April 28th: Kedoshim
THIS WEEK IN THE TORAH
Rabbi David E. Ostrich
As Charles Dickens once opined, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…”
Sometimes the highs and lows of life—or wisdom—are remarkably proximate, and, as much as this might have been true in London and Paris of the late 18th Century, we can say the same for the disparities in our Torah portion.
Leviticus 19 begins with profundity, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” and continues with many examples of holy/godly behavior. We are urged to bring God’s standards to every aspect of our lives, and the culminating verse (19.18) summarizes this aspirational thinking: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This is a pinnacle of Torah wisdom.
The problem is that, in its furtherance of ideal behavior, the Biblical author continues with some ancient attitudes that grate against our modern sensibilities. In verse 19, we are prohibited from crossbreeding different breeds of cattle, crossbreeding various kinds of fruits or vegetables, or wearing cloth made from different kinds of fabrics. These hardly seem like moral issues.
Then we are presented with stunning harshness in the gratuitous application of the death penalty. Who is to be executed? Those who engage in pagan religious rituals, or insult their parents, or commit adultery. I am not suggesting that these behaviors are okay but rather that other disciplines or punishments seem more appropriate.
Some of the prohibitions in the latter half of Kedoshim are difficult to understand. Exactly what is the problem or fear in various spiritualist practices? In Leviticus 20.6 and 20.27, we are forbidden from “turning to ghosts and familiar spirits, and going astray after them.” Is the averah (sin) consulting the spirits of the departed—or turning those communications into idolatry or polytheism? One of the benefits of Modernity has been the expansion of our understanding of the spiritual energy that fills our world. We have also expanded our appreciation and tolerance of different religious paths. Are the ancient fears still valid, or are we looking at clannish or narrow-minded prejudice?
And finally, there is a prohibition with which most of us strenuously disagree. In Leviticus 20.13, we are told that homosexual sex is abhorrent and should be punished with death. “If a man lies with a male as one lies with a woman, the two of them have done an abhorrent thing; they shall be put to death—their bloodguilt is upon them.” This has certainly been the belief of most people through most of history—and tragically these attitudes continue in much of the world today. However, modern psychological insights have blessed us with the realization that homosexuality is just a natural variation of human sexuality. LGBT+ individuals should be respected and included, and fortunately this is the case throughout Reform Judaism and other Liberal religious movements—and in some of the modern world.
What do we do with such painful words in our sacred Torah? Other than being reminded that Tikkun Olam is not complete—that justice and righteousness and open-mindedness must still be pursued, I think that the answer lies in understanding more about the Bible. The Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) reflects ancient times and cultural mores and the best thinking of a variety of ancient authors and editors. Though the text purports to be a series of instructions from God, it is rather a chorus of different human opinions about what they think God wants. There is rarely unanimity, and the ancient diversity of opinions is matched by diverse responses in every age of Judaism, including our own. The challenge is ascertaining the spirit of the ancient revelation and filtering out biases or time-bound and culture-bound attitudes that detract from the essential goodness and profundity of God.
Are mitzvot like “Love your neighbor as yourself” and “You shall not murder” good and true because they are in the Bible, or are they valid and valuable on their own? Indeed, is their inclusion in the Bible a testament to the fact that our ancestors associated such wisdom with God?
Revering the Holy Scriptures is not a matter of taking everything literally—or anything literally. Regardless of what some people claim, literally no one is able to follow the whole Bible. Interpretation and filtering are inevitably necessary, and the religious life calls on us to read the ancient words carefully and to search in them for godliness.