Seesawing

A Balancing Act

Our internet algorithms tell us a lot about what’s going on in our psyches. Recently, I noticed that I kept getting videos about the harsh side of nature. Animals chasing after other animals, fighting for their lives, or predators of the deep ocean graced my scene, and it left me wondering-what was it that was drawing me toward that?

One theory I have is that in general, I am conflict averse in my interactions so watching this unalloyed confrontational aspect of nature was like peering into an alternate reality where it was acceptable. But then I thought about it more deeply and realized that maybe I didn’t need to gaze into my phone to see cruelty surrounding us. As best selling author Adam Serwer of the Atlantic turned the phrase into a best selling book, cruelty is the point. He was talking about the Trump administration which in many ways continue to promulgate this but truthfully, the whole world feels imbalanced with cruelty.

I think it goes beyond the notion that perhaps this is an elemental part of the human experience. We’ve come to expect that cruelty is, unfortunately, part and parcel of what it means to live the fullness of life. What I think we’re seeing now is an enhanced and more intentional form of it. People are being cruel for the sake of being cruel and the impact is intensely deleterious.

While it is speaking to a specific class of people, this week’s portion has something important to say on this topic. The opening part of this portion, Emor, details a number of rules for the Priests, in essence the ritual leaders of the Israelite nation. The first verse states the following:

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֱמֹ֥ר אֶל־הַכֹּהֲנִ֖ים בְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹ֑ן וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ לֹֽא־יִטַּמָּ֖א בְּעַמָּֽיו׃

God said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: None shall defile himself for any [dead] person among his kin,

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev (Kedushat Levi) notices something peculiar about this verse. Namely, why is the verbiage of 'speak/say' used repetitively and what is the connection to the first law about remaining impure from death? His answer is powerful. The priests as leaders have an enhanced obligation to model proper behavior, not just in ritual domains but in overall ways of life. His teaching is based on the notion that the world of creation (one of four realms of life) modeled after the creation of the world, is understood as being made manifest through speech. In other words, we create as God created the world, using our language.

When man abuses the power of speech, uttering ‎vain things or lies, he is perceived of ‘killing’ life in that domain. ‎When man employs the power of speech constructively, he is ‎considered as giving life to that domain. This condition is called ‎חיים‎, ‘life,’ and has been alluded to in Proverbs 18,21 ‎where he wrote: ‎חיים ומות ביד לשון‎, “life and death are within the ‎power of one’s tongue.

Riffing on the verse from Proverbs that our tongues are the bestowers of life and death, the Kedushat Levi implies that we have an important choice when we speak. While we know it’s not quite as correlated as he puts it, how we wield our words can make the difference between life and death. I don’t think it’s farfetched to link how harmful online bullying with skyrocketing rates of youth suicide.

The Kedushat Levi continues:

At any rate, the thing we have to concern ourselves with first ‎and foremost is the use we make of the power of speech God has ‎granted to us, the ability to communicate with our peers, and to ‎convey our most intimate thoughts. The influence of this gift ‎cannot be overestimated, and that is why the Torah when ‎speaking to the priests, begins with ‎אמור אל הכהנים ואמרת להם ‏לנפש לא יטמא‎, ‘speak to the priests and say to them that the ‎priest must not defile himself on pain of death;’ the meaning is ‎that the priest, through misuse of the power of speech, must not ‎commit a capital offense.‎

The reason, he argues, this verse repeats the word for speak is to cue us into something important. Our leaders have a responsibility not just to lead us in deed but in the speech that transforms into deeds, not just by their actions but by those who follow their words. The linking of not defiling themselves with the impurity of death adds to the severity here. There are real life or death consequences from the way our leaders talk.

The Torah knew this then and it remains clear now. In its ancient wisdom the Torah’s reminder should be a clarion call. It hammers home the point a bit later on in Leviticus 21:17

דַּבֵּ֥ר אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֖ן לֵאמֹ֑ר אִ֣ישׁ מִֽזַּרְעֲךָ֞ לְדֹרֹתָ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִהְיֶ֥ה בוֹ֙ מ֔וּם לֹ֣א יִקְרַ֔ב לְהַקְרִ֖יב לֶ֥חֶם אֱלֹהָֽיו׃

Speak to Aaron and say: No man of your offspring throughout the ages who has a defect shall be qualified to offer the food of his God.

At first glance, this is a harsh decree. A physical defect disqualifies a priest? Of course we have to remember that in an ancient society, physical defects were seen quite negatively and for a class that was meant to stand in for divinity on earth, such a blemish would be disqualifying. But as you, dear reader, already know the chasidic masters want to take that in another direction. Perhaps because they recognized its exclusionary nature or perhaps because they saw a more universal application. This one comes from the Bat Ayin, Rabbi Avraham Dov of Avritch¹:

מום גימטריא אלקים. פירוש כל כהן שיש בו מו"ם בחינת אלהים בחינת דין בחינת קטנות בחינת הסתר פנים כנ"ל, לא יקרב, פירוש זה הכהן לא יוכל להקריב לה', כי אינו בשלמות העבודה עד שידבק את עצמו במדת החסד כנ"ל.

Defect in Hebrew has an equal numerological value of Elohim (the divine name associated with judgement and limits). So the meaning here is that any priest who has a ‘defect’ which is the characteristic of harsh judgement, smallness, or concealment should not come close to God. This type of leader cannot offer sacrifices to God for they are not in balance or at wholeness in their service. For that, they need to cleave toward more compassion.

Without going too far down the mystical rabbit hole, the name Elohim for God is almost exclusively associated with the book of Genesis and the account of creation specifically. The mystical belief is that God attempted to create the world with din-divine judgement, but it was imbalanced with harshness. It couldn’t last so God had to balance it out with compassion. This is why we see different names of God throughout the rest of the Torah. Each name of God has different attributes associated with it.

Here, the Bat Ayin is arguing that the true defect in a leader is one who is so driven by cruelty and judgement that their actions have become inhumane. They’re so imbalanced that it disqualifies them to serve as leaders and prevents them from getting close to God. To find the balance, they need to strive for more compassion. His pivot from the physical blemish to one that is driven by our behavior feels more resonant and applicable in our modern world.

I’m not polyannaish enough to think that there will suddenly be a culture shift with all of our leaders, but I do wonder if on a local and personal level we could reward kindness more. In what ways could this serve as a bulwark against this unfettered cruelty we see, especially among those who act cruelly in the name of religion?

It’s important to note that din, this hard-to-translate concept that alludes to harsh judgement is an inherent part of our world, but when it gets misused, the world is misaligned. If the very creation of the world couldn’t withstand being built predominantly on din, what does it mean for our world that is so fueled by it?

Our job is to remind ourselves, the world around us, and those to whom we give our attention that we crave compassion. Call out the cruelty when we see it. We should strive for this in our interpersonal relationships. Perhaps our algorithms can really be the place where the harsh side of nature is featured. In our day to day interactions though, we can infuse the world with more kindness, compassion, and a little more balance.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Weekend!

1. 18th/19th centuries-Ukraine