{"id":45255,"date":"2018-07-09T18:51:16","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T15:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1021\/"},"modified":"2022-06-30T14:16:28","modified_gmt":"2022-06-30T11:16:28","slug":"wall-1021","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1021\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20220626-to-20220702"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1021","date_from":"20220626","date_to":"20220702","book":"Leviticus","books_group":"Torah","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"106086","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"2","name":"Korah and Shmita: When Is The Desire For Equality Sincere? ","post_title":"Korah and Shmita: When Is The Desire For Equality Sincere?","slug":"korah-and-shmita-when-is-the-desire-for-equality-sincere","old_id":"106086","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64758,"post_title":"Avraham Norin","slug":"avraham-norin","old_id":"64758","first_name":"Avraham ","last_name":"Norin ","description":"Avraham Norin teaches in Israel at the Machon Meir and Ora conversion program. He lives in the Southern Hebron Hills with his wife and six children.","short_description":"Avraham Norin teaches in Israel at the Machon Meir and Ora conversion program","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64759,"alt":"","title":"avraham norin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin.jpg","width":1064,"height":1600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-681x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":681,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-681x1024.jpg","large-width":681,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin.jpg","1536x1536-width":1021,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin.jpg","2048x2048-width":1064,"2048x2048-height":1600,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-798x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":798,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/avraham-norin-279x420.jpg","home_baner-width":279,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1021","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Capable leadership can use authority wisely to contribute to solidarity and equality\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

A memorable line from the movie <\/span>The Incredibles<\/em> <\/span>is said as Syndrome captures the Incredible family and explains his grandiose plan to the captured heroes \"I'll sell my inventions so that everyone can be superheroes. Everyone can be super! \u2026 And when everyone's super, no one will be.\"<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Syndrome's reasoning, derived from his jealousy of the Incredibles, is similar to that of Korach in this week\u2019s parasha.\u00a0 Korach, the oldest son of Amram's younger brother, was a first cousin of Moses.\u00a0 Yet he was not awarded any leadership position in Israel- neither president, priest nor prophet. \u00a0 Therefore, Korach started an anti-Moses campaign, stirring up the crowds against Moses with slogans such as \"You have gone too far! For all the community are holy!\"\u00a0 and \" Why then do you raise yourselves above God\u2019s congregation?\u201d.\u00a0 Korach felt that if he couldn't be a leader, then no one should be able to be one.\u00a0 Korach preached complete equality, but in reality, he was only interested in Moses\u2019 demise.\u00a0 To paraphrase Syndrome, Korah knew that when everyone is a leader, no one is really a leader.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Once every seven years, the Torah commands to leave the land fallow.\u00a0 This is so \"you, your male and female slaves, the hired and bound laborers who live with you, and your cattle and the beasts in your land may eat all its yield\" (Lev. 25:6-7) Moreover, once every fifty years, in addition to not working the land, the Torah commands all debts to be canceled, and people's original real estate returns to their hands.\u00a0 This is equality for equality\u2019s sake, not a power grab by jealous people. For them to work they need to be limited to the Sabbatical and Jubilee years.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Not so long ago, the Communist Revolution occurred. \u00a0 Its leaders spoke about abolishing poverty.\u00a0 They spoke about ending the rat race of capitalism.\u00a0 My wife's grandfather who lived in Russia left his Hasidic family to be a part of this new Utopian society.\u00a0 Later in his life, he discovered that the leaders of this movement, like Korach and Syndrome, did not actually seek to empower the masses.\u00a0 Instead, their real motives were to take power away from the current leaders of that time and take it for themselves.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In summary, a true leader is one like Moses who uses his authority to help the people.\u00a0 A leader who focuses on knocks down others should be suspected of solely wanting all the power for himself.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

*This is the Torah reading for Diaspora communities. Israeli and Diaspora communities will become \"synced\" again at Parashat Devarim.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

This year is the shmita year: Shmita means a sabbatical year for the Earth but also for ourselves, our communities, and our world. Each week we continue to share thoughts on how the weekly parsha can help guide our thinking around shmita themes of work and rest, wealth and debt, responsible land use, fair labor practices, private and public property ownership, and physical and spiritual revitalization.<\/em><\/p>\r\n

