VAYAKHEL PEKUDAI *PARSHAT PARAH 5778
A HEIFER, A COW – LESSONS FOR LIFE

March 6, 2018
23 Adar 5778

Speak to the children of Israel to bring a red cow without blemish… And on which no yoke has been laid (i.e. has not been used for any labor) (Numbers 19: 2).

When someone slain is found lying in an open field… The elders of the town nearest to the corpse, shall take a heifer which has never been worked and which has never pulled the yoke… And they shall break the heifer's neck (Deuteronomy 21: 1, 3).

Central to both rituals are an animal that had never been productive. Both rituals symbolically cleanse the brush or the contact with death. In the incident of the anonymous corpse, breaking the heifer's neck symbolizes that with his life so violently ended, he will no longer be productive. His death is viewed as an abdication of the community elders' responsibility. In the words of the Midrash, "we (the elders) accept responsibility for not having been hospitable to this stranger who we ultimately sent on his without ample protection."

The unblemished red heifer was slaughtered, cremated and her ashes suspended in a solution of pure water to be sprinkled in a purification rite for those who had any contact with a corpse. This ritual affirmed the reality of the boundary between life and death, between the living and the dead.

Life, at its best, is a challenge to be productive; not only in our chosen fields, but also through acts of kindness we extend to one another. The Talmud includes among these visiting the sick, comforting the mourner, honoring parents, providing for the poor and striving to bring peace and tranquility where there is anger and tension.

Death ends all opportunities to be productive. Once the boundary between the living and the dead is crossed, what remains are memories and recollections of past accomplishments, acts and deeds. The ritual of the red heifer solution symbolized that one will now go on with his or her life, hopefully, with an increased urgency to make the most of his or her days.

This ancient ritual came to an end with the destruction of the Temple. Yet the memory of this ancient and puzzling rite remains with us in the practice of washing our hands upon returning from a funeral. We are all familiar with the presence of pitchers of water placed before the entrance of the bereaved family's home. This ritual is a reminder that we who enjoy life will strive to be as productive as possible. As we go on our way, we will have the resolve to make the most of our blessed todays.

The ceremonial community expiation of the heifer served to sensitize the community to its responsibility to provide maximum protection for all within its borders, be they long-time residents or transients. This ritual of the heifer no longer exists but the commitment to create and maintain just and sensitive social orders is still remarkably relevant.

May we respond to and accept the obligation and the opportunity to make our lives as productive as possible. It is a call to be continually aware that, in our tradition, productivity is not confined only to doing good work in our chosen careers but also to doing good work in creating a caring community. We are truly blessed when we are successful in shaping productive and fulfilling lives and communities.

From the holy city of Jerusalem, my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach, a Shabbat of peace and blessing.

Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman

*This Shabbat is the third of the five special Shabbatot that culminates in Shabbat Hagadol [the Great Shabbat] that precedes the Festival of Pesach. The portion read from the second Torah (Numbers 19:1-22) is the command to select and sacrifice a blemish-free red heifer whose ashes, when suspended in a water solution, were used to purify those who had been rendered impure by virtue of contact with a corpse. During this period prior to Pesach, our energies are directed to purifying ourselves and our communities through appropriate acts complemented by suitable prayers and meditations.


KI TISSA PURIM 5778
BENDING THE ARC OF GUN CONTROL

March 1, 2018
Purim 5778

The biblical name for Yom Kippur is Yom Ha Kipurrim, literally a day likened to Purim. The Midrash thus views the two festivals as being mirror images of one another:

  • Yom Kippur is the most serious day in our liturgical calendar; Purim is the most joyous.
  • On Purim we don masks; on Yom Kippur we remove our masks to fully explore our lives before God
  • On Yom Kippur we read the book of Jonah, the reluctant Prophet, who refused to undertake a divine mission for fear that he would succeed. On Purim we read of Esther who initially refuses to approach the King for fear that she would fail and suffer personal disastrous consequences.

God ultimately has His way, and Jonah reluctantly travels to Nineveh exhorting them to change their evil ways. Mordecai successfully guilts Esther to approach the king, and she succeeds in turning the tide and brings about the deliverance of her people.

Jonah is disappointed and angry that his call to Nineveh saves its inhabitants, God rebukes him for not having compassion upon the city and its population. Esther succeeds and revels in the successful Jewish defense. She gleefully reports to the King of the havoc wreaked upon her adversaries and requests permission to continue the battle for an additional day.

Jonah is thus chastised for his callous dismissal of the value of life of the enemy. Esther is celebrated for her success in destroying the enemy. She is not critiqued for failing to take into account that the adversary is also created in the divine image. How to account for these conflicting assessments of the value of human life?

Jonah is rightfully admonished by God because the hated Ninevites did repent of their evil ways, thereby affirming the prayer in our High Holiday liturgy: "God does not desire the death of the wicked, but that they repent and live." Yesterday's enemies, who today wish to live in peace with us, must be embraced.

There are, of course, sources in our tradition that defend Esther's response. Resisting an enemy that pursues you is a legitimate act of self-defense.and the casualties of Jewish resistance were among those who rose up against the Jews.

Purim's exaltation of the successful Jewish resort to arms is more than balanced, however, by the caveat in Zechariah: "Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit, said the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6).

Sadly Isaiah's vision of the end of days when "swords are to be beaten into plowshares" does not reflect our tumultuous present. What is seemingly no less elusive is meeting the challenge of meaningful gun control.

The Parkland Florida carnage has once again placed gun control legislation on the front burner. In the past, such tragedies dominated the news cycle for several days before phasing out. The question is whether this will be true of the Parkland massacre of seventeen students and teachers plus many casualties? At present, the protests of High School students, not only in Parkland but in other parts of the country, continue to keep this issue on the front burner and has generated a more intense discussion on gun control legislation – to intensify background checks and to outlaw the sale of bump stocks that transform a rifle into an assault weapon.

The NRA, as expected, has pushed back. With its significant resources, army of lobbyists and dedicated supporters it has great staying power. There is also the sad reality that private citizens possess close to one million guns in the U.S. The existence of weapons throughout our society is a frightening and seemingly unwinnable challenge. Can the current activism demanding a serious discussion lead to significant change? Is this an impossible dream?

Marin Luther King noted that the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice. The arc bending toward the realization of Isaiah's dream is seemingly endless. Will, however, an aroused citizenry through the ballot box, ongoing protests and mobilization of financial resources shorten the length of the gun control arc? May this seemingly impossible dream come to pass?

From the holy city of Jerusalem, my best wishes for a Shabbat Shalom u'Mevorach, a Shabbat of peace and blessing and a joyous Purim celebration

Rabbi Arnold M. Goodman