Parashat
Vayikra
5
Nisan 5777 / 31 March – 1 April 2017
Torah reading: Leviticus 1:1 – 5:26
Torah reading: Leviticus 1:1 – 5:26
Haftarah:
Isaiah 43:21 – 44:23
My
Annual Pesach Resources Guide is
available at my blog:
Calendar
and dedications follow below. For a full calendar of events relating to
Passover at Congregation Beth Meier, check out:
Please
feel free to pass this on to a friend, and please cite the source
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NO IFS, ANDS, OR BUTS!
"When (asher) a ruler a sins, and commits one from among the commandments of the Lord his God which may not be done - unintentionally - and is guilty; or if his sin is known to him, he shall bring his offering..." Leviticus 4:22-3
"Fortunate (ashrei) is the generation whose ruler directs his heart to bring an atonement for his unintentional error; how much more so when he repents of his deliberate sins." Rashi, based on the midrash from Sifra
Unlike with regard to priests, commoners, and the people as a whole, the Torah says "when" rather than "if". The commentator Sforno says this implies that sins by those in power are inevitable. This cynical view seems obvious enough to us ("power corrupts"), but it was equally obvious 3000 years ago. The prophet Samuel had warned the people not to have a king over them, because he would make their lives burdensome. They insisted that they wanted to be like "all the other peoples". And that is what they got.
Rashi, using word play, takes this cynicism, and points out that people are fortunate to have a ruler who sins and repents - not only if he atones for his inadvertent sins, but especially when he atones for his intentional sins. This seems to go against human nature.
If we act inadvertently, we tend to make excuses in order to avoid the punishment. "It was an accident." "I didn't mean to do it." But when we act with intent, we have no choice but to repent. We're busted, and there is no escaping it. Not so with those in power. Repenting for an unintentional act is easier for a ruler precisely because he has an excuse, and it makes him look good in the eyes of the people when he atones for something for which all agree he was not fully responsible. But for a ruler to atone for an intentional act, he has to admit that he acted arrogantly, that he was abusing his power.
Does this mean we hold our rulers to a higher standard? Well, yes, and it is precisely because we have given them power over us. This, says Sforno, is why it says "his God" - to remind the ruler that he is not really in charge, but that the Ruler of Rulers is above him. We know that the ruling authorities watch us. When they atone for their intentional acts, then we know that they too answer to a higher authority.
Shabbat Shalom uv’rakhah - Wishing you a Shabbat of peace and blessings.
"When (asher) a ruler a sins, and commits one from among the commandments of the Lord his God which may not be done - unintentionally - and is guilty; or if his sin is known to him, he shall bring his offering..." Leviticus 4:22-3
"Fortunate (ashrei) is the generation whose ruler directs his heart to bring an atonement for his unintentional error; how much more so when he repents of his deliberate sins." Rashi, based on the midrash from Sifra
Unlike with regard to priests, commoners, and the people as a whole, the Torah says "when" rather than "if". The commentator Sforno says this implies that sins by those in power are inevitable. This cynical view seems obvious enough to us ("power corrupts"), but it was equally obvious 3000 years ago. The prophet Samuel had warned the people not to have a king over them, because he would make their lives burdensome. They insisted that they wanted to be like "all the other peoples". And that is what they got.
Rashi, using word play, takes this cynicism, and points out that people are fortunate to have a ruler who sins and repents - not only if he atones for his inadvertent sins, but especially when he atones for his intentional sins. This seems to go against human nature.
If we act inadvertently, we tend to make excuses in order to avoid the punishment. "It was an accident." "I didn't mean to do it." But when we act with intent, we have no choice but to repent. We're busted, and there is no escaping it. Not so with those in power. Repenting for an unintentional act is easier for a ruler precisely because he has an excuse, and it makes him look good in the eyes of the people when he atones for something for which all agree he was not fully responsible. But for a ruler to atone for an intentional act, he has to admit that he acted arrogantly, that he was abusing his power.
Does this mean we hold our rulers to a higher standard? Well, yes, and it is precisely because we have given them power over us. This, says Sforno, is why it says "his God" - to remind the ruler that he is not really in charge, but that the Ruler of Rulers is above him. We know that the ruling authorities watch us. When they atone for their intentional acts, then we know that they too answer to a higher authority.
Shabbat Shalom uv’rakhah - Wishing you a Shabbat of peace and blessings.
Rabbi
Richard A. Flom
Congregation
Beth Meier
Studio
City, CA
Blogging
at: http://rav-rich.blogspot.com
Visit
me on Facebook
Twitter: @DrahcirMolf
"שתיקה כהודאה דמיא"
"Silence
in the face of wrongdoing is consent.”
BT
Yevamot 87b
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Candle lighting: 6:55 pm
Thursday – Deadline to sign up for Beth Meier’s Community
Second Seder on 11 April – contact office for details and
reservations.
Friday – Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm. Oneg Shabbat
follows.
Saturday – Shabbat Morning Service – 10:00 am. Kiddush luncheon
follows.
Sunday – Religious School – 9:30 am. Adult Hebrew Class – 10:00
am
Tuesday, 4 April – Lunch and
Learn – 12:00 noon.
Friday, 7 April – Shabbat Evening Service – 8:00 pm.
Oneg Shabbat follows.
Saturday, 8 April – Sh’MA (Shabbat
Morning Adventure) Service – 10:00 am. Guitar-accompanied sing-along service
with Cantor Steve Pearlman. Kiddush luncheon follows.
Sunday, 9 April – Religious School – 9:30 am. Adult
Learning Program – “A Walk Through the Hagaddah” – 10:00 am
Monday, 10 April – Fast of the First-born –
Torah Study and Siyyum – 8:00 am. First Seder at sundown.
Tuesday, 11 April – Passover Morning Service
– 9:30 am at Temple B’nai Hayim. Community Second Seder at Beth Meier –
7:00 pm.
Wednesday, 12 April - Passover Morning Service
– 10:00 am at Beth Meier.
This d'var torah is offered for a refuah shleimah for Avi Shmuel
Yosef Hakohen ben Bella, Yaakov Rani Ben Margalit, Sarah bat Devorah, Susan
Arbetman, Kyree Beacham, Ken Bitticks, Elsbet Brosky (Serach bat
Miriam), Jerry Daniels, Maya Fersht (Maya bat Esther), Dr. Samuel Fersht
(Shmuel Natan ben Gittel), Leonard Foint (Eliezer Moshe ben Esther), Jerry
Forman, Myra Goodman, Simon Hartman, Fouad Kay (Yehoshua ben Salima), Philip
Kovac, Evan Kronzek, Philip Kronzek (Pinchas Yosef ben Sarah), Tonya Kronzek
(Zlata Malkah bat Sarah Emanu), Toni Linder, Roy Miller, Deborah Schugar
Strauss (Devorah bat Chaya Feiga), Helen Schugar (Chaya Feiga bat Kreina), and
Jerry Smith.
Please let me know if there is anyone you would like to add to this list or if there is anyone who may be removed from this list.
My weekly divrei torah are available through free subscription to the Cyber Torah e-mail list. No salesman will call!
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