See here for more information on the Hazon Shmita project, and its blogs.<\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":81608,"alt":"","title":"shmita","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","width":711,"height":708,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","medium_large-width":711,"medium_large-height":708,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","large-width":711,"large-height":708,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","1536x1536-width":711,"1536x1536-height":708,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","2048x2048-width":711,"2048x2048-height":708,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","post_full_size-width":711,"post_full_size-height":708,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-422x420.jpg","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"A Weekly Series: The \"Shmitah Parasha\" Blog","tile_main_caption":"Korah* and Shmita: When Is The Desire For Equality Sincere?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"in conjunction with Hazon.org","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":81608,"alt":"","title":"shmita","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","width":711,"height":708,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","medium_large-width":711,"medium_large-height":708,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","large-width":711,"large-height":708,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","1536x1536-width":711,"1536x1536-height":708,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","2048x2048-width":711,"2048x2048-height":708,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita.jpg","post_full_size-width":711,"post_full_size-height":708,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/shmita-422x420.jpg","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Leviticus","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1021"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"},{"term_id":"402","name":"Leadership","old_id":"802"},{"term_id":"494","name":"Shmita","old_id":"894"}]},{"order":2,"id":"44954","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"The Unspoken Truths about the Dietary Laws ","post_title":"The Unspoken Truths About The Dietary Laws","slug":"the-unspoken-truths-about-the-dietary-laws","old_id":"44954","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":44687,"post_title":"Tamar Kamionkowski","slug":"tamar-kamionkowski","old_id":"44687","first_name":"Tamar","last_name":"Kamionkowski ","description":"Dr. Tamar Kamionkowski serves as professor of biblical studies at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College where she has trained rabbis for over 20 years. She holds a B.A from Oberlin College, an M.T.S from Harvard Divinity School and a Ph.D in Near Eastern and Judaic studies from Brandeis University. Tamar is the author of Leviticus: A Wisdom Commentary (Liturgical Press, 2018), Gender Reversal and Cosmic Chaos: Studies in the Book of Ezekiel (Sheffield Academic Press, 2003) and co-editor of Bodies, Embodiment and Theology of the Hebrew Scriptures (T&T Clark, 2010).","short_description":"Dr. Tamar Kamionkowski is professor of biblical studies at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College where she has trained rabbis for over 20 years.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":44688,"alt":"","title":"tamar kamionkowski","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/tamar-kamionkowski-e1543326019699.jpg","width":287,"height":292,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/tamar-kamionkowski-e1543326019699-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/tamar-kamionkowski-208x300.jpg","medium-width":208,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/tamar-kamionkowski-e1543326019699.jpg","medium_large-width":287,"medium_large-height":292,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/tamar-kamionkowski-e1543326019699.jpg","large-width":287,"large-height":292,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/tamar-kamionkowski-e1543326019699.jpg","1536x1536-width":287,"1536x1536-height":292,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/tamar-kamionkowski-e1543326019699.jpg","2048x2048-width":287,"2048x2048-height":292,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/tamar-kamionkowski-e1543326019699.jpg","post_full_size-width":287,"post_full_size-height":292,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/tamar-kamionkowski-292x420.jpg","home_baner-width":292,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"101","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"If only meat is sanctified, then sanctified eating was only for the privileged","post_main_content_content":"

For years I found traditional and modern critical commentaries on the dietary laws (which would form the basis for keeping kosher) in Leviticus 11 rather uninspiring. Thinkers have provided a plethora of theories to answer the basic question: what is the rationale behind the food restrictions? So far, no single theory has gained enough traction to emerge as the most likely answer.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Recently, I have found myself asking a different kind of question about the dietary laws. Given that our ancestors lived on a diet based primarily of grains, dairy and fruits, why doesn\u2019t Leviticus 11 address these day-to-day foods? Instead of referring to Leviticus 11 as \u201cthe dietary laws,\u201d why don\u2019t we refer to this chapter as\u201d the carnivore\u2019s guide?\u201d After all, the chapter is not really about the foods that Israelites regularly ate!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Studies have shown that the average farm had a few goats and\/or sheep. Cows were too expensive to maintain due to the amount of food and water they required. Meat eating may have been restricted to special festive holidays. So who ate meat on a more regular basis? Perhaps the priests, but most certainly only the wealthy elite. And when would they have eaten meat? During sacred festivals. In fact, a rabbinic text teaches that only those men who studied Torah were worthy of eating meat, while the commoner was best off with a vegetarian diet (Pesachim 49b).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

By referring to Leviticus 11 as the chapter about dietary laws or the first stages of keeping kosher, we raise up the practice of the wealthy elite, while rendering the real diets and the preparation of day-to-day food invisible.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Scholars have noted that in antiquity, women were in charge of transforming raw grains into edible breads and cereals. In fact, women devoted several hours every day to prepare grains to feed their families.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When we think about our ancestors\u2019 eating practices only through the lens of the biblical dietary laws, we are liable to forget who prepared the food and what people really ate. If meat eating, which only the wealthy could enjoy on a regular basis, is the only kind of eating that is associated with the sacred, then the people were largely left out.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: designelements\/shutterstock<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":44985,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_689475808","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808.jpg","width":4788,"height":3648,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-300x229.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":229,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-768x585.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":585,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-1024x780.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":780,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1170,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1560,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-1200x914.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":914,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-551x420.jpg","home_baner-width":551,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Unspoken Truths About The Dietary Laws","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"If only meat is sanctified, then sanctified eating was only for the privileged","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":44985,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_689475808","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808.jpg","width":4788,"height":3648,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-300x229.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":229,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-768x585.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":585,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-1024x780.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":780,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1170,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1560,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-1200x914.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":914,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_689475808-551x420.jpg","home_baner-width":551,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Leviticus","chapter":"11","chapter_main_number":"101","date":"20260118","wall_id":"101"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"391","name":"In\/Justice","old_id":"791"},{"term_id":"416","name":"meat","old_id":"816"},{"term_id":"440","name":"Wealth\/money","old_id":"840"},{"term_id":"751","name":"Kosher","old_id":"1151"}]},{"order":3,"id":"105965","color":"#f6f5de","size":"1","name":"The Humility of Kashrut","post_title":"The Humility of Kashrut","slug":"the-humility-of-kashrut","old_id":"105965","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46656,"post_title":"Molly Morris","slug":"molly-morris","old_id":"46656","first_name":"Molly ","last_name":"Morris ","description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"101","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Restricting what we eat is one of the surest ways to make it clear to us that it\u2019s not all there for the taking\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

With the dedication of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) complete, God takes a hard turn and immediately begins very detailed instructions of kosher dietary laws, describing what we are allowed to consume and what is forbidden to us. Though these are the first dietary laws we received as a nation, it is not the first instance of such a commandment. Immediately after completing the creation of the world with the introduction of humans, God tells Adam, \u201cOf every tree of the garden you are free to eat, but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die (Genesis 2:16-17).\u201d The very first commandment in Tanach is a dietary restriction for all humankind.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Talmud, in Megilla 10b, compares the completion of the Mishkan to the completion of creation, saying, \u201c<\/span>On that day there was joy before the Holy One blessed be He as on the day when Heaven and Earth were created.\u201d Rabbi Jonathan Sacks expanded on that connection, saying \u201cThe universe is the home God made for humanity. The Sanctuary was the home human beings made for God (Covenant & Conversation).\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But why should dietary restrictions be the commandment that links these acts of creation? For that answer, Rabbi Sacks further pointed to Rambam\u2019s explanation in <\/span>Guide for the Perplexed<\/span><\/i>: \u201cThe universe does not exist for man\u2019s sake. (We) need not inquire what purpose is served by each species, because we assume that God created all parts of the universe by His will; some for their own sake, and some for the sake of other beings.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

