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RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL:LEVITICUS 6:01-8:36:PARASHA TZAV:SHABBAT PARAH:ZERO MOSTEL
LEVITICUS 6:01-8:36
SHABBAT PARAH
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL
"Mare's Sweat"
Did you love watching Zero Mostel, of blessed memory, perform as
much as I did? He was such a wonderful presence on the stage and screen.
I remember him well as Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to
the Forum. He and another character aptly named Hero, were chasing after
horses trying to extract mare's sweat to be used in a potion. How silly
and so pagan, the audience thought, to use a large mammal's glandular secretions
for an elixir.
I wonder if Cecil B. DeMille were to make a sequel to the Ten
Commandments would he have Zero play Aaron chasing after red heifers when he came to
this part of the Bible? Let me explain.
While this week's Torah portion
is Tzav from the book of Leviticus, this Shabbat is one of the special
Sabbaths that come before Passover (as well as Purim), and it is called Parah. We
read a special portion from the Torah (a maftir) from Numbers 19:01 to 22. It is
about our priests finding a perfect unblemished red cow, burning the
whole animal including its dung, and adding in a bit of red thread and
some spices.
Then a "pure" man gathered the ash and mixed it with water. He then
became "unclean." But, anyone else who became unclean by touching a corpse,
could become clean by sprinkling the dead cow's ashes on themselves. This
type of law is called a "chuk," a decree. There was no rational rhyme or
reason for it.
Regarding this law, King Solomon said, "I said I would be wise, but it
[the explanation] is far from me" (Proverbs 7:23). Modern Israelis when asked
about a nonsensical governmental law, will say "Parah Adamah" (it's a
red cow). In Job (14:04), it is asked :"Who can draw a pure thing out of
an impure one? Is it not the One God?" Perhaps Zero Mostel could.
This week's Torah parasha derives it name from the word "command," as God
is giving us more sacrificial ritual laws. For those of us who have ever
dissected a frog in high school or have gone on to study larger animals,
a quick read of this section will bring back some memories of your favorite (or
not so favorite) organs.
The rabbis long after the Temple was destroyed and the
sacrifices were stopped have tried to parse some mussar (spiritual and ethical growth
teachings) from this portion.
I invite you to look at Leviticus 6:18. "This is the law of the sin
offering. At the PLACE [capitals are mine] where you slaughter the
elevation offering, you shall slaughter the sin offering." Talmud Tractate Bavli Yevamot
8:3 explains that this was enacted to save those who sinned from
embarrassment.
Folks who sinned and those who were bringing offerings to raise their
spiritual level were all in the same area. No one could be pointed out as a sinner.
We learn from this that if God could make certain that sinners were not
publicly shamed, surely it is important for each of us not to humiliate or cause
public discomfort to another.
Rabbi Elazar taught "that one who humiliates his
fellow in public, though he may know Torah and do good deeds, has no
share in the world to come" (Pirkei Avot 3:15). Talmud Bavli Tractate Bava Metziah 58b
says shaming someone publicly drains the blood from his face and is tantamount
to murder.
The Torah also shows sensitivity to the feelings of the poor. It permits
each person to bring what he could afford. A closer read will see that
the Torah refers to one bringing an expensive bull as a "person." But the
Torah's author calls one bringing a bread offering a "soul." It is not
the value of our gifts that is important, but rather our intention that is crucial.
A poor man may not know from when or where his next 'bread' is coming. And so it
is with our prayer (see last week's d'var). What is important about our prayers is not the showy length of the
service, or if we can rock and chant faster than our pew's neighbor, or if we can
speed- read in Hebrew. Rather it is our intention, our kavanah, that must be
pure and from our soul.
Another section of the parasha deals with thanksgiving offerings (Lev
7:1-15). This ritual is still done today in an abbreviated fashion on
some bimahs at the time of the Torah reading. It is now called "Birkat ha Gomel."
Traditionally one makes this bracha if one has survived childbirth,
recovered from illness, arrived safely from a journey, or escaped
unharmed from an accident. Actually, there is one more. If you escaped from prison where
you were to be executed, this prayer was said as well. (Obviously, this
prayer for THIS reason is rarely heard in Texas.)
When we read this portion and think of the body parts and organs of the
animals on the altar and elsewhere, perhaps for a moment instead of
reeling in disgust, let us think for a second of all the body parts that
we have that are working well that we take for granted.
In our morning prayers, we traditionally thank God for our consciousness,
our mobility, and our eyesight, as well as our freedom.
When we think, just for a second, of
the bulls' kishkas (intestines) spilling onto the floor of the Temple, we can see
how the prayer that traditionally we say after leaving the rest room,
might be something that we can occasionally gratefully recite. "Blessed are
you, the Lord our God, King of the Universe, who fashioned man with wisdom and
created within him many openings and cavities. It is obvious and known
before your Throne of Glory that if but one of them were to be ruptured, or but
one of them were to be blocked, it would be impossible to survive and stand
before You. In the merit of my appreciation for Your wondrous works, may
you grant me good health and long life." It is easy for one to scoff at this
prayer. But ask one who has survived colon cancer, an intestinal
blockage, or even a kidney stone just how meaningful this prayer is.
Some years ago there was a public debate
in the newspapers when a beloved
rabbi was misquoted as saying that the Orthodox are praying
daily for the return of Temple sacrifices. It is the traditional belief that when the
Messiah comes and the world will be perfect, there will no longer be a need
for offerings of atonement because people will no longer sin. However the
thanksgiving offerings will always be needed (Talmud Bavli Tractate Pesachim 50a). These thanksgiving
offerings will be 40 loaves of bread of the four types outlined in this
week's portion in Leviticus 7:1-15.
