Parashat HaShavua - Vayikra

דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֲלֵהֶ֔ם אָדָ֗ם כִּֽי־יַקְרִ֥יב מִכֶּ֛ם קָרְבָּ֖ן לַֽיהוָ֑ה מִן־הַבְּהֵמָ֗ה מִן־הַבָּקָר֙ וּמִן־הַצֹּ֔אן תַּקְרִ֖יבוּ אֶת־קָרְבַּנְכֶֽם (ויקרא א:ב)

Tell the Israelites, “when a person brings an offering, they should choose that offering from the herd or the flock.” (Leviticus 1:2)

This verse begins with a verb in the singular: כִּֽי־יַקְרִ֥יב – when a person  (masculine singular) brings an offering.  It then continues in the plural: מִן־הַבְּהֵמָ֗ה מִן־הַבָּקָר֙ וּמִן־הַצֹּ֔אן תַּקְרִ֖יבוּ  – they should bring one from their herd or their flock.   It is not noticeable in the English translation, but in Hebrew, it is notable for the two parts of the sentence not to match grammatically. A Hasidic teaching offers a reason for this discrepancy: it is to show that when people enter a place of worship, they may enter as individuals but the experience should lead them to transcend difference and separateness and become a community.

Over the past tumultuous weeks and months in Israel, we are witnessing painful, heartbreaking differences and separateness – two sides disagreeing about core questions of how Israeli democracy should function and what the mission and purpose of the Jewish state is.  As we follow the news or travel to visit, it does not feel like an overstatement to see this moment as a battle for the soul of the nation.

I called my cousin the other day to check on how she is doing.  Her response surprised me.  She said it gives her hope to see people coming together in ways they never have before, letting go of differences of opinion which seem insignificant at this moment, as they stand shoulder to shoulder at protests.  At a crammed conference at Heichal Shlomo in Jerusalem, Jews from Haredim to Masortim to secular Israelis gathered to discuss the occupation, feminism, religion and state, fighting poverty, and distributive justice.

Is it possible that some kind of deeper unity around a shared vision of Israel’s aspirations and purpose can come from this very divisive – and, frankly, scary –  moment?  I know, it takes a lot of imagination to see that possibility.  It is not my go-to position, as I tend towards the pessimistic.  But I really appreciated my cousin’s on-the-ground comments.  It made me ask myself, what can I do to be part of that kind of movement?  Whether it is engaging more deeply with how we teach our students about Israel at Heschel, giving more generously to causes in Israel that I believe in, finding a way to get there to be part of the groundswell of dissent, or even just calling my loved ones more often, it feels like this is a time to transcend the difference and separateness of geography and bring myself into greater community with Israel.  

Rabbi Anne Ebersman
Director of Jewish Programming N-5 and Director of Hesed (Community Engagement) and Tzedek (Social Responsibility)