THE FIRE ON THE ALTAR SHALL BE KEPT BURNING, NOT TO GO OUT; EVERY MORNING THE PRIEST SHALL FEED WOOD TO IT, LAY OUT THE BURNT OFFERING ON IT, AND TURN INTO SMOKE THE FAT PARTS OF THE OFFERINGS OF WELL-BEING. A PERPETUAL FIRE SHALL BE KEPT BURNING ON THE ALTAR, NOT TO GO OUT.
(Vayikra 6:5-6)
THE SPIRITUAL FIRE, THE FIRE WHICH CONSUMES, AND THE
FIRE WHICH LIVES IN PEACE WITH WATER
Had you been deserving you would be reading in the Torah "A
perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar." But now that you
do not merit, you read: "From above He sent fire into my bones."
(Eicha Rabba, Petichta)
Said Rabbi Yehuda bar Shalom - said Moshe before The Holy One, Blessed Be He: Master of the universe. You told me to make an alter of acacia wood and to cover it bronze, and you told me "A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar." Does not that fire penetrate the covering and burn the wood?
Replied The Holy One, Blessed Be He: Moshe, because these properties
exist in your [physical] world - do you assume they exist in mine? Consider the
angels, who are burning fire - yet how many treasures of snow and hail have I,
as is written,: "Have you penetrated the vaults of snow, seen the
vaults of hail" (Job 38:22). And
similarly it says "He sets the rafters of His lofts in the waters"
(Psalms 104:3). Yet the waters do not
extinguish the fire nor does the fire consume the waters, and similarly,
concerning the fiery creatures and the firmament above the waters, it is
written, "Such then was the appearance of the creatures. With them was
something that looked like burning coals of fire. The fire, suggestive of
torches, kept moving about among the creatures; the fire had a radiance, and
lightening issued from the fire" (Ezekiel
1:13).
Rabbi Berekhia said in the name of Rabbi Helbo who spoke in the same of Rabbi Abba: Even the hooves of the animals covering a distance of four hundred years, all of them carry fire in a firmament which is all water, yet the fire does not burn the water, nor does the water extinguish the fire. Why? Because "He imposes peace in his heights" - but when I tell you "A perpetual fire shall be kept on the altar" you fear lest the trees be consumed?!
(Tanhuma, Teruma 11)
In the Talmud Yerushalmi (Rosh Hashana, 3:5, p. 48:4) we read:
Said Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Yitzhak: "And
the Lord spoke to Moshe and to Aharon and charged them to the Children of
Israel... to bring the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt" (Shemot 6:13) - regarding what did He charge
them? To observe the mitzvah of freeing slaves. And these words are similar to
that which Rabbi Hilla said: Israel was punished only because of [their failure
to observe] the freeing of slaves. And so is it written: "At the end of
seven years one must set free his Hebrew brother" (Jeremiah 34:14).
"And he charged the Children of
Israel to bring out the Children of Israel" - is explained
according to its plain meaning (pshat) as follows: God spoke to Moshe
and to Aharon and charged them to go to the Children of Israel to inform the
Children of Israel regarding the exodus from Egypt. (See Rashi and Ibn Ezra)
But Rav Shmuel bar Rav Yitzhak expounded otherwise: God commanded Moshe and Aharon to go to the Children of Israel and to charge them to free from their midst the Children of Israel who were indentured to them! In his words - "Regarding what did He charge them? Regarding the freeing of slaves" - in Egypt. And the author of the Korban HaEdah emphasized: "Israel, exiled from the Land, were punished only because of the issue of freeing slaves. And why because of this infraction in particular? Because this was the first mitzvah with which they were charged in Egypt (even before the mitzvah of the New Moon, as is written in the Tanhuma and in Rashi 1:1), and for its sake they were redeemed from Egypt".
"Israel was not punished" - refers
to the destruction of the First Temple, as articulated by the prophet (Jeremiah 34:8-16):
The word which came to Jeremiah form the
Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in
Yerushalayim to proclaim a release among them - that everyone should set free
his Hebrew slaves, both male and female, and that no one should keep his fellow
Judean enslaved.
