Portion of the Week; Ahare-Ked 17, 18-1, Rabbi Freed

(no sound) (no sound) (singing starts) (singing) (signing) (singing) [Narrator]: Portion of the week the bible is read in the synagogue with rabbinic commentary this evening we hear Rabbi Herbert S. Freed spiritual leader of the conservative congregation of temple beth shalom Mahopac, New York Each week for thousands of years Jews have read the portion

of the week. Divided into weekly portions the Chumash, or the Torah, or the 5 books books of Moses is read in synagogues were ever Jews happened to be. beginning after the festival of Sukkot Jews begin to read from the book of Genesis and for 1 entire year reading weekly portions they complete the cycle of the Torah reading the portion which we read from the Torah this week is known as Aharemote Kedoshim, it deals with that portion of the Bible which takes place immediately after the death of the two sons of Aaron. It is taken from Leviticus 16. In the course of my discussion I shall read random verses and I shall attempt from time to time to bring forth certain commentaries taken from the Talmud from later Jewish sources from medieval Jewish commentators and from time to time, I shall attempt to garnish my discussion with insights of many contemporaries. Why the Jews read from the portion of the week? One would think that this would be a tiresome chore indeed to read each

year the very same thing that they had read the year before. But it is precisely because the Torah road is a book which is for all time that we are able to read from it and draw insights relevant to our own lives. The Torah does not speak for one particular generation at one time in one point in history. It speaks rather to all men at every point in history. And so I shall try from time to time also to point out some relevant passages to our lives as well. I began reading chapter 16 verse 1. And the lord spoke unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they drew near before the Lord and died. And the Lord said unto Moses speak unto Aaron thy brother here with shall Aaron come into the holy place now Aaron is immediately commanded to resume his task his sons had just died and Aaron as commander to go back to work. It seems kind of unfair at best or at worst a little bit insensitive

to demand of this man after the tragedy with which he has met to go back to work immediately. But if you think about it this was not an act of cruelty at all but rather an act of real kindness for our tradition tells us that the alleviation of sorrow will not be attained by abrupt retirement from one's duties. Quite the contrary constructive, creative, meaningful work holds out the best hope for triumph over one's personal tragedy. Activity in behalf of others constitutes the best therapy for the malady of being sorry for oneself. Now Aaron is commanded once again to resume his tasks and he is told that he must bring sacrifices into the temple. And I read now from verse 5, and he shall take of the congregation of the children of Israel to he goats for a sin offering. Now Aaron is commanded to bring forth the offering for the rest of the children of Israel. He is in a sense what we know as a Chaliah Sibor; one who works on behalf of the congregation. There is an

interesting tension in jewish tradition between the individual and the community. Rites of purification for example were to be performed for the community as a body and each individual was to regard himself as essentially a unit in the brotherhood of Israel On the confession, on the day of atonement as a matter of fact, when we recite the prayer asking for forgiveness we do not say I have sinned, I have transgressed, I have delt treacherously this is always in the plural we have sinned and we have transgressed, we have delt treacherously. And as a matter of fact in a very real sense we believe that the community is in a very real sense responsible for the crimes which are perpetrated by any individual. it is the responsibility of each individual not only to look after himself but also to be concerned for the rest of his entire community. If there are crimes

perhaps it is because there are slums. If there's depravation perhaps it is because of the greed of several members of the community. If there is vice it could well be because members of the community have themselves not been willing to sacrifice what is necessary in order to eradicate the conditions which create these conditions of vice and the slums and so forth. We are responsible for the entire communication un- for the entire community and so Aaron is commanded to pray on behalf of the entire community and when Aaron goes into pray we're told as well that he may not simply pray whatever comes into his mind. That prayer is not entirely a matter spontaneity but rather there are two aspects of tradition and spontaneity which are at tensions with one another. One must, at the same time, be able to express his own feelings as a person living at a particular point in history, under certain circumstances, affected by many conditions and at the same time see himself as a link in a grand chain of

tradition. When he reads from the prayer book he is commanded first to find the associations in his own mind and his own experiences with his past with his tradition and once having rooted himself in the firmness of a tradition to be able to express spontaneously that which he feels as a member, as an inheritor, as an heir to that tradition. One should not we're told spend his time only praying spontaneously because an impulse can dissipate as quickly as it does arise. Aaron once again is commanded to pray on behalf of the entire Israelite community. He is told to go before God as a representative of all of the congregation of the children of Israel. He is what we came to know later as a Chalia Sibor as one who represents the community. Now there must be an interesting uh, and a very careful observation made here

