Parshat Behukotai, Leviticus 26:3-27:34 By Rabbi Denise L. Eger

The last portion of the book of Leviticus opens with classical theology of reward and punishment. If the Israelites obey the mitzvot and observe the covenant with Adonai then the Children of Israel will be rewarded. The reward will be in the form of the bounty and fertility of the land and perhaps the most important gift –shalom, peace in the land.

But there follows a long and frightening list of curses if the nation of Israel distances itself from the covenant and engages in idolatry. This section of the portion is traditionally known at the Tochecha or Reproof and is often read in a quiet voice when the Torah is chanted. The punishments described in this section for not following the mitzvot are severe and will destroy the people and the land.

Thus this portion is the culmination of Leviticus. The fate of the nation is not really in the hands of God—but in the hands of the people. They have the choice—a choice to observe the covenant or defy it. They have the power to be in communion with the Divine or destroyed by their rejection of the laws.

It hardly seems like a choice. This is a very difficult theology to hold and raises all kinds of questions about evil in the world. Does it then come from God as a punishment? This theology would answer yes.

This isn’t the only biblical message like this. Also towards the end of Deuteronomy, we find similar messages of blessings and curses that will be placed upon the People Israel depending upon their observance of the laws and their loyalty to the covenant. But just as the Deuteronomic vision reminds the Israelites that they have this day before them a choice, life or death, so therefore choose life; the Levitical message concludes that even though the children of Israel may reject the covenant and God will remove them from the Promised Land, God does ultimately remember the Children. “When I in turn have been hostile to them and removed them into the land of their enemies, then at last shall their obdurate heart humble itself, and they shall atone for their iniquity. Then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham and I will remember the land.” (26:41-42).

God ultimately remembers the covenant when we atone for violating it.

Even in the midst of the curses, even in the midst of the punishment there is ultimate forgiveness. Divine Hope and Forgiveness for even the worst offense—idolatry.

Perhaps this brings little comfort to most of us. And if we read the book of Job, and see this righteous man put through trial and test including the loss of his family we can see a rejection of this theology. For in the end, Job’s faith and righteousness keeps him afloat. Never does he curse God, he questions God, argues with God respectfully, challenges God but his spirituality and, yes, his faith, ultimately bring him a special kind of peace and a restoration of his life. The book of Job clearly rejects this traditional notion that suffering is a punishment for sin.

Thus our Torah portions’ reproof cannot be the only theology we Jews hang on to. It is one among many that emerge not just from Torah and the Tanakh, but there are many ideas and ways we Jews relate to and describe our relationship to and with God and the covenant. Let us use this week’s parasha as a jumping off point to think seriously about what we believe and why—and investigate the many ways we Jews have thought about and continue to think about our covenant with God.

Parshat Behar; Leviticus 25:1-26:2 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Our brief parasha this week, Behar, begins with a discussion of the shmittah year, the sabbatical year for the land. The laws of the sabbatical year, applicable only in the land of Israel, describe a Sabbath year, or year of rest for the land. In the shmittah year, the land lies fallow and may not be planted nor harvested. However, spontaneous produce, that which grew despite the fact that the farmer did nothing to urge it out of the earth, may be eaten for the use of ones’ household.

This Sabbath cycle for the land echoes the weekly Sabbath. Just as we have one day each seventh day, dedicated to God, we have one year every seventh year dedicated to God. Just as the Sabbath day teaches humanity that we are not masters over time and space and that Shabbat is a day devoted to God so too, the shmittah year reminds us that we are not owners nor masters of the earth. As the Psalmist’s writes, ‘The Earth is Adonai’s and all that fills it, the world and all who dwell there. (Psalm 24).”

This is further reinforced in this week’s torah portion by the next important cycle that is discussed which is the Jubilee Year or Yovel. The Jubilee year is figured by counting seven cycles of sabbatical years and the fiftieth year is the Jubilee. Although there is some Talmudic disagreement whether it was the 49th or 50th years. Nevertheless the Yovel does act as a shmittah year, allowing the land to rest and also a gift of land returns to its original owner-redistributing wealth that goes with land and property ownership. “Proclaim freedom throughout the land to all the inhabitants (25:10).” This word for freedom or often-translated liberty specifically refers to the emancipation of slaves and the release of landed properties from mortgages. This system prevents a feudal economic program from developing in the land of Israel. Since the Israelites are each granted specific lands, this Yovel year will ensure that the land remains within families even if some economic or other disaster befalls them.

In our own day and time we quickly develop and devour the land often selling off farmlands to build houses, malls and buildings. But the Torah comes to teach us that ultimately the land is not ours to own according to Jewish belief but the earth, the land belongs to God. And it is God’s to distribute not ours. Thus the Jubilee year was an important safety net in the ancient world in the land of Israel. The Jubilee release prevented poverty from encompassing yet another generation as ancestral lands returned to their original owners.

This is an important reminder of that poverty should hold no place in our society. And each time we dismantle the safety net of our society, we not only do a disservice to the poor but to ourselves and God. This teaching from the Jubilee year should remind us of our obligations to care for the impoverished and to lift up their dignity as was done in the Jubilee year.

