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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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| Ari 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 |
