G-dcast for Parashat Tzav

Parshat Tsav from G-dcast.com

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TBE Bar/Bat Mitzvah Commentary: Julie Arditti on Vayikra

My portion begins the book of Leviticus, which some people call the most boring book of the Torah. True, it is a lot less exciting than Genesis and Exodus, which we’ve just completed. The crossing of the Red Sea and the giving of the Ten Commandments are a hard act to follow, and it is difficult to find much that is interesting about sacrifices, which is the subject of my portion, Vayikra. But it is that simplicity that also makes it so interesting and powerful.

The first word of my portion is Vayikra, meaning God called. The ancient rabbis and commentators wondered why God called to Moses and didn’t just speak to him. Why did God need to get Moses attention in this way? Their answer is that when God called, Moses thought all the hard work was already done. The people had left Egypt, received the Torah, and built a sanctuary, so what more was left to do? By calling to Moses, God is telling him that the most important work is yet to come - the sacrifices of daily worship. The message here is that the things that matter most are the simple things.

For me, the simple things I appreciate in life are sometimes more important than the big things. Such as, waking up and having a roof over my head, being able to have breakfast, petting my dogs, having clothes to wear and a family that loves me.

Every morning when I get onto my bus I say good morning to the bus driver. And when I get off I say thank you. In the course of my life these bus rides are just bus rides. By thanking him, I am showing my appreciation for the little things.

At Camp Kenwood when there are thunderstorms, I get frightened. Last year there was a huge thunderstorm and we all had to wait in the gymnastics building for hours. I now appreciate that building and how it kept us from getting wet or even hurt.

For my mitzvah project, I made and sold breast cancer ribbon pins and will donate all the proceeds to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. By the way, if you still want to purchase a pin, please contact me. I have decorated the pins with simple objects that remind us that even the simplest things can be meaningful.

My Torah portion has not only taught me the importance of appreciating things, but also to be humble.

As I said before God called to Moses using the word Vayikra. There is a story that Moses was so humble that he didn’t want people to think that God talked just to him. So Moses changed the word to Vayikar, which means that God just happened upon Moses. When God insisted that the word be Vayikra, showing that God had a special relationship with Moses, Moses compromised to keep the word Vayikra, but he made the alef small.

In fifth grade when I was elected president of student council, although I was excited and wanted to scream, I went straight to the runner-up and told her how great she did and that she ran a great race.

So, from my Torah portion I’ve learned to be gracious, humble and appreciative. I guess Vayikra isn’t so boring after all.

G-dcast for Parashat Vayikra

Parshat Vayikra from G-dcast.com

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G-DCast for Vayakhel-Pekuday

Parshat Vayakhel from G-dcast.com

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Parshat Pekudei from G-dcast.com

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Ki Tissa: Worshiping the Unfamiliar

A couple of years ago, my dog Crosby slipped through the invisible fence surrounding our home. After a tense half hour of searching, we found him near the temple. Unfortunately, he was scared and would not come to me. At that moment a congregant happened to drive up. He got out of his car to see what the commotion was all about - and Crosby immediately bounded up to him.

I've had the opportunity to do some scholar in residence weekends at other congregations. It's so strange. People look at you like you are some sort of... scholar! You can say ANYTHING you want and they think it’s brilliant! It’s downright unnatural! AND you get paid for it! You are held up on this pedestal – and people come up to you to complain about their rabbi (or president, or the other congregation's rabbi). I thought of that quote from the New Testament, that a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.

A story is told about the community leaders of Bialystok, who were charged with finding a rabbi just after the death of their spiritual leader, Samuel Mohliver. Rabbi Meir Simcha was just the man for the pulpit. He had all the qualifications of learning and piety, yet he was turned down by the local leaders. Why? Because he was brought up in Bilaystok and was therefore too familiar to the people in town.

OK – so what does this have to do with this week’s portion?

The SAME THING HAPPENS

Moses goes up to top of Mount Sinai. The people become restless without their leader. They are worried…maybe he died. What do they do? So they made a golden calf, a concrete, visible symbol of God.

They could have appointed another, temporary leader – Aaron or Joshua. BUT AARON AND JOSHUA WERE TOO FAMILIAR TO THEM. They sought a new and unfamiliar source of inspiration, rather than the known and the familiar.

Interestingly, the Hebrew term for idolatry became known as AVODA ZARA – strange worship….THE WORSHIP OR ADORATION OF THE UNFAMILIAR. Idolatry in the form of worshipping a molten calf is threat to us in this contemporary culture. But avoda zara, the worship of the new and unfamiliar, is as prevalent as ever.

Crosby proved it to me last week!

In my physical and spiritual journeys, instead of looking for the unfamiliar, I search for the similarities, the connections, the bonds that we all have in common. Given the chance to visit any country in the world, I typically will choose Israel – where everything seems so strangely familiar.

Even when I go to exotic places, my most memorable moments are spent in conversation with people on Italian trains or Parisian cafes, where I discover just how similar we really are. When I read the Bible or history books, what amazes me most are the similarities, the common thread of human emotion that allows me to cry with Jeremiah and sing with David.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll often read a book several times over before going on to something new. Same with TV programs – thank God for TiVo. And as for sports I think I’ve seen that ALCS game 7 in 2004 about 50 times. This season, I’ve seen a number of Celtics games on TV – and a number of them have featured Larry Bird. I’d rather watch the oldies.

That’s why I love the seder so much. Sure things change from year to year – but it’s the sameness that I embrace.

Now, just to be clear – I am NOT advocating that we lose interest in discovery and abandon the unfamiliar altogether. We need to seek the unknown – just shouldn't’t worship it. Every ship that sets sail into uncharted waters needs an anchor. The children of Israel, in creating that golden calf, decided to toss that anchor aside.

Idolatry has changed its form, to be sure. But it still has meaning for us in the 21st century – warning us to keep far away from Avoda Zara, the worship of the unfamiliar.

G-dcast on this week's portion of Terumah

One of the more innovative new Jewish websites is G-dcast, a weekly comic-book style intro to the Torah portion. It just started up a few months ago and already it's going strong. G-dcast looks at the portion from a variety of perspectives, in a very entertaining 4-minute video presentation. This week's feature looks at the construction of the tabernacle as if it's a do-it-yourselfer from Ikea. You can sample G-dcast below, and then check out their website for archived presentations, at http://www.g-dcast.com/



Parshat Terumah from G-dcast.com

And with Storahtelling set to return next week to TBE, check out their weekly parsha commentary at http://storahtelling.blogspot.com/.