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Orchard of Delights
concern for the widow, the convert, the orphan, and the poor person
was not just an ideal but an imperative.
The laws of gleaning – leaving the corner of the field unharvested
and leaving the forgotten sheaves where they lie – form the backdrop
to the book of Ruth. With no money and no means of support, Ruth
the Moabite convert who has returned to Israel with Naomi, her
mother-in-law, goes to gather the gleanings along with the other poor.
By Divine Providence she winds up in the field of Boaz (a distant
relative) who treats her kindly and eventually marries her. Boaz’s
kindness to Ruth and Naomi is rewarded by the house of David and
ultimately the Mashiach being descended from his union with Ruth.
There is a direct link between the kindness Boaz showed Ruth on an
individual level (as well as Ruth’s kindheartedness to Naomi) and
the birth of a redeemer for the nation of Israel and the entire world.
The Torah instructs the Jewish people in how to create a just,
righteous, and compassionate society. The various agricultural laws
that support the poor discussed in this portion as well as many other
Torah laws, including the prohibition against loaning with interest;
the obligation to redeem captives; the prohibition against putting
a (literal or figurative) stumbling block before the blind; a complex
legal system protecting workers’ rights and guaranteeing timely
payment of wages; a fully developed legal system mandating liability
for damages; and the injunction to honor the elderly and love your
neighbor as yourself, form the foundations of a just society. These
biblical laws were augmented by the judges, Torah scholars, and
prophets who inferred from the Torah’s stories the moral injunction
to visit the sick, feed the poor, clothe the naked, and care for the
widow and the orphan. By fulfilling these statutes in the course of
daily living, the Jewish people realize their mission to be a light unto
the nations (Isaiah 42:6).
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the Jewish people’s faults, shortcomings, and blemishes better than
God? Yet, here God proclaims that His beloved is unblemished.
The answer to this question lies in the distinction between body
and soul. While it is true that the Jewish people due to their actions
may be blemished, their souls at their Divine source are truly pure
and untainted. Indeed, every morning a Jew declares the following
as part of the Morning Service: “The soul you have given me is pure.”
One of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach’s most important teachings was that
while every Jew may not be holy, every Jew is the Holy of Holies.
When the soul descends into the body and is forced to confront all
the temptations, trials, and illusions of this world, it may betray its
Divine inclinations. Yet at its very core the soul remains pure and
untainted even by its temporary wrongdoings. It is this highest level
of soul, corresponding to the highest of the five worlds, that God
refers to as unblemished.
£A Study in Contrasts: A Study in Contrasts: A Study in Contrasts: A Study in Contrasts: A Study in Contrasts: A Study in Contrasts:
££££
Moses and the BlasphemerMoses and the Blasphemer
Moses and the Blasphemer
The last narrative in Emor recounts the story of a man who cursed
God. The Torah is quick to note that this man was the son of a Jewish
woman and an Egyptian father. Rashi stresses that this was the only
such case, a testament to the moral fiber of the Jewish women during
their enslavement. Because his mother was from the tribe of Dan, he
quite logically attempted to set up his tent within the area allotted
to that tribe. However, he was told that the right to camp with a
particular tribe was a matter of patrilineal descent. Since he had an
Egyptian father he could not camp with the tribe of Dan. He took
the case to court, and the judges ruled against him. At this point he
cursed God, an extremely serious infraction.
Tellingly there is a strong connection between this story and
the beginning of Emor where physical blemishes disqualified the
cohanim from performing certain Temple services. Although the
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