Shemini: Partners with God

By Rabbi Arik W. Ascherman on April 21, 2006 - כ"ג ניסן תשס"ו

Shemini This weeks Torah Portion includes the dedication of the Tabernacle, the strange and terrible death of two of Aaron’s sons, and a review of Kashrut. As we have discussed in past years, our rabbis did not believe that the death of Nadav and Avihu can be explained only by the fact that they offered “strange fire which God had not requested.” (Leviticus 10:1) Explanations range from the arrogance of Nadav and Avihu who wanted to assume leadership and refused to marry because no women were good enough for them, to the most awful explanation of all, that this was Aaron’s punishment for his role in the sin of the Golden Calf. Others say that this was not a punishment, but that Nadav and Avihu became so close to God, that they were absorbed by God. This might explain the verse, “Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what Adonai meant when Adonai said, “‘ Through those near to Me I show Myself holy, And gain glory before all the people.” ‘ “‘

I can’t accept that this could have been Aaron’s punishment because runs contrary to my understanding of God and it directly contradicts another of God’s commandments, “Parents shall not be put to death for children, nor for parents: a person shall be put to death only for is own crime” (Deuteronomy 24:16). Although it is true that in the 13 attributes of God which we read on the Shabbat of Pesakh, and which God reveals immediately after the sin of the Golden Calf God says, “Adonai, Adonai, a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin; yet God does not remit all punishment, but visits the iniquity of parents upon children and children’s children, upon the third and fourth generation.”

It could be that God permits God’s self to do what is forbidden to human beings. Our rabbis left matters of capital punishment to God even where the Torah mandates it, making the conditions for capital punishment so stringent that they could almost never be fulfilled.

In terms of not carrying out a death sentence the rabbis did not frontally disagree with the Torah, but made capital punishment impossible to carry it out. Not punishing the innocent is such an important idea that Abraham went even further, arguing with God, “Will you sweep away the innocent along with the guilty?”(Genesis 18:23)

With all of my understanding as to the impossible situations we sometimes find ourselves in, not punishing or harming the innocent must be an ironclad principle. In the famous Talmudic story about the man who comes to the sage Raba and asks what he should do when the strong man of his village demands that he kill an innocent person or himself be killed, Raba answers, “Let yourself be killed rather than kill. Who is to say that your blood is redder than his?” (Sanhedrin 74a) Raba is one of the same sages who said a few pages earlier, “If somebody is coming to kill you, get up earlier and kill him first.” While permitting and even requiring us to defend ourselves against those threatening us, Raba says that we can not harm an innocent person even to save ourselves.

Palestinian terrorists can come up with all kinds of excuses as to why terror is the only option available to end Palestinian oppression. They are excuses. Palestinian oppression must end. Even our Minister of Legal Affairs Tzipi Livni has acknowledged the difference between attacking soldiers and attacking civilians. However, neither soldiers nor civilians should be harmed unless it is truly a matter of self-defense.

This brings us to the wave of killing and wounding innocent people in Gaza and elsewhere. It is a terrible position to be in, as we search for a way to defend against the Kassam rockets and suicide bombings. However, the reducing of precautionary zones around civilian population centers and the easing of regulations on opening fire must stop.

Finally, this brings me to the question I have asked so many times before, “How do we get out of this lose-lose situation?” As Israel and the world community isolates the Hamas government and that government makes it clear that it will not be forced into recognizing Israel, honoring treaties or renouncing terror, it seems we are going in the opposite direction and headed towards a humanitarian crisis as well. Is there a way for each side to climb down from their respective tall trees?

Having just concluded the celebration of freedom against impossible odds, let us pray that, as in those days, we Israelis and Palestinians can be partners with God in freeing ourselves from the situation in which anyone would even have “reason” to consider the harming of the innocent.

Rabbis for Human Rights recommends that you read these articles in Vayyiqra-Leviticus

Behar: A vision of a just and caring society - May 19th, 2006
Behuqqotay: Respect the moral order - May 19th, 2006
Emor: Unity and equality between Jews and non-Jews in front of the law - May 12th, 2006
Qedoshim: Striving to be holy - May 5th, 2006
Behar: From Slavery to Freedom - April 28th, 2006
Shemini: Partners with God - April 21st, 2006
Vayyiqra: Hurting others and seeking atonement for our failures - March 30th, 2006
Qedoshim: Justice under the law - May 6th, 2005
Tazria: A single soul - April 8th, 2005
Shemini: Quench this strange fire and return to the fire commanded by God - April 1st, 2005

Categories: Hermeneutics, Shemini, Vayyiqra-Leviticus, rhrLearn
Tags: Bo, fen, human rights, palestinians, settlers