Shemini Drash
Hey friends,
I know it's been a while since I last posted here, but I have some cool things to tell you:
1) I recently released my new parody "ShabbosBack." It's available through my website (www.jeremygimbel.com), and it's only $.99! (I took the song "SexyBack" and made it Jewish...check it out!)
2) I have a new blog called "Da Lifnei Mi Atah Omed (Know Before Whom You Stand)" and I post as the Song Leading Blogger. It's about song leading and Jewish music in general. Check it out at songleadingblogger.wordpress.com
3) I'm leading services tonight at Bet Haverim in Davis, and I wanted to share my d'rash that I will be giving tonight. Enjoy, and Shabbat Shalom!
"Shemini Drash 4/13/07" by Jeremy Gimbel
This week's parasha is Shemini. It comes in the middle of Leviticus, right after there is a huge description of how to make a proper burnt offering.
How do we follow up a parasha like that? Talk more about burnt offerings, of course.
Shemini starts out by continuing the discussion of how to make a proper burnt offering, but we start to see a little more excitement as Moses basically says to Aaron, "do it this way because today, God will appear to you." Really? God will appear to me? Wow, I must be someone who is really important.
So the big day comes, and Aaron follows the rituals exactly right, and at the end, he lifts his hands TOWARD the people and blesses them. He and Moses go back inside the Tent of Meeting, come out, bless the people again, and, wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles, God doesn't appear. Just to recap: Moses says to Aaron "today, the Lord will appear to you." Aaron blesses the whole community, and instead of God appearing to Aaron or the whole community, the PRESENCE of God appears to everyone. The presence? What does that mean?
A metaphorical interpretation might answer this question by noting that when a community gets together, the presence of God is there. Similar to this community - when we get together, God's presence is here. It is why we come to services on a night when we could be doing something else. It is why about 75 college students and their families will go to Hillel tonight instead of getting an early start to Picnic Day. In the movie "Keeping the Faith," Edward Norton's character, Father Brian -- a Catholic Priest who, like Ben Stiller's character Rabbi Jacob Schram, incorporates modern styles to ancient religious teachings - preaches, "it's very important to understand the difference between religion and faith. Because faith is not about having the right answers. Faith is a feeling. Faith is a hunch, really. It's a hunch that there is something bigger connecting it all... connecting us all together. And that feeling, that hunch, is God. And coming here tonight, on your Friday evening... to connect with that feeling, that is an act of faith." In many ways, the "Presence of the Lord" that is mentioned in Shemini is that hunch, that faith.
But maybe not.
Maybe, Aaron saw the literal and pseudo-physical Presence of God appear before the people.
As the parasha continues, the story of Nadab and Abihu is told. To make a short story shorter, Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu attempt to burn incense before God, but they use an "alien" fire that God had not made holy. They are consumed in that fire, killing them instantly before God. Moses turns to Aaron and basically says "see, this is why you don't play with fire." But Aaron, despite having just watched his sons die, is silent. Vayidom Aharon. And Aaron was silent.
Why would Aaron be silent in the face of such a shocking event? Was he in such shock that words could not escape his lips? I don't believe so, because the Torah likes to talk about what people thought and how their heart is feeling. Instead, I believe that Aaron was too engaged in his work.
In Judaism, there is this concept of "tzim tzum," that when God finished the work of creation for each day, God took a step back, looked at the work on the whole and said "man, I'm good." Tzim tzum, therefore, means that we take a step back from whatever we are doing, and focus on the bigger picture, instead of the minutia of our daily lives. Aaron did not know this concept.
Imagine, if you will, that you start a new job. You go into your office, someone from HR tells you where the copy machine is, where to file your TPS reports, and how to type in the password to your computer. You come to work on the first day, log-in to your computer, and everyone's computer opens up and all problems seem to go away. IT loves you, but you're pretty confused as to what just happened. Nevertheless, you continue your day. Later, two of your friends who work with you turn their computer on. Right then, the boss comes by and says "did I tell you that you could turn your computers on?" Without missing a beat, the boss hands them their final paycheck and a box to pack up their belongings. You're sitting there, not knowing what just happened.
In a way, I believe Aaron was in this situation, which is why he was silent. He had just witnessed the Presence of God appear before the entire community, even though he was told only he would see God. Then, when his sons screw up on something simple, they are killed right before his eyes.
So what can we learn from this?
1) Aaron was human. His reactions were no different than anyone else who had just been thrown two REALLY big curve-balls. We cannot look down on Aaron because he did not speak up when his sons were killed. He most likely did not understand what just happened, which is why he was silent. And even if he did understand, he probably knew that if he spoke up, he might be next to die. In this story, Aaron is merely a new employee, too scared to speak up to the boss.
2) The concept of tzim tzum. Yes, Aaron was too afraid to speak up to his new boss, but we should not feel that fear. When I received an email that there were threats to Bet Haverim this weekend, it didn't make me want to say "whoa, I think I'll stay away from the shul tonight." Instead, it made me more motivated to sing joyfully with you, and help us all learn something about this week's parasha.
Take a deep breath. Take a step back. It's shabbat. We're here. We're okay. Shabbat Shalom.
