Mindful Torah...and more

This week we begin reading the third book of the Torah, Vayikra /Leviticus. Also known as Torat Kohanim , the Torah of the High Priests, much of Vayikra is dedicated to the laws of sacrifice and ritual purity that were the domain of the ancient Israelite priests. There is a long-standing custom within traditional Judaism that children begin their religious studies with Vayikra . It has always seemed strange that children were to  begin with the book of Vayikra and its detailed descriptions of animal sacrifices and its intricate laws and regulations. It always seemed more logical to start with the creation story or the intricate family dynamics of our ancestors found in Bereshit /Genesis or the drama of slavery and redemption found in Shemot /Exodus? Our sages asked a similar question in Yalkut Shimoni , a collection of midrash /rabbinic stories and commentaries, believed to have been written in the 12 th or 13 th centuries. Here we read, “Why do yo...

This week's parashah /portion is Ki Tissa ( Shemot /Exodus 30:11 – 34:35) and includes the narrative of the Golden Calf.  As I mentioned two weeks ago, according to Rabbinic tradition the incident of the Golden Calf precedes the giving of the instructions for the building of the Mishkan / Tabernacle.  Sinai and the Golden Calf are inextricably linked to one another.  Sinai represents the creation of a relationship between the people of Israel and God.  The Golden Calf represents, among other things, their refusal to completely let go of their past, as well as their inability to maintain their commitment to God when their patience is tested.  In short, Sinai implies trust and the Golden Calf implies its rejection. Aviva Zornberg discusses the fact that the two sides of the coin that is the Golden Calf may seem to be contradictory, yet are in reality complimentary, or perhaps even symbiotic.  A main reason for the building of the Golden Calf is t...