THERE WILL BE NO SHABBAT SERVICE AT TEMPLE BETH-EL TONIGHT. WE WILL BE AT TEMPLE HABONIM IN BARRINGTON FOR THE ANNUAL JOINT REFORM SERVICE. WATCH THE SERVICE ONLINEHERE.
This Shabbat, we begin a new book of the Torah that is primarily concerned with the scintillating subjects of sanctity, sacrifices, and skin disease. The book of Leviticus, known to our rabbis as torat kohanim, “instructions for the priests,” can often seem far removed from our contemporary circumstances. Already over two millennia ago, the Hebrew prophets questioned the utility of Divine Service by way of making the kinds of sacrifices outlined in Leviticus.
Micah, one of the 12 Minor Prophets (referred to as such because of the length of their books rather than a commentary on their importance,) who prophesied during the reigns of Kings Jothan, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah (circa 8th century BCE) posed what Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel called “the most urgent question of religious existence,” speaking to the central concerns of the hearts and minds of our ancestors: With what shall I come before Adonai, And bow myself before God on high? Shall I approach with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? (Micah 6:6) Micah then answers rhetorically in an iconoclastic manner that must have seemed heretical to the cultic sensibilities of his contemporaries: God has told you, O human, what is good, And what Adonai requires of you: Only to do justice And to love goodness, And to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8) So why do we continue to study Leviticus and all its laws of sacrifice? Perhaps we might understand better from a practical perspective rather than focusing on the theurgic potential thereof. At the heart of the worship of the Temple cult was the addressing of discernible communal needs and desires. The sacrifices outlined in the first five chapters of the book of Leviticus, that constitute this Parshat Vayikra, involve to varying extents individual Israelites and their families as well as kings and other leaders and often the entire community. If we consider that these offerings served a multiplicity of functions for the community, including but not limited to providing for the care and maintenance of the communal center and its stewards, we might interpret the painstaking detail of the Levitical text as a good reminder of the fact that we all have a stake in aegis of our community. We must share our joy and sorrow and also our needs and resources. Though the sanctuary was at the center of the Israelite camp, its impact reverberated to the furthest margins of society and could be felt in every tent.
This weekend, TBE joins in pitching a tent that encompasses the entire state of Rhode Island! We hope that you will join us tonight at the Joint Reform Shabbat Service in Barrington, hosted by Temple Habonim, in addition for our communal Havdallah program in partnership with Temple Shalom in Middletown on Saturday night.
