Acharei Mot - Transformation Bias
Leviticus 16:1-18:30
Summary: Parshat Acharei Mot tells of Temple ritual that would give physical expression to the energies and issues at play on Yom Kippur. Nestled in the depths of these rituals is the act of atoning and restoring the full power of the Temple itself - the ark and curtains and altars. This represents the importance of reclaiming and renewing the infrastructure that guides us toward our deepest encounters and allows them to serve as vehicles of transformation.
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Real estate agents, brokers, and sellers have an obligation in all states to divulge or disclose information that could affect the salability of a property. Water damage, being in the flood plain, and the like. And some states require the disclosure of a murder or suicide on the house, as this might potential buyers’ attitude toward the property. Massachusetts is not one of those states.
But we knew, because the murder in our home is the stuff of legend. Everyone knows that “Cadillac Frank” Salemme and Paul Weadick killed Steven DiSarro in our kitchen. We knew that when we bought the house. We didn’t care. It was actually kind of exciting. We weren’t concerned that the house was haunted. But we took precautions just the same, setting fire to a bundle of sage and waving it around the house, particularly in the kitchen where the murder happened.
The origin of “sage smudging” a home can be found among Native American practices. And it is a practice that has been adopted, or coopted, by many people. There have even been scientific studies of the effects of burning sage in one’s home (apparently it has anti-bacterial properties as well and triggers relaxation in the nervous system).
Obviously as a modern Jewish person who is committed to Jewish practice and also weary of cultural appropriation, I have some non-zero amount of hesitation in smudging the house, but somewhere along the line I internalized this as “what you do” when moving into a new space with unknown vibes (and all the more so a potential haunting). Not sure yet if there is anything in this particular practice that is supported by, or prohibited by, Jewish practice and thinking.
But I do know that the basic principle - that some not-physical element can adhere to a physical space or a physical object - is quite central to Jewish practice and thinking. Look no further than the original Yom Kippur service to proof - on that sacred day, animals were offered as atonement for Aharon the High Priest, and for his family, and for the entire Jewish people. Once the animals were slaughtered, their blood was brought into the Holiest Space and sprinkled on the Ark of the Covenant. Then,
He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger over the cover on the east side; and in front of the cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. He shall then slaughter the people’s goat of sin offering, bring its blood behind the curtain, and do with its blood as he has done with the blood of the bull: he shall sprinkle it over the cover and in front of the cover. Thus he shall purge the Shrine of the impurity and transgression of the Israelites, whatever their sins; and he shall do the same for the Tent of Meeting, which abides with them in the midst of their impurity. He shall go out to the altar that is before Hashem and purge it: he shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the goat and apply it to each of the horns of the altar; and the rest of the blood he shall sprinkle on it with his finger seven times. Thus he shall purify it of the defilement of the Israelites and consecrate it.
To say that less biblically, the blood would be applied to the Tent of Meeting and the altar as a way of removing defilement. Where had this defilement come from? For impurity and transgression. Somehow, this impurity and transgression would adhere to these holy objects, and even to the holy walls that held these holy objects, and this defilement would have to be addressed and removed.
This idea of adherence has very powerful modern equivalence, sage smudge or no sage smudge. If we consider our Jewish practices - Shabbat and prayer, tzedakkah and Torah learning, Passover Seder and respect for the elderly - as similar to the Ark and the Altars and the Mishkan, you can see how certain elements adhere to those practices. What elements? Our opinions and attitudes and experiences. Think about it very literally: Wally was made to light Hanukkah candles as a kid, even though he didn’t want to. Really, he was jealous of his Christian friends, and thought of Hanukkah as a kind of low-budget version of Christmas. He wanted nothing to do with it, but he wasn’t given a choice. So, each time he put flame to candle, he was full of resentment, frustration, envy and anger. Not surprisingly, 40 years later, he carries those feelings with him as Hanukkah approaches. As much as he’d like to enjoy the holiday he cannot. As much as people around him are talking about the spiritual depths of the holiday, the opportunity, the relevant symbolism, and the importance, he just cannot leet it in. Those old opinions and feelings have adhered to the mitzvah of lighting candles to the point where they become a sort of barrier, and nothing else can get in. For Wally, this mitzvah needs to be cleansed.
This is true not just for people who have had bad experiences with certain practices or passages. It is true even of people who (think they) have a fabulous connection to these practices and passages and rituals. Because, in truth, they are infinite. They are dynamic portals to incredibly poignant and inspiring realization and encounter. So, even if we approach them with genuine good will and an open heart, we are still somehow limiting them, and they need to be liberated and restored to their status as portals to the infinite. And that is what we do (or could do) every Yom Kippur.
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In Parshat Acharei Mot, where the Yom Kippur rituals are described, there is another example of this kind of adhesion. After discussing the Day of Atonement, the Torah goes on to describe forbidden sexual practices in the context of the nations (Egypt, Canaan) that do what the Torah forbids. The same word - defilement - is used in both cases. “For all those abhorrent things were done by the people who were in the land before you, and the land became defiled.” Notice that it is not just the people who were defiled by those practices, but the land itself.
With this, the Torah makes clear that there is a lasting effect of our actions on the things we are doing, the practices we are practicing, and the spaces we inhabit. This might be inevitable, but it can be addressed.
As such, it would be wise to consider practices, holidays, passages of liturgy, even relationships with certain people, that need to be “smudged”. Maybe sage could be involved, but we might need to find a deeper resolve to free them up toward their dynamic potentials. A simple acknowledgment would be a good start.