A thought on פרשת אחרי מות

"...al shnei ha'se'eirim goralos...""...lots over the two goats..." (16:8)

Many interpretations have been offered in helping us grasp the meaning of the two goats, one of which is brought in the Holy Temple and one of which was cast over a precipice. The interpretations range from the midrashic to the mystical in explaining the nature of the "goat to Azazael." It is very difficult to fathom its significance and the essence of this atypical way of serving HaShem. The casting of that goat took place on Yom Kippur, as well.

The Recanati presents a very different perspective on the Azazael event: Our people accepts that HaShem is One. We acknowledge that all events in this life are Heavenly ordained and although we may experience good times and rough times, we know that HaShem is Merciful and Compassionate, and that all of our experiences of His Presence lead us to formulating "attributes", qualities which we attribute to Him. We believe that He is Merciful and Compassionate. When we feel His providence and beneficence, it is easier for us to believe this. We are also aware that there are times when we experience tougher times, which we attribute (verb) to the attribute (noun) of midas din, justice.

It is very important that we understand that din is not a separate dimension. It is not synonymous with "bad." To posit that midas ha'din is the "bad side" or the "dark side" would lead one to speculate about a plurality, a "lack of One-ness." So, we are very careful to accept that our perception of din is a human attribution. Din is how Rachamim is at times manifest and perceived by human beings.

However, our subservient fervor to accept that din is rachamim -in- disguise can also mislead us. We can eventually get to the point where we no longer recognize that there is, in fact and in reality as we experience reality, midas ha'din to contend with. Justice is one of the pillars upon which the world must stand. It may be harsh, it may be difficult and it may be very tough, but it serves a purpose. At times, we have a sense of what that purpose is, and at other times we fail to grasp its purpose. Regardless, din is part of our reality, and it is manifest in life because HaShem wills it. It is as much a mida of HaShem as is mercy.

This, explains the Recanati, is the function of the goat to Azazael. Lest we forget that amidst the bountiful rachamim which we yearn for, there is also an important mida of din, we incorporate into the Yom Kippur ritual a service of two goats. One of them, that of Azazel, characterizes the experience of din: it is dispatched in an abrupt, indelicate and even superfluous-seeming way, given that its companion goat is offered as a formal korban.

A nod to din is a step for our own sake. It is our task to acknowledge that din is also a facet of the One-ness Above, and may not be ignored or forgotten. This demonstration of our awareness that the Merciful and Compassionate One also decrees and sends forth justice is a necessary step in our attaining atonement.
The Recanati closes with the message that this is implicit in our daily prayers. Just before the "Modim" section of the Amida prayer, we recite "Retzei" - show us favor. The end of this passage says, "u's'hee l'ratzon tamid avodas Yisroel amecha," - may the service of Your people Israel find favor always. The word "always" seems unnecessary. It would have been sufficient to ask that our service be acceptable.

This word, the Recanati writes, is in response to the sad reality that we no longer have a means of attaining atonement through the consecrated offerings. This includes the tragedy that we have no way of expressing our acceptance that justice is also merciful. In fact, in this long and bitter exile, so much of our experience feels like abject din. At times, our ability to sense the vast midas rachamim is clouded. In view of this problem, we assert in our prayer that we petition HaShem to always accept our service favorably: even when we struggle and even when we are unable to demonstrate that we accept His din as we accept His mercy, our faith in His One-ness remains unchanged. Always.

Wishing you a good Shabbos and a liberating Pesach. Hoping to resume these parsha thoughts after yom tov. D Fox
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A thought on פרשת מצורע

"...v'achar ti'thar...""...and after the immersion she shall be pure..." (15:28)

A married woman who develops a sign of impurity must keep an interval of careful abstinence in the same manner in which a man must observe a process which leads to personal purification. This is well depicted in our Parsha and the formula of cleansing by way of total immersion (compare last week's parsha thought) is a standard in our Torah tradition and in contemporary halacha.

The laws of mikvaos - the ritual baths - are intricate and numerous. Some of them are more familiar to us, such as the requirement of using only natural-sourced water such as those from a downpour of rain or of melted snow. A mikva is not filled with drawn water or that which has been stored in containers. Ever wonder why?Worded differently, have you ever wondered about any deeper meaning within the concept of using natural waters and not those carried from an un-natural (as in human-made) source? Why is drawn water forbidden and how does it invalidate a mikva?

The Recanati dips into this deeper area: He writes that this is a profound concept in the writings of the mekubalim - those sages who have immersed themselves in the study of the secrets of the Torah. A faithful wife, one who is devoted to her husband and who does not entertain the notion of infidelity, does more than solidify her marriage. In ways which we have attempted to describe in earlier parsha thoughts from the Recanati, our acts in this life resonate within the higher realm as well.

HaShem is One and His Name is One. We experience the Sacred in our senses, as well as in our souls. The deep and internal sense of HaShem's infinite might and holiness is the product of long and dedicated avoda and spiritual growth. In contrast, the broader awareness of HaShem's Presence, that which we relate to when we speak of "knowing" that we believe in Him, or when our conduct models that we give homage to Him, or when we study His Torah and are prompted to apply its rules and live by His commandments, is a more shallow level of consciousness, an awareness that HaShem has a role in our experience. It is a dimmer form of awareness. It is not a moving encounter such as that of a prophet, or of one with ruach ha'kodesh or of possibly those moments during intense silent prayer or at the Kosel when something electric takes place deeper than we normally get to within ourselves. The awe and aura of these important yet lesser experiences are a cognizance of the Shechina - a phenomenological state which can occur at different levels and in different ways for each individual.

