Parshas Emor
This is in the merit of my grandmother, Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.
Question:
“Be careful regarding My commandments and keep them; I am God. Do not desecrate My holy name. I must be sanctified among the Israelites. I am God who makes you holy and brought you out to Egypt to be your God. I am God” (Leviticus 22:31-33).
"Son of man! The house of Israel, as long as they lived on their own land, they defiled it by their way and by their misdeeds, like the uncleanness of a woman in the period of her separation was their way before Me. Wherefore I poured My wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, because they had defiled it with their idols. And I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. According to their way and their misdeeds did I judge them. And they entered the nations where they came, and they profaned My Holy Name, inasmuch as it was said of them, 'These are the people of the Lord, and they have come out of His land.' But I had pity on My Holy Name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they had come. Therefore, say to the house of Israel; So says the Lord God: Not for your sake do I do this, O house of Israel, but for My Holy Name, which you have profaned among the nations to which they have come. And I will sanctify My great Name, which was profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord-is the declaration of the Lord God-when I will be sanctified through you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations and gather you from all the countries, and I will bring you to your land. And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you will be clean; from all your impurities and from all your abominations will I cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit within you and bring it about that you will walk in My statutes and you will keep My ordinances and do [them]. Then will you dwell in the land that I gave your fathers, and you will be a people to Me, and I will be to you as a God. (Ezekiel 36:17-18).
Based on this passage from Ezekiel, what is one definition of ‘sanctifying G-d’s name’ and ‘desecrating G-d’s name’? (This question based on a chapter from my teacher Rabbi Moshe Lichtman’s new book, Eretz Yisrael in the Parshah. Look for it at http://www.devorapublishing.com)
Something to Live For
“Be careful regarding My commandments and keep them; I am God. Do not desecrate My holy name. I must be sanctified among the Israelites. I am God who makes you holy and brought you out to Egypt to be your God. I am God” (Leviticus 22:31-33).
This passage is the source for the obligation for Jews to sanctify G’d’s name and the prohibition of desecrating G-d’s name. On this the Rambam writes:
“Every Jew [including women] is commanded to sanctify God's Name, for it is written, ‘...but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel’. We are warned not to desecrate God's Name, as it is written, ‘Nor shall you desecrate My holy Name’. What does this mean? If, for example, a gentile forces a Jew to commit a sin by threatening to kill him if he doesn't, then he should commit the sin in order not to be killed, for concerning this commandment it is written, ‘...which if a man does he shall live by them’ (Leviticus 18:5) - and not die for them. If he allowed himself to be killed by not committing the sin, then he is liable as a suicide [in the World To Come]” (Laws of the Fundamentals of the Torah, 5:1).
[Note that the Rambam continues and adds qualifications regarding when else one must give up his or her life to G-d. Thank G-d, for us, these laws are primarily theoretical.]
When required, Jews have laid down their life for their Father in Heaven. But as is clear from the Rambam, living is an obligation. But not just any living, but living for G-d. As Reb Noah Weinberg writes “LIVE FOR WHAT YOU ARE WILLING TO DIE FOR” (http://www.aish.com/spirituality/foundations/The_Meaning_Of_Life.asp). We Jews are required to live our lives as a Kiddush Hashem, a sanctification of G-d’s name.
Rav Irving Bunim wrote “The destiny of the Jew, the historic mission that attends upon him through the centuries, is to sanctify the name of the Almighty, so that through Jewry the nations will learn of Him and accept Him ever more. As we say in the words of Isaiah, in the introductory paragraph before each [chapter of Pirkei Avos, Chapters of our Fathers], the people of Israel are ‘the branch of My plantings, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified’ [Isaiah 60:21]. The Divine will grants us existence for a purpose. Everyone has a specific task to perform; and the general, overall duty of the Jew is to glorify the Holy, Blessed One. By our thoughts, our speech, our deeds, and ultimately by our collective way of life, we are enjoined to illustrate and tacitly proclaim the greatness f the Creator. ‘This people that I formed for Myself, they shall declare My praise’ [[Isaiah 43:21]” (Ethics from Sinai, by R. Irving M Bunim, volume 2, page 40).
Throughout history we have had unique individuals who, through their pure love of humanity, have epitomized these teachings. Within the last century, such names as the Chofetz Chaim (Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan), Reb Aryeh Levin, and Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach come immediately to mind (though there were certainly many more).
This attitude to the ideal Jewish life is probably found in the Rabbinic dictum “Let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven” (Pirkei Avos 2:17). Commenting on this Mishnah, Rabbi Pinchas Kehati cites the verse “In all your ways know Him…” (Proverbs 3:6).
Discussing this the Rambam writes:
“A person must direct every single one of his deeds solely towards attaining knowledge of God. His sitting down, his standing up, and his speech should all be directed toward this goal. . . Even when he sleeps, if he sleeps with the intention of resting his mind and body so that he does not become sick—for he is unable to serve the Lord when he is sick—his sleep shall become a service of God. Concerning this, Chazal commanded (Avot 2:12), “Let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven.” That is what Shlomo said in his wisdom (Proverbs 3:6): ‘In all your ways know Him, and He will make your paths straight’” (Laws of Character Traits 3:2-3).