that a Chalia Sibor or representative of the community is himself not to be regarded as an object of worship. He is the one who represents the children of Israel. He speaks on their behalf, he pleads he intercedes on their behalf, but he himself is not a god, he was not a deity, he's simply a man perhaps more eloquent who serves as a spokesman a representative of the community. And it's interesting as well to point out that Moses himself who was the great leader of the Jewish people who brought them out of slavery, who brought them out of bondage, and who made of them a free people. Never himself became a deity. He was only a spokesman for the entire community but he was as Aaron was a leader. And Aaron is commanded throughout the book of Leviticus to be very meticulous in his dress, in his actions, in his speech in his manner because he is a leader. Our rabbis commenta- uh comment on this aspect of leadership. A leader is to be meticulous in his actions and in his dress. We're told that a leader must bend over backwards in every

conceivable sense to free himself from any stain because people look to a leader and if the leader is in anyway corrupt the most noble cause can be corrupt. I need only point perhaps uh, superficially to uh many of the revolutions that have taken place near own borders. Very often a revolution takes place and the cause is indeed a noble one but it very quickly becomes corrupted and usually this corruption may be traced directly to the leadership. I continue reading now in verse 6 And he shall take of the two goats speaking of Aaron and set them before the Lord at the door of the tent of meeting. And he will repent on behalf of himself and for his entire household. It's interesting that the rabbis comment (speaks in Hebrew) and he shall make atonement for himself and for his house. According to Jewish tradition beyto-

-to a man's house is his wife. And we're told that a Kohang- (Hebrew word) Gadoe, a priest would serve in the temple, is not permitted to officiate on the holiest day of the year on the day of atonement if his wife is not living. Because the only complete man as a man who has a wife. And so he's his house is not in existence, if his wife is unfortunately not with him, then he is not permitted to function on this holiest day of the year. To continue into- in the passages which follow we see the very colorful section of the pageant in the temple. They parade how the priest is able to go forth in his many beautiful robes and prostrate himself and I sometimes think that the color in the ritual which added so much beauty and dignity to the service and is rarely to be found is to our- is to our disadvantage and is indeed our loss. I think perhaps we're sometimes too stoic and the ancients were able to feel with their very bones with their very marrow Continuing with the following passages I read now from verse 12

And Aaron shall take a censer full of coals a fire from off the altar before the Lord and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small and bring it within the veil. And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord that the cloud of the incense may cover the art cover that is upon the testimony. There're many passages here which deal with the intricate uh, pageant in the holy temple. But there's a very interesting formula I believe which the rabbis tell us was part of Aaron's worship. On returning from the holy of holies, the high priest in later times offer the following prayer. May it please thee oh Lord our God that this year may be a year of rain. Let there not be wanting a ruler belonging to the house of Judah. Let not thy people Israel be in want. So that 1 Israelite may not be forced to beg his sustenance from another or from strangers. Charity has always been a cardinal principle of religion in general I believe of ethical religions and of Judaism in particular. We are proud that we are indeed a

very charitable people but within the very prayer of the high priest and in prayer which Jewis- Jews recite after a-each meal. Their prayer is expressed that they may never become an object of charity. And Mymonities uh it told us, the great Medieval philosopher, that there are many degrees of charity. In fact there are eight degrees of giving charity in 1 higher than the other there's 1 who gives grudgingly, relucti-reluctantly or with regret. He who gives less than he should but but gives graciously. He who gives what he should but only after he is asked. He who gives it before he is asked. He who gives without knowing to whom he gives although the recipient knows the identity of the donor. He who gives without making his identity known. He who gives without knowing to whom he gives neither does the recipient know from whom he receives. He who helps a fellow man to support himself by a gift or a loan or by finding employment for him. Thus helping him to become self supporting is the highest rung of

charity. The high priest prayed but we may never become an object of charity but if there is ever the situation wherein we must give we should of course be aware of that method uh, of giving charity so the recipient need not feel obligated because all things are seen as a gift, a divine gift. Some people are given more, some less, but each person should always feel that whatever he has has been given by God. And he should feel free and he should feel even better and perhaps holier because he was able to give to others. You have been listening to a portion of the week the bible was read in the synagogue with rabbinic commentary. This evening you had Rabbi Herbert S Freed spiritual leader of the conservative congregation of temple beth shalom Mahopac, New York. The canter for Portion of the week the week is Elizer Crumbine of the congregation beth shalom of Kings Bay Brooklyn, New York (Hebrew Singing)

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