Rabbi's Sermons

Shabat Shalom!

          The weekly Torah portion of this week is Chukat which presents us with a great challenge of faith. At the beginning of chapter 19, we can read the laws regarding the red heifer. For those who do not know about the subject, I will explain briefly. The red heifer is a cow whose fur color is reddish brown. The ashes of this cow were one of the ingredients used for the preparation of a substance, which was used to purify people who were impure by contact with a dead person, and therefore, could not enter the sanctuary. The process described included slaughtering the cow outside the camp, fully incinerating it, and while doing so, adding cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet to the fire. When remained only ashes, they were mixed with water and the Cohen used this liquid to spray the impure person and purify them. Do you feel confused? There's even more... The mystery doesn't end here. The person who prepared this mix of purifying waters, became impure by the same act itself, of being in contact with the ingredients used, and had to wait a full day, to be able to purify himself.

          The chapter itself begins with the words – "זאת חוקת התורה" - ZOT CHUKAT HATORA, referring to a law, which, as we see, has no rational reasoning or benefit in itself. There are other similar laws in the Torah, such as, Shatnez - the prohibition of mixing wool and linen in clothes, or even eating pork, even though, this one is normally explained by health reasons. The mystery of the red heifer exists to this day. King Solomon himself, the wisest man who ever lived on earth, when asked about the reasons for this mitzvah, wrote: “All these things I tried wisely, saying: I will be wise, but wisdom turned away from me” Ecclesiastes 7:23.

          What, we can learn today from the red heifer and other similar laws in the Torah, is Faith. In my rabbinical career, I have met many people who criticized the fulfillment of the Mitzvot by faith and sought to find a logic or reasoning to it. My response has always been the same – we keep many of the Torah's commandments as an act of faith, blind faith without reason and often without a point. I have been criticized for this view, as my critics argue against me: "How can you, a person of reason, a professional of computer logic, comply with commandments that do not make any logical sense, without using your mind, which is itself a blessing of divinity, a gift from God?”; To answer, I usually mention the red heifer, as an example to a test of the highest level of faith, and I usually indicate, that in our daily lives, we act similarly. For example, when we visit a doctor, technician, plumber, or teacher, without knowing their professional capacities or experience, we pay for a service that we suppose will be good and profitable for us. We may deposit the most valuable asset that we have, our life itself, in the hands of a doctor, who sometimes, we do not even know personally, based on his experience or recommendations, without having the slightest idea, if the medications and procedures the doctor prescribe are good for our health. We also buy medicines that we do not know what they contain, and we ingest them in the quantity and times that it is indicated, without knowing if we are going to have side effects, without reasoning, or raising any doubts, with absolute faith, as if we say – "amen". Isn't that a test of faith as well?

          So, following that logic, why don’t we accept the indications of Rofe Neeman, the physician of doctors, the designer of our bodies, the creator of the Universe, with absolute faith – that what He indicates and the way He indicates it, through Mitzvot, Chukim and Mishpatim, commandments, statutes, and laws, is good for our physical, mental and spiritual health. Why should it be different? Isn't the survival of the people of Israel, for more than three thousand years, not enough proof of experience of the existence and characteristics of this universal doctor? If what will help, is seeing a certificate hanging on the wall, then let’s open the ark and see the Torah scroll that rests inside. Isn't this also a similar demonstration of faith?

          When I mention all this, I usually do not get a reply, except from agnostic people who respect my ideas without reaching any specific conclusion. The question, I think, is directed more to us – How can we combine one of the most beautiful gifts that was conferred to us, our mind, against a feeling of faith? Mind and heart?

          In the world of psychology, in 1995, a good Jew, named Daniel Goleman, in his book – "Emotional Intelligence", with more than 5 million copies, exported to the world, a concept already known in Judaism, as Tefillin. If we look at the tefillin for example, we see that they are placed precisely in two points: near the brain and near the heart. It is a way of uniting both concepts in our lives, of acting with both reason and faith, with rational law and a feeling of mercy. Goleman could have also found the answer in the siddur, in the Ahavat Olam prayer, before reciting – Shema Israel, where it is written that we have to – "לדעת, להבין, להשכיל, לשמוע, ללמוד וללמד" - "to know, to understand, to reason, to listen , to learn and to teach” – all the words of the Torah, and observe at the end: באהבה - BEAHAVA—With love. Not with intelligence, not with reason, not with wisdom, but only with love. There is no point in following the commandments of the Torah, based on reasoning, there has not been, and in many cases, there will never be.

          I invite you to comply with the traditions, just as you wish – perform more or less mitzvot, passionately or lightly, in an orthodox way or liberally. But to do it with deep love from our hearts, and not from our minds. In Pirkei Avot it is written – "do His will as though it were your will, so that He will do your will as though it were His" Avot 2:4. Demonstrate a love for God, for our fellow men, and mainly, for ourselves. With immense wisdom, the Rabbi of Kotzak said: "I refuse to believe in a God, that his actions and his ways are according to human understanding and understandable by all". Let us remember that the – Veahavta, after – Shema Israel – is asking us to love God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our strength, not with reasoning, nor with intelligence. Later, the following part of the – Shema (which we read silently), says: "if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul" Deuteronomy 11:13. We realize, that the first thing that is requested from us, is to love God, and thereby, serve him.

          The Beatles expressed it in a beautiful melody, that could be part of our religious services: “All you need is love (x3) love is only”. Ahava...

Shabat Shalom!

Rabbi David Laor

July 12^th, 2024