Everyone, officials and people, who had
entered into the covenant agreed to set their male and female slaves free and
not keep them enslaved any longer; they complied and let them go. But afterward
they turned about and brought back the men and women they had set free, and
forced them into slavery again. Then it was that the word of Lord came to
Jeremiah from the Lord:
Thus said the Lord, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage, saying "In the seventh year each of you must let go any fellow Hebrew who may be sold to you; when he has served you six years, you must set him free. But your fathers would not obey Me or give ear. Lately you turned about and did what is proper in My sight, and each of you proclaimed a release to his countrymen; and you made a covenant accordingly before Me in the House which bears my name. But now you have turned back and have profaned My name; each of you has brought back the men and women whom you had given their freedom, and forced them to be your slaves again.
Assuredly, thus said the Lord: You would not obey Me and proclaim a release, each to his kinsman and countryman. Lo! I proclaim your release - declares the Lord - to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine; and I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth.
Two interesting elements come to the fore:
A. The Children of Israel in Egypt held slaves; even in an enslaved society, such as that of Israel in Egypt, there was no social solidarity. There existed slavery, repression, and oppression. (See Shemot Rabba 14:3, Ed. Shinan, p.263: "Why [was] darkness [included in the ten plagues]? Blessed by the Name of The Holy One, Blessed Be He, who shows no favoritism, who investigates hearts and examines kidneys - because there were sinners in Israel, who had Egyptian patrons and they enjoyed prestige, honor, and wealth, and they did not want to leave Egypt" etc.)
B. Freedom and redemption cannot be achieved without internal social reform (as stressed by all the prophets). This is expressed in Midrashic fashion, in connection with Pesach: It is not enough to eliminate the external hametz; one must - first of all - eliminate that which is within. (See Zohar, Vahehi, 226b: "And hametz is called "yetser hara [the evil inclination]. See also Rabeinu Behayey on Vayikra 2:11: "The leavening and the honey are the yetzer hara itself, as our Sages said regarding hametz and matza on Pesach, one has to clear his heart of the yetser hara." Rabeinu Bahayey's words are a combination of the words of the Zohar and of the Talmud Pesahim 6b: "Said Rav Yehuda in the name of Rav, one who inspects must nullify [in his heart - Rashi, as per Pesachim 31b: "Hammetz upon which rubble of a collapsed building has fallen is considered to be eliminated. Said Rav Hisda, and he must nullify it in his heart"]")
Even if we reject this explanation, saying that "He charged them" means that while the Children of Israel were yet in Egypt, His command concerned the future when they will have entered the Land of Canaan, when they will possess slaves (See Tosefta Kiddushin 1:12, p. 280: Said R' Leizer to R' Shimon, Every mitzvah with which Israel charged before entering the Land is binding in the Land and outside the Land; those which became binding upon entering the land is in force only in the Land, with the exception of relinquishment of vessels, the redemption of land, and the release of a Hebrew bondsman - these, even though they became mandatory only upon entry into the Land, are in force both in the Land and outside it.") - the words are very severe: Redemption from Egypt and the inheritance of the Land are conditional (in addition to well-known conditions, such as idolatry and incest) - upon release of slaves. This condition is not mentioned in the Torah passages dealing with the Hebrews slave, (Shemot 21:2-11; Vayikra 25:39-43; Devarim 15:12-18.) but the prophet Jeremiah postulated the requirement, (Jeremiah elaborated upon Vayikra 39:42, and Devarim 15:15, 18; see also Shemot 6:6-8, Vayikra 25:55, Nehemiah 5:1-13.) and the author of the Korban HaEdah emphasized it ("and because of it they were redeemed from Egypt").
In the actual context of our times: Since "In every generation one must regard himself as though he himself had exited Egypt", we must not forget that in our State and in our society there are those who rob the wages of the worker and take in pawn (literally and figuratively) the garment of the widow, and they delay the geula from "Egypt". Because many are strict in their observance of the laws of Pesach, they are "permitted" to be stringent in observance of this law, too, and to apply it also to the Arab workers and the 'foreign' laborers, some of whom are oppressed and humiliated by Jews who left "Egypt" and treat them as slaves. (Swindling of a gentile is more serious than the swindling of a Jew, because it leads to hillul haShem - desecration of the Name" - Sefer Hassidim, Ed. Vistinsky-Freiman, 1214, p. 323, based on Tosefta Bava Kamma, 10:15, p. 53.)
