not at the expense of other living creatures.  In other words the Biblical zoologist may have believed we are what we eat and assumed a connection exists between our character and what we consume.

Keeping in mind that the Biblical ideal was that human beings would be vegans but that this ideal was compromised after the flood story that resulted from humanity’s inability to restrain its blood lust, the dietary laws imply that if we eat predatory animals and consume blood we could further stoke the fires of that blood lust.  If we give up our vegan diet but limit our animal consumption to herbivores and domesticated creatures then perhaps we can keep our extreme behavior in check and achieve a greater respect for the sanctity of al living things.

It is a fascinating effort on the part of the Torah to concretize the value of life in our every day lives.

As Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson writes, “For most animals, and for many people, eating is simply a response to a biological need, or at best an aesthetic pleasure….Kashrut offers an opportunity to harness the act of eating to contribute to who we are and what are our values.  Kashrut summons us to elevate eating from an animal response to an encounter with holiness, transforming our kitchens and our dining room tables into sacred altars, our meals into reminders of our deepest values as Jews.”

It is true that by keeping kosher we also contribute to the bonding of the community and strengthening of Jewish identity and can cultivate a greater respect for the needs of all living creatures, but for me these are but the valuable by-products of a system built around the central notion that the gift of life is the most sacred and central of all our values.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Matt Futterman
Senior Educator

Shmini 5773

Shmini 5773

This week on April 4th, our country will commemorate the 35th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Dr. King, a proponent of non-violence was killed ironically in a most violent act.
In our country we like to focus on the “I Have a Dream” speech; Dr. King’s courage and vision in facing the dangers around him while he clung to a higher hope, a higher dream.  I wonder what he would say 35 years later, upon reflecting on the statistics of violence in our country today, and more specifically the preponderance of gun violence in the African American community.

In the past few weeks I attended the funeral service of a (6) six month old baby who was killed in a car with her father.  The assailant clearly wanted to do away with the father but shot the child by accident.  It was one the most horrific events that I have ever attended.  The pain on the parents' faces, and the cries within the community shot through my heart.  Listening to the pastors encourage their community to turn their lives around, to separate themselves from guns and violence was stirring indeed.  But the reality is that it will take more than a sermon to change the situation.  In order for us to reverse this violent trend in our society, we as a nation have to pause and reflect on how to go forward and approach the issues in a holistic way.

I was thinking that this week, we’ll also be reading from the book of Leviticus, the portion of Shmini, when Aaron’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu, who are killed on the day of dedication of the Mishkan, the indwelling place of G-d. 

The Torah only records that they brought in an “eish zara,” a strange fire and for that they were killed.  No other real comment about what was the cause.  The rabbis do talk about this in the midrashic literature.  And what’s fascinating is that they see in Nadav and Avihu the essence of arrogance.  According to the midrash, Nadav and Avihu had the arrogance to think about taking over for Moses and Aaron and were counting the days to their death and retirement.  According to another midrash, these two young men never married.  They wouldn’t gave their love to anyone else nor did they have children, and this was seen as an act of horrible arrogance and for that they were worthy of death.

I would suggest to you that there is a certain arrogance in our country.  The notion that if an issue doesn’t affect us or our community;  somehow we don’t have to take it seriously.  We’re wrong and that I think this is the message that G-d sends of Nadav of Avihu; that arrogance brings with it significant consequences.  So too in our society today as the numbers grow and the mass shootings continue.  And yet we as a society are unwilling to come together to discuss the larger issues. 

Jewish Law and Jewish Thought have much to say on guns and violence.  So I invite you to come this Shabbat morning to hear a sermon on the rabbinic views of gun violence and then attend a discussion after kiddush with members of our community so that we might learn the Jewish approach in ways to be involved and in ways to get involved in preventing funerals such as the one that I attended in the past weeks for a (6) six month old child. 

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Michael Siegel