Sacrifice

The Place for Sacrifice in Today's World

Presented at TBT on 3/23/12 

Introduction to the service:

I talked with the Rabbi a few weeks ago and it turns out that some parts of our usual service are optional while other parts are required. In the required parts many of the readings to use may be changed.

This week’s Torah portion discusses sacrifice. In keeping with this theme, I am going to experiment and omit the majority of the optional parts as well as selecting alternative readings. This will, in some cases, move the service away from what we have come to expect. It will also shorten the service somewhat and reduce my time in front of you. I leave it for you to decide if you feel that this is a sacrifice … (or a blessing!)

To start, please turn to page …

3/23/12 Talk:

This week’s portion is called Vayikra (Va-Yik´rah), which means “and He called”. It consists of the first five chapters of the book of Leviticus. The portion details the form and nature of required sacrifices at the temple. Five types of sacrifice are described:

1. A burnt offering (olah – that which goes up - the same root as “ahlyah[1]”).

2. A meal offering (flour with a touch of salt); this was later eaten by the priests and their families.

3. The sacrifice of well-being (an unblemished food animal is offered). Some is burned; most is eaten by the priests and their families.

4. A sin offering (To atone for the perhaps unintentional violation of the Ten Commandments plus a few others, such as: Failure to come forward to testify and failure to fulfill an oath.) This offering varied as a function of the wealth and standing of the person making the offering. It could be a bull, or it could be a couple pigeons.

5. A guilt offering to atone for robbery or fraud. This was an offering of money or goods to the wronged party to replace the value of what was taken plus 20 percent to compensate the wronged party for the trouble involved. The associated sin would be absolved by a sacrifice similar to the sin offering already mentioned.

Reading the portion in preparation for this evening got me thinking about the meaning of - and the benefits of - sacrifice in today’s world:

We sacrifice for ourselves – As responsible adults, we tend to sacrifice immediate pleasure for long term gain.

We sacrifice for our family – On Phoebe’s car we display a Marine bumper sticker which states, “We are free because of the brave.”

My son, David, gives up time with his family and puts himself in harm’s way to protect not only his, but all of our families. Luckily, in today’s world, most of us do not have to do that. For most of us sacrifice just means getting up and going to work even when we do not want to in order to provide for our loved ones. Or, perhaps, eating at home to save money for a vacation or a special night out. Or, in these hard financial times, to cover the rent.

We sacrifice for our community - I will explore this concept in a few minutes.

When I discussed this Torah portion with my wife, Phoebe, she pointed out that we tend to think of a sacrifice as being somewhat painful. However, according to Judaism 101 (I went to the web site), the purpose of sacrifice is to draw closer to G-d. After the destruction of the second temple by the Romans in the year 70, repentance, prayer and good deeds took the place of animal sacrifice.

Drawing closer to G-d starts with our awareness that we have strayed in our thoughts, words, or deeds, away from that which is best in us. When I notice this sorry state of affairs on my own or by the loud and sometimes frantic signaling from a loved one (Hi, Honey!), my first reaction may be anger or self-blame in response to the discomfort of recognizing my less-than-perfect nature. The good news is that this discomfort can lead to Repentance – an honest desire to change for the better. To strive to become a better person; what could that hurt?

Although a number of us seem to spend a lot of time in Jewish suffering, this is not actually required; we only require enough discomfort to wake up. From then on we can proceed with repentance. In my experience, giving up bad habits is, in retrospect, not much of a sacrifice at all.

The sacrifice identified in Leviticus is an offering to G-d. We can leave the animal killing in the past and carry the concept of an offering directly into today’s world. This practice can be quite useful in making life more rich and fulfilling. If we periodically spend a moment to take note of our abundance and acknowledge the part that divine providence has played in our receiving that abundance, this process may move us toward an attitude of thankfulness.

In this practice of giving thanks, we may replace pride with humility and bring ourselves more in touch with our common shared humanity, regardless of our current situation. If our thanks are expressed in the form of a prayer, we have the opportunity to interact directly with our creator. In this action we have the weight of history behind us. This conversation with G-d is what Jews have done since we defined ourselves as the nation of Israel and proceeded to wrestle with G-d on a daily basis. All week we struggle to find or create meaning in the world and may be content with mundane answers. On Shabbat we may try to rest from this struggle and look instead for sacred answers. Tonight we are gathered here as a community to pray.

What sacrifice is worthy of honoring our connection with G-d? The detailed animal sacrifice described in the Torah Portion has been out of date for the last 2000 years. So what is appropriate?

I wondered out loud to Joel, our Cantorial Soloist this evening, “If I pester my long-suffering wife, Phoebe, until smoke comes out of her ears, would that count as a burnt offering?” He said, “No, because presumably there would still be something left between her ears other than just ashes.” This got me thinking. “If evidence of sacrifice is that there is nothing left, how might I sacrifice myself for improvement, for others, for the glory of G-d? Is the evidence of a complete and successful sacrifice, that there is no ego left? That would be a revolting development!

