One of the greatest 'mitzvot' in the Torah, the very first command given to humanity, is that of bearing children. "Be fruitful and multiply" is the necessary underpinning of any Jewish community, since without renewed Jewish people, there can be no Torah, nor any Judaism either.
Puritan and colonial America viewed themselves as the modern embodiment of ancient Israel. Like the Israelites, they saw themselves as fleeing from an oppressive Pharaoh, journeying into the wilderness in pursuit of freedom and the establishment of a religious and democratic society. No coincidence, then, that on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia, the Hebrew Bible proclaims its ancient ideal. "Proclaim liberty throughout the land, and to all the inhabitants thereof."
Ours is a culture which glories in individuality and autonomy. The foundation documents of theUnited States affirm the right of each individual to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Pilgrims fled England and Europe, so we are told, to practice religious liberty and to find individual freedom as well.
In any five-book anthology, the third book always forms the center of that collection. So it is that Va-Yikra (Leviticus) is the center of the Torah. At the center of Va-Yikra is Kedoshim, the Holiness Code. This parashah central in more than just location. A pinnacle of spirit and morality, it embodies the high water mark of all religious writing, in any period.
In any five-book anthology, the third book always forms the center of that collection. So it is that Va-Yikra (Leviticus) is the center of the Torah. At the center of Va-Yikra is Kedoshim, the Holiness Code. This parashah central in more than just location. A pinnacle of spirit and morality, it embodies the high water mark of all religious writing, in any period.
Our ancestors, like others in the ancient Near East, suffered from frequent eruptions of a variety of skin diseases, called 'tzara'at.' Many of these 'leprosies' were quite severe, and they carried a severe social stigma in every culture in the ancient world. Countless stories in the Bible and the Talmud attest to the dread consequences of this illness and the devastation it could bring into the lives of individuals, families and communities.
Traditionally, the Book of Va-Yikra (Leviticus) was known as Torah Kohanim, "the Teachings of the Priests." Its contents are directed to people who would be ministering in the TempleinJerusalemand its topics pertain to priestly sacrifice, ritual and purity.
Sefer Vayikra, the Book of Leviticus, is at the center of the Torah, not only spatially, but also spiritually. More than any other single book, Vayikra sets the tone and establishes the central themes of biblical and rabbinic Judaism throughout the ages.
This week's Torah reading describes at length the elaborate outfit of the Kohanim (Priests) in the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Not only were these elaborate and striking vestments used during the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, but they became the paradigm for the priestly robes in Solomon'sTemple in Jerusalem in a later period. They must have added a powerful sense of majesty and pageantry to the earliest worship of the one true God.
One of the most terrifying aspects of getting married is the idea of making a commitment to one person for the rest of their life. One of the most daunting responsibilities of parenthood is knowing that another life is dependent on you forever. Even going to the pound to get a pet can intimidate because of the permanence of the commitment.