|
|
May 9, 2003/Iyar 7 5763, Vol. 55, No. 37
All praise goes to God
Torah study
RABBI SHLOMO RISKIN
Emor/Leviticus 21:1-24:23
"And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering - the day after the Sabbath (of the first day of Passover) - you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete." (Leviticus 23:15)
What is the main function of the State of Israel, and is that function substantively different from the significance of Jerusalem and the holy Temple?
Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, said that the omer offering on the second day of Passover permitted the new crop of grain to be eaten within Israel, and the two loaves of wheat bread brought on Shavuot seven weeks later permitted the new crop for the Temple and Jerusalem. The daily counting between both offerings join the vision of the state with the vision of the Temple.
What do these two places and ideals signify?
We need to look to the events that occurred during the reign of King Hezekiah (seventh century B.C.E.), a religious reformer who attempted to destroy idolatry and restore the Temple to its proper place of glory.
When Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, sent an army to the ramparts of Jerusalem, "an angel of the Lord went out and struck down one hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp" (II Kings 19:35) - enabling Hezekiah King of Judah to vanquish his powerful foe.
Unfortunately, neither Hezekiah's religious reforms nor his miraculous victory bore positive fruit. In the words of the Talmudic sages, "the Holy One blessed be He desired to make Hezekiah the messiah. ... Said the Measure of Judgement before the Holy One Blessed be He, 'If You didn't make David ... the messiah after he praised You with so many songs and blessings, how can You make Hezekiah the messiah when, after You did all these miracles for him, he did not even praise You with one song?' " (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 94a)
Of note is that the Talmud waxes poetic about Judah during his reign: "Hezekiah planted a sword at the entrance to every House of Study, declaring that anyone who did not study Torah would be pierced by that sword." (B.T. Sanhedrin, ibid.)
The truth is that everything was not so good. After this outstanding victory, the Bible reports: "Hezekiah made no return for what had been bestowed upon him, for he grew arrogant." (II Chronicles 32:25)
To make matters worse, when emissaries came from Babylonia to inquire about the victory over the Assyrians, Hezekiah only showed them his treasure troves. Even the prophet Isaiah rebukes him for his crass conduct.
Hezekiah's fatal flaw stems from the fact that despite his desire to serve God and destroy idolatry, he remained enamored of power and wealth. Undoubtedly the very first concern of every state, including a Jewish state, must be to provide protection and sustenance for its citizens. In addition must come the realization that all of our bounty comes from God and must be shared with everyone.
Hezekiah never really made this critical connection between the festival of Passover and the festival of Shavuot, between the new crops for the land-state and the new crops for the Jerusalem Temple. He got stuck on the wealth and power of the state - and the prophet during his reign, Isaiah, describes a Jerusalem fraught with ritual religiosity but devoid of ethical sensitivity.
May we in Israel reborn make certain not to repeat Hezekiah's mistake and to sing the song of God and human concern when we sing our songs of praise on Israeli Independence Day.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is the spiritual leader of Efrat, Israel.
|