Parshat Emor; Leviticus 21:1–24:23 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

Parshat Emor is made up of commands both to the priesthood and to the people Israel in general. It continues the themes of holiness and purity that were stressed in last week’s parasha. However, rather than the ethical ideals of justice and empowerment of the weak and vulnerable in society, these mitzvot directly deal with priestly observances of purity and sanctity and requirements of Israelite society to observe the holiday cycle as described in the portion.

Several time in the parasha we come back to the notion of the sanctification of God’s Holy Name. The Torah admonishes both priest and the general member of the Israelites to take care lest they profane God’s sacred name or commit blasphemy. Upholding the sense of holiness and one might even say mystery of the Divine is paramount in the detailed instructions given. It is as if the portion points us toward the goal of the Jewish people and that is to seek out the holy, the sacred and to protect at all costs the sacred nature of the society. This applies to both priest and layperson.

At the beginning of the parsha, priests are warned about unnecessary contact with the dead because of the spiritual impurity it brings, and about how the priesthood must keep meticulous records of the sacred donations lest the Israelites lose faith and thus profane God’s name. A lack of faith in the leadership, in this case the priesthood, could and would lead to questions arising from the general populace. We see this time and again in our own day, when religious leaders act with impunity or hypocrisy. The community is affected by a leader’s behaviors. Thus this portion reinforces that there are certain boundaries to be maintained by the priests and the priesthood.

By keeping far away from the business of death, the priesthood can keep an aura of a connection with life eternal as God’s chosen emissaries. Although allowed to mourn for their immediate families, the priests must distance themselves from death and its trappings as if the priests are elevated above the average concerns of most people.

For the people this task of uplifting God’s holy name and the call to holiness is no less important. The outlining of the holiday cycle in this Torah portion is one way the Jew sanctifies God’s holy Name. Through regular observance of Shabbat and the Festivals, the Israelites help to make distinctions in the world of sacred time and profane time. Their offerings to God further sanctify God’s name and place in the world and yes, in their lives.

For our own day and time we must reflect on the way in which we too uplift God’s Name. Do we lead lives that are filled with sanctifying God’s name or are we tainted by the profane society that we live in? Do we give honor to the Divine Creator of the Universe or have we elevated human beings and ourselves to the place of Divinity?

How do we heed the call to lead lives of holiness?

Parshat Kedoshim; Leviticus 18:1-20:27 by Rabbi Denise L. Eger

This week’s Torah portion is both famous and infamous. Known as the Holiness Code, this portion describes the ways in which we emulate God’s Divine Holiness and become sanctified to God. It is famous because contained in the parasha is the section we Reform Jews read on Yom Kippur afternoon. On Yom Kippur afternoon we start at Chapter 19, verse 1 and continue through 18 and then continue with verses 31-37.

We read about many basic laws of caring for one another in these sections. We read of saving part of the land and produce of the land for the poor. We learn not to insult the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind. More than just courtesies, these actions teach us to respect and honor those in society who are at a disadvantage. We are to rise before the aged showing deference to their experiences and life lived. We are to treat stranger and citizen equally.

This section of Leviticus teaches us that the humane way of acting is the Godly way of acting. We cannot simply take those in society be it the physically challenged, the elderly, the immigrant or the poor and toss them aside. The Torah teaches us that even those who are traditionally powerless must be treated with dignity and respect. These ethical behaviors embody the highest ideals of the Jewish tradition. It is fitting that these be read aloud on the afternoon of the most sacred day of the year. As the parasha teaches all of these are summed up in the verse, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Thus when we come to the infamous sections of this week’s portion, it is even more difficult to understand. This parasha is infamous because contained within this holiness code is also a description of acceptable and unacceptable sexual liaisons. In Leviticus 20:13 we come specifically to one of two Levitical passages that forbid, sexual liaisons between men. “If a man lies with a male as one lies with a woman, the two of them have done an abhorrent thing, they shall be put to death –their bloodguilt is upon them.

In our day and age, when we know that gay men and lesbians are part of society’s oppressed minorities—it seems hard to reconcile the death penalty on the one hand and the passage about treating the powerless among us with dignity and respect. Thus we must think carefully about what the Torah is teaching here. How is sex to be used? Is it to elevate and make holy? Or is it to demean and objectify? Homosexual rape was commonly used as a form of humiliation and torture. Often in war situations it was (and sometimes still is) used to demoralize and dehumanize heterosexual men. Could this be what the Torah is addressing? If a heterosexual man has sex with a man as if he were a woman—then indeed you are guilty of demeaning that human being. Thus the message we are to take away about holiness, sexuality and dignity is that relationships must be based upon honor and dignity even in sexuality.

Thus this is one way we might reconcile these two parts of the same Torah portion and to especially find a way to say to the gay and lesbian communities—we accept you and we welcome you and we honor your relationships. By understanding that the Torah is addressing only in authentic sexual behavior and sexual behavior used in an evil way, we can learn that there is room at the table of community for gay men and lesbians who within their loving and committed relationships can also have sanctified and holy lives.

I believe strongly that the Torah if written today, would celebrate the many different kinds of family relationships and would equally celebrate the marriage of gay men and lesbians who commit to one another in a life of kedusha, a life of sanctity.

Let us not confuse these Torah passages on rape with the loving expression of sexuality within the context of a committed relationship. For the loving and healthy expression of sexuality between two men or two women can be filled with the same dignity honor and respect that other parts of our torah portion speaks of.