Then I thought deeper. Tonight is the Sabbath, not a good day to start a fire, but perhaps a good time to acknowledge my burning desires, step away from them, view them and myself with compassion, and thereby find Sabbath peace. The week is for doing, today is for being.

A mitzvah, such as giving to charity, or actually performing any random act of kindness, is an action that may start out as a response to a commandment and a hope to help others, but in the doing it turns into a blessing for ourselves. Try it. At the next opportunity help a stranger and then walk away. Notice the state of your mental and physical health for the rest of the day. I am just saying…

A few weeks ago, Phoebe and I supplied the onig[2]. I had strained a muscle when running earlier that day and I was limping as I struggled to bring in the many containers of food we had prepared. Someone asked if I needed help and I responded with an emphatic, “Yes!” Three or four of our congregants (You know who you are and thank you.) followed me back outside to the car, where there were only two baskets left to carry in. One person said, “You only need one of us here. How many Jews does it take to change a light bulb?”

Well, it is true that at that moment we were overstaffed from the point of view of efficiency, but a moment before, in the midst of my struggle, how was I to judge who should be allowed to help me in my need. All who showed up contributed to the fun of the moment and the actual food carriers were just part of the group. We all were part of the mitzvah process. Any of us who chose to open to it received the blessing of fellowship.

I could have refused help and pushed on with bravado. In my youth I probably would have. But I am no longer so proud that I will refuse help when offered.

I hope that my willingness to accept help is balanced by my desire to provide help where needed. I try to help others when I am asked or when I am outside of my own ego space enough to notice a need without being asked. Giving and receiving is just part of being what my grandma called a “mench”. The kind of person we all attempt to become over time through studying Torah.

There are things we do as a community that we cannot do as individuals. Paraphrasing from this week’s blog by Jerry Isaak-Shapiro, who heads a private Jewish school in Cleveland[3], “In each potential instance of service think of yourself as the tenth person in a shiva minyan[4]; the one who makes prayers of comfort possible.” Your presence is not just necessary, it is vital. I want to take this moment to thank each of you who, in the past, has sacrificed for this community without thanks or acknowledgement.

I notice that in the ebb and flow of giving and receiving within a community, behaviors that started out as a sacrifice become natural and no sacrifice at all. To the extent that I can freely give and receive, there are no bad feelings to accumulate. There are no resentments that I have to carry forward. I become free and light. There is no residue from this burnt offering of self.

The offering of self to others; the giving freely of our time, our resources, our priorities, our skills, and our talents to help our fellows and to heal the world; leaves no ashes, no self-recrimination, only peace. It seems that being of service to our fellow humans in each moment, is an acceptable offering to G-d.

Tonight, as we transition from the mundane week to the sacred Sabbath, may we pray that our weekly practice of laying aside our daily struggles and viewing the world through fresh eyes, bears fruit in our learning to lay aside our self interest and see G-d’s creation all around us in each moment. … And let us say, “Amen”.

Introduction to Final Blessing:

One of my favorite moments in the service is when the Rabbi spreads out his hands in benediction and blesses us as a community while those of us with loved ones present gather them close. I wanted to include a special moment like that in this service.

I thought of asking Joseph and Monique to the bemah[5] in honor of their wedding anniversary and ask them to sneeze, so I could say, “Gasuntite” – G-d Bless you. But it turns out that there is a better way to share this kind of moment.

Last week I checked with the Rabbi and it seems that in modern Judaism we each have the power to bless others and the community. So, by the power vested in me by our traditions and beliefs, by my position at the bemah, by your opinion of my learning and ability that honored me by offering me this opportunity, and by my high opinion of myself that caused me to accept; it is now my privilege to give you my heart-felt blessing.

Please take a moment to rearrange if you need to and reach out to embrace your loved ones. (Hands raised in benediction):

3/23/12 Final Blessing:

Dear G-d, in the moments of this holy Sabbath and the moments of the days and weeks that follow, let each of us grow in our awareness and appreciation of our increasing vibrant good health, our increasing and already great wealth, and our expanding humble wisdom.

Let each of us come to gratefully accept and cherish our lives of abundance; our lives full of learning, creativity, and joy; our lives spiced by adversity, challenge, and redemption.

May our hearts open inward and behold Your Presence within our inner light, then turn outward to open and behold the light within our family, our friends, our neighbors, the stranger on the street, and even the stranger in foreign lands.

May our light and their light merge to illuminate the glory of creation all around us.

As our new-found perception modifies our words and deeds, may this blessing carry from person to person as a happy ripple outward through our network of cherished acquaintances as we all strive together to heal the world.

And let us all say, Amen, let it be so.

Footnotes:

[1] This is the word for a person who goes up to the front of the congregation to assist in the reading from the Torah. It may also refer to a person who goes to visit Israel.

[2] After-prayer snacks of bread, wine, and goodies.

[3] The Agnon School; two of my granddaughters attend so I am on the weekly email list. Jerry said that his wife came up with this concept.

[4] The evening prayer service held at a bereaved household during the first week of morning with at least 10 Jews present, where the mourner(s) say Kaddish, the memorial prayer.

[5] The podium at the front of the congregation from which the Torah is read and the service is conducted.