B”H
This week, the Jewish people get a double dose of Torah, as
we read from not one parshah, but TWO parshiyot in recognition of
the upcoming holiday of Purim. For readers unfamiliar with this holiday,
Purim (פורים
/ “Lots”) is a holiday commemorating the saving of the Jewish people of Shushan
(Susa of the Persian Empire) during the reign of King Ahasuerus (presumed to be
King Xerxes I) whose grand advisor, Haman, plotted to kill all the
Jewish inhabitants. [Quick aside: it is tradition to blot out the name of Haman
with noisemakers and loud jeering during the traditional reading of the story
of Purim (i.e.: Megillat Esther (מגילת אסתר
/“Scroll of Esther”)), so I will symbolically do so by striking out his name].
The story is so called because it was through the cunning resolve of the
valiant Queen Esther (the King’s new wife who he did not know was a Jew) and
some help from her uncle, Mordechai, the tables are turned on Haman, and
the Jewish people are saved. Purim will be celebrated next Wednesday
evening through Thursday, and it is a particularly beloved holiday especially
among the youth with delicious holiday-specific shortbread cookies called hamantaschen
(המן טאשן/ Haman’s pockets), costumes, partying,
libations, and good cheer.
[For any Jews
reading this blogpost, I must get on my yearly soapbox about hamantaschen.
Mohn (מאָן/ Poppyseed) is the
ONLY correct flavor…sorry not sorry for my insistence to tradition….twist my
arm, and you MIGHT push lekvár (preserves) from prunes out of me as a
kosher flavor. But, please, keep your strawberry, your raspberry, your blueberry,
and ESPECIALLY your chocolate posers! A PSA and
friendly reminder to do hamantaschen right this year].
Now that that’s out of my system, back to our regularly-scheduled Torah
time.
I’ll begin with the weekly parshah - Exodus 27:20-30:10 or T’tzaveh
(תצוה / “You
Command”), in which, as the title implies, G-D instructs the Israelites in
several commandments. Firstly, the Israelites must bring pure oil for the Ner
Tamid (נר תמיד
/ “eternal flame”). Next, the priests need to
be in their best attire for their duties, and so G-D commands the creation of various
priestly garments, especially for the Kohen Gadol (כהן גדול / High Priest). Then, G-D outlines the priestly ordination ritual,
and finally, G-D requests the creation of an altar for incense and gives instructions
for its proper use.
The auxiliary parshah read on the Sabbath before Purim is Deuteronomy 25:17-19 or Parshat Zakhor (זכור / “remembrance”). It is the final three verses of a different section: Parshat Ki Tetzeh (כי תצא/ “When you go”), but it is relevant to the season of Purim and is thus read in addition to the normally scheduled parshah. Readers recount the tale of Amalek, an enemy to the Israelites who tried to destroy the Jews upon departure from Egypt. This verse is fitting, as a descendent of Amalek was none other than the villain of the story of Purim:
Timkheh et
zekher Amalek mitakhat hashamayim; lo tishkakh (תמחה את זכר עמלק, מתחת השמים; לא תשכח
/ “[You shall] blot out the memory of Amalek from underneath the heavens; do
not forget.)
The commandments of lighting the eternal flame, to assume a
particular dress, to follow a set ritual for priestly ordination, and to
correctly light incense – such are the decrees from the weekly parshah.
These tasks are seemingly mundane, routine, matter-of-fact…but G-D has outlined
in detail the very elements necessary for each of these instructions. I see in
this laundry lists of undertakings a greater message to break free from the seemingly
mundane, routine, and matter-of-fact, and rediscover why we go through our own
personal routines. For these commandments, the Ner Tamid must never to
be extinguished as a reminder of G-D’s eternal presence. Such flames are
mainstays in synagogues around the world found near the Arks which holds the holy
Torah. Of the priestly garments, I turn the reader’s attention to the khoshen
(חושן / breastplate) which is
adorned with the stones representing the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The High Priest,
who alone entered the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle on Yom Kippur to
communicate with G-D carried with him the People of Israel through the khoshen.
The priestly ceremony unifies the kohanim (כהנים
/ “priests”) in a similar journey as the spiritual leaders of the Israelites.
Lastly, the tight regulations of incense bring attention to one’s desire to give
sincerest offers of praise to G-D. With this week’s
addendum of Parshat Zachor commanding us actively to remember our
history and to actively work to eliminate Amalek’s evil presence from the
world, it becomes clear that G-D is commanding Jews to act with a sense of
intention and of awareness.
Indeed, to simply complete mitzvot (מצוות/ commandments) without
understanding their truest context, deepest symbolism, and fullest connotation,
is as if you do not fulfill them at all. These chores, requirements, commandments, whatever
you might call them – they serve a greater purpose. If we so choose to allow
the purest meaning of the literal word penetrate our souls, perhaps we can
strive to find such meaning in our daily interactions, and perhaps our daily grind
will feel a bit more fulfilling.
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