At the point of the introduction of <\/span>Adam<\/em> <\/span>to creation, God appointed humans to rule over the earth (Genesis 1:26), but also made it clear that we are not entitled to everything in it. At that point in time, there was only one thing clearly forbidden \u2013 the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. With the completion of the Mishkan, a resting place for God\u2019s presence among us, the Jewish nation, as God\u2019s chosen people was established. Along with that privilege comes the risk of a natural inclination to a sense of entitlement. In expanding the dietary restrictions, God reminds us that although some aspects of creation are intended for our personal use, we have no prerogative to assume everything we want is ours for the taking. That is the case both with respect to the physical world and with respect to our relationship with God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":105966,"alt":"","title":"-62b7c7f3120df--62b7c7f3120e0lev11-forbidden food 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Humility of Kashrut","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Restricting what we eat is one of the surest ways to make it clear to us that it\u2019s not all there for the taking","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":105966,"alt":"","title":"-62b7c7f3120df--62b7c7f3120e0lev11-forbidden food 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and the Limits of Reason ","post_title":"Kashrut And The Limits Of Reason","slug":"kashrut-and-the-limits-of-reason","old_id":"44965","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":40540,"post_title":"Jordan Shaner","slug":"jordan-shaner","old_id":"40540","first_name":"Jordan ","last_name":"Shaner ","description":"Jordan Shaner is a rabbinical student in his final year of studies at the Hebrew Union College--Jewish Institute of Religion in Manhattan, New York.","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":40541,"alt":"","title":"jordan 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we can\u2019t answer why, because it\u2019s not all about us","post_main_content_content":"

From the time we are able to speak in sentences, we ask the same question over and over again about everything: Why?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why is the sky blue? Why do we go to sleep at night? Why do some people have everything they want and others can't even get what they need?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This question has been asked many times throughout history about Judaism's food laws. Why does the Torah teach us not to eat pork, shellfish, insects, or certain kinds of birds?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The answers that scholars offer tend to focus on health, or history, or ethical behavior as reasons to keep or reject the commandments laid out in Leviticus. Famously, the <\/span>Sefer HaHinuch<\/span><\/i> (13<\/span>th<\/span> century, Spain) which systematically explains the 613 commandments of the Torah, teaches that the prohibition of certain foods is meant to provide for our physical health. Other voices in Jewish thought have pointed to other rationales behind these rules for Jewish eating, seeking to defend \u00a0their practice by grounding them in a logical explanation. Later, in the modern period, Jewish reformers like David Einhorn and Kaufmann Kohler sought to rationalize these laws in order to reject them. What both the defenders and the rejecters had in common, however, was focusing on whether or not the laws of kashrut benefit us. This kind of rationalizing gives us a sense of control. We can point to the explanation and say, it makes sense, we'll keep it; or else: it is no longer relevant, so don't.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But what these explanations ignore is that the Torah provides us with a reason to keep kashrut: for the sake of <\/span>kedushah<\/span><\/em>, for holiness. At the end of a long list of dietary laws in this chapter, we read (Leviticus 11:44): \u201cYou shall be holy, for I am holy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Holiness is a slippery concept, but in the Torah it often means set apart, or other. Otherness requires boundaries, some of which may seem arbitrary, but without which, there can be no distinction. The Sabbath is holy, because it is set apart from other days of the week. The Temple was holy, because it was set apart from other places. God is Holy, because God is set apart from the world, entirely Other. We are meant to experience holiness\u2014 not for our own sake, but because God is Other.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

No matter what our religious background, the practice of kashrut has something to teach us about the limits of reason. Sometimes explanations fall short. Sometimes, boundaries seem arbitrary. Sometimes, we can\u2019t answer why something is, because it\u2019s not all about us.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

illustration: CTRLH\/shutterstock<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":44983,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_682107901","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901.jpg","width":6000,"height":6000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901-1200x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Kashrut And The Limits Of Reason","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Sometimes we can\u2019t answer why, because it\u2019s not all about us","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":44983,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_682107901","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901.jpg","width":6000,"height":6000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901-1024x1024.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901-1200x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_682107901-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Leviticus","chapter":"11","chapter_main_number":"101","date":"20260118","wall_id":"101"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"415","name":"food","old_id":"815"},{"term_id":"480","name":"Holiness","old_id":"880"},{"term_id":"751","name":"Kosher","old_id":"1151"},{"term_id":"752","name":"Reason","old_id":"1152"}]},{"order":5,"id":"44952","color":"#f2e9df","size":"2","name":"Seeking Sacred Balance ","post_title":"Seeking Sacred Balance","slug":"seeking-sacred-balance","old_id":"44952","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38047,"post_title":"Shoshana Michael Zucker","slug":"shoshana-michael-zucker","old_id":"38047","first_name":"Shoshana Michael ","last_name":"Zucker ","description":"Shoshana Michael Zucker is a translator and editor by profession, but would much rather be learning and teaching Torah. A graduate of Barnard College, she made aliyah in 1983 and now lives in Kfar Saba where she is an active member of the Masorti Congregation Hod veHadar. ","short_description":"Shoshana Michael Zucker is a translator and editor and lives in Kfar Saba \r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38048,"alt":"","title":"Shoshana Michael Zucker","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","width":231,"height":310,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker-224x300.jpg","medium-width":224,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","medium_large-width":231,"medium_large-height":310,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","large-width":231,"large-height":310,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","1536x1536-width":231,"1536x1536-height":310,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","2048x2048-width":231,"2048x2048-height":310,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","post_full_size-width":231,"post_full_size-height":310,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Shoshana-Michael-Zucker.jpg","home_baner-width":231,"home_baner-height":310}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"101","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Be neither ascetic nor unbridled. Do everything in good measure. The life of the soul and spirit is good; so, too, is the life of the body. Eat delicacies and drink your fill, take delight in your spouse, but always seek the golden mean","post_main_content_content":"

