This week's portion describes the vestments and rituals of the priesthood. It is a tough one to relate to; it marks the point in the Torah where the emphasis shifts from the narrative and the characters to the commandments and the symbols.
As such, many people (including myself) have trouble relating to this portion of the text. But to many of the greatest scholars and spiritual authorities, this is really the most important part of the Torah, a fulfillment of faith and freedom.
After all, the reason given to Pharaoh for the Israelites wanting to go free -- that they wanted to worship God in the wilderness -- really was a reason, not just an excuse. (One does not lie to Pharaoh.) This is really the heart of it all.
Some of it can be understood on the level of ordinary human comprehension. Some cannot, and there has to be a mystery at the heart of it all, doesn't there? After all, the fact that those we love remain mysterious kindles our desire.
The story of Noah is familiar; the details, less so.
Noah is often seen as an ambivalent figure. He was righteous -- but only for his generation. What was his deficiency?
One answer suggests itself: knowing that the world was about to be flooded, he built an Ark for the animals and for his own family -- but did not try to save anyone else or to convince them to repent and change their ways (the prophet Jonah, later, would share that reluctance).
Abraham, later, would set himself apart by arguing with God -- with the Lord Himself! -- against the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, saying that they should be saved if there were enough righteous people to be found (there were not).
Still, Noah was good enough -- and sometimes, that really is sufficient to save the world. We don't need heroes every time -- just ordinary decency.
Hi all -- as I noted last month, I'm going to be closing down my Locals page, at least for tips and subscriptions -- I may keep the page up and the posts as well, but I'm no longer going to be accepting any kind of payment.
Look for cancelation in the very near future. Thank you for your support!
An interesting weekend -- one of the last of Daylight Savings Time -- in which there is much to celebrate, much to contemplate, and a bit to worry about.
The Gaza peace deal is shaky, but holding, after the living hostages returned; the shutdown is still going on, with no end in sight; the China trade war is heating up; and the confrontation with Venezuela continues to escalate.
The "No Kings" protest was a dud, despite the media's attempt to inflate it. What I find fascinating is that the Democrats have basically stolen the rhetoric and the imagery of the Tea Party protests, circa 2009. They claim they are defending the Constitution -- just like the Tea Party did.
On the one hand, this is good. How wonderful to have a political system in which both sides, bitterly opposed though they are, articulate differences through the Constitution -- and not, as in so many other countries, outside it.
On the other, this is sheer hypocrisy for the Democrats. Not only did they malign the Tea Party as ...
