Sabbatical of the Torah and Corona Behar -Bechukotai

In this 2008 photo a resident of Holon, Israel,
announcing that the fruits on the trees in his
backyard are hefker (abandoned property) on the
occasion of shnat shmita, the Sabbatical year. 

At this terrible time for those who lost their lives or livelihoods it would seem wrong to talk about anything else. However, alongside care for those who are suffering, there are other valid concerns such as the emotional wellbeing and spiritual development of all people.

People like me still have jobs and our health. Yet, there is something that feels a bit off for me. It is hard to put my finger on it. I feel disoriented after not having gone to the office for two months and a little detached from the world of work, despite working long hours.

I wonder if this “disruption” might lead to a social reset so that when it is over we might be better for having been through this. My colleague, Shaykh Wesam Charkawi thinks it is possible. He wrote that “in this current time, people are faced with a situation that [forces them]... to disengage from the general worldly interactions into the sphere of “tajrid”, …similar to what the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did when he went into the cave to contemplate and reflect” (1).

The Torah’s process of a Sabbatical year once every seven years has some interesting parallels to our current experience. The Sabbatical year requires withdrawal from harvesting, planting and any way of showing ownership of one’s land (2). Instead of the normal farming process, the people were meant to live off their savings and surplus from other years and to share whatever grew by itself between landowners, all people and animals.

While some would explain the Sabbatical as a form of land management (3) this seems implausible in light of the emphasis on this practice as a Sabbath for God (4). Instead, it is explained as a year of withdrawal of one's focus from material matters, to be redirected to spiritual ones (5). It is a time for finding joy in both body and soul, in reading the Torah and away from the hassles of business (6). 

The Sabbatical year is a time for developing the capacity to let go and be more relaxed about ownership of our possessions, to relinquish control, and have faith that things will be OK (7). While private ownership is legitimate according to the Torah, it exists side by side with an obligation to ensure that the poor also have what they need. The Sabbatical year that loosens the grip of owners on their land for a year is meant to be a time for reinforcing caring for the poor. This link is clear when this practice is introduced in the Torah. It states: “Six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but in the seventh [year] you shall let it rest and lie fallow. Let the needy among your people eat of it, and what they leave let the wild beasts eat” (8).

Desmond Tutu said, “I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.” There is something of this spirit in one tradition of the Sabbatical that forbids owners displaying ownership of their crops by gathering the produce into their homes and then distributing some of these to the poor. Instead the owner is told that by right they should be required to smash breaches in their farm fences, so that the poor can help them to produce as equals to the owners (9).

At its heart, the Sabbatical year is a radical ritual of disruption of the normal order of things. In addition to not working the land, all debts were meant to be forgiven. It has been described as “a harsh, severe and far-reaching reminder, the test of which, in reality, the people of Israel “never [fully] withstood”… instead finding and creating loopholes to get around at least some of the requirements (10).  One of my favourite stories in the Talmud involves priests working the land during the Sabbatical year, two scholars making excuses for them while their fiery colleague points out their failure to adhere to the rules of this ambitious social experiment (11).

There is a real risk that when this time is over we will all go back to normal in the sense of having learned nothing from it. I hope this is not the case. Over the long term, it is vital that we all learn to balance a sense of ownership of that which we are fortunate to have, with solidarity for our neighbours and fellow human beings so that all have what they need.  

Notes

1) Charkawi, Shaykh Wesam, 5/5/20 on Facebook.

2) Leviticus 25:2-7, see rashi.

3) Maimonides in the Guide for the Perplexed 3:39, also cited in Klei Yakar to Leviticus 25:2

4) Kli Yakar ibid.

5) Seforno  to Leviticus 25:2

6) Torat HaChido, p. 118.

7)  Sefer Hachinuch, p 193, Mitzvah 84, and as adapted by Alex Israel in a Facebook post 11.05.20.

8) Exodus 23:10-11 See Lichtenstein, A. https://www.etzion.org.il/en/shiur-22-conceptual-foundations-shemita

9) Mechilta, In Torah Shlaima, p.187, 140.

10) Lichtenstein, A. ibid, here refers to Pruzbul and Heter Mechira.

11) Sanhedrin 26a.

