Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Divrei Rav Josh- Parshat Aharei Mot-Kedoshim: Marshmallows and Holiness

If I had to choose a single scientific experiment that significantly impacts my work as a Jewish educator, I would choose the famous Stanford Marshmallow Experiment . This experiment consisted of a group of young children who were left alone in a room with a piece of their favorite candy, and were told that they could either eat the single piece of candy now, or wait fifteen minutes and receive an entire bag of that type of candy. Ultimately, after observing the students for the next several decades, the researchers found that the students who were able to delay gratification for fifteen minutes demonstrated higher achievement in a number of areas than those who chose not to wait and ate the single piece of candy.  

As a Jewish educator, I look at this experiment and remember that we oftentimes fail to teach our children that delayed gratification is a Jewish value, and the basic practice of practicing restraint in certain areas of our lives benefits us spiritually, inter-personally, professionally, and even materially. Believe it or not, this idea can be found in Parshat Aharei Mot-Kedoshim when we closely examine how our rabbis interpret the famous verse where God says, "You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am Holy" (Vayikra 19:2).  

One of our earliest midrashim on this verse establishes the idea that holiness represents an ability to separate one's own behavior from the behavior of others. The Sifra states:
"You shall be holy"- you shall set yourselves apart. "For I, the Lord your God, am holy"- meaning that if you make yourselves holy, I shall credit you as if you had sanctified Me, but if you do not make yourselves holy, I shall view as if you have not sanctified me" (Sifra Kedoshim 1:1).  
This midrash argues that sanctifying oneself is inherently connected to sanctifying God, and our later commentators will be tasked with understanding what are the specific actions that define our capacity to attain that sanctity.

However, when our Medieval Commentators examine this verse, a famous debate takes place in the commentaries of Rashi and Ramban as to whether or not this verse should be read narrowly or broadly. Rashi writes:
"“You shall be holy”: abstain from forbidden relations and from sin.  The concept of holiness always accompanies the laws of sexual relations..." (Rashi on Vayikra 19:2).
Rashi's commentary asserts that the statement "You shall be holy" must be connected to the forthcoming prohibitions of illicit sexual relationships, since the broad principle would most likely apply to the specific prohibitions that the Torah ultimately lists. If we read the verse from our parasha narrowly, we can see the appeal in Rashi's interpretation, as it limits the principle of "You shall be holy" to that which immediately follows it.

However, when the Ramban examines the same verse, he argues that Rashi construes the verse too narrowly, and ignores the broadly principle that is explicated through this entire passage. The Ramban states the following:
"In my opinion, this "purity," is not, as Rashi holds, confined to the laws of sexual relations, but rather that associated throughout the Talmud with the pious, called Perushim (abstemious, saintly). This is so because the Torah forbids certain relations and foods, permits intercourse with one's wife and the consumption of meat and wine...Therefore, after outlining absolute prohibitions, we are given a general command of restraint from things that are permitted" (Ramban on Vayikra 19:2).
According to the Ramban, while Rashi is correct to relate the principle of "You shall be holy" to sexual relationships, Rashi ignores the fact that similar language in used in other places where holiness is connected to the importance of restraining one's behavior. Instead, the Ramban argues that we should see the principle of "You shall be holy" as introducing us to limitations placed upon for a specific act that, under other circumstances, we are permitted to perform. For example, while the Torah limits specific sexual relationships, the Torah also states that it is a mitzvah to procreate. Similarly, while the Torah describes examples when a person can or should limit or abstain from consuming alcohol, such as in the case of the nazir, the Torah does not completely prohibit alcohol consumption. In each case, the Ramban argues that the Torah is attempting to explain how placing limitations upon ourselves is an essential element towards pursuing a pathway of holiness.

In the modern commentary, Chancellor Ismar Schorsch argues that the statement "You shall be holy" expresses Judaism's promotion of self-denial as an act of spirituality. He writes:
“....holiness in Judaism begins with self-denial.  The basic thrust of the Torah is to limit our freedom of action.  In Jewish law the proverbial 613 commandments break down into 365 proscriptions and only 248 prescriptions.   The ideal is not to be governed by our impulse, nor to try out everything that we are capable of doing.   Dissipation is a danger to both health and truth.  Judaism is our Walden Pond where simplicity is the key to mastering life; less is more, and “a man is rich in proportion to the things he can afford to let alone” (Henry David Thoreau)” (Ismar Schorsch, “Aharei-Mot Kedoshim: What is Holiness?”, Canon Without Closure: Torah Commentaries, 420).
One cannot read Schorsch's commentary without seeing the echoes of Ramban's interpretation, for Chancellor Schorsch is notes that we choose not to do says a great deal about our capacity for divine connection. In each case, our rabbis articulate that the Torah aims to use prohibited acts as a means of attaining sanctity by emphasizing the value of teaching restraint, delayed gratification and impulse control.

At every stage of life, we are faced with opportunities to act impulsively, or to show restraint. Whether we are tempted to say something inappropriate to or about a friend or colleague, decide whether to have a salad or a slice of pizza for lunch, or spend our money or place it in the bank, all of us spend our lives living through moments when restraint is a value that pays short-term and long-term dividends. Fittingly, our rabbis understand the principle "You shall be holy" as imploring us to embrace restraint as a Jewish value, and may we teach that principle to children, students, and members of our community.

Shabbat Shalom!



No comments:

Post a Comment