Haftorah Beam - Kedoshim

Last year, this was the second half of a double parsha.  This year, it stands on its own.

The Torah portion includes several injunctions relating to inclusion and empathy for those with special needs;  the haftorah talks about our place among the nations of the world:

⁷ To Me, O Israelites, you are
Just like the Ethiopians

— declares the Lord —

True, I brought Israel up
From the land of Egypt,
But also the Philistines from Caphtor
And the Arameans from Kir.

Yes, we are "Chosen" for our peculiar mission, but we are reminded here that other nations are chosen, as well, each for their own purpose.  We are all children of G*d; each an individual, and each uniquely loved.

In the context of today's observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, we learn that we must see all oppressed nations through the lens of our own history.  In G*d's eyes, we are all siblings, and must look after those who are suffering regardless of their origins.

Not our children?

Tonight begins Holocaust Memorial Day.
Last Holocaust Memorial Day I posted this.

But this analogy is more personal than I let on.  My maternal grandparents narrowly escaped Poland with their infant daughter (my mom) before the Nazi invasion.  They each came from large families. Between them there were 18 siblings.

18 siblings in 2 families.

When the war was over, only 4 had survived.  My mother's parents, her aunt who escaped with them with her husband and teen-aged daughter, and an uncle who married into a Catholic family.

4 out of 18.

How many cousins would I have had, without this tragedy?  How many 2nd cousins for my children? 3rd cousins?

The Holocaust Memorial in Israel, Yad VaShem, maintains a list of "Righteous Gentiles", non-Jews who, often at great personal risk, helped Jews during the Holocaust and other times of persecution. In many instances, these individuals were personally responsible for the saving of countless lives.  Were the children they saved "their children"?  Were the people they stuck their necks out for "their problem"?

Adoption is hard.  Special needs adoption is even harder.  There are many risks involved.  Furthermore, many people find these children repulsive, and perhaps not worth saving, thus making the job even harder.  Of course, many people felt that way about Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals.  Many people still do.  Are any of these hardships, risks, obstacles and prejudices anywhere close to what thousands of Righteous Gentiles had taken on to save our people? Are children who are warehoused in substandard institutions any less deserving?  Would my missing cousins have been worth it?

Haftorah Beam - Achrei Mot / Shabbat Hagadol

Last year, this was the first part of a double parsha, and we were reading the second half, so we missed the Torah reading.  This year, it was the Shabbat before Pesach (Passover) so we have a special Haftorah reading, so we miss the usual Haftorah reading.  Oh well.

Reading this special Haftorah (Shabbat Hagadol) actually made me a bit sentimental! Last year, my daughter chanted this haftorah at her Bat Mitzvah, although her Torah reading was different.  The reading anticipates the redemption of the Exodus which is commemorated in the Passover Hagadah by challenging us to cling on to our faith and ethics even when it seems that these don't really pay off.  We see others literally getting away with murder, we see our convictions challenged every day.  Why do it all?  The prophet assures us that not only will the redemption come one day that will make it all worth while, but that doing the right thing is in fact its own reward.

¹⁷ And on the day that I am preparing, said the Lord of Hosts, they shall be My treasured possession; I will be tender toward them as a man is tender toward a son who ministers to him. ¹⁸ And you shall come to see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between him who has served the Lord and him who has not served Him....²³ Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the coming of the awesome, fearful day of the Lord. ²⁴ He shall reconcile parents with children and children with their parents, so that, when I come, I do not strike the whole land with utter destruction.

Haftorah Beam - Metzora

I really wanted to write this in a timely fashion, but.... life is what happens when you're making other plans.

Last year this was part of a double parsha, but this year it stands alone.  The haftorah recounts a story about a group of lepers who seek sustenance during a drought in a neighboring Aramean town.  To their surprise, the town is deserted.  At first, they loot just for themselves, but then they realize that this could bring relief to their whole community.  Leaving aside the issue of "international politics" here, this shows the tension between seeing those with disabilities as outcasts, vs. seeing them as "special blessings".