Arrogance and the Metzora Leper In Quarantine

This is the essence of my first zoom lesson on the weekly Torah reading which I will deliver on Sunday evening at 7 pm via this link Zoom link: ChabadHouse.org.au/Zoom

A Muslim friend wrote to me in advance of the lesson: “...Please kindly explain the theological reason why Allah SWT did or did not prevent the virus mutating out of a wild animal in Wuhan into a human and able to spread worldwide, affecting already 500,000 and collapsing the world economy? ... The facts in front of us are COVID has affected all levels of Muslim counties, Iran, Indonesia, etc. Christian centres like Spain and Rome, and the superpowers - USA and China”.

It must be said that anyone who thinks they can read the mind of God is both arrogant and mistaken. Jewish scholars have rejected this kind of speculation. (1) Instead of definitive answers I will simply explore some sacred texts and see what light is shed. 

While it is wrong to assume one knows why others suffer, it is appropriate when we suffer to examine our deeds to see if there might be some sin we are being punished for, or perhaps a lesson here for improvement (2). However, an alternative explanation, if we could call it that, is that sometimes God causes us to suffer out of love rather than punishment. (3) 

In this quest for some meaning in the current human tragedy of coronavirus and the hardship challenge of isolation and in light of the Torah reading about the Metzora-Leper it is appropriate to explore this ancient process. The Torah requires a person who shows some symptoms involving his skin being discoloured (among others) to be tested/inspected (4) and quarantined for seven days at home (5). If the symptoms increase in severity a more intensive response was required in which “his clothes shall be torn, his head shall be left bare, and he shall cover over his upper lip; and he shall call out, “Unclean! Unclean!”…Being unclean, he shall dwell apart; his dwelling shall be outside the camp”. (6)

The most common way of explaining this is that the Torah is discussing a miraculous condition rather than a medical one. (7) However, a minority view in our tradition explains this as a contagious disease, in which those doing the inspecting were exposed to real danger. (8) We also know of one sage, Reish Lakish,  who was so insistent on social distancing that he threw stones at a Metzora-Leper who stepped out of his isolation. (9)

There is also a very strong tradition that this condition is a consequence of gossip or slander. (10) The basis of this is the story about Miriam, the sister of Moses, who is struck with this condition immediately after speaking critically about her brother Moses. (11) 

I would like to focus on a second case study about a very proud Aramean general named Naaman. We are told that he “was important to his lord and treated as one highly regarded… a great warrior, who was a leper”.   When he sought treatment from the prophet Elisha he came with his entourage, “his horses and chariots”. He stalked off in a rage when the prophet did not come out and pay homage to him, but instead sent a message to him to bathe in the Jordan river. (12) 

A more subtle and spiritual interpretation is that the condition of becoming a Metzora is the result of a deficiency of the process of wisdom - Chochma, [which in mystical terms means the capacity to receive new ideas in a general undefined and very open way] which fails to balance the faculty of analytical understanding. This imbalance is a subtle form of arrogance. When we intellectually analyse ideas we can be quite egotistical and self-conscious. In contrast to this process is the process of wisdom which is linked to humility. (13) 

The ritual at the end of isolation included a part of a cedar tree and a hyssop and letting a bird free (14). The cedar and hyssop represented the journey from arrogance, symbolised by the tall cedar to humility represented by the hyssop. The releasing of the bird, symbolised the reintegration of the leper into the community and the hope that this condition will not return (15). 

I will reiterate my point that we dare not assume that Covid19 is a punishment but we can use it as a stimulus for reflection. As we are forcibly isolated and disoriented during this time, let those of us who are privileged to have homes and our basic needs met at this time, dedicate some thought to cultivating humility and openness to wisdom and guidance to imagine a better way of being and living - not only when this is over, but also right now. To my Muslim questioner, with whom this post began and for all Muslims Ramadan Mubarak, may this special time assist in your own spiritual growth.  

Notes and Sources

1) Pirkey Avot/Ethics of the Fathers 4:15 Rabbi Yannai said: it is not in our hands [to explain the reason] either of the security of the wicked, or even of the afflictions of the righteous./ talk by the Lubavitcher Rebbe 1991  Sicha, Tenth of Teves 5751

2) Lamentations 3:40

3) Talmud, Brachos 5a, and in the second explanation drawing on Proverbs 3:12  

4) Leviticus 13:2-4

5) Rashi

6) Leviticus 13:45-6

7) Maimonides Yad Hachazakah Laws Tumaat Tzaraat 16:10

8) Bechor Shor on Leviticus 13:46 and Meshech Chochma on Leviticus 13:2

9) Yalkut Shimoni Metzora, 557

10) The Talmud Arachin  16a & b. Midrash Tanchuma Metzora 3

11) Numbers 12:1-10

12) Kings 2 5:1-4, 9-12 Australians would recognise a  self- important man struggling to accept being cut down to size. 

