Tzav / Shabbat haGadol
Mar. 25th, 2018 03:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livI always feel a bit vain posting sermons here, but several people expressed interest who couldn't attend yesterday's service. It was the first time I'd been asked to preach in my home community in Cambridge; I was very flattered to be asked because the community expect their sermons pretty scholarly. And it went exceptionally well, multiple people gave me really nice compliments (my favourite: angelofthenorth, my preaching co-conspirator, who helped me with the initial idea for this.
This is assuming a lot of context, and I'm entirely happy to explain anything that doesn't make sense. Equally I will not be at all offended if you're uninterested in my interpretation of yesterday's readings.
I wanted to reflect on the juxtaposition between Tzav and the special haftarah for Shabbat haGadol, the Great Sabbath which is the last Shabbat before Pesach. These two readings have got me thinking about Reform identity; some of the reason I'm taking this direction is because most of my preaching the past decade has been in an Orthodox shul. I can tell you, I'm really glad to be home. Not only because I don't have to keep justifying my gender all the time, but because I can speak from the heart and directly discuss some ideas that are really important to me.
So in Tzav, we have some very Leviticus-y Leviticus. It's all about exact ritual details of various types of sacrifice. Whereas the section from Malachi is really Prophetic sort of of Prophets: grand, visionary ideas. What can we do with this pairing, as Reform Jews particularly?
With the triennial reading, the particular section of Tzav we read today some of the instructions for the investiture and consecration of the Temple Priests. This isn't actually irrelevant to our 21st century Reform practice, because the priestly garments form the basis of the robes we use for the Torah. A tunic, a girdle, a breastplate and a crown. (It's not the only section about the priestly garments in Torah.)
There was a particular Reform shul I was connected with, and they were debating whether they should leave the Reform movement and join the Liberal movement, because they felt that the Liberals had better politics around issues like same-sex marriage and gay rights, and generally being welcoming to LGBT members of the community. (This was a few years ago now, I think the Reform movement is much better on this score these days, but at the time there was a difference.) Anyway, after much debate they decided they did want to change affiliation, but they were a bit sad because they would miss their Torah service, with the procession and the robes and reading from the scroll and so on. So they asked the rabbi if this was ok, and they were told that a full Torah procession isn't standard in Liberal communities, but it's not forbidden either. So they were able to move, but still keep dressing their Torah scrolls in robes like the ones described in this parshe.
Most of the rest of Tzav is about different kinds of sacrifices. I'll leave it to more erudite sermon-givers to discuss the details of the history of animal sacrifice within Reform Judaism. The one thing I wanted to mention is that the categories of sacrifice described are sin and guilt offerings, and thanksgiving offerings and offerings of peace or wholeness. Even if we don't feel very connected to this side of Leviticus, we can recognize the experience that sometimes a sin or a sense of guilt can be so overwhelming that you don't really feel you're forgiven unless you do something drastic. Perhaps you might think that animal sacrifice is a step too far, but it has to be something major, more than just words, to be commensurate with the terribleness of guilt. And the same with gratitude, sometimes it's not enough to just say thank you, but something really amazing and unexpected occurs and you have to do something really big to respond to that.
I think the special Haftarah gives us an insight into how to respond to this kind of Leviticus material as Reform Jews. The simplistic summary of Malachi is that ritual without a commitment to social justice is meaningless. God has no time for sacrifices, however correctly the ritual is performed, if people are oppressing orphans and workers and immigrants. That's the sort of summary that often makes Reform Jews feel a bit smug, we're not hypocrites, we care about ethics more than detailed halacha, so we like to think of ourselves as Prophetic Jews.
I think Malachi bears a closer look, though. He's absolutely in favour of ritual, including sacrifices. The Haftarah opens with:
The reason we're reading Malachi today is that Shabbat haGadol is the last Shabbat before Pesach. After Shabbat goes out, we're going to be embarking on the last leg of the marathon that is Pesach prep, all the cleaning and preparing ready for the seder next Shabbat. The thing about Pesach is that Reform Jews suddenly get frum around this time of year. Not everybody, of course, but it's a common thing that people who are pretty lax about kashrut the rest of the year, suddenly want everything to be glatt [extra kosher], it all needs a hechsher [kosher certificate], we have to remove every possible crumb of anything that might be chametz [leaven]. And the seder ritual itself, it has to be just right, we have to stick to the exact wording of the Hagaddah, it has to be exactly as we remember it from childhood, nothing changing. Sure, some people might be hardcore classical Reform and say it doesn't matter if you stuff your face with bread and cakes all week, as long as you're thinking about liberation, but for most of us, we need that ritual. Just as with the sacrifices, it doesn't feel real if it's just an expression of generally positive ethical values.