Our great teacher, Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch, who lived near the beginning of the Emancipation and Enlightment, writes the following:
“[The Jewish People’s] affirmation of loyalty to God and the Torah has been sealed with more than its blood: the entire history of its [exile] constitutes one gigantic altar on which it sacrificed everything that men desire and love-for the sake of acknowledging God and His Laws. This altar has smoked in every part of the world and among all nations. Is it conceivable that these nations learned nothing from all this? Could they fail to recognize that the higher power preserving Yisrael throughout its experiences is the One Alone, and that the loyalty to Him demonstrated by Yisrael is the task of all humanity?
And now that this altar has stopped smoking? And the dispersed of Yisrael enjoy tolerance, protection and citizenship grated by the nations, and can develop their Jewish life in all its greatness? And Yisrael joins with those states that admitted it, to further their progress and welfare, as enjoined by our prophets? If now, surrounded by a materialistic and hedonistic society, Yisrael were to conduct its life peacefully, in justice and lovingkindness; if all around it the generations were declining, through sensuality and debauchery, but the sons and daughters of Yisrael were to prosper in the youthful strength of pure morality and innocence; if everywhere else all actions were inspired by the love of profit, physical gratification and selfishness, but every Jew, by his silent example, were a teacher of universal justice and love; if thus the dispersed of Yisrael were quietly to flourish as priest of God and of true humanity – dear Benjamin, if only we lived up to what we are supposed to be, if only our lives were a perfect reflection of our Torah, what a mighty force this would be for reaching the ultimate goal of all human education! It would be more tranquil, but even loftier, more forceful and more effective than our tragic history of suffering and what it revealed about God and humanity. During the years of misery and contempt, our ideal could be attained only imperfectly; but when milder times beckon us to our goal – that every Jew and Jewess, through the example they provide in their own lives, should become priests of God and of genuine humanity – and this ideal and mission await us, can we still deplore our fate, dear Benjamin” (The Nineteen Letters, pages 127-128).
While sadly this altar still burns and anti-Semitism has not ceased in any way, the relevance of our teacher’s words have not decreased in the slightest.
Our mission awaits.
Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai
About Reb Aryeh Levin http://www.torah.org/features/firstperson/tzaddikofjerusalem.html http://www.jewishmag.com/18MAG/LEVIN/levin.htm
This is in the merit of my grandmother, Esther bat Mazal. May she have a speedy and complete recovery.
Question:
“Be careful regarding My commandments and keep them; I am God. Do not desecrate My holy name. I must be sanctified among the Israelites. I am God who makes you holy and brought you out to Egypt to be your God. I am God” (Leviticus 22:31-33).
"Son of man! The house of Israel, as long as they lived on their own land, they defiled it by their way and by their misdeeds, like the uncleanness of a woman in the period of her separation was their way before Me. Wherefore I poured My wrath upon them for the blood that they had shed in the land, because they had defiled it with their idols. And I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries. According to their way and their misdeeds did I judge them. And they entered the nations where they came, and they profaned My Holy Name, inasmuch as it was said of them, 'These are the people of the Lord, and they have come out of His land.' But I had pity on My Holy Name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they had come. Therefore, say to the house of Israel; So says the Lord God: Not for your sake do I do this, O house of Israel, but for My Holy Name, which you have profaned among the nations to which they have come. And I will sanctify My great Name, which was profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord-is the declaration of the Lord God-when I will be sanctified through you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations and gather you from all the countries, and I will bring you to your land. And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you will be clean; from all your impurities and from all your abominations will I cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the heart of stone out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My spirit within you and bring it about that you will walk in My statutes and you will keep My ordinances and do [them]. Then will you dwell in the land that I gave your fathers, and you will be a people to Me, and I will be to you as a God. (Ezekiel 36:17-18).
Based on this passage from Ezekiel, what is one definition of ‘sanctifying G-d’s name’ and ‘desecrating G-d’s name’? (This question based on a chapter from my teacher Rabbi Moshe Lichtman’s new book, Eretz Yisrael in the Parshah. Look for it at http://www.devorapublishing.com)
Something to Live For
“Be careful regarding My commandments and keep them; I am God. Do not desecrate My holy name. I must be sanctified among the Israelites. I am God who makes you holy and brought you out to Egypt to be your God. I am God” (Leviticus 22:31-33).
This passage is the source for the obligation for Jews to sanctify G’d’s name and the prohibition of desecrating G-d’s name. On this the Rambam writes:
“Every Jew [including women] is commanded to sanctify God's Name, for it is written, ‘...but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel’. We are warned not to desecrate God's Name, as it is written, ‘Nor shall you desecrate My holy Name’. What does this mean? If, for example, a gentile forces a Jew to commit a sin by threatening to kill him if he doesn't, then he should commit the sin in order not to be killed, for concerning this commandment it is written, ‘...which if a man does he shall live by them’ (Leviticus 18:5) - and not die for them. If he allowed himself to be killed by not committing the sin, then he is liable as a suicide [in the World To Come]” (Laws of the Fundamentals of the Torah, 5:1).