13) Likutei Torah by Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi Beginning of Metzora  

סיבת הנגעים הוא מחמת הסתלקות החכמה …ע"י התבוננות (בינה) נולד האהבה והשמחה ורשפי אש והוא בחינת הרצוא …[אבל ע"י החכמה] נמשך הביטול [למעלה מ] בחינת יש מי שאוהב

14) Leviticus 14:2-7

15) Midrash Tanchuma- Metzora 3

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Increasing Closeness During Social Distance - Vayirka

Photos taken by me, of the same mushrooms on my
forest morning walks near St Ives, one day apart. 

In a weird way, I am feeling more emotionally connected now than I have felt for a long time. I feel like I’m a bit Aboriginal with their kinship system, or that I am moving from an “I and It” orientation to a “We” centred way of being (1).  

A week ago, there was a moment when I stood looking at empty shelves in the St Ives Coles supermarket. Potatoes, other vegetables, eggs, pasta - all gone! It seriously disturbed me. I am embarrassed to write this. People have died and will continue to die from this disease, while many others have lost their jobs, and spouses and children in abusive homes are suffering extreme distress.  It seems wrong to think about anything else. However, the reality is that we humans are spiritual beings living in animal bodies, and we’re desperately dependent on our next feed. There are things that we describe with pronouns like “it”, that are very important to us.

My children recently arrived back from Crown Heights in New York where the rate of contagion is high. Usually that is an occasion for hugs, but not this time. Fortunately, we have some space in the house to cordon off areas for them to be isolated in, but I am worried about the spread of this plague, so I am self isolating and working from home. While I like my 'things', like my office, it is more important to do my bit for the broader effort and stay home. I must sacrifice an “it” for the sake of the “we” that is the other humans in this city. The Torah’s word for sacrifice is essentially the same word as closeness (2) and the intention of the animal sacrifices in the temple was to create closeness with God (3).

People like me, who are privileged to be able to continue our jobs and earn a living from home, should spare a thought for those who cannot. I think of service workers in the US, such as those described by Jesse Jackson many years ago: “...women, who [put their own lives at risk to] clean out the bedpans of the sick, wipe the sweat of fever on their foreheads, change their clothes - and when they got sick, couldn't lie on the [same] bed they'd made up every day”! (4)

The term social distance is inaccurate (4). What we need is physical distance between bodies, rather than social distance between our spirits. Yet, we are seeing some evidence of the latter. Angela Kim, an Australian nurse with Asian ancestry recently wrote on Facebook: “I just saw a post with a picture of Asians on a bus saying they are hoarding from regional places. If this is true, I'm sorry. I myself am an Asian and I am deeply saddened to see people panic buying and being selfish during the crisis. But myself, my family, my friends and my colleagues being Asian, are not like them... So many times I get called out with racist comments on the street with anger. ...Generalisation occurs easily when there's fear and anger. ...please have an open mind, not all Asians are the same”.

Angela’s anguished post touched me. Other posts address generalisations about religious Jews' compliance with distancing. These are just some examples of the pain people are experiencing. A silver lining for me at this difficult time has been to tune in more strongly to other people. I am using social media and my phone more intentionally as a means of care, compassion and companionship. On Sunday, my family and I got dressed up for a cousins’ wedding in New York and recorded ourselves dancing in Sydney, as a way of being there for a family member. I am noticing wonderful anecdotes of kindness on social media. I hope that the terrible sacrifices and the suffering caused by this virus might lead to a brighter future for some people, in some way. But I am focused on the here and now - to increasingly support each other, as well as care for ourselves.

Notes

1)     From a conversation with Michelle Brenner, influenced by the work of Dr. Alan Watkins and others. 

2)     Korban, קרבן is the word for sacrifice, while Karov קרוב is the word for close. The root of both is ק.ר.ב.

3)     Likutei Torah based on Leviticus 1:2. It elaborates there on the spiritual meanings of various sacrifices, eg. to sacrifice an ox is to commit to reduce aggression, while a sheep represents selfish indulgence as manifest in sheep spending their days eating grass.

4)     https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/19/us/the-basic-speech-jesse-jackson-from-a-tradition-of-marching-for-jobs-and-rights.html  

5)     Ghassan Hage in a facebook post on 16.03.2020 “we spend so much time teaching students the difference between social and physical distances and here is the world normalising the usage of social distancing to mean physical distancing. what’s required is physical distancing, right?”