Leviticus 11 presents a detailed list of the kosher animals which may be eaten. It seems a non-sequitur after the disaster that struck Aaron, his sons, and the larger community at end of the previous chapter.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (\u201cNetziv,\u201d 1816-1893) points us towards a connection between the two chapters. The sin of Nadav and Avihu was, he wrote, that \u201cThey entered fired with enthusiastic love for God, but Torah tells us: the love of God is precious in God\u2019s eyes, but not in a way which was not commanded.\u201d Their intense devotion was their sin; religiosity can be overly excessive.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The laws of kashrut, and subsequent chapters of Leviticus limiting sexual behavior, come to counteract that tendency. At first glance, these laws do nothing more than ban foods, restrain sexuality and limit human enjoyment. But they can also be understood as permissive rather than restrictive, reining in not only permissiveness but also proscribing abstinence. The Torah teaches us that there is value in restraining our passions, but also rejects the impulse to suppress them entirely.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Many cultures and religions strive to stifle the appetite for food or sex or both. Apparently the two are related. In \u201c<\/span>Is Food the New Sex?<\/span><\/a>\u201d Mary Eberstadt of Stanford University describes the 180\u00b0 switch in the behavior patterns of young adults in the United States. The participants in her study grew up in an atmosphere of sexual freedom; other than abuse and cheating, anything goes. Yet among this generation, there is a growing culture of complex restrictions on food, with concern for every detail and ingredient, a new set of moral imperatives. They have inverted the norms of their parents who ate whatever they liked but ascribed to a rigid sexual ethic.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

To which the Torah would say, \u201cA plague on both your houses!\u201d Be neither ascetic nor unbridled. Do everything in good measure. The life of the soul and spirit is good; so, too, is the life of the body. Eat delicacies and drink your fill, take delight in your spouse, but always seek the golden mean. After leaving Egypt, and before reaching the Promised Land, Leviticus sets the people on the road to responsible adulthood, guiding them, us, to seek out balance in life.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Seeking Sacred Balance","tile_main_caption":"Be neither ascetic nor unbridled. Do everything in good measure. The life of the soul and spirit is good; so, too, is the life of the body. Eat delicacies and drink your fill, take delight in your spouse, but always seek the golden mean","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Leviticus","chapter":"11","chapter_main_number":"101","date":"20260118","wall_id":"101"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"415","name":"food","old_id":"815"},{"term_id":"738","name":"Body","old_id":"1138"}]},{"order":6,"id":"45079","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Why Aren\u2019t Jewish Women Circumcised? ","post_title":"Why Aren\u2019t Jewish Women Circumcised?","slug":"why-arent-jewish-women-circumcised","old_id":"45079","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":44911,"post_title":"Elana Stein Hain","slug":"elana-stein-hain","old_id":"44911","first_name":"Elana ","last_name":"Stein Hain ","description":"Dr. Elana Stein Hain is Scholar in Residence and Director of Faculty at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, where she serves as lead faculty and oversees the content of lay and professional leadership programs. Elana also leads the Created Equal research team.Elana earned her doctorate in Religion from Columbia University, and has also served for eight years as a clergy member on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, at both Lincoln Square Synagogue and the Jewish Center. Elana lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with her family.","short_description":"Dr. Elana Stein Hain is Scholar in Residence and Director of Faculty at the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":44912,"alt":"","title":"elana stein hain","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","width":115,"height":98,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","medium_large-width":115,"medium_large-height":98,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","large-width":115,"large-height":98,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","1536x1536-width":115,"1536x1536-height":98,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","2048x2048-width":115,"2048x2048-height":98,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","post_full_size-width":115,"post_full_size-height":98,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/elana-stein-hain-e1543504640520.jpg","home_baner-width":115,"home_baner-height":98}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"102","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A close reading shows that girls too enter into a special relationship on day 8 ","post_main_content_content":"

Why aren\u2019t Jewish women circumcised? Professor Shaye Cohen, in his book by that title, outlines four responses to this question from medieval Jewish scholars. One answer offered is that observance of ritual purity law for women <\/span>is <\/span><\/i>what circumcision is for men; it is a covenantal marker (see Bekhor Shor\u2019s commentary<\/span> here<\/span><\/a>). I believe Vayikra 12 contains the roots of this concept.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Its opening verses stipulate that a woman who births a boy is ritually impure like a <\/span>niddah<\/span><\/i> for the first 7 days postpartum, and on the 8<\/span>th<\/span> day the boy is to be circumcised. But a woman who births a girl is ritually impure like a <\/span>niddah <\/span><\/i>for the first 14 days, or two weeks, postpartum. Closer examination reveals a parallel between the circumcision of the boy and the second week of <\/span>niddah<\/span><\/i> for the girl: both happen\/begin on day 8.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

On day 8 of life, a Jewish boy enters the covenant through a procedure which impacts his reproductive organs, marking him as a link in the chain of the Jewish People. Any future biological offspring are born of this marked organ. On day 8 of life, a Jewish girl enters the covenant, not through her own procedure but through her mother\u2019s proxy procedure: the mother keeps an extra 7 days of ritual impurity on behalf of a daughter who will herself keep ritual purity law if and when she is able to bear children. Thus, any of the daughter\u2019s future biological offspring will be born of this ritual observance.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If this reading is correct, it reinforces a fundamental truth about both covenantal entries: how much they fuse the identities of one generation and the next. In these moments, parents set up their children to take their place, though the children do not know it at the time.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