The main points of this article were written on the eve of Pesach 5759; later I discovered that the idea had already been expressed by a great scholar, Rabbi M. M. Kasher, who incorporated them into his Torah Sheleima, X, p. 117. (See also Ramban on Shemot 21:2)
Yisrael Hazani lives in the Old Quarter
of Yerushalayim and is an editor.
Readers
Write:
Final Reactions to Shammai Leibowitz's Letter (Tetsaveh issue)
Could our father Avraham serve as a precedent for soldiers in Tzahal who refuse to serve in the territories?
True,
the soldiers demand justice, just as Avraham demanded justice from "the
judge of the all the universe". But it seems to me that the prophet Elijah
provides an even more impressive precedent (I
Kings, 18, haphtara for Parashat Ki Tissa; it can be said that Moses breaking
the tablets set a precedent for Elijah).
With
ironic and bludgeoning tongue, Elija taunts the hundreds of the prophets of
Baal who attempt to offer a bull on an altar on Mr. Carmel. They fail, whereas
Elijah drenches his bull with four vessels of water three times, resulting in
"A fire of God descended and consumed the offering and the wood and the
stones and the dust and it licked up the water in the ditch" (Ibid. 38). All those present prostrated themselves and
cried "The Lord is God, the Lord is God."
Elijah's action is most dramatic; it is also forbidden by the Torah ("Beware lest you raise you offerings [on altars other than that in place chosen by God]" (Devarim 12: 13-14). But "It is a time to act for God, for they have violated your teaching" (Psalms 119) (See Rashi Berachot 54a: Sometimes laws of Torah are cancelled in order to act on behalf of God... such as Elijah on Mt. Carmel, who brought offering on an altar when altars were forbidden...). It is interesting that this explication of the passage from Psalms has become part of our legacy, even though it is not the "pshat of Scripture."
When,
however, according to this traditional understanding, is the Torah to be
violated?
Elijah
violates the Torah for the sake of the Torah, in a situation where there is
no Torah.
Soldiers
of Tzahal are sent to the territories, regions where democracy does not reign;
democracy, in Greek: "Rule by the people", meaning, the people ruling
themselves. In there territories, however, one people rules over another
people.
It is common knowledge that many of our people deny this, and claim that the occupation was forced upon us and not upon the Palestinian people, but the soldiers who refuse to serve in a place where there is no democracy do so in the name of democracy, just as Elijah the prophet did for the sake of the Torah. In my opinion, this is a most impressive act.
Daniel Rorlich
Yerushalayim
In the beginning of his letter, the author writes that during his service in the territories, brutal acts of oppression took place, including prevention of medical attention for the wounded. I do not know where Mr. Leibowitz served and where he witnessed the acts, but it is strange that he should choose the path of sweeping refusal over the his obligation as a soldier and citizen to condemn these acts as they occurred and to do all possible in order to stop them and to bring the guilty to investigation by relevant officers.
The writer's attempt to base himself upon noble figures such as our father Avraham - "the first conscientious objector" - is simplistic and lacking any depth, like any other attempt at practical transference form Biblical events to our time.
The Bible is replete with tens of contradicting events, in which our fathers were commanded to exhibit cruelty against those who are ostensibly innocent of all sin; we are commanded to wipe out their seed and to destroy many only because of their belonging to a certain nation - as we read on Parashat Zachor and in the haphtara of that Shabbat - Shaul's war against Amalek. Therefore, it is more proper to deal with the essence of moral dilemmas which arise these days without seeking parallels in a Biblical narrative which differs from the current realities in various circumstances.
From a religious and moral viewpoint, today's war in the territories presents a dilemma between conflicting principles.
On the one hand, the obligation to respect the civil rights of the Palestinians and to avoid any damage and injury to their property and bodies; on the other hand, the existential obligation to protect the lives of our people. Any attempt to provide a value-based answer which turns a blind eye to either of these principles sins against the truth. Mr. Leibowitz regards the limitations of Palestinian movement as 'a cruel offense against their basic rights"; by ignoring the fact that because of freedom of movement on the roads, hundreds of Jews have been killed, he has deceived himself. Is it morally conceivable that the blood of innocents can be placed in the hands of chance or in the hands of those who seek to kill them everywhere?