What would it mean to have a truly Reform approach to Pesach, a truly Prophetic one? Many have the custom to really give their leftover chametz to a food bank, not just box it up and nominally sell it to non-Jews to comply with the letter of the law. Perhaps if you're spending a lot of money on fancy food for a seder, you can set aside some to give to charity. And for the seder itself, make it real. The story we're telling through the Hagaddah isn't one that can be simplified down to the old Jewish joke:
Probably the reason that we read this Malachi on Shabbat haGadol is that it mentions the coming of the prophet Elijah to herald the Messiah, which of course is a hope woven throughout the seder ceremony: Elijah's cup, opening the door for Elijah, next year in Jerusalem. When I mentioned to my Christian friends that I was going to be preaching on Malachi, they all said, oh yes, he's all about eschatology and Judgement Day and the end times. And, well, that's not how I normally think of Malachi, but it's definitely there in today's Haftarah. Elijah will bring the
That was far too short, I wish I could've gone on listening to you for longer). In particular several people said it was really helpful in preparing for Pesach, so maybe some of my friends may get something out of it. Thanks especially to
angelofthenorth, my preaching co-conspirator, who helped me with the initial idea for this. This is assuming a lot of context, and I'm entirely happy to explain anything that doesn't make sense. Equally I will not be at all offended if you're uninterested in my interpretation of yesterday's readings.
I wanted to reflect on the juxtaposition between Tzav and the special haftarah for Shabbat haGadol, the Great Sabbath which is the last Shabbat before Pesach. These two readings have got me thinking about Reform identity; some of the reason I'm taking this direction is because most of my preaching the past decade has been in an Orthodox shul. I can tell you, I'm really glad to be home. Not only because I don't have to keep justifying my gender all the time, but because I can speak from the heart and directly discuss some ideas that are really important to me.
So in Tzav, we have some very Leviticus-y Leviticus. It's all about exact ritual details of various types of sacrifice. Whereas the section from Malachi is really Prophetic sort of of Prophets: grand, visionary ideas. What can we do with this pairing, as Reform Jews particularly?
With the triennial reading, the particular section of Tzav we read today some of the instructions for the investiture and consecration of the Temple Priests. This isn't actually irrelevant to our 21st century Reform practice, because the priestly garments form the basis of the robes we use for the Torah. A tunic, a girdle, a breastplate and a crown. (It's not the only section about the priestly garments in Torah.)
There was a particular Reform shul I was connected with, and they were debating whether they should leave the Reform movement and join the Liberal movement, because they felt that the Liberals had better politics around issues like same-sex marriage and gay rights, and generally being welcoming to LGBT members of the community. (This was a few years ago now, I think the Reform movement is much better on this score these days, but at the time there was a difference.) Anyway, after much debate they decided they did want to change affiliation, but they were a bit sad because they would miss their Torah service, with the procession and the robes and reading from the scroll and so on. So they asked the rabbi if this was ok, and they were told that a full Torah procession isn't standard in Liberal communities, but it's not forbidden either. So they were able to move, but still keep dressing their Torah scrolls in robes like the ones described in this parshe.
Most of the rest of Tzav is about different kinds of sacrifices. I'll leave it to more erudite sermon-givers to discuss the details of the history of animal sacrifice within Reform Judaism. The one thing I wanted to mention is that the categories of sacrifice described are sin and guilt offerings, and thanksgiving offerings and offerings of peace or wholeness. Even if we don't feel very connected to this side of Leviticus, we can recognize the experience that sometimes a sin or a sense of guilt can be so overwhelming that you don't really feel you're forgiven unless you do something drastic. Perhaps you might think that animal sacrifice is a step too far, but it has to be something major, more than just words, to be commensurate with the terribleness of guilt. And the same with gratitude, sometimes it's not enough to just say thank you, but something really amazing and unexpected occurs and you have to do something really big to respond to that.
I think the special Haftarah gives us an insight into how to respond to this kind of Leviticus material as Reform Jews. The simplistic summary of Malachi is that ritual without a commitment to social justice is meaningless. God has no time for sacrifices, however correctly the ritual is performed, if people are oppressing orphans and workers and immigrants. That's the sort of summary that often makes Reform Jews feel a bit smug, we're not hypocrites, we care about ethics more than detailed halacha, so we like to think of ourselves as Prophetic Jews.
