PARSHAT SHMINI 5777-AN AMAZING COMMENT OF THE SEFORNO

(DEDICATED IN MEMORY OF MY MOTHER, yETTA bAT yISRAEL, WHOSE yAHRZEIT IS ON 27TH NISSAN)

vAYIKRA:11:2

tHE sFORNO COMMENTS:

זאת החיה אשר תאכלו, after the Israelites had divested themselves of their spiritual jewelry which they had acquired at Mount Sinai when receiving the Torah, something which if they had been able to retain it, would have given them direct access to the Shechinah without the need for an intermediary, as stated by G’d in the wordsבכל המקום אשר אזכיר את שמי אבא אליך וברכתיך, “in any place where I hear My name mentioned I will come to you and bless you, (Exodus 20:24) a change had now occurred due to the people’s sin at the golden calf. G’d stated that the purpose of the Tabernacle was for Him to take up residence therein so that His essence should not feel disgust at the Jewish people. (Leviticus 26:11).

Unfortunately, the golden calf episode had brought about a cardinal change in G’d’s relationship with the people so that He would not allow His Presence to dwell among them even briefly, refused to accompany them on their journey (Exodus 33:3) By means of his lengthy prayers Moses accomplished some improvement in this relationship of G’d to the Israelites by means of the Tabernacle and its furnishings, the priests performing service there, etc.

Finally, the people attained the state of grace described as וירא כבוד ה' אל כל העם, “the glory of the Lord appeared to the whole people.” (Leviticus 9:23) This manifestation of the “glory of the Lord” was the descent of fire from heaven to devour the offerings of the people in the Tabernacle. A way had now been found to refine the character of the people in attitudes and by application of their intelligence so that they would qualify for eternal life (life after death of the body). The method chosen for this was the refinement of the foods eaten by the people. G’d forbade consumption of the kinds of foodstuffs which exert –over a period of time- a negative influence on the people’s character and their intelligence. This is spelled out by the Torah in verse 43 of our chapter where the rationale of the legislation is אל תשקצו בנפשותיכם, another way of saying “do not contaminate your souls.” This is only the effect of observing the negative commandment not to eat forbidden things. There is a positive aspect to this legislation also called והתקדשתם והייתם קדושים “if you will sanctify yourselves you will remain holy.” (Leviticus 15:31). When G’d added כי קדוש אני, this was an incentive to attain the dimension of eternal life similar to G’d.

In addition to legislation involving our physical foodstuffs, the Torah introduced legislation designed to refine our body’s other appetites, that of the libido. Legislation governing a husband’s marital relation with a woman who is a menstruant, or who suffers diseases of her sexual organs, or experiencing childbirth (נדה, זבה, יולדת) are intended to sanctify human sperm and to cleanse if from all spiritual contamination, טומאת הגוף. Compare Leviticus 15:31 והזהרתם את בני ישראל מטומאתם, “caution the Children of Israel to abstain from their pollutants.” If they would fail to do so they would forfeit this claim to eternal life.

Here the Torah introduces this subject of ritual impurity in connection with animals. In this whole paragraph “defilement” is brought about either by direct touch, indirect touch such a carrying or moving the object by pushing it. Only such animals are liable to confer contamination of our souls are capable of conferring immediate ritual impurity. Fish, birds, locusts and other creeping things are not capable of conferring such ritual contamination of a person by means of contact other than by means of ingesting them.. The Torah uses the expression שיקוץ to describe their negative fallout when dead instead of the expression טומאה. (compare verse 10,13, 41-42) to describe the negative result if we were to eat such creatures…………………………………..

The Seforno (Italian Rabbi, 16th century) is explaining why the order of laws was given after the episode of the golden calf. He maintains that were it not for that sin, we would NOT have needed a Temple or any of the subsequent laws that we find up to and including our Parsha.G’d’s presence would have rested directly upon every Jew and even the laws of Kashrut would not have been necessary as we would have been so spiritually enforced that we would not have needed these laws to induce a sense of holiness in our connection to G’d.

He is also suggesting that we would have had a much smaller body of law containing everything in Parshat Yitro and Mishpatim but nothing further. Although this is a very radical suggestion it shows us how this commentator reflects the body of opinion as to how devastating the sin of the golden calf really was. This idea can also explain why the Avot never had a kabalat Hatorah, in that they reflected personal perfection and did not need the Mitzvot to create a link to G’d in the way that we do.

This idea is particularly meaningful as we commemorate Holocaust Memorial day in Israel on Nissan 27th. The sense of reconnecting to G’d after the events of the Shoah has been a difficult one, especially for those who suffered the terrible travails of those years and survived at the end of it all. Many have reconnected with G’d over the years and have found solace in that bond which we believe will never be broken between the Jewish people and G’d. The very fact of our survival demands our attention and we must realize how miraculous our existence has been and continues to be against all the odds. Let us renew our connection to all the Mitzvot we read in the current Parshiot, and even to study the laws of korbanot /sacrifices is considered as if we have brought these sacrifices, as our Rabbis have told us. In this merit may we see the return of the Shechinah in the form of the 3rd Temple, speedily in our days.

Rabbi Ian Shaffer        Cherry Hill NJ