Parashat HaShavua - Emor
We are out of synch with Israel. I apologize for boldly saying something so controversial, but it is a simple fact: from the Shabbat of April 23, the day after Pesach in Israel but the last day of Pesach outside of Israel, the weekly Torah reading cycle resumed in Israel, while outside of Israel we still had a special Pesach reading. Therefore, from now until August 6, the weekly Torah portions being read in and outside of Israel are different!
The opportunity to re-synchronize us all actually presented itself the very next Shabbat: to read the double portion of Aharei Mot and Kedoshim outside of Israel, while reading only Kedoshim in Israel (following Aharei Mot the week before). Voila, we would be back together again! But instead, in a leap year such as this, we pass by not one, not two, but three opportunities to combine portions, and stay out of synch until combining Matot-Massei. Why?
This question has practical and philosophical implications. Practically speaking, those of us who travel to and from Israel during this time, like our 8th and 10th grades were just blessed to do, either repeat or miss a weekly portion altogether, depending on the direction of travel: when traveling to Israel a portion is missed because they are ahead, and when traveling from Israel a portion is repeated because we are behind. And even if on a practical level this confusion weren’t compelling enough, then isn’t it troubling philosophically that for several months we are reading different weekly portions? What could possibly be the affirmative value in support of this delay?
The answer can be found in the two portions we ultimately combine, Matot-Massei. These portions are rarely separate, about once every ten years outside of Israel and five in Israel. According to Bnei Yisaschar, they are combined and timed for the middle of the “three weeks,” the extended period of mourning leading up to Tisha b’Av, the saddest day on our calendar, when the Temple is destroyed. The reason for this is that these portions, which describe the allocation of Israel among the tribes, are reassuring to read at a time when we are mourning the Temple’s destruction and our exile of two millenia. We intentionally recall God’s promise of the land and a point in the Torah when we were finally about to get there.
Suddenly, being out of synch for so long seems more appropriate. We who are not in Israel are reminded for months to be aware of that fact over an extended period of time, and then - when the time comes to mark the tragic origins of our exile - we are comforted and reassured that we can in fact return.
This message resonates this year especially. As a school we have waited three years to return to Israel, and finally this year we were able to do so. During that time we encountered many difficulties and experienced innumerable limitations on our lives, in a wilderness of our own. We won’t forget those experiences, similar to how Bnei Yisrael recounts their journey in Massei, which is the second part of that double portion we ultimately read to re-synchronize with Israel. Being out of synch until then is a reminder both of not being in Israel and of the renewed blessing of being able to go to Israel, and that one’s journey can give more meaning to ultimately arriving at one’s destination.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Jack Nahmod
Middle School Judaic Studies Head (Ivrit/Tanach/Toshba)
Rabbinic Advisor