In this week's special Haftarah from the Book of Ezekiel 36:16-38,
the prophet speaks of the ingathering of the exiles and our purification.
Ezekiel says something interesting: "I shall give you a new heart and a new
spirit....I shall remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh" (36:26).
This, the sages teach, is all in preparation of Messianic times. Why, do I, as a modern Jew,
have a Moshiac theme in this d'var along with numerous mentions of body parts
and organs?
This week a dear friend asked me about the traditional position on organ
donation. I wrote to her that her important question touched on
traditional halachic Jewish law principles as well as many Midrashic and
folkloric interpretations. The idea of organ donation is not really a new question
for the Talmudic sages. Remember that traditionally it is believed that
the Talmud and the laws derived from and codified from it, were orally given
by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai. Liberal Jews think of the Talmud and the
laws that derive from it as scholarly works of learned men who were doing their
best to keep us together during the enormous national disaster of the Babylonian and Roman
forced diasporas and the nationalization of Christianity as the state religion by
Emperor Constantine.
Liberal Jews do not consider themselves bound by these ritual laws. Jews may, however,
chose to do certain rituals after careful study of it's historical
significance and do so with kavenah.
Talmudically we have an obligation to preserve human life. This is
derived from many verses in the Torah. This is called Pikuah Nefesh. The
most pious are commanded to break Shabbat to save a life and must break
keeping kosher to do the same.
There is another pertinent Talmudic principle. This is the law against
the desecration of a dead body (Nivul Hamet). Every part of the body must
be buried, even if parts are lost from the body before a person's death. In
theory, if a traditional Jew gets his hand cut off (God forbid),
it must be buried with him. If there is a motor vehicle accident
involving a Jew, his blood and skin must be scraped from the street and buried.
The traditional rabbis have posited that if there is an immediate
specific known need of an organ, one can permit a donation of organs from a
deceased loved one.
It is not "kosher" to put organs in a frozen bank waiting for someone to
need them. It is also forbidden to donate a traditional Jew's body to science
for medical students to dissect and learn.
A doctor cannot harvest an organ if one is still alive. Of course, you
say, it is not that simple. Traditionally, there is no such thing as being
brain dead. If the heart is pumping, you are alive. Let us hypothesize that one
is brain dead and in a vegetative state. The doctor persuades a family
member to "pull the plug" and donate the fresh organs. Halachically, this would not be
allowed and would even be considered murder.
On a different note, one could donate a kidney if one's doctor guaranteed
one was not putting their life at risk. One can only give up one's life for three
reasons: If an aggressor demands that you commit murder, a sexual misdeed, or idolatry. For other
than these three reasons, you must protect your own life first, as the Talmud says
that no one's blood is redder (better) than anyone else's.
And, of course, cremation is not allowed.
What you will not find in the Halachic laws is the reason that we are
traditionally concerned about our body and its parts postmortem. Why can
one give an organ if it is going to be used immediately, but not if it
will be in a freezer to be used next week? Saving lives is important and a
cornerstone in Judaism, but why would we prefer that a body rot in dirt than be used
for medical research? What is the real reason?
Traditionally, derived from Talmud Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin, chapter 11, we believe in
corporal resurrection. When the Messiah comes, we will get our same
bodies back and be transported to Jerusalem. If we are buried in Galut
(exile), we roll through special tunnels underground to Israel. An amputated limb must be
buried with its original body so that God can reattach it. Somehow, if we are
dismembered on a dissection table, or if our organs go to someone
else, God cannot figure out where the pieces are to give them back to
us.
By reading chapter 11 of Talmud Sanhedrin you will see that the whole
Messianic concept is not a clear Tanach (Holy Scriptures) idea. Our
rabbis are grappling with the conception of a human king-savior to come
and save us from the Romans (who they postulated are descended from
Esau!).
They are also dealing with the Christian theologians in 500 CE using our Bible as
their own source book for Jesus. Few rabbis agree with one another as they debate the
issue.
Rabbi Hillel certainly does not believe in these theories. But as usual, a vote
was taken. The traditional point of view may be thought of as the word of God from Mt.
Sinai, but to the rabbis 1,500 years ago, it was a theological guess. This guess is keeping
many deserving sick people from getting organs, corneas, and skin grafts. A chance for
continued life on this earth is not being granted to some people, while others are
superstitiously holding on to folkloric thoughts .
The Conservative Jew, depending on who you ask, will tell you organ
donation is fine, to save a life or help a life, whether you do it immediately or
later with a frozen part. Talmudically, a partially blinded person is
freed from many mitzvoth especially the regelem (pilgrimage) holidays, as being
half blind was considered a danger to life. The Conservative rabbis posited
then that corneal donations, even if frozen in a bank, should be allowed.
And if these were allowed, then of course, liver, heart, kidney, and other
similar organ donations should be allowed as well.
As informed modern Jews we have to do what our conscience permits.
Certainly, if you believe in Olam ha Ba, with its entrance requirements
of mitzvoth, what better good deed is there than to save a life? The
Talmud says that he who saves one life has saved the world. And the converse is true as
well. By not donating an organ, and causing a life to be lost, one is Talmudically
"killing the world."
If we believe in a kind compassionate God, full of chesed, then it is not
consistent for God to punish us by keeping us from Olam ha Ba because we gave a cornea
to Pedro, a kidney to Achmed, a liver to Kenesha, a heart to Kanwal,
our spleen to Moshe-Pupik. After all, if Ezekiel says God will give us a
new heart anyway, and God is all powerful, who is to say God cannot give
us whatever parts we may be missing? But as Zero might say while studying
Torah: "Parah Adamah. Have a chalice of mare's sweat and a Gut Shabbos!"
Shabbat Shalom,
RABBI ARTHUR SEGAL (whose Bar Mitzvah portion was Parasha Parah)
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