Yeah, I wanted to say more, but..... life.

Happy Passover!

I am so behind, I have 2 Haftorah Beam posts to make up, and a long post about adolescence in the works. Can I blame spring cleaning for at least part of my slacking?  But we had a lovely Passover Seder last night, my 2 youngest singing Mah Nishtanah, my 5-year-old very seriously participating in the reading, and the guests leaving full and (apparently) happy.

Edited to add: Woo hoo! This is my 400th published post!!!

Haftorah Beam - Tazria

Last year, this was part of a double-parsha, but this year it stands on its own.  The haftorah, however, is a special reading, observing the beginning of the month of Nissan and anticipating the Festival of Passover.

This reading mostly discusses the New Moon sacrifices, as this is the first commandment given to the Israelites.  I was intrigued by this passage, though:

¹ Thus said the Lord God: The gate of the inner court which faces east shall be closed on the six working days; it shall be opened on the sabbath day and it shall be opened on the day of the new moon. ² The prince shall enter by way of the vestibule outside the gate, and shall attend at the gatepost while the priests sacrifice his burnt offering and his offering of well-being; he shall then bow low at the threshold of the gate and depart. The gate, however, shall not be closed until evening. ³ The common people shall worship before the Lord on sabbaths and new moons at the entrance of the same gate.....⁸ When the prince enters, he shall come in by way of the vestibule of the gate, and he shall go out the same way.
⁹ But on the fixed occasions, when the common people come before the Lord, whoever enters by the north gate to bow low shall leave by the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate shall leave by the north gate. They shall not go back through the gate by which they came in, but shall go out by the opposite one. ¹⁰And as for the prince, he shall enter with them when they enter and leave when they leave.

Interestingly, when the "prince" comes to observe the sacrifice, he bows low and returns the way he came.  The commoners, however, go through the inner court and leave by way of the opposite gate.  Seems like they get a more intimate experience of the sacrifice than the prince does!

It seems that the prince, who may be jaded by the pomp and circumstance of the Temple worship, needs to maintain some distance from the inner court, in order to keep a reverent perspective.  The commoners, however, get to experience this only on occasion, and thus are permitted the full experience.  The first mitzvah is one of democratization, where the prince bows low at the gate, and continues to bow low as the commoners pass him to go to the opposite gate.  The prince is thus reminded that even as he bows to G*d through the sacrifice, he is also bowing to the people.

Do you wanna build a snowman? ("Frozen" spoiler alert)

Olaf the snowman.  Even the name says: "Oh, laugh!"

We first meet him when Elsa and Anna are little, and Elsa speaks for him with a stereotyped voice, "I'm Olaf, and I love warm hugs!" -- he is the focus of Anna's yearning for the lost closeness with Elsa as they grow up.

We almost miss it when Elsa creates him again, among her flurries on the way up North Mountain as she "lets it go". (at 1:06)  Even she doesn't realize what she has created, and abandons him, in favor of the grandness of her Ice Palace....



We are not quite sure what to make of him when we meet him again, still wandering aimlessly in the snow, just in the right time and place to lead Anna and Kristoff to Elsa's palace, the only creature who knows exactly where it is.

He is the snowman who loves warm hugs so much, he dreams of summer.



He is goofy, funny-looking, plump, and doesn't quite get it.  But he loves fully and carelessly ("Some people are worth melting for.")  And when it comes right down to it, he actually DOES get it, where it really matters.  Am I the only one who sees Olaf as having Down syndrome?

And instead of melting when summer does finally return to Arendelle, he is saved by Elsa, who creates for him his own personal flurry.  The very powers which were so frightening are exactly what she uses to sustain Olaf.  And she does it in a way that manifests inclusion at its best.  She truly understands being isolated by difference, and knows exactly how to give him the support he needs.  Olaf is actually able to enjoy summertime just as he had dreamed, with the protective flurry that allows him to participate without losing his identity.  He doesn't just love warm hugs, he loves flowers, and dancing, and sharing the fullness of life with his friends.

So..... Do you wanna build a snowman?