I think Malachi bears a closer look, though. He's absolutely in favour of ritual, including sacrifices. The Haftarah opens with:
Then the Minchah-offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to God. Malachi isn't saying, don't bother with sacrifices, just be nice to people. Just as much as in Leviticus, Malachi sees sacrifices as absolutely essential to holiness, to making a meaningful connection with the Divine. But what gives that ultimate meaning to the ritual is that it goes hand-in-hand with ethical behaviour and really striving for social justice. That is, more than just being nice rather than mean, but actively changing society to fight against oppression.
The reason we're reading Malachi today is that Shabbat haGadol is the last Shabbat before Pesach. After Shabbat goes out, we're going to be embarking on the last leg of the marathon that is Pesach prep, all the cleaning and preparing ready for the seder next Shabbat. The thing about Pesach is that Reform Jews suddenly get frum around this time of year. Not everybody, of course, but it's a common thing that people who are pretty lax about kashrut the rest of the year, suddenly want everything to be glatt [extra kosher], it all needs a hechsher [kosher certificate], we have to remove every possible crumb of anything that might be chametz [leaven]. And the seder ritual itself, it has to be just right, we have to stick to the exact wording of the Hagaddah, it has to be exactly as we remember it from childhood, nothing changing. Sure, some people might be hardcore classical Reform and say it doesn't matter if you stuff your face with bread and cakes all week, as long as you're thinking about liberation, but for most of us, we need that ritual. Just as with the sacrifices, it doesn't feel real if it's just an expression of generally positive ethical values.
What would it mean to have a truly Reform approach to Pesach, a truly Prophetic one? Many have the custom to really give their leftover chametz to a food bank, not just box it up and nominally sell it to non-Jews to comply with the letter of the law. Perhaps if you're spending a lot of money on fancy food for a seder, you can set aside some to give to charity. And for the seder itself, make it real. The story we're telling through the Hagaddah isn't one that can be simplified down to the old Jewish joke:
they tried to kill us, we won, let's eat. All through the ceremony, we're constantly mixing bitter things with sweet, to acknowledge the pain and suffering of the Egyptians, recognizing that liberation often needs revolution, and revolution has a real human cost. So let's also talk at our seders about real, hard political issues. Modern slavery, perhaps, and other forms of oppression here and all round the world, and what it would take to really liberate all people. Not just generally being nice, but challenging injustice, standing up to the powerful, even when that requires not just pretty words but real sacrifices.
Probably the reason that we read this Malachi on Shabbat haGadol is that it mentions the coming of the prophet Elijah to herald the Messiah, which of course is a hope woven throughout the seder ceremony: Elijah's cup, opening the door for Elijah, next year in Jerusalem. When I mentioned to my Christian friends that I was going to be preaching on Malachi, they all said, oh yes, he's all about eschatology and Judgement Day and the end times. And, well, that's not how I normally think of Malachi, but it's definitely there in today's Haftarah. Elijah will bring the
God's great and awesome day, which will
burn like a furnaceto
turn the wicked and the arrogant to ash. What are we really praying and hoping for when we talk about Elijah? Whether or not we see it in terms of a literal personal Messiah coming to redeem us, what are we doing this Pesach to bring closer a world which God would consider just?
(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-25 02:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-25 03:07 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-25 03:44 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-27 02:35 pm (UTC)There are interesting parallels in this sermon and the ritual that I was raised in (Catholicism) regarding Easter that are interesting to muse upon, on how the sacrifices are thought of, and what it means to be charged with the idea of going forth and proclaiming your faith to everyone.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-27 07:25 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-03-27 08:15 pm (UTC)Admittedly, how much focus on social issues that living and speaking has depends on the Bishop of Rome.
When you mention the bitter and the sweet together, that's the entirely of the Easter season - dust and fasting mixed with the knowledge that the great sacrifice benefits everyone, the terror of death and the joy of resurrection, and then the terror of persecution and the courage of convictions, capped off with the call for each Christian to live a life pleasing to the deity.
I agree that there's an importance to ritual in both places, and definitely on the failure mode - it's a pain and a problem to have to do a ritual that you don't feel the connection to. (Especially when it seems like everyone around you puts more stock in the ritual than the meaning.)