This week we begin the third of the five books of the Torah: Leviticus or Vayikra in the Hebrew. For the next weeks we will read over and over about the sacrificial system developed by the Israelites and enacted in the portable tabernacle. There are rules for offerings if one sins, if one wants to express gratitude…How many pigeons are to be offered, how many goats, how the ancient priests deal with the blood, the carcasses…
When I was the cantor at Temple Isaiah in Los Angeles, I was blessed to work with thousands- truly thousands- of Bar and Bat Mitzvah students. Those B’nai Mitzvah students who were reading from the portions in Leviticus often had the most dififcult time writing their “d’var torah” or speech. The concept of a system if worship in which animals were slaughtered as a way to worship God was remote and distant and repugnant to many of the students.
Although the killing of animals, the dashing of blood, and the burning of these animals was often beyond their comprehension (and I’d add that it’s often beyond my understanding, as well) the concept of sacrifice was something almost all the students could understand.
Most often, the Bnai mitzvah students understood sacrifice as a sports metaphor: when one player makes a “sacrifice” for the good of the team or the sacrifices needed to excel at soccer, basketball, or tennis: hours of practice, maybe not watching so much television, physical aches and pain from working out, and maybe limiting social life.
If I were working with Bar and Bat Mitzvah students this week, I’d imagine their idea of sacrifice would be a little different. As we battle the Coronavirus worldwide, there are many who are making sacrifices: doctors, nurses, medical technicians, respiratory therapists, and ambulance drivers. The pictures of medical professionals literally collapsed on hospital floors and almost too exhausted to stand have been seen around the globe. These people are heroes- they are making sacrifices: lack of sleep, far away from families, endangering their own lives. And there are others who are making tremendous sacrifices: the grocery clerks making sure we have food, the bakeries staying open, the delivery men and women who are risking everything to make sure your package of whatever arrives at your door.
The Hebrew word for sacrifice is “korban”- and the root of the word (koof, resh, nun) means to draw close. In a very odd and tragic way, this current situation of illness and sacrifices has drawn us closer to one another. We have reached out ot neighbors and family. We have spent countless hours on zoom calls and skype checking in with friends and colleagues across the globe. And we have become closer to God- through whatever means we can muster: prayer, song, meditation, poetry.
As we begin the reading of the Book of Leviticus- with its emphasis on sacrifice and drawing nearer to the Almighty, may our prayers ascend to the Most High and find healing and comfort for all.
Shabbat Shalom
Canto Evan Kent