The Circuitous Path to God Parshat Naso by Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger youtube/watch?v=aZyOCyg1bkI&list=UU_LxJUg9pNH2qXCIsa8v9Dw&feature=share When trying to identify the major differences between Christianity and Judaism, many of us think that Christians believe that the only way to God is through an intermediary – namely Jesus – whereas Jews believe there is no need for any intermediaries, for we have a direct line to God. This understanding may miss the mark on both ends: On the one hand many Evangelicals claim that they experience direct communication with the divine, and on the other hand I am not convinced at all that Judaism posits an unmediated connection to God. Actually, this week’s Torah portion, focusing as it does on the role of the priests (Cohanim in Hebrew, in the singular Cohen) in the service of the divine and setting forth the formula according to which the Cohanim are to bless the people, might indicate that indeed according to the Torah any relationship with God has to flow through some type of bridging medium. But why should that be so? Why can’t the blessings flow directly from God to man? And why can’t a person approach God on his own? The answer appears to be something like this: The idolatrous nations of the ancient world believed their gods were immanent and immediately available to man. Personifications of the natural events and forces of the universe, they were approachable and near in the most concrete and unconditional sense to those who called upon them. As such, they were portrayed as not that different from human beings. The Torah, on the other hand, innovates a radical idea: God is transcendent – He is unlike and beyond any human being or any force you have ever known. God is other, far removed from the orbit of our conception and comprehension. This is forcefully brought home in the symbolism of the Tabernacle. As we read in last week’s Torah portion, God’s presence dwells as it were in the Tabernacle, but its precincts are off limits to almost all. Boundaries and fences surround it. Only the Cohanim may enter into the inner sanctum and under their direction the Levites stand guard to prevent encroachment … for encroachment means immediate death! The divine energy is too powerful for all but God’s special emissaries, who serve as a buffer to mediate God’s presence for the rest of us. And even they, if they dare enter areas of the Tabernacle that are off limits to them, or gaze upon those holy vessels that are forbidden for them to see, are liable to be scorched by the divine energy. So we are taught to keep our distance and to refrain from overstepping God’s boundaries. It would be sacrilegious and utterly presumptuous for man to dare think that he could overcome the chasm that separates us from God in heaven above. Even Moses, who asked to see the Glory of God when he ascended Mt. Sinai, was told “No man shall see Me and live”. Man may yearn to see, to grasp the divine essence, to enter into the purview of the Master of the Universe, but ultimately it is beyond human experience. Even today, when we have no concentrated locale of God’s indwelling and we do not ascend Mt. Sinai towards the epicenter of revelation, we still must be every so careful to respect the glory of His transcendence. Those who presume to hear His voice speaking to them, to experience His countenance warming their hearts and directly transforming their lives must be careful that they are not unconsciously succumbing to the temptation of remaking God in their own image. But is that all? Is there no bridge between man and God? And today, when there is no Temple within which the Cohanim may serve as mediators to bring us the divine blessings, is there any avenue of divine connection left open? Yes there is a bridge and it is called Torah. We have no access to God’s essence, but the outline of His will for our lives in this world has been bestowed upon us. We don’t know much about God and can directly experience very little of His Presence, but we do know something of how He wants us to behave. When a Jew takes upon himself one of the commandments of the Torah – that is our connection to God. When a Jew studies Torah – that is our way of communing with the divine. The Torah is the matrix of our spiritual experience. With proper effort, we can come to know the Torah and uphold its way of life, and in that fashion elevate ourselves toward love of God. This is why we Jews are generally uncomfortable with the language of our Evangelical friends: I have rarely if ever heard a Jew steeped in Judaism talk of experiencing God, warm and fuzzy, drawing him close to His bosom, or of having heard His comforting voice directing that person’s every step. As I heard from one of my ‘born again’ acquaintances the other day, they can talk of a ‘direct line to the Man’. Our path is different, a delicate balancing act of immediacy fully cognizant of distance, of love kept in check by awe. Our way, the way of Torah, is circuitous and often difficult, but most rewarding for those who invest the effort. I would like to wish all of our readers a happy and rewarding Shavuot holiday!
Posted on: Thu, 29 May 2014 03:26:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015