 Progress not Perfection -- Emor 5780
None of us is perfect, but really, should perfection be our ultimate goal? If we make an honest attempt to overcome our flaws, at the very least we can grow and move one step closer towards perfection. But if our goal is to truly be perfect, there’s a good chance we will miss the mark and in so doing, experience shame and guilt or consider ourselves to be failures. This week’s Torah portion, Emor begins by focusing on the particular instructions the priests had to follow in carrying out their duties. Because of the special role they played in Israelite society by performing sacred tasks associated with sacrifices and rituals, priests were required to abide by certain rules the rest of Israelite society did not have to follow. They were not for example allowed to have contact with the dead; marry a divorcee; or tear their garments in mourning. But it wasn’t only about what Priests could and couldn’t do, it was also about who could become a priest. אִ֣ישׁ מִֽזַּרְעֲךָ֞ לְדֹֽרֹתָ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִהְיֶ֥ה בוֹ֙ מ֔וּם לֹ֣א יִקְרַ֔ב לְהַקְרִ֖יב לֶ֥חֶם אֱלֹהָֽיו Whoever he is of your seed in their generations who has any blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God. (Lev. 21:17) According to this verse, a priest could not have any blemishes. It appears the Torah did indeed require them to be perfect. Today, we frown on discriminating against those with certain blemishes or defects. In fact, we have laws that protect one from this type of discrimination. Yet the desire and the pressure we place on achieving perfection while not established as law, is no less prevalent as in the days of the Kohanim—the pressure to be thin, the pressure to have a perfect nose, the pressure to be wrinkle-free. The rabbis like to explain away this section of Torah by reminding us that the Kohen not only represented the people to God but God to the people. In presenting God to the people it was essential that the priest be perfect both spiritually and physically. Maybe, but I believe we 21st Century Jews hear a different message. God doesn’t demand we be perfect. God demands instead, we be the best we can be-- no more no less. Truthfully, being our best every day is hard enough let alone striving to be perfect. Better to focus on progress rather than perfection. Shabbat Shalom, Ellie Comments are closed.
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