Parsha Kedoshim

Parashat Kedoshim
Nissan 26, 5771 ~ April 30, 2011
by Dan Cohen

Parsha Kedoshim – David Brooks, Melinda Gates and The Golden Rule

In honor of Baby Girl Davies.

Think about it…“What if Leviticus Rhymed?”

A great resource for understanding this week’s parsha can be found at http://www.g-dcast.com/kedoshim/. This week, they feature Beth Jacob’s own Elana Jagoda and her song on Parsha Kedoshim with animation and a sing-along tune. Hope you enjoy.

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A quick summary from Chabad.org to set the stage better and faster than I ever could.

The Parshah of Kedoshim begins with the statement: “You shall be holy, for I, the L‑rd your G‑d, am holy.” This is followed by dozens of mitzvot (Divine commandments) through which the Jew sanctifies him- or herself and relates to the holiness of G‑d.

These include: the prohibition against idolatry, the mitzvah of charity, the principle of equality before the law, Shabbat, sexual morality, honesty in business, honor and awe of one’s parents, and the sacredness of life.

Also in Kedoshim is the dictum which the great sage Rabbi Akiva called a cardinal principle of Torah, and of which Hillel said, “This is the entire Torah, the rest is commentary. That phrase is:

“and you shall love your fellow as yourself” (19:18)

(Mark Zitter reminded me that Hillel added…Now go study)

Commonly referred to in grade school civics as The Golden Rule, this is not Donald Trump’s message of “he with the gold, rules.” Instead, it is the Torah urging to us to think first of our divine connection to others. When we are intentional in our actions, we are conscious of our interconnectedness as humans.

Author David Brooks recently published “The Social Animal.” It’s a great read. In a New York Times column in 2008 that previewed much in the book, he said,

“Over the past 30 years, there has been a tide of research in many fields, all underlining one old truth — that we are intensely social creatures, deeply interconnected with one another…”

He goes on to add that in field after field of cutting edge research, findings show we are all connected at every level of our being. Brooks added:

Geneticists have shown that our behavior is influenced by our ancestors and the exigencies of the past. Behavioral economists have shown the limits of the classical economic model, which assumes that individuals are efficient, rational, utility-maximizing creatures. Psychologists have shown that we are organized by our attachments. Sociologists have shown the power of social networks to affect individual behavior. What emerges is not a picture of self-creating individuals gloriously free from one another, but of autonomous creatures deeply interconnected with one another.

I like to think about these modern developments in social science and compare them to the wisdom of our elders.

“A soul might descend to earth and live seventy or eighty years for the sole purpose of doing a favor for another--a spiritual favor, or even a material favor.” - Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov

The picture we are left with is that whether it’s the word of G-d, the wisdom of our elders, or the cutting edge of neuroscience, they all point to one thing, our unique calling to serve each other. We have available to us an opportunity to know great joy in recognizing that we are all in this together, in empathizing with a fellow human and then acting accordingly. That is my big takeaway from Kedoshim.

This notion of connectedness is found in many of the mitzvot outlined in the rest of the parsha. In the first Aliyah, right out the gate, in Chapter 19:9 and 10, we are told:

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not fully reap the corner of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest….you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger.

Here, the Torah has set forth the original communal philanthropy program. The Torah recognizes that food is essential for every individual regardless of financial standing and shows us a path to help in ways that honor the dignity of both the donor and the donee. We are also shown that thinking first of others, sometimes even before they know of our help, can provide a pathway to meaningful engagement with our higher spiritual selves. Later in the first Aliyah verse 19:14 we see:

You shall not place a stumbling block before a blind person.

A while back Rabbi Dardik was discussing the verse above and how we might interpret it. The mitzvah can extend far beyond the literal translation, even to a person who was not blind at all, but simply unaware.

We owe it to ourselves to help the “blind” person achieve all that they may become -- not just to avoid obvious danger. I owe so much gratitude to those in the Oakland community who have opened my eyes to the beauty of our religion, to great Kosher wines, and to the opportunities that come with doubling down on a commitment to building our community. I am not alone.

In their book, “Give Smart. Philanthropy that Gets Results,” authors Thomas Tierney and Joel Fleishman provide a transcript from a speech given by Melinda Gates at the launch of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In her remarks, she spoke of the recognition that every life in the world has fundamental value. That a child in California has the same inherent value as one born elsewhere in the world or even one born into the Gates family. This is the core of what drives the mission of their family’s philanthropy.

Remarkably, the family with the greatest wealth accumulated in our Common Era internalized one of the fundamental truths of the Torah. We serve G-d and each other best, when we acknowledge our interconnectedness and when we love and value others as ourselves.

Parshat Acharei Mot

Parashat Acharei Mot
Nissan 19, 5771 ~ April 23, 2011
In gratefulness for our 72nd Birthdays Neska Neska & Sheila D.

Aaron, the High Priest, is a changed man.
His two sons, Nadav and Avihu, have been lifted from this world.
Because of wanting to get closer to Hashem...to go spiritually higher.
He is the High Priest.
He, too, wishes to go spiritually higher...to bring the people closer to Hashem.
And in that desire
He must be careful of the details.

Each article of clothing is being put on precisely.
He has noticed his hands have a very slight tremor as he dresses himself.
He knows his every act has to be for Hashem and the people.
A very heavy responsibility.
Should he do something wrong, all know the consequences.
He has tied his sash around his waist... separating Olam Habah from Olam Hazeh.
So many people placing their trust in him.
He placing his trust in Hashem.
He must be careful of the details.

The hardest for him will be the service of the incense.
He will try not to think of his sons.
But how can he not, for a split second.
The memory is still too fresh.
He puts that aside.
He will be focused because this is the favorite service of Hashem's -
The scent of His people's wanting to do His Will.
Be careful of the details.

