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SHABBAT MORNING SPEAKER (July 14th):
Rabbi
Peter Stein is the Director of Strategic Planning at the Regional
Growth Partnership. He has a BA in Urban Studies from Yale University,
and has received ordination and an MA in Talmud from the Jewish
Theological Seminary. His topic is, "Why Jews Have a Moral Duty to Live
in Cities." |
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| NEXT SHABBAT'S SPEAKER (July 21st): |
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M. Gordon, the Assistant Director for the Department of Interreligious
Affairs at the American Jewish Committee. He received his BA from
Yeshiva University. |
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| Speaker for July 28th |
Jennie
Rosenfeld is the co-founder and director of Tzelem, a Special Project
of Yeshiva University's Center for the Jewish Future, whose mission is
to develop resources and educational programming on sexuality and
intimacy for the Orthodox community. She is also completing her
doctoral dissertation on Talmudic sexual ethics in the English
department at the CUNY Graduate Center, as a Wexner Graduate Fellow.
Jennie is a graduate of Stern College and its Graduate Program in
Advanced Talmudic Studies for Women, and earned an MS in Jewish
Education from YU. She has taught Talmud and lectured in Chassidut in
Berkeley, Cambridge, and New York. |
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| UPCOMING HIGHLIGHTS |
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SUMMER: All services, lectures, classes and kiddushim will continue throughout the summer at KRA 241 West 72nd St. |
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The Land of Israel and the Sanctity of Human Life
By Rabbi David Polsky |
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The
land of Israel is holier than all other lands and the place where God
always rests. It is the location of the temple service, the most
supernal acts of worship in Judaism. The holiness of the land also
comes with greater risks and responsibilities, and it’s sanctity
requires her inhabitants to be especially sensitive to the sanctity of
life. Lack of concern for human life defiles the land.
These ideas are expressed at the end of parashat maásei, at
which point the Torah discusses the consequences of wrongful death,
whether intentional or unintentional. Towards the end of the section,
the Torah discusses the punishments fit for these actions. The
premeditated murderer must be put to death, while the accidental killer
must flee to exile. After detailing these laws, the Torah specifically
warns the Jewish court not to accept ransom money from either of these
parties. The Torah’s statement, “do not defile the land
that you inhabit,” suggests that taking ransom money defiles the
land. More perplexing is the Torah’s statement when ransom is
taken for murder, “the land will not receive atonement for the
bloodshed.” Why should the land itself require atonement for the
slaying? |
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R.
Ya’akov Nagen, a rabbi at Yeshivat Otniel, explains that the
murder of a human being is a highly catastrophic event. The cataclysmic
nature of such a tragedy is compounded when someone is murdered in the
land of Israel. The cosmos is so profoundly affected by such a deed
that the only way to repair the effects is by punishing the murderer.
When the murderer is punished, he bears the brunt of the spiritual
consequences. Without the murderer receiving his proper punishment to
serve as atonement, the land of Israel receives this curse and
defilement as well.
The
necessity for physical atonement for murder in Israel also expresses
itself when we read about the eglah arufah, the broken calf. This
ritual takes place when a dead body is discovered and the killer cannot
be found. The elders of the town break the neck of a calf. Like the
punishment meted out to the murderer, the breaking of the calf’s
neck atones for the land of Israel. Without the calf receiving the
punishment, the land of Israel would remain defiled.
These
narratives express the preciousness and sanctity of human life. By
accepting a ransom, the court ends up devaluing human life by putting a
price on it. The loss of human life pierces through the cosmos, such
that someone or something must suffer its burden, whether it is the
murderer or a calf. The sanctity of the land of Israel intensifies
these obligations towards human life. |
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Please
let us know if you would like to read a parsha of the Torah or a
Haftorah on Shabbat morning. Please let us know if you would like to
sponsor a Kiddush, a Gemara shiur or a Jewish History class. |
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Copyright 2007 Kehilat Rayim Ahuvim All Rights Reserved |
