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Marty Teal D'Var Torah Men's Club Shabbat Service - April, 2008
Phyllis Savin D'Var Torah - March, 2008
Keith Liker D'Var Torah - February, 2008
Matthew Shugart Conversion Speech - May 23, 2007
Freda Heller D'Var Torah - June 9, 2007
Natalie Diamond D'Var Torah - February 2007
Keith Liker D'Var Torah - January 2007
Karina Liker's Bat Mitzvah Speech on Mezuzot
Mary Lou Criqui's Conversion Speech
Mary Klein Conversion Speech - April 1, 2006


Men's Club Shabbat Service
D'var Torah by Marty Teal - April 18, 2008
Parsha Acharei Mot

Before I begin the D'var Torah, a few words of appreciation are in order. I would like to thank Chuck Greenfield, our Men's Club Religious practices chair for organizing tonight's service. Thanks are also due to Richard Stegman for developing the siddur for the Men's Club service. My gratitude especially extends to all of our participants tonight, for being role models for men's participation in synagogue religious life. Now a few words about our parasha…..

Our portion this week is Acharei Mot. This means "after the death" as the portion starts out by reminding us of the death of Aaron's sons, Nadav and Abihu, who offered a sacrifice of "alien fire" and were killed as was described in parasha Sh'mini three weeks ago. However, after the two lines containing that reminder, the rest of the first part of the portion is devoted to describing the duties that the head Kohein must perform on Yom Kippur (including the ceremony of the scapegoat). This is followed by Moses instructing Aaron about the Yom Kippur laws for fasting and atonement. The following chapter of Leviticus, also part of this portion, deals with warnings issued against the offering of sacrifices outside of the Sanctuary and the consumption of blood. The last chapter of the portion consists mainly of listing forms of sexual practices that are prohibited. As Rabbi Bradley Artson writes, " the overarching principle of this section (and the following sections) is G-d's injunction "My rules alone shall you observe, and faithfully follow My laws: I am the Lord your G-d. You shall keep My laws and rules, by the pursuit of which a person shall live: I am the Lord."

That is the "Reader's Digest" version of this week's portion. However, I would like to focus on the following lines, some of which I coincidentally just chanted from the Torah: "You shall not copy the practices of the land of Egypt where you dwelt, or of the land of Canaan to which I am taking you; nor shall you lalechet bahem (follow their laws). My rules alone shall you observe, and faithfully follow My laws: I the Lord am your G-d. You shall keep my laws and my rules, by the pursuit of which man v'chai bahem (shall live): I am the Lord."

To me this reflects not only the prohibition of performing pagan rituals present in Egypt and Canaan, but speaks directly to the larger matter of assimilation. This is an issue that has confronted the Jewish people from the time of the Exodus to the very present. As Rabbi Plaut writes in our Torah commentary in the footnotes to these lines, "Jews have always had to struggle with the question: to what extent should they adopt the ideas and practices of the outside world? Such influences are in some measure inescapable." He then mentions a few examples such as Yahrtzeit being borrowed from Catholics after the crusades and the present-day Chasidic garb being borrowed from the way that Polish Gentiles dressed two centuries ago.

In any case, because these lines appear just before the list of prohibited sexual practices, some would argue that the meaning was to prohibit immoral practices followed by the Egyptians and Canaanites. However, I believe that the warning can be read in a much broader sense and touches directly on the struggles for and against assimilation that have always faced us.

As Rabbi Shubert Spero writes "after spending centuries in Egypt as slaves, they were probably happy to be told that they must abandon and forget all the doings of the land of Egypt. Good riddance! But the land of Canaan was the 'Promised Land', where they came as nomads into an agricultural economy, where they will need the practical 'know-how' of the natives. Under these circumstances, how will they be able to prevent fraternization and assimilation? Ever since, Jews who have lived in the Diaspora are familiar with this problem."

He continues with the statement that "observance of Torah must have two dimensions if it is to ward off assimilation.

1. Lalechet bahem - "To walk therein" - Your Torah must be broad enough to accompany you in all walks of life: home, family, business, community.
And
2. V'chai bahem - "To live by them" - Your Torah must be intensive and deep. You must see in Torah, life itself. Your love of Hashem and your understanding of the 'whys and wherefores' of Judaism must touch the very reasons for your existence.

While I do not disagree with his points on Torah, I do disagree with his conclusion that Torah is to be used as a shield to ward off assimilation. I tend to agree more with sentiments such as those expressed by Birgit Sacher, member of the board of National Association of Temple Educators who says, "Acharei Mot is a warning against assimilation, provoking us to think about those values and observances that strengthen our Jewish identity. When we live in a society with values we generally accept, how do we maintain our separateness and live with a "dual citizenship," i.e., American and Jewish? When our values are in conflict with those of the majority, we can find strength in challenging the status quo. Rather than be compliant with convention, we can be committed to values. Living in the freest Diaspora Jewish community in memory, we have the responsibility to question American values in light of Jewish values, celebrate when they coincide and make informed choices when they collide. When we read Parashat Acharei Mot, we are reminded of Jewish counter-culturalism, not distinctiveness for its own sake, but distinctiveness for the sake of heaven and earth."

As Plaut noted, Judaism in general, and Reform Judaism in particular, have often borrowed from our neighbors. Also, assimilation generally has been more of an issue in free societies where Jews have been granted the right to participate in civic life such as occurred under the Greeks and now in America.

In his article titled Threat And Promise Of Conformity, Rabbi Brad Artson thinks that Zelig, from the Woody Allen movie of the same name, portrays the Jews throughout history. Like him, he writes, we too have managed to adopt the look and the rhythm of the cultures in which we dwell. Always under suspicion of being outsiders, we seek to prove our right to belong through our zeal and our ingenuity. Assimilation, the drive to become like the people we live among, is a time-honored Jewish passion.

But, does G-d truly speak out against all forms of assimilation? Or is the passage simply a warning about blindly adopting the standards of other people? Rabbi Artson writes that those non-Jewish practices and insights which strengthen Jewish survival, which sensitize us as a people, which teach us how to be more loving, more caring and more sensitive, which prompt us to understand more about Judaism and to practice it more fully, pose no threat to our Jewishness.

I wholeheartedly agree with these sentiments. Just as I believe that no one person or religion can claim to have exclusive possession of "The Truth," I also believe that Judaism is not the ONLY source of spiritual wisdom on how to be a better person. If we are to be a nation of priests, how could adoption of ideas that could enhance our holiness be bad? Yes, there is some danger, but selective adaptation of those ideas which enhance our Jewishness, while discarding anything that is not Kosher, will only add to, not diminish, our collective holiness. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, Adaptability is not imitation. It means power of resistance and assimilation.

Shabbat Shalom