To be sure, this model of covenant is not one-size-fits-all. For reasons of fertility, gender identity, other circumstances and\/or personal choices, there are people for whom this picture does not resonate. And this deserves recognition. Nonetheless, the blending indicated in this model between parent and child has broad familiarity to anyone who has been someone\u2019s parent or someone\u2019s child. These rituals, appearing here as a cornerstone of covenant, challenges us to consider how, in a world in which differentiation and individualized identities are so valued, transmission of covenant can be done well from one generation to the next.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

photo: natushm\/shutterstock<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":45088,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_1171648516","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516.jpg","width":4773,"height":3072,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516-300x193.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":193,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516-768x494.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":494,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516-1024x659.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":659,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":989,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1318,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516-1200x772.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":772,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516-653x420.jpg","home_baner-width":653,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Why Aren\u2019t Jewish Women Circumcised?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A close reading shows that girls too enter into a special relationship on day 8 ","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":45088,"alt":"","title":"shutterstock_1171648516","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516.jpg","width":4773,"height":3072,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516-300x193.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":193,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516-768x494.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":494,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516-1024x659.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":659,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":989,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1318,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516-1200x772.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":772,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/shutterstock_1171648516-653x420.jpg","home_baner-width":653,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Leviticus","chapter":"12","chapter_main_number":"102","date":"20260119","wall_id":"102"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"365","name":"Gender","old_id":"765"},{"term_id":"395","name":"Covenant","old_id":"795"},{"term_id":"549","name":"Circumcision","old_id":"949"},{"term_id":"742","name":"Purity","old_id":"1142"}]},{"order":7,"id":"45069","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"Godless Rituals","post_title":"Godless Rituals","slug":"godless-rituals","old_id":"45069","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34285,"post_title":"Tammy Jacobowitz","slug":"tammy-jacobowitz","old_id":"34285","first_name":"Tammy ","last_name":"Jacobowitz ","description":"Dr. Tammy Jacobowitz is the chair of the Tanakh department at the SAR High School in Riverdale, NY, and is the founding director of Makom Ba'Siach at SAR, an immersive adult education program for parents. She has taught Bible for the Wexner Heritage program, and she is also an adjunct faculty member of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, where she teaches the Pedagogy of Tanakh. \r\nShe received her BA in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania, is a graduate of the Drisha Institute's Scholars Circle, and completed her PhD in Midrash at the University of Pennsylania in 2010 as a Wexner Graduate fellow. Dr. Jacobowitz is currently at work on a parsha book, geared towards parents reading to young children. Her research interests include the spiritualizing tactics of Midrash, gender and the body in the Bible and Rabbinics, purity and impurity, and the contemporary use of Midrash. She lives in Teaneck, NJ with her husband, Ronnie Perelis, and their four children.","short_description":"Dr. Tammy Jacobowitz is the chair of the Tanakh department at the SAR High School in Riverdale, NY,","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34286,"alt":"","title":"tammy j","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","width":512,"height":768,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","medium_large-width":512,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","large-width":512,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","1536x1536-width":512,"1536x1536-height":768,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","2048x2048-width":512,"2048x2048-height":768,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j.jpg","post_full_size-width":512,"post_full_size-height":768,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/tammy-j-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"102","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The midrash replaces what is missing in the text: God, and God\u2019s presence and intimacy","post_main_content_content":"

God\u2019s presence permeates the whole of the book of Leviticus. The priests direct the cultic service of God, who resides at the center of the camp. And yet, God is largely absent-- in an immediate sense -- from the book. God is impersonal and removed, in whose presence the only proper response is silence. No one, not even Moses, speaks to God, although God speaks to humans. The High Priest, who gains access to the holiest depths of the sanctuary on the holiest day of the year, does not confront God directly. In Leviticus, the average person achieves forgiveness just by performing the required ritual acts. Atonement does not depend on the will of God.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Contrast this with the portrait of God which emerges in the Midrash on Leviticus 12. In response to the opening verse, \u201cWhen a woman conceives and bears a male child,\u201d Leviticus Rabbah highlights the missing character in that verse: God. In the Midrash, God is the personal, providential caretaker of each human being, From the earliest stage of life as \u201cthe whitest drop,\u201d God provides for each person\u2019s needs, overcoming all obstacles in the path of a healthy birth. In focusing on the fetus, the rabbis frame the relationship between God and each human being as always already present, even as the person himself is still in formation. In the Midrash, God\u2019s involvement is exquisitely intimate. The relationship with God is imagined within that impossibly small space-- the womb-- drawing God into the personal universe of each and every human being. God is man\u2019s companion, friend, nurturer, parent, and caregiver.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Leviticus, God resides in the details of the cult. Drawing from the verses, the Midrash invites its readers to feel God more intimately in their lives. Rather than focus in Leviticus 12 on the mother and her postpartum rituals, the Midrash directs us to our common origin as a fetus. From there we can recover the site of our earliest relationship with God. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

