There
is a great deal of rabbinic comment on the opening verse of our Parashah – the opening verse of the
whole of Leviticus: ויקרא אל משה וידבר
יי אליו
The syntax is awkward: The subject is assumed in the opening verb
and two verbs are used where one would seem to suffice: “He called to Moses, then Adonai said to
him.” Why not simply: “God spoke to Moses” like we see throughout
Torah? Of course, JPS’s translation is
not incorrect. The Hebrew can certainly
be understood as “Adonai called Moses and spoke to him,” but the manner in
which the Hebrew is presented emphasizes the calling. The action of God calling is front and
center: Vayikra el Moshe, “He called to Moses” only after that, vayidaber ‘then did he speak to him’ at
the tent entrance.
The
Rabbis understand this call as a prophetic one. A Midrashic discourse found in Leviticus Rabbah, for instance,
concludes that this call puts Moses in the category of malachim, Divine messengers.
Our Medieval Frenchman Rashi
comments that only Moses could hear the details being outlined by God. The words, he imagines, could not be heard
beyond that entrance to the tent of meeting.
They were for God’s chosen, for Moses, alone. Rashi’s,
at least in this instance, dutiful grandson the Rashbam confirms Rashi’s
understanding saying that one should not budge from his understanding of this
section. What is unclear, however, is why the need for
such a call to begin with? Why the need
to raise these instructions, the detailed rules for the offerings to be brought
to God, to the level of prophecy? Sinai
wasn’t all that long ago. Wouldn’t
Moses’ authority among the people already be assured without this prophetic call?
While
counterintuitive, the call may serve to remind us that what follows isn’t at
all about Moses. It is all about the
message that follows, namely the instruction for the worship ritual to take
place inside this newly built portable Tabernacle. The
instructions, guidelines, and expectations. Leviticus provides the detailed and necessary
rules and laws regarding this community center.
These laws cover staffing, building maintenance, worship implements,
communal impact (what we might label today broadly as public health), as well
as the specifics of worship, the sacrificial procedures. According to the text, there is a proper
manner necessary for the successful functioning of the Tabernacle and by
extension the community that supports and is supported by it.
Rules, guidelines, expectations.
We
modern, progressive Reform Jews are not so fond of rules. Individual autonomy reigns, and prescribed
ritual is deemed a useless remnant of the past. The Levitical author would disagree, and I
wonder if we shouldn’t pay better attention to the message sent by his elevating what
appear to be tedious rules – limitations and structure to our behavior -- to
the level of prophecy despite our discomfort with the bloody mess of the
details.
I’ve
been watching the first season of Downton
Abbey, a PBS Masterpiece theatre offering that has gone mainstream. The first season takes place during the time
that passes between the downing of the Titanic and the start of World War
I. It offers a lovely window into a
world consumed with rules and manners that work to ensure the smooth
functioning of a particular society. The idealist in me is impressed. Perhaps this is the intention behind the conservative
concept of supporting “job creators.”
Employer and servant staff serve each other as part of a greater system,
and those who hold the economic and social power understand the responsibility
incumbent upon them to care for those who serve them – providing adequate
salary, housing, health care, job security, and perhaps as important as all of
these, compassionate respect and consideration.
As a dear friend reminds me, however, and perhaps what seasons two and
three will point out, is that we can’t rely on Nobless Oblige to ensure such proper
behavior of those who hold all of the resources. Downton
Abbey, so far, has shown just that: the ideal. Not the reality. Unfortunately, for every Lordship who had his
cook’s eyes fixed, there were several who turned out their cooks out because
their eyes failed them. Labor laws and
unionization, guidelines and limitations on what is permitted, are necessary
because history and experience have taught us that decency and ethical morality
are not motivation enough for too many.
Centralized
law is required for the proper and peaceful functioning of our society even
when it may seem at first glance to curtail our immediate rights and
entitlements. As the hymn that we will
sing in just over a week on Pesach reminds
us: law and freedom are partners, the former – with all of its limiting detail
- ensuring the latter.
This
weekend is being marked by faith groups throughout the nation as “Faiths Against Gun Violence.“ The goal
of drawing attention to the issue of gun violence in our country is not in
order to take away rights from responsible citizens. It is about that wake up call I discussed on
Rosh Hashanah: it is all about acknowledging that our country needs more in the way
of instruction, guideline, and expectation in terms of gun ownership and
use. It is about acknowledging a serious
problem in this country and working to ensure a safe, secure, and non-violent
environment for the broader community. As the Union of Reform Judaism stated back in 2008:
Our task as
Reform Jews is to challenge America’s conscience and to heed the biblical
injunction that we must not stand idly by the blood of our neighbor. We must
embark on a moral offensive and send the message to our elected officials that
we care deeply about this issue and will hold them accountable.
Rules,
guidelines, instruction. They are
necessary. Vayikra
Yisrael! Vayikra Amerikanim! Let us not be afraid of being called to work towards
ensuring a society that functions well and ensures the safety and freedom for
us and future generations.
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