Iyar 19, 5776/May 27, 2016
With this week's reading of Bechukotai we conclude the book of Leviticus. For ten weeks we have been studying intensely each word and passage of this fascinating book which is the third among the five books of the Torah, the heart of G-d's revelation to His people at Sinai. The book gives instruction concerning the offerings to be brought to the Tabernacle/Holy Temple, various laws of (spiritual) purity, as well as recording different historical incidents, such as the inauguration of the Tabernacle, the untimely death ofNadav and Avihu, and the Israelite blasphemer. Yet, astonishingly, the upcoming book of Numbers picks up at precisely the same moment and location that the book of Leviticus began. How can this be? Has time stood still? Has it all been but a dream?
We recall the mysterious opening words of Leviticus, "Vayikra el Moshe - And He called to Moshe," (Leviticus 1:1) in which not only is "He" ( G-d ) is not mentioned by name, but we are never told what He said to Moshe. It was spoken as in a whisper that only Moshe could hear, a message from Creator to servant. Our entry into the teaching of Leviticus begins only in the second half of the opening verse, "and HaShem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying... " (ibid) But if we insist on being in on the silent conversation with which Leviticus begins, and listen carefully we will solve the riddle of the missing time and space of Leviticus and gain true insight into Leviticus' life-changing message.
The entire book of Leviticus is about holiness. It begins with the very specific manifestation of holiness which is awakened and made tangible by the service of the Holy Temple, beginning with the details of the offerings, the significance of the priestly garments and ultimately including the different embodiments of holiness as reflected in Shabbat and the holidays of the Hebrew calendar. But holiness is not contained only within the courtyards of the Holy Temple. Leviticus tracks the spread of holiness to our own selves, describing the laws of personal purity, the pure and the impure animals, and the holiness imbued within the land of Israel leading to the laws of shemittah (Sabbatical year) and the Yovel (Jubilee) year.
The book of Leviticus has effectively abandoned the dimensions of time and space for the purpose of opening our eyes to the dimension of holiness which permeates all of creation. Just as there are spectrums of light which our eyes can't see and frequencies of sound which our ears cannot hear without the aid of technology, so too is our universe permeated with holiness which the untrained eye cannot see, the untrained ear cannot hear and the untrained heart cannot fathom. Once we have been exposed to holiness and taught how to be cognizant of holiness and how to increase holiness in our lives as individuals and as a nation, and how to identify and bring out the holiness in the world around us, which is the essence of the teaching of Leviticus, our world is forever changed for the better. We will see a brighter light, deeper colors and greater resolution, and hear a more pure melody and rhythm in the life-chatter and silences which surround us. We will see and hear the holiness in others and strive in our hearts for a closer, more intimate relationship with G-d .
The once-mobile Tabernacle is replaced with the Holy Temple fixed in a permanent location, which serves as the portal through which we gain entry and access to the otherwise undetected reality of holiness, which, like waves upon the ocean, in the air or across the vast expanse of emptiness which makes up much of the cosmos, forever travels outward, moving and synchronizing all of creation, rewriting our perception and understanding of our place and purpose in G-d's creation.
Time and space have stood still throughout the book of Leviticus as we have been listening attentively to G-d's silent message to Moshe. Time and space have stood still but we have not. Our eyes and souls have been opened to the inherent holiness in all of G-d's creation.
-The Temple Institute
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