If we allow it, those recovered memories can catalyze even deeper closeness and intimacy.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

illustration: Michal Ben Hemo<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":45004,"alt":"","title":"\u05d5\u05d9\u05e7\u05e8\u05d0_\u05d9\u05d1","caption":"","description":"\u05d0\u05d9\u05d5\u05e8: \u05de\u05d9\u05db\u05dc \u05d1\u05df 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Boring And Exceedingly Relevant","post_title":"Long, Boring And Exceedingly Relevant","slug":"long-boring-and-exceedingly-relevant","old_id":"45099","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33859,"post_title":"Avidan Freedman","slug":"avidan-freedman","old_id":"33859","first_name":"Avidan","last_name":"Freedman","description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. He is an activist advocating for moral limits on Israeli arms exports, and on behalf of African refugees, and a proud husband and father of 5. He received his rabbinical ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York, and from the Israeli chief rabbinate.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. ","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33860,"alt":"Avidan Freedman","title":"Avidan Freedman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","width":856,"height":1024,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-251x300.jpg","medium-width":251,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-768x919.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":919,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-856x1024.jpg","large-width":856,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","1536x1536-width":856,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","2048x2048-width":856,"2048x2048-height":1024,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-351x420.jpg","home_baner-width":351,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"103","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The plagues brought on by looking on the world and our fellows with narrowness and jealousy","post_main_content_content":"

Reading through chapter 13, it\u2019s hard not to think about how long it is. And, frankly, boring. And yucky, and most mysteriously, utterly needless. Who needs all this information about skin, clothing and house ailments? It\u2019s tempting to suggest that this is an early beta version of WebMD, democratizing medical knowledge, allowing your average Joe Jew to be empowered with information about his condition. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

But the empowerment is severely limited by the Torah\u2019s insistence that the status of a \u2018<\/span>metzora<\/span><\/em>\u2019<\/span><\/i> is not so much diagnosed by the Kohen as it is created by his decision. <\/span>Tzara\u2019at<\/span><\/em> is not something that can be self-diagnosed; it doesn\u2019t exist halachically until it is so declared by a licensed professional (more on this tomorrow).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Rambam didn\u2019t write 59 verses about <\/span>tzara\u2019at<\/span><\/em>. He recorded its laws over a span of <\/span>sixteen<\/b> (!) chapters. For the very courageous few who make it to the end (or those like me who skip to it), in the very last halacha, Rambam the physician explains that the hundreds of detailed laws of <\/span>tzara\u2019at<\/span><\/em>, which at most, theoretically, have relevance only to priests, have nothing to do with physical, medical occurrences. Even the arch-<\/span>pashtan<\/em> <\/span>(literal, contextual interpreter) Rashbam, who almost always prefers to lay aside rabbinic Midrash in order to explicate the simple meaning of the text, admits that here, there is no such thing here as \u2018pshat<\/em>\u2019. There is no credible, logical explanation other than what is offered by the rabbis (See his commentary to 13:2).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

That explanation is at once well-founded and deafeningly absent in the text. A <\/span>metzora<\/span><\/em>, explains Resh Lakish, is a fellow with a social disease, a physical reflection of the moral repugnance of the \"<\/span>motzi shem ra\"<\/span><\/em>. Humankind\u2019s first task was to look at God\u2019s good world and to name it. The <\/span>\u2018motzi shem ra<\/span><\/em>\u2019<\/span><\/i> does precisely the opposite, looking with narrow, jealous eyes at the world. And so gossip, idle chatter, recreational character assassination, a daily or hourly activity for many, the topic of countless posts, emails, and amusing messages of various forms, are treated by the Torah to an exorbitant level of attention, verses upon verses, laws upon laws, forcing us to spend time and pay attention to the plagues and destruction this behavior brings, and the ways to repair it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe [<\/span>tzara\u2019at<\/span><\/i>-]afflicted house never was and never will be. Why was it written? Study it, and you will be rewarded\u201d (Sanhedrin 71a).<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":92209,"alt":"","title":"pro4-gossip","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","width":292,"height":366,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip-239x300.jpg","medium-width":239,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","medium_large-width":292,"medium_large-height":366,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","large-width":292,"large-height":366,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","1536x1536-width":292,"1536x1536-height":366,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","2048x2048-width":292,"2048x2048-height":366,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","post_full_size-width":292,"post_full_size-height":366,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","home_baner-width":292,"home_baner-height":366}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Long, Boring And Exceedingly Relevant","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The plagues brought on by looking on the world and our fellows with narrowness and jealousy","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":92209,"alt":"","title":"pro4-gossip","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","width":292,"height":366,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip-239x300.jpg","medium-width":239,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","medium_large-width":292,"medium_large-height":366,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","large-width":292,"large-height":366,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","1536x1536-width":292,"1536x1536-height":366,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","2048x2048-width":292,"2048x2048-height":366,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","post_full_size-width":292,"post_full_size-height":366,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro4-gossip.jpg","home_baner-width":292,"home_baner-height":366}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Leviticus","chapter":"13","chapter_main_number":"103","date":"20260120","wall_id":"103"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"366","name":"Commentators","old_id":"766"},{"term_id":"377","name":"Speech\/words","old_id":"777"},{"term_id":"455","name":"Illness","old_id":"855"}]},{"order":9,"id":"45215","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"The Entire Community Has A Role In Healing ","post_title":"The Entire Community Has A Role In Healing","slug":"the-entire-community-has-a-role-in-healing","old_id":"45215","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":43671,"post_title":"Arnold Eisen","slug":"arnold-eisen","old_id":"43671","first_name":"Arnold ","last_name":"Eisen","description":"Arnold M. Eisen, one of the world\u2019s foremost authorities on American Judaism, is the seventh chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary. Since taking office in 2007, Chancellor Eisen has transformed the education of religious, pedagogical, professional, and lay leaders for North American Jewry, with a focus on graduating highly skilled, innovative leaders who bring Judaism alive in ways that speak authentically to Jews at a time of rapid and far-reaching change.","short_description":"Arnold M. Eisen is the seventh chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":43672,"alt":"","title":"arnold eisen","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/arnold-eisen-e1541916930984.jpg","width":418,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/arnold-eisen-e1541916930984-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/arnold-eisen-e1541916930984-300x252.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":252,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/arnold-eisen-e1541916930984.jpg","medium_large-width":418,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/arnold-eisen-e1541916930984.jpg","large-width":418,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/arnold-eisen-e1541916930984.jpg","1536x1536-width":418,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/arnold-eisen-e1541916930984.jpg","2048x2048-width":418,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/arnold-eisen-e1541916930984.jpg","post_full_size-width":418,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/arnold-eisen-419x420.jpg","home_baner-width":419,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"104","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Relieving isolation, the comforters of today will be the patients of tomorrow ","post_main_content_content":"

