At our last service, we followed the Orthodox calendar and read Shemini, instead of the double parshiyot of Tazria – M’tzora. As for last week, it was another double parshiyot, this time  Acharei Mot – K’doshim, so we have a lot of catching up to do. There has been the leprous curse, liable to appear on the body, on fabric and even on the walls of our houses. This has been accompanied by the laws of purification and discharges that may make men or women unclean. Acharei Mot begins with Yom Kippur and follows with a much repeated prohibition of the eating of blood. Did they ever read this, the churchmen and Christian laity who accused Jews of slaughtering children for their blood to make matzah? We then have the  sexual laws, and so move on to K’doshim and a multitude of moral and ethical laws linked to holiness. For Israel will be made holy by honouring God and by doing justice. Do not gossip, love your neighbour, let your trees become strong and remember that their fruit is a gift from God, so honour God before eating. Do not indulge in the practices of idolatrous religions, such as cutting yourselves for the dead, and, do not hurt the feelings of a proselyte who comes to live among you. Have any of you seen the pictures taken in the 1950s of the immigrant Caribbeans aboard ship as they sailed into dock: men, women and children, their faces filled with nervous hope and not a little bewilderment? How our laws continue to be relevant, not only for us but for all humanity. 

Emor covers priestly laws, some festivals and sacrifice, among other things. Come along this Saturday at 10.30 to hear about them. Come along to a special service, led by Pat Lipert and our visitors and friends, David and Hannah Jacobs. After the service and kiddish, David and Hannah will also lead a discussion on anti-semitism, the hydra we have scotched more than once but never killed. 

There are a lot of unclean animals about: camels, hyraxes, long-eared owls, hoopoes, skinks and salamanders, to mention just a few. Not eating them may or may not have been a challenge for the early Israelites, but keeping their dead carcasses away from themselves and their dwellings would surely have been so when living in an environment so much less sanitised than ours. Quite a few reasons have been given to explain why certain classes of animal are forbidden, including health and hygiene, differentiating our diet from idolatrous peoples living nearby and a concern that it was a double violation of life to eat creatures which themselves killed and ate other creatures. And then there is the explanation that, by differentiating unclean and clean animals, we are reinforcing the distinction between the holy and the unholy and binding ourselves closer to God. 

Crossing boundaries can be extremely dangerous, as is illustrated by the fate of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu. What exactly did they do wrong? According to Rabbi Akiva, they offered strange fire. Rabbi Yose says they entered the Holy of Holies at a time when divine service was not commanded. Rabbi Eleazar says they offered secular, not holy, fire. There are other, similar interpretations, but it seems that, while they committed some violation, they were not regarded as evil. God Himself seem to mourn their fate when, through Moses, he says, “I will be sanctified among those close to Me.” Besides, Moses tells “the entire family of Israel to mourn for the ones whom God has burned.” They are thus tragic figures, newly initiated as God’s priests, eager to serve, but blinded by a mistaken understanding of their role. 

This week we are following the Orthodox calendar in our choice of parsha in honour of one of our two service leaders, Murray Brown,  who, together with Adam Feldman, will be guiding us in our prayers, songs, reading and conversation. Come along on Saturday at 10:30 to join us.