Our mortal difficulty and challenge is in knowing what to make of those "Shechina- linked" encounters. We can and should associate them with the Divine Alone. Some people end up misinterpreting them as celestial, cosmic, neural, alien, new age, new wave, psychic, psychotic or imaginary. Chas v'Shalom. The existence of that higher concept which we term the "Shechina" is manifest solely through the Divine Will. It is not a separate entity. It is not an emanation or realm of being. The existence of a sense of Presence which we relate to in our efforts to feel connected with the Above is an existence catalyzed only through the Highest Will. Thus, HaShem causes and allows for us to know of Him by way of our sensing or feeling or thinking that we know of His "Shechina." The sense of the Shechina is our way of associating and connecting our experience here with That Which is beyond our ability to experience.

Within ourselves, we must understand that "connection." Within our minds and hearts, we must make a connection between our human sense of the Presence and that this sense and our interpretation of its impact within us is fueled by a Sacredness which is far and beyond all of us and all of our limitedness. In metaphoric terms, the lower world sense is a pool which is filled by the Highest Eternal "waters from Heaven." It is not filled by anything foreign to HaShem or external to Him.

When a wife remains devoted and attached to her husband, she prepares for that return, that approach, through immersion in waters that have a natural source, that come from the sky above. Nothing foreign has come between them and nothing foreign can purify and cleanse. When this precept of mikva immersion is carried out with waters symbolizing their higher origin - the rain and the snow which descend here - this resonates in Shomayim. It gives strength to that potential for people to grow more and more aware that all that is truly holy and spiritual can have only One source of origin. There can be no confusion, no imposters, no substitutes or alien forces.

Mikva Yisroel HaShem (Yirmiyahu 17:13). Good Shabbos. D Fox

A thought on Parshas Tazria

"...v'ra'ah haKohen es ha'nega..."...and the Kohen shall examine the affliction..." (13:3)

The tzaras condition required careful examination of the skin in order to be diagnosed. The examination and diagnosis were made by a Kohen who would then instruct the ailing person as to his or her prescription of quarantine and other measures.

The Recanati reminds us that this was not a matter of illness. It was a type of spiritual impurity. It was a sign of "etzba Elokim," he writes, as if the afflicted person was fingered from Above to endure the ordeal of contamination. One was forbidden to attempt any surgical intervention or cure for the tzaras outbreak. Only a Kohen could engage in bringing about a purification for the afflicted one.

The Recanati helps us peer deeper into the dynamics of the Kohen's involvement. The mission of the kahuna is that of facilitating atonement for the misdeeds of the Jewish people. This is because kindness, chesed, is the attribute associated with those who carry out the sacred duty of bringing a sense of the Above closer to humanity. Atonement is a sublime level of chesed. The concept that HaShem will allow rectification of iniquity and remedies for wayward acts is a brilliant manifestation on earth below of HaShem's loving kindness from above. This is why Shlomo HaMelech writes in Mishlei (16:6) b'chesed...ye'chupar avon - sins are kindly atoned for.

The errors which lead to one developing tzaras are not only sinful but also create an unclean impurity (tum'a) which emanates from within the person's soul and spills out over the body.

What do we know about tum'a - ritual impurity? If an item comes in contact with something that is impure, it may not necessarily contract any unclean status. However, if it has been pre-designated (hechsher), which is what happens if it is washed off for human consumption, and then makes contact with something impure, it will contract tum'a. What is a generic remedy for many objects which have contracted this tum'a? They are again washed in water, this time in a total immersion, within a pool of ritual cleansing (mikva.) Looking back, it was that first partial contact with water which prepared the item for proper use but then careless contact with the impure rendered that item unfit. A later compete and total water-contact is then needed in order to bring about cleanliness.

This, write the Recanati, is what is being paralleled within the Kohen's role with tzaras. A person with a sign upon his skin meets up with the Kohen. The brief encounter with that Kohen, who pronounces the sign "unclean" is comparable to the water rinsing. It symbolizes that this person might have made good use of the holy man and his good influence. Healthy and proper interaction with a holy man might have been used to better prepare him for a better, dedicated life. Instead, however, the carelessness of this person has led to impurity.
He must now sit out his ordeal and let it run its full course of exuding tum'a.

Only when the tzaras has faded can he consider readmission into the Jewish community. However, just as an impure object must be thoroughly immersed in water before it can be rendered pure and clean, so must the recovering person meet again with the Kohen. This second meeting, though, is no casual "rinsing". It is a matter of "total immersion", where the Kohen helps him earn atonement by bringing select offerings into the holy Mikdash. It is a full contact encounter with the Kohen, whose kindness is dedicated to cleansing the impure among us and bringing about atonement.

In our own encounters with others, what happens as a result of our casual interactions? Do we prepare the person to go on, inspired, and seeking greater spiritual and interpersonal attainments? Do we set them up for subsequent downfall through our unkind words or poor example? When we meet a stricken person, do we point out their impurities, or do we engage in helping them correct their errors in a kind, loving immersion into their struggle?Good Shabbos. D Fox