I found that this parsha was difficult for me to get my mind around. Firstly, most of the commentary that I studied was mystical and esoteric, in the tradition of the Kabalah, and while I have enormous respect for that discipline I don't really feel qualified to comment on it. I would rather leave that important commentary up to experts who know how to place such speculation into a moral context. Besides such study makes me feel like I was tripping on acid or chewing on a magic mushroom.
Been there, done that!
I would humbly prefer to attempt a look at the Parsha from the standpoint and from the style of a pashat, from the every-man's perspective, the simple and the fundamental meaning if you will.
From that perspective I observe a paradox.
On the one hand there is Aaron and his sons, the high priests of Israel, the chosen of the chosen, standing there before the Altar of God in their finest linens, their brilliantly colored sacred vestments, their robes and their fringed tunics, their head-dresses, a scene that is described to a tee in this Parsha along with the perfectly arranged and colorful precious stones embedded into the Urim and the Thurim and the richly embroidered and intricately decorated ornaments. All of this is to serve as a magnificent means of praying to G-d on behalf of the children of Israel and all of mankind and all of this is displayed in the bright and brilliant sunlight of Sinai.
Their sashes have been imitated ever since by European royalty and Latin American dictators.
Then, in short order, comes a bloody and disgusting scene of violence filth and anarchy. Two rams are publicly slaughtered, their blood is spattered everywhere, parts of their guts are burned, and their blood is smeared on parts of the bodies of Aaron's sons.
The paradox involves the romantic and the natural images of life side by side in a state of cooperation. The romantic image is the sunlight image, the one of human striving for excellence, for social order and moral clarity. It is a beautiful image of the best elements in the world, physical and artistic, elemental and abstract, organized by the hand of man, in this case the hand of Moses, to serve a higher purpose, worship of G-d, an approach, on behalf of mankind, to the moral and ethical code of God.
The natural image is one of death, disorder, ugliness, stench, pain, suffering and chaos. We see the dark side of life as the two animals suffer and die and their blood and guts are strewn about. We participate in that ugliness through our priests, acting as proxies, in the same way that we participate in the excellence and the beauty of their preparations before the slaughter.
This reflects human life in all of its imperfections. We create great and beautiful things, buildings, music, art, communication, much of the work that we do and much the activities that we participate in. We also participate in the slaughter of animals every time we eat a steak or chicken except we don't witness it on an alter as we have arranged for it to be done behind closed doors. We know that, as we congregate in this beautiful sanctuary among family and friends, a person from the outside, perhaps with his face covered by a black and white checkered scarf, could bust through the door and hack us all to death in a minute, chopping off our limbs and spattering our blood. We are aware of the fact that there is a dark side to life, one that is represented by the bloody scene depicted at the altar with the slaughter of the innocent rams.
We are reminded that, in spite of our best efforts, and regardless of how much we cling to and advance that which is right and true, mankind can not be perfected and that human life or human society cannot be made perfect as their is no such thing, nor will there ever be any such thing, as man-made human perfection on earth. Indeed, we know that the person who breaks into our sanctuary and chops off our limbs is engaging in the perverse and un-natural attempt to bring about perfection on earth.
The paradox of the altar, the sunlight and the slaughter, reminds us that only G-d is perfect and that only G-d will determine any measure of perfection in human society and this will only occur his time, not our time. This time will assuredly come, we believe, with the coming of the Messiah may his days be rapidly approaching.
Been there, done that!
I would humbly prefer to attempt a look at the Parsha from the standpoint and from the style of a pashat, from the every-man's perspective, the simple and the fundamental meaning if you will.
From that perspective I observe a paradox.
On the one hand there is Aaron and his sons, the high priests of Israel, the chosen of the chosen, standing there before the Altar of God in their finest linens, their brilliantly colored sacred vestments, their robes and their fringed tunics, their head-dresses, a scene that is described to a tee in this Parsha along with the perfectly arranged and colorful precious stones embedded into the Urim and the Thurim and the richly embroidered and intricately decorated ornaments. All of this is to serve as a magnificent means of praying to G-d on behalf of the children of Israel and all of mankind and all of this is displayed in the bright and brilliant sunlight of Sinai.
Their sashes have been imitated ever since by European royalty and Latin American dictators.
Then, in short order, comes a bloody and disgusting scene of violence filth and anarchy. Two rams are publicly slaughtered, their blood is spattered everywhere, parts of their guts are burned, and their blood is smeared on parts of the bodies of Aaron's sons.
The paradox involves the romantic and the natural images of life side by side in a state of cooperation. The romantic image is the sunlight image, the one of human striving for excellence, for social order and moral clarity. It is a beautiful image of the best elements in the world, physical and artistic, elemental and abstract, organized by the hand of man, in this case the hand of Moses, to serve a higher purpose, worship of G-d, an approach, on behalf of mankind, to the moral and ethical code of God.
The natural image is one of death, disorder, ugliness, stench, pain, suffering and chaos. We see the dark side of life as the two animals suffer and die and their blood and guts are strewn about. We participate in that ugliness through our priests, acting as proxies, in the same way that we participate in the excellence and the beauty of their preparations before the slaughter.
This reflects human life in all of its imperfections. We create great and beautiful things, buildings, music, art, communication, much of the work that we do and much the activities that we participate in. We also participate in the slaughter of animals every time we eat a steak or chicken except we don't witness it on an alter as we have arranged for it to be done behind closed doors. We know that, as we congregate in this beautiful sanctuary among family and friends, a person from the outside, perhaps with his face covered by a black and white checkered scarf, could bust through the door and hack us all to death in a minute, chopping off our limbs and spattering our blood. We are aware of the fact that there is a dark side to life, one that is represented by the bloody scene depicted at the altar with the slaughter of the innocent rams.
We are reminded that, in spite of our best efforts, and regardless of how much we cling to and advance that which is right and true, mankind can not be perfected and that human life or human society cannot be made perfect as their is no such thing, nor will there ever be any such thing, as man-made human perfection on earth. Indeed, we know that the person who breaks into our sanctuary and chops off our limbs is engaging in the perverse and un-natural attempt to bring about perfection on earth.
The paradox of the altar, the sunlight and the slaughter, reminds us that only G-d is perfect and that only G-d will determine any measure of perfection in human society and this will only occur his time, not our time. This time will assuredly come, we believe, with the coming of the Messiah may his days be rapidly approaching.
