Kollot Haftarah Introduction: Being worthy of redemption

Written by Rabbi Josh Levy — 13 March 2021

Why, in the instructions for the first Pesach that Ayala sang for us this morning, are the Israelites told to select a lamb on the tenth of the month, and to watch over it until the fourteenth? What is the purpose of these four days?

Our haftarah for this morning, which, in line with the tradition of our Kollot service, is taken from chazal, from the writings of the sages – tries to answer this question.

As ever with Rabbinic Literature, it needs a bit of unpacking.

The core argument of the text we are about to read is that the Israelites weren’t just going to be rescued.  In order to be redeemed from Egypt, they needed to do something to earn it.

The text starts by saying that God gives Israel two instructions that they need to carry out in this little window.  One is milah – we are told that the paschal sacrifice was not to be eaten by anyone who was uncircumcised – so there was work for the Israelites to do.
And the other is the selection, watching and then sacrifice of a lamb.

It’s interesting to note the transformation of the paschal sacrifice that happens here.  In this text dam pesach is not about the blood on the doorposts – which, of course is completely unnecessary for God – nor about the heavily ritualised eating as described in our Torah portion.
Rather, here the act was about refocussing the Israelites in their religious lives.

But, the text objects, surely we have another tradition that they were already doing some good stuff.  They didn’t need refocusing. There is a tradition, referred to here, that even through all their time in Egypt they were chaste and careful with their tongues, kept their names and their language. They were already worthy of redemption.

True, our text answers, but all of that was outweighed by their idolatry. It was that which the period of waiting was intended to rectify. A psychological journey out of idolatry was necessary to allow redemption to take place.
And that is where, rather abruptly – as is often the case with rabbinic texts – this passage ends.

So much for the text – but what is it actually trying to tell us?
There are two key ideas here:

The first is that redemption isn’t something that just happens.  We can’t be indifferent to our actions and still expect to be redeemed, just by inheritance.
Our text is a critique of any idea of chosen-ness which implies that people Israel can behave how we wish and be guaranteed redemption in the future just by virtue of our Jewishness. Jewishness is not enough to have a close relationship with God. Rather, as Jews, we have to be active in the work of bringing about redemption – as our haftarah states, the reward follows the action.

The second idea is that sometimes we can even do mitzvot and it not be enough.  Even then, we might still need a process of refocus in order to be redeemable.

That is, keeping laws or keeping a sense of identity – these are insufficient if we are also living with idolatry, be that genuine idol worship – or as is strongly suggested in this text – idolatry in our hearts, in our souls.
Just as we can’t expect our status to be sufficient, so we can’t expect our ritual lives to be sufficient if they are not done with the right purpose. We can keep the laws and not be worthy of redemption.

Something similar is stated in a powerful commentary from the medieval Spanish commentator Nachmanides on the instruction in parashat kedoshim “kedoshim tihiyu,” – you shall be holy.  Why is this necessary?
Nachmanides suggests that it is possible to follow all of the technicalities of Jewish law and still not be holy. As he puts it, it is possible to be a “Naval bir’shut HaTorah,” a scoundrel with permission from the Torah – someone who adheres to the letter of the law and yet doesn’t reflect its spirit, isn’t holy in their hearts.  Redemption requires us not just to do, but also, as it were, to abandon our idolatry – to do with good purpose.

Which brings us to Ayala’s D’var Torah from earlier in our Torah service.  One of the questions that the rabbis are grappling with is her question. Why all the detail, and what do we do with it? And their answer, the best part of 2000 years ago, was pretty much the same as that which Ayala gave – Detail is necessary but not sufficient.  It needs to be accompanied by a greater purpose and meaning.

It’s an idea also found in the words with which we began our service this morning, words introduced into the liturgy by Isaac Luria. ‘Hareni m’kabel alai’ – I take upon myself the instruction ‘you shall love your neighbour as your self’.  It is a reminder that our ritual lives are about our connections with each other as much as the words on the page.

The sages were alive to the transformative power of ritual.  But they were very aware that the goal was not the ritual but the transformation. Jewish life without meaning, intent, purpose was not the ideal.
To be Jewish is not enough. To do Jewish is not enough. The fundamental purpose of our Jewish lives is to somehow make us better people.

In the language of our haftarah, it is that which makes us worthy of – and helps us to bring about – redemption.

 

Mekhilta d’Rabbi Ishmael on Exodus 12:6

YOU SHALL KEEP WATCH OVER IT (Exodus 12:6)
Why did the taking of the Pesach lamb precede its slaughter by four days?

Rabbi Mattya ben Cheresh says: The time had come to fulfil the oath that the Holy One had made to Abraham to redeem his children. But they had no mitzvot with which to occupy themselves, in order that they be worthy of redemption… So the Holy One gave them two mitzvot: the blood of the Paschal lamb and the blood of circumcision, so they should engage in them and be redeemed… Therefore, Scripture required that the lamb be taken four days before its slaughter, for reward is given only for action.

Rabbi Elazar Ha-kappar b’Rebbi says: But didn’t Israel already have four mitzvot which are of greater worth than the whole world? They were not suspect of sexual misconduct or of speaking evil, nor had they changed their names or their language. So why did the taking of the Pesach lamb precede its slaughter by four days?

Because they were steeped in idolatry in Egypt. And the prohibition of idolatry is of equal weight to all of the mitzvot. God said to them, “Refrain from idolatry and cleave to mitzvot”.

Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira says: It is written THEY WOULD NOT LISTEN TO MOSES, THEIR SPIRITS CRUSHED (Exodus 6:9). Is it really the case that they would be given good news and not rejoice? Rather, what is the meaning of THEY WOULD NOT LISTEN TO MOSES? It was difficult for them to abandon their idolatry. This is what is meant by the subsequent verse AND THE ETERNAL SPOKE TO MOSES AND TO AARON, AND COMMANDED THEM REGARDING THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL (Exodus 6:13). God commanded them to abandon their idolatry.