The actions taken by the High Priest in response to an outbreak of <\/span>tzara\u2019at<\/span><\/em>\u2014detailed in chapter 14 of Leviticus\u2014cry out with the pathos of their own limitations.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The priest\u00a0<\/span>can do many things in the face of the contagion: <\/span>listen<\/em> to the victim; <\/span>examine<\/em> the signs of infection;<\/span> judge<\/em> whether it has run its course; <\/span>pronounce<\/em> the afflicted one pure or impure; impose or lift <\/span>quarantine<\/em>; <\/span>perform the required rituals<\/em> of cleansing; and <\/span>order the destruction<\/em> of homes that cannot be freed of impurity. There is one thing the priest cannot do, however: provide a cure for the disease that claims his attention. That makes what he <\/span>can<\/em> <\/span>and<\/span> does<\/span><\/em> offer, all the more valuable. The priest places the suffering Israelite in a divinely-commanded order of life-giving meaning and community.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Any sickness, in any time or place, imposes a degree of isolation. Considerable effort may be required to relieve that isolation, itself a source of pain\u2014all the more so if the disease afflicting the patient is contagious and without a known cure. The sufferer needs comfort while the disease lasts, and ease of entry back into society when it passes. The community needs reminding that those who suffer are not closer to or farther from God than those who are spared. The comforters of today will be the patients of tomorrow.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Torah knows that entire community has a role in healing. It understands the power of words to inflict pain and to relieve it. One hopes that we, 21st-century students of Torah, are wise enough to learn this lesson well.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":104621,"alt":"","title":"-6276db5b1c9b7--6276db5b1c9caex17-community 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A Balance Between Hedonism and Asceticism ","post_title":"Holiness: A Balance Between Hedonism And Asceticism","slug":"holiness-a-balance-between-hedonism-and-asceticism","old_id":"45240","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33923,"post_title":"Jonathan Sacks","slug":"rabbi-lord-jonathan-sacks","old_id":"33923","first_name":"Jonathan ","last_name":"Sacks","description":"An international religious leader, philosopher, and award-winning author of over 35 books, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks served as the International President of 929.\r\nRabbi Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth years between 1991 and 2013, and was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 2005 and made a Life Peer. Rabbi Sacks passed away on 7th November 2020, aged 72. He was one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the 20th century, who bridged the religious and secular world through his ground-breaking canon of work.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z\"k (1948-2020) was the former Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth, and the International 929 president.","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":36222,"alt":"","title":"JSacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","width":437,"height":548,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-239x300.jpg","medium-width":239,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-768x448.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":448,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-1024x597.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":597,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","1536x1536-width":437,"1536x1536-height":548,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","2048x2048-width":437,"2048x2048-height":548,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594.jpg","post_full_size-width":437,"post_full_size-height":548,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/JSacks-e1532858712594-335x420.jpg","home_baner-width":335,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"105","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"A religion of life that celebrates both Creator and Creation","post_main_content_content":"

The sidrot<\/em> of Tazria and Metsora contain laws which are among the most difficult to understand. They are about conditions of \u201cimpurity\u201d arising from the fact that we are physical beings, embodied souls.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Throughout history there have been two distinct and opposing ways of relating to this fact: hedonism (living for physical pleasure) and asceticism (relinquishing physical pleasure). The former worships the physical while denying the spiritual, the latter enthrones the spiritual at the cost of the physical.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Jewish way has always been different: to sanctify the physical \u2013 eating, drinking, sex and rest \u2013 making the life of the body a vehicle for the divine presence. The reason is simple. We believe with perfect faith that the God of redemption is also the God of creation. The physical world we inhabit is the one God made and pronounced \u201cvery good.\u201d To be a hedonist is to deny God. To be an ascetic is to deny the goodness of God\u2019s world. To be a Jew is to celebrate both creation and Creator. That is the principle that explains many otherwise incomprehensible features of Jewish life.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The principle essential to understanding the laws of ritual purity and impurity is that God is life. Judaism is a profound rejection of cults, ancient and modern, that glorify death. The great pyramids of Egypt were grandiose tombs. Arthur Koestler noted that without death \u201cthe cathedrals collapse, the pyramids vanish into the sand, the great organs become silent.\u201d The English metaphysical poets turned to it constantly as a theme.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It follows that kedushah<\/em> (holiness) \u2013 a point in time or space where we stand in the unmediated presence of God \u2013 involves a supreme consciousness of life. That is why the paradigm case of tumah<\/em> is contact with a corpse. Other cases of tumah<\/em> include diseases or bodily emissions that remind us of our mortality. God\u2019s domain is life. Therefore it may not be associated in any way with intimations of death. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

This is how Judah Halevi explains the purity laws in his work The Kuzari: \u201cA dead body represents the highest degree of loss of life, and a leprous limb is as if it were dead. It is the same with the loss of seed, because it had been endowed with living power, capable of engendering a human being. Its loss therefore forms a contrast to the living and breathing\u201d (Kuzari, II: 60).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The laws of purity apply exclusively to Israel, argues Halevi, precisely because Judaism is the supreme religion of life, and its adherents are therefore hyper-sensitive to even the most subtle distinctions between life and death.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

