Rabbi Ari Kahn
Parashat B’chukotai 5776
Irreplaceable Theology
As
the book of Vayikra moves towards its finale, several outstanding issues are
clarified. A retrospective overview shows us that although it began as a book
focused on Temple and ritual, it gradually turned to a discussion of other,
more general types of holiness, emphasizing kosher food, “kosher” sexual
relationships and, finally, other types of interpersonal relationships. The
message seems clear: Ritual and Temple service are not replacements for decency.
In order to create a holy society, we must concern ourselves both with the
ritual and the interpersonal spheres. These two spheres must work in tandem, in
harmony, if we are to create and sustain the society that it is our mandate to
create.
Despite
our superficial impressions, then, Vayikra – “Leviticus” – has a few surprises:
The discussion of the holidays in Parashat Emor was not what we might have
expected: We might have anticipated that the aspect given most attention in the
context of Vayikra would be the sacrifices associated with each festival – but,
as we have seen, this is not the case. Instead, the focus is the aspect of
holiness, coupled with emphasis of the agricultural identity of each holiday.
The transition from this aspect of the holidays to a discussion of shmittah and
Yovel becomes far more natural when considered in this light: The
structure and flow of the book teaches us that any discussion of holiness must
necessarily include the Land of Israel. Just as the holidays are points of
holiness in one dimension, the Land of Israel is a point of holiness in
another.
Very
subtly, then, the focus of Vayikra shifts to the Land of Israel – which is only
natural, being that the Israelites were about to leave Mount Sinai and march to
their homeland. Very soon, they would inherit the land - and as soon as the
message of our ownership began to sink in, we were quickly reminded that God is
the true owner; the laws of shmittah and Yovel force us to
remember that our ownership is conditional. We are therefore commanded to
relinquish our claims to the land one year out of every seven, to share God’s gifts
with one and all, and to return the land to its ancestral custodians every 50
years. Slowly the message will sink in: Our ownership is limited. The land
ultimately belongs to God, and, as a result, the land is holy. Parashat
B’chukotai then goes on to teach us that if we are underserving of this holy
land, we will be expelled; such are the consequences of holiness.
Chapter
26 ends in what seems like a grand finale:
I
will therefore remember the covenant with their ancestors … These are the
decrees, laws and codes that God set between Himself and the Israelites at
Mount Sinai through the hand of Moses. (Vayikra 26:45-46)
And
yet, despite the seeming finality, another chapter is tacked on, a chapter that
seems anti-climactic, even “disappointing”. It contains discussions of vows,
dedications and donations to the Temple… in short, details that somehow take
the wind out of our sails after the resounding final notes at the end of the
previous chapter. But then, among the details, one law catches our eye:
If
[the endowment] is an animal that can be offered as a sacrifice to God, then
anything donated to God [automatically] becomes consecrated. One may neither exchange
it nor offer a substitute for it, whether it be a better [animal] for a
worse one, or a worse [animal] for a better one. If he replaces one animal with
another, both [the original animal] and its replacement shall be consecrated.
(27:9-10)
These
verses outline what may be regarded as a strange ‘theory of conservation of
holiness:’ Once an object is dedicated to God, it cannot be replaced or
“swapped out;” holiness, it seems, “sticks” to it – permanently. Any attempt to
replace the consecrated object will only cause an additional object to be
consecrated as well; more holiness can enter the world, but the original
holiness can never disappear.
The
section that immediately follows discusses ancestral property (27:16). Seen in
context, we begin to realize that this chapter is far from a random compilation
of commandments: The laws enumerated in Chapter 27, the seemingly
“anti-climactic” chapter that follows what we first thought was the closing
chord of the book, reflect a deeper theological message: In the course of time,
the Jewish People might sin, and thereby forfeit the privilege of living in the
Promised Land – but the People, and the Land, once consecrated, are holy
forever. They cannot be replaced. God will eventually allow us to return to the
Land.
The
final section of the book of Vayikra focuses on the power of vows: Words, even
human words, are imbued with power, perhaps beyond what we might have imagined.
This power is reflection of the Divine Image: The power of speech defines us
and sets us apart from the rest of creation, but it comes with tremendous
responsibility. God’s speech creates reality, and human speech is its
reflection. God keeps His vows, even though we may violate our part of
the agreement, and we must do the same. The laws in this final chapter, then, contain
an uplifting message: Once something is dedicated for holiness, it cannot be
replaced. Even when we have sinned, God will honor His vow; He will return us
to our land. Moreover, despite the claims made by newer religions, the Jewish
People will never be exchanged for any other “chosen people.” “Replacement
theology” is expressly rejected in the final verses of Vayikra. The people who
stood at Sinai, despite their having subsequently strayed from a life of
holiness, remain dedicated to God, and retain their holiness forever. With this
message made clear, Vayikra can come to its completion, and now that we
understand the message contained in the seemingly dry, anticlimactic laws of
Chapter 27, the final verses of Vayikra are theologically breathtaking:
No
distinction may be made between better and worse animals, and no substitutions
may be made. If a substitution is made, then both [the original animal]
and its replacement shall be consecrated and not redeemable. These are the
commandments that God gave Moses for the Israelites at Mount Sinai. (Vayikra
27:33,34)
Vayikra, the “book
of holiness,” ends with a clear message: The holiness of the Land of Israel,
and the holiness of the Jewish People, are eternal.
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