Refusal to serve in the territories is equivalent to the forfeiting of innocent Jewish life. Morality does not accept this; on the contrary - the moral person must chose the difficult path of struggle and of stubborn defense of those principles which I enumerated above.
It worth remembering that Tzahal is the only army in the world which - in its defense activities - continues to persist in employing the most accurate weaponry available in the region, in order to minimize as much as possible civilian causalities. After a year and a half of war in defense of the inhabitants of the State, Tzahal has not employed curved-trajectory projectiles (cannon or mortar) to limit the radius of the target area. We can be proud of the moral level of Tzahal which, in contrast to other armies, has always refused to accept the rule "A la guerre comme à la guerre" ("In war as in war") in order to justify deviations from rules of morality in war.
We vigorously protest the writer's call to sweeping refusal, which ignores the complexity of the moral dilemmas in which a nation finds itself when fighting for its existence while guarding the basic values of its belief. We are encouraged, however, by the fact that these acts are limited to very few. Even more are we encouraged by the fact we have yet to hear of such soul searching on the part of our many enemies; our strength lies in our faith and in our morality.
Emanuel Semama
(Lt.
Colonel, Battalion Commander in reserves)
"Shabbat Shalom" recently published Shammai Leibowitz's letter, in which he describes the distress to which he is exposed during reserve duty in the territories, and which led him to refuse to serve in the territories.
One has the right to refrain from what he considers to be a moral abomination. Without doubt, he has the right to declare "I cannot". This principle is valid in moral and religious matters.
Opposing the moral argument raised by Shammai is a different value, "You shall not stand by when your brother's blood is being spilt" - the obligation, the mitzvah, to defend the citizens of the State. Even when they dwell in Yesha, their presence in the settlements cannot be defined as a sin, a crime, or an illegal act. Therefore, from a moral standpoint I am obligated to protect them, just as they are obligated to protect me.
It is true that this presence is preventing a peace agreement, but as long as the government has not ordered them to leave their homes, the government is obligated to protect them, and I, as a citizen, provide this protection. To serve in the territories is not just "to occupy" - it is also to protect; refusal to protect is a very serious moral issue. This and more. Refusal pulls the rug from under our feet. When we return to negotiations, and reach accord with the Palestinians, we will have the right to demand of the inhabitants of Yesha to pay the price of peace; if, however, we do not stand by them in their hour of distress, can we demand of them to comply with government decisions?!
For both moral and pragmatic reasons, Shammai, please change your mind.
Shmuel Reiner
Rabbi Shmuel Reiner is rabbi of Kibbutz Tirat
Zvi and head of the Religious Kibbutz Movement Yeshiva at Maaleh Gilboa.
I wish to clarify that the
publication of Shammai Leibowitz's letter in "Shabbat Shalom"
(Parashat Zachor) and the ensuing discussion were, and are not, with the
approval of the Directorate of Oz Veshalom - Netivot Shalom. In my own name, I
wish to apologize to the readers and distributors of "Shabbat Shalom"
who considered themselves affronted, as myself, by the content and spirit of
the the letters.
Rabbi Hanoch Goldberg,
Chairman
Netivot Shalom - Oz Veshalom
Editor's
Note:
Because of the many
reactions we received, we decided to publish a number of letters which are
representative of readers' reactions. We thank all those who reacted, in
writing and orally, and apologize for our inability to publish all the
reactions received. Please God, in our next issue we will publish remarks
summarizing this penentrating and important discussion.
Heartfelt blessings to our member, Professor
Uriel Simon, a founder of OzVeshalom and Netivot Shalom, and long-time member of the the
Directorate, on the occasion of the publication of his book "Bakesh Shalom
Verodfeyhu" - "Seek Peace and Pursue It" - Current Issues Seen
Through The Prism Of The Bible, The Bible Seen In The Light Of Current Issues,
in the series "Judaism Here and Now" published by Yedioth Aharonot.
Editorial Board of Shabbat Shalom
The Executive, the Moetza, and the Membership
Editorial Board: Pinchas Leiser (Editor), Miriam Fine (Coordinator), Itzhak
Frankenthal and Dr. Menachem Klein
Translation: Kadish Goldberg
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