I know it's been a while since I last posted here, but I have some cool things to tell you:
1) I recently released my new parody "ShabbosBack." It's available through my website (www.jeremygimbel.com), and it's only $.99! (I took the song "SexyBack" and made it Jewish...check it out!)
2) I have a new blog called "Da Lifnei Mi Atah Omed (Know Before Whom You Stand)" and I post as the Song Leading Blogger. It's about song leading and Jewish music in general. Check it out at songleadingblogger.wordpress.com
3) I'm leading services tonight at Bet Haverim in Davis, and I wanted to share my d'rash that I will be giving tonight. Enjoy, and Shabbat Shalom!
"Shemini Drash 4/13/07" by Jeremy Gimbel
This week's parasha is Shemini. It comes in the middle of Leviticus, right after there is a huge description of how to make a proper burnt offering.
How do we follow up a parasha like that? Talk more about burnt offerings, of course.
Shemini starts out by continuing the discussion of how to make a proper burnt offering, but we start to see a little more excitement as Moses basically says to Aaron, "do it this way because today, God will appear to you." Really? God will appear to me? Wow, I must be someone who is really important.
So the big day comes, and Aaron follows the rituals exactly right, and at the end, he lifts his hands TOWARD the people and blesses them. He and Moses go back inside the Tent of Meeting, come out, bless the people again, and, wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles, God doesn't appear. Just to recap: Moses says to Aaron "today, the Lord will appear to you." Aaron blesses the whole community, and instead of God appearing to Aaron or the whole community, the PRESENCE of God appears to everyone. The presence? What does that mean?
A metaphorical interpretation might answer this question by noting that when a community gets together, the presence of God is there. Similar to this community - when we get together, God's presence is here. It is why we come to services on a night when we could be doing something else. It is why about 75 college students and their families will go to Hillel tonight instead of getting an early start to Picnic Day. In the movie "Keeping the Faith," Edward Norton's character, Father Brian -- a Catholic Priest who, like Ben Stiller's character Rabbi Jacob Schram, incorporates modern styles to ancient religious teachings - preaches, "it's very important to understand the difference between religion and faith. Because faith is not about having the right answers. Faith is a feeling. Faith is a hunch, really. It's a hunch that there is something bigger connecting it all... connecting us all together. And that feeling, that hunch, is God. And coming here tonight, on your Friday evening... to connect with that feeling, that is an act of faith." In many ways, the "Presence of the Lord" that is mentioned in Shemini is that hunch, that faith.
But maybe not.
Maybe, Aaron saw the literal and pseudo-physical Presence of God appear before the people.
As the parasha continues, the story of Nadab and Abihu is told. To make a short story shorter, Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu attempt to burn incense before God, but they use an "alien" fire that God had not made holy. They are consumed in that fire, killing them instantly before God. Moses turns to Aaron and basically says "see, this is why you don't play with fire." But Aaron, despite having just watched his sons die, is silent. Vayidom Aharon. And Aaron was silent.
Why would Aaron be silent in the face of such a shocking event? Was he in such shock that words could not escape his lips? I don't believe so, because the Torah likes to talk about what people thought and how their heart is feeling. Instead, I believe that Aaron was too engaged in his work.
In Judaism, there is this concept of "tzim tzum," that when God finished the work of creation for each day, God took a step back, looked at the work on the whole and said "man, I'm good." Tzim tzum, therefore, means that we take a step back from whatever we are doing, and focus on the bigger picture, instead of the minutia of our daily lives. Aaron did not know this concept.
Imagine, if you will, that you start a new job. You go into your office, someone from HR tells you where the copy machine is, where to file your TPS reports, and how to type in the password to your computer. You come to work on the first day, log-in to your computer, and everyone's computer opens up and all problems seem to go away. IT loves you, but you're pretty confused as to what just happened. Nevertheless, you continue your day. Later, two of your friends who work with you turn their computer on. Right then, the boss comes by and says "did I tell you that you could turn your computers on?" Without missing a beat, the boss hands them their final paycheck and a box to pack up their belongings. You're sitting there, not knowing what just happened.
In a way, I believe Aaron was in this situation, which is why he was silent. He had just witnessed the Presence of God appear before the entire community, even though he was told only he would see God. Then, when his sons screw up on something simple, they are killed right before his eyes.
So what can we learn from this?
1) Aaron was human. His reactions were no different than anyone else who had just been thrown two REALLY big curve-balls. We cannot look down on Aaron because he did not speak up when his sons were killed. He most likely did not understand what just happened, which is why he was silent. And even if he did understand, he probably knew that if he spoke up, he might be next to die. In this story, Aaron is merely a new employee, too scared to speak up to the boss.
2) The concept of tzim tzum. Yes, Aaron was too afraid to speak up to his new boss, but we should not feel that fear. When I received an email that there were threats to Bet Haverim this weekend, it didn't make me want to say "whoa, I think I'll stay away from the shul tonight." Instead, it made me more motivated to sing joyfully with you, and help us all learn something about this week's parasha.
Take a deep breath. Take a step back. It's shabbat. We're here. We're okay. Shabbat Shalom.