My Weekly Drash (a mini D'var Torah) - Kedoshim
Posted by Daniel M. Kimmel on May 1, 2008 | Tags: Kedoshim
Parshah Kedoshim is such a rich Torah reading you can do your own d'var Torah without breaking into a sweat. So let's focus on one of the more obscure verses, Lev. 19:31, which reads in part, "Do not turn to ghosts and do not inquire of familiar spirits, to be defiled by them..." This is not something any of us is likely to seriously transgress, even if you played with a Ouija board as a kid. Indeed, whether it consciously motivated him or not, one can see the inspiration for magician Harry Houdini (born Erich Weiss) who made a point of exposing fraudulent mediums. We skip over this because we would consider doing this to be ludicrous. So why mention it at all? For the ancient Israelites the possibility of such communication seemed all too real, and might well be tempting. Who wouldn't want to hear from dead loved ones, if only to get the scoop on what the next world is like? That may have been the point. The Torah directs our behavior in this world. We're not to be focused on what yet may come. As Rabbi Jacob says in Pirkei Avot (4:22), "Better is one hour of repentance and good deeds in this world than the whole life of the world to come." Then, just to see if you were paying attention, he adds, "Yet better is one hour of blissfulness of spirit in the world to come than the whole life of this world." As I write on my exams: Discuss.
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Daniel M. KimmelJoined: October 2, 2007 Daniel M. Kimmel is a Boston area film critic, lecturer and author. He does these weekly mini-lessons for the Mishkan Tefila Brotherhood's newsletter. You are free to use them for similar purposes. Divrei Torah (117) |