Focus Aaron.
It is for this that you were chosen.
It is for this that you make atonement for you and for Hashem's people.
You, too, were involved in the golden calf.
It is for this that you were chosen.
Focus Aaron.
Be careful of the details.

I cannot even fathom this temple service.
I cannot even fathom the Temple.
I cannot fathom the hard, hard work – every day.
I cannot fathom the amount of joy.
I truly cannot fathom the Temple.
I can see all the pictures I want.
I can squeeze my eyes shut and try to hear the sounds
The singing,
The smells.
I am too distant from it.
I can't get close enough emotionally spiritually.
I am too far removed....too far removed.
But what I do learn is – I must live my life being careful of the details while keeping joy.
If only...

This is Shabbos HaGadol. On of two Shabboses that the Rabbis gave a drash. In days of old. How blessed we are today to “have” Rabbi Dardik and Rabbi Davies and Rabbi Rozen and all who teach us daily – our children, our families, our friend, those whose names we don't even know and yes, the beggar on the street.

I LEARNED THIS DETAIL ABOUT PESACH FROM RABBI AYLAH Perhaps it is better to get the schmutz out of our hearts rather than the kitchen corners. Or perhaps getting the schmutz out of the kitchen corners also gets the schmutz out of our hearts.

Shabbat Shalom. May we all be blessed to have a fulfilling Pesach. Omeyn.

Parshat Metzora

Parashat Metzora
Nissan 5, 5771 ~ April 9, '11
by David Carasso

This week’s parsha, Metzora, details the procedure by which a metzora, someone stricken with tzaraat (a skin discoloration), becomes healed. 

Tzaraat is not a physical infection, but a physical manifestation of one’s sins, specifically verbal sins.  Therefore, it cannot be healed by a doctor, even should he win the Man’s Cup.  It cannot be healed by adopting “a healthy lifestyle” of jogging, green tea, or multivitamins.  Had there been a physical cause, the Torah’s prescribed treatment would make no sense.

My great⁴ grandfather, the Chatam Sofer, saw the metzora as a hypocrite – one who acts is if he is pure, while poisoning his entire environment.  This is a most destructive quality, as they appear righteous on the outside, but are unhealthy on the inside.  As it says, “On the day that healthy skin appears on him (bo) he is unclean.”  (13:14) A sign of the affliction is found in a person whose blemish is “bo” – “in him” – his internal character.  Rabbi David Aaron of Isralight once told me that evil isn’t obvious; evil doesn’t jump out in a devil suit.  That’s what we call “stupid”.  Real evil is smart, sexy, and has the appearance of good.  Like the metzora.

Unlike physical diseases, tzaraat does not go into effect as soon as the physical symptoms reveal themselves, but only when a kohen says “Impure!”  What more powerful lesson can there be to the speaker of lashon hara than to show him the true power of even a single word!


The purification ritual involves two live, kosher birds, cedar wood, crimson wool, and hyssop (14:4).  Rashi explains that birds are brought since they chirp incessantly – just as the speaker of lashon hara does, generally overtly without any guilt or concealment.  One bird is slaughtered (representing the malicious speech), and the other is sent away live (representing positive, kind words).  That explains the birds, what about the rest?  Since the affliction of tzaraat is caused by pride, Hashem commanded the metzora to be treated with cedar, hyssop, and crimson wool.  Logically!  No, symbolically.  The metzora was originally proud like a great cedar, but is now humbled down low, like a lowly hyssop bush.  The crimson dye for the wool comes from a worm, and the metzora is humbled again, reminded that in the end he will go to a place of dust and worms.  (Kids: think AOL.)

Why is the metzora’s purification conducted by a kohen?  Perhaps the most frequent victims of lashon hara are the rabbis, writes Rabbi Eli Mansour.  By needing the assistance and guidance of a kohen, a religious leader, perhaps the metzora will develop a proper attitude toward our rabbis.  We should treat our rabbis with the respect and sense of authority they deserve, and seek their guidance, just as the metzora does.


But before any of this ritual, something must happen first – the actual healing.  This healing must come from within the person himself, not externalities.  He must go outside the camp (14:3), find an isolated place, have a change of heart, and repent.  Only then can he be healed.

By being isolated, the metzora also helps others.  The Tur comments, “the nature of this disease is such that whoever deals with the metzora, or even talks to him, is infected with the disease” (13:45).  The Rambam (Mishnah Nega’im 12) adds that the metzora’s isolation is intended to seclude him from other people so they aren’t further damaged by his words.  The isolation is not a punishment, but a means for the metzora to start thinking about his actions, and to do teshuvah.  If he were allowed company, he could happily be among others with tzaraat, consoling each other without repenting.  Or so I’ve heard.


At this point, we’re done, right?  The metzora has gone into isolation, healed himself (sort of), and performed some rituals with a Kohen.  Done, yes?  Not quite.   He has to return to the camp, to society, and that means facing the people he hurt, and surrounding himself with the same funny co-workers that make it fun to talk smack.  The trick is to stay healed, to learn your lesson, not just in isolation, but also out in the real world.

As Rabbi Steinstaltz writes, “Teshuvah has two essential phases: a leap of disengagement from the past, and a lengthier, more arduous process of rectification.  The first phase is one of destruction, the second of reconstruction.  ...  One cannot, indeed must not, spend one’s whole life hiding, physically or spiritually, from one’s surroundings, much less from oneself.  Those who do, reveal weakness and impotence; but worse, they fail to follow through with the process of teshuvah that they originally undertook. …  Judaism’s purpose in not to nullify or shun the world we live in, but to heal and perfect it.”  (Teshuvah Ch. 9).

May we each make time for isolated reflection and improvement, and may we take those improvements out into the real world.

Shabbat shalom.