[Note that the Rambam continues and adds qualifications regarding when else one must give up his or her life to G-d. Thank G-d, for us, these laws are primarily theoretical.]
When required, Jews have laid down their life for their Father in Heaven. But as is clear from the Rambam, living is an obligation. But not just any living, but living for G-d. As Reb Noah Weinberg writes “LIVE FOR WHAT YOU ARE WILLING TO DIE FOR” (http://www.aish.com/spirituality/foundations/The_Meaning_Of_Life.asp). We Jews are required to live our lives as a Kiddush Hashem, a sanctification of G-d’s name.
Rav Irving Bunim wrote “The destiny of the Jew, the historic mission that attends upon him through the centuries, is to sanctify the name of the Almighty, so that through Jewry the nations will learn of Him and accept Him ever more. As we say in the words of Isaiah, in the introductory paragraph before each [chapter of Pirkei Avos, Chapters of our Fathers], the people of Israel are ‘the branch of My plantings, the work of My hands, that I may be glorified’ [Isaiah 60:21]. The Divine will grants us existence for a purpose. Everyone has a specific task to perform; and the general, overall duty of the Jew is to glorify the Holy, Blessed One. By our thoughts, our speech, our deeds, and ultimately by our collective way of life, we are enjoined to illustrate and tacitly proclaim the greatness f the Creator. ‘This people that I formed for Myself, they shall declare My praise’ [[Isaiah 43:21]” (Ethics from Sinai, by R. Irving M Bunim, volume 2, page 40).
Throughout history we have had unique individuals who, through their pure love of humanity, have epitomized these teachings. Within the last century, such names as the Chofetz Chaim (Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan), Reb Aryeh Levin, and Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach come immediately to mind (though there were certainly many more).
This attitude to the ideal Jewish life is probably found in the Rabbinic dictum “Let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven” (Pirkei Avos 2:17). Commenting on this Mishnah, Rabbi Pinchas Kehati cites the verse “In all your ways know Him…” (Proverbs 3:6).
Discussing this the Rambam writes:
“A person must direct every single one of his deeds solely towards attaining knowledge of God. His sitting down, his standing up, and his speech should all be directed toward this goal. . . Even when he sleeps, if he sleeps with the intention of resting his mind and body so that he does not become sick—for he is unable to serve the Lord when he is sick—his sleep shall become a service of God. Concerning this, Chazal commanded (Avot 2:12), “Let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven.” That is what Shlomo said in his wisdom (Proverbs 3:6): ‘In all your ways know Him, and He will make your paths straight’” (Laws of Character Traits 3:2-3).
Our great teacher, Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch, who lived near the beginning of the Emancipation and Enlightment, writes the following:
“[The Jewish People’s] affirmation of loyalty to God and the Torah has been sealed with more than its blood: the entire history of its [exile] constitutes one gigantic altar on which it sacrificed everything that men desire and love-for the sake of acknowledging God and His Laws. This altar has smoked in every part of the world and among all nations. Is it conceivable that these nations learned nothing from all this? Could they fail to recognize that the higher power preserving Yisrael throughout its experiences is the One Alone, and that the loyalty to Him demonstrated by Yisrael is the task of all humanity?
And now that this altar has stopped smoking? And the dispersed of Yisrael enjoy tolerance, protection and citizenship grated by the nations, and can develop their Jewish life in all its greatness? And Yisrael joins with those states that admitted it, to further their progress and welfare, as enjoined by our prophets? If now, surrounded by a materialistic and hedonistic society, Yisrael were to conduct its life peacefully, in justice and lovingkindness; if all around it the generations were declining, through sensuality and debauchery, but the sons and daughters of Yisrael were to prosper in the youthful strength of pure morality and innocence; if everywhere else all actions were inspired by the love of profit, physical gratification and selfishness, but every Jew, by his silent example, were a teacher of universal justice and love; if thus the dispersed of Yisrael were quietly to flourish as priest of God and of true humanity – dear Benjamin, if only we lived up to what we are supposed to be, if only our lives were a perfect reflection of our Torah, what a mighty force this would be for reaching the ultimate goal of all human education! It would be more tranquil, but even loftier, more forceful and more effective than our tragic history of suffering and what it revealed about God and humanity. During the years of misery and contempt, our ideal could be attained only imperfectly; but when milder times beckon us to our goal – that every Jew and Jewess, through the example they provide in their own lives, should become priests of God and of genuine humanity – and this ideal and mission await us, can we still deplore our fate, dear Benjamin” (The Nineteen Letters, pages 127-128).
While sadly this altar still burns and anti-Semitism has not ceased in any way, the relevance of our teacher’s words have not decreased in the slightest.
Our mission awaits.
Have a good Shabbas,
Mordechai
About Reb Aryeh Levin http://www.torah.org/features/firstperson/tzaddikofjerusalem.html http://www.jewishmag.com/18MAG/LEVIN/levin.htm
posted by Mordechai18 at 10:44 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home