From: The Scapegoat: Shame and Guilt (Covenant & Conversation, Acharei Mot \u2013 Kedoshim 5775)<\/em><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":106079,"alt":"","title":"-62bd76db6619c--62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg.jpg","width":1920,"height":1916,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg-768x766.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":766,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg-1024x1022.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1022,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1533,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1916,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg-1200x1198.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1198,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg-421x420.jpg","home_baner-width":421,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Holiness: A Balance Between Hedonism And Asceticism","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A religion of life that celebrates both Creator and Creation","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":106079,"alt":"","title":"-62bd76db6619c--62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg.jpg","width":1920,"height":1916,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg-768x766.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":766,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg-1024x1022.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":1022,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1533,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1916,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg-1200x1198.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":1198,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/12\/62bd76db6619c-62bd76db6619elev15-flower-of-life.jpg-421x420.jpg","home_baner-width":421,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Leviticus","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"105","date":"20260122","wall_id":"105"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"383","name":"Death","old_id":"783"},{"term_id":"401","name":"Life","old_id":"801"},{"term_id":"742","name":"Purity","old_id":"1142"}]},{"order":11,"id":"45242","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"2","name":"Sorry, But We're Getting Niddah* All Wrong. ","post_title":"Sorry, But We're Getting Niddah* All Wrong.","slug":"sorry-but-were-getting-niddah-all-wrong","old_id":"45242","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33859,"post_title":"Avidan Freedman","slug":"avidan-freedman","old_id":"33859","first_name":"Avidan","last_name":"Freedman","description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. He is an activist advocating for moral limits on Israeli arms exports, and on behalf of African refugees, and a proud husband and father of 5. He received his rabbinical ordination from Yeshivat Chovevei Torah in New York, and from the Israeli chief rabbinate.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Rabbi Avidan Freedman is the Rabbi of Hevruta, the Shalom Hartman Institute's post high school program for Israelis and North Americans, and an educator in the institute's high school. ","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33860,"alt":"Avidan Freedman","title":"Avidan Freedman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","width":856,"height":1024,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-251x300.jpg","medium-width":251,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-768x919.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":919,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-856x1024.jpg","large-width":856,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","1536x1536-width":856,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365.jpg","2048x2048-width":856,"2048x2048-height":1024,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Avidan-Freedman-e1532029306365-351x420.jpg","home_baner-width":351,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"105","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"The laws of *menstrual impurity don\u2019t seem to be what the Author intended...","post_main_content_content":"

There is a troubling irony in our modern treatment of the laws of impurity. On the whole, in the absence of the Temple, these laws are no longer relevant to everyday life. The one very important exception are the laws of <\/span>niddah<\/span><\/i>, menstrual impurity, which remain in effect, defining and challenging the most intimate aspects of people's lives to this day.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But here's the irony. If all of the laws of purity were still practiced, we probably wouldn't have any problem differentiating between them, and maintaining as distinct the unique laws of each type. As chapter 15 emphasizes, not all impurities are created equal.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But because <\/span>niddah<\/span><\/i> is the last vestige of purity law, it has, over time, folded within itself aspects of other, more demanding types of impurity. This is troubling in a practical sense, causing the time that a couple cannot be intimate to extend significantly every month, and in some cases, causing serious challenges to bearing children. It's also troubling philosophically, erasing a fundamental distinction between types of impurities that the Torah intends to make.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 15 makes this crystal clear. Four paragraphs, four different situations, the first two of men, the second two of women. The first and last paragraphs speak of impurity caused by an abnormal emission. These very clearly contrast the middle two paragraphs, which speak of impurity caused by a normal emission. The difference is seen immediately in the amount of text devoted to the abnormal cases, 24 verses, as opposed to only 9 which deal with normal impurity. More fundamentally, abnormal impurity requires a 7-day time-out of purity, and then the bringing of sacrifices to achieve atonement. Normal impurity just takes time, and a good cleaning.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As if to ensure that the banality of this impurity is not lost on the reader, the Torah finishes its treatment of the topic with a law which leaves out some very important information. If a man sleeps with a woman during her <\/span>niddah<\/span><\/i> impurity...he too becomes impure. No mention of what the Torah will explain in three more chapters, that this action is abominable, and punishable by karet, and defiles the land, etc, etc. Within the context of chapter 15, the point seems to be- sometimes people are impure. Occasional brushes with small tastes of death are a fact of life. This needs to be observed, respected, and moved on from in good time, and without too much pomp and circumstance. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

In today's practice of <\/span>niddah<\/span><\/em>, we've lost the natural, low-key attitude the Torah presents us, and the price we pay is high.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

illustration: Michal Ben Hamu<\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":45245,"alt":"","title":"niddah-main-1661","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661.jpg","width":900,"height":386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661-300x129.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":129,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661-768x329.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":329,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661.jpg","large-width":900,"large-height":386,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661.jpg","1536x1536-width":900,"1536x1536-height":386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661.jpg","2048x2048-width":900,"2048x2048-height":386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":386,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661.jpg","home_baner-width":900,"home_baner-height":386}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Sorry, But We're Getting Niddah* All Wrong.","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"The laws of *menstrual impurity don\u2019t seem to be what the Author intended...","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":45245,"alt":"","title":"niddah-main-1661","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661.jpg","width":900,"height":386,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661-300x129.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":129,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661-768x329.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":329,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661.jpg","large-width":900,"large-height":386,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661.jpg","1536x1536-width":900,"1536x1536-height":386,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661.jpg","2048x2048-width":900,"2048x2048-height":386,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661.jpg","post_full_size-width":900,"post_full_size-height":386,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/niddah-main-1661.jpg","home_baner-width":900,"home_baner-height":386}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Leviticus","chapter":"15","chapter_main_number":"105","date":"20260122","wall_id":"105"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"600","name":"Women","old_id":"1000"},{"term_id":"742","name":"Purity","old_id":"1142"}]}],"hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"","static_cube_brief":"","static_cube_color":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/45255"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}