TETZAVEH 5781

What's the most important verse in the Torah?

Today is Shushan Purim. What is Shushan Purim? We all know the story in Megillat Esther—that Haman tried to kill all the Jews in the Persian Empire. Esther and Mordecai foiled his dastardly plot, and the Jews were allow by King Achashveros to defend themselves and destroy their enemies on the 13^th day of Adar. The next day, the 14^th of Adar, became Purim—a day of rest and celebration of their freedom.

Since fighting in the walled capitol city of Shushan continued another day—through the 14^th day of Adar—in cities that were protected by a surrounding wall since ancient times, Purim was celebrated on the 15^th of Adar and came to beknown as Shushan Purim, because the fighting in Shushan lasted another day.

This custom was a boon to my sons Joshua and Jonathan when they were studying Torah in Israel during their gap year. They celebrated Purim and partied on the 14^th of Adar, and went to the Old City of Jerusalem—which was a walled city since ancient times—on the 15^th and partied again!

This year it was somewhat difficult to summon up the spirit during the Covid pandemic to celebrate and party. After all, who feels like partying? And then there’s the masks—well masks really can be in the spirit of Purim—and social distancing? To be safe people are distancing themselves from others, not partying! And if you remember, it was the celebrations of Purim last year that was responsible for the rapid spread of the Coronavirus throughout the Jewish community. So pardon me if I had a tough time getting into a Purim mood this year. However, it’s Purim and we are commanded to celebrate.   

         It reminds me of a famous dispute in the Talmud that I’ve shared with you before concerning, what is the most important verse in the Torah? Rabbi Akiva said that the greatest verse in the Torah is (Lev. 19:18), V’ahavta l’reyacha kamocha (You should love your neighbor as yourself). What could be a more important verse than loving your neighbor? 

         Ben Azai said, “No, the most important verse in the Torah (Gen. 5:1) is: Zeh seyfer todolt adam b’yom b’rah Elohim adam bidmut Elokim asa oto (This is the book of the generations of humanity, on the day that Gd created human beings Gd made them in His own image). That’s also a pretty good candidate. It says that all human beings are related, and all human beings are divine because they are created in the image of Gd. We can certainly understand why Akiba and Ben Azai went for those 2 verses.

         According to a Midrash discussed by the famous 17^th century sage, the Maharal of Prague, when our sages debated which Torah verse is most important, Rabbi Shimon Ben Pazai, chose this verse (Ex. 29:38; Num. 28:3) from our Torah reading: V’zeh asher ta-aseh al hamizbeyach, kivasim b’ney shana, sh’nayim layom tamid (And this is what you shall offer on the alter: 2 yearling sheep, 2 a day forever). Not, at 1^st glance, a leading candidate for the best verse in the Torah. Right? I’m going to read it to you again, just in case you think you may have missed something in there, “And this is what you shall offer on the alter: 2 yearling sheep, 2 a day forever.” 

I must confess, I don’t know about you, but before I learned this Maharal, this verse never gave me pause. I never, in studying this Torah portion before Shabbat said, “Aha, this is the verse I’ve got to talk about: ‘2 yearling sheep every day forever.’ I mean my Gd, wait till they hear this one.” And so you wonder what it is about this verse that’s supposed to make it so important.

Even more startlingly, the Midrash concludes that after hearing all the leading sages explain their choices, a prominent rabbi stood up and declared: “The law is per Ben Pazai!”

Why? What’s so important about these offerings? According to Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, who taught at REITS, the Yeshiva University Rabbinical School I attended, it’s the last word of this verse: tamid (forever). He writes: “You know people think of their spiritual life as a life of peace; it’s what happens on the day you’re born, on your bris, on your bar mitzvah, on your wedding, on the key days of life…and here, this verse says you’ve got to offer sacrifices every day forever. This is the sum of Jewish spirituality, that you’ve got to do it tamid—every single day, all the time, and that it involves sacrifice!”

My friends, when it comes to your relationship with Gd and His Torah, it shouldn’t matter whether or not you feel like doing a mitzvah. A mitzvah is a mitzvah. That means, it is Gd’s command and so we must do it! If Gd commands us to rejoice on Purim, even if there’s a pandemic, we must find a way to rejoice.

Oddly enough, this verse kept me going during the last 11 months. It’s recited in the Korbanot section of the early morning service. Most people skip it, but I recite it because I too think it’s a crucial verse. We Jews have suffered through expulsions, the destruction of both Temples, Crusades, Blood Libels, pogroms, the Holocaust—thousands of years of persecutions and oppression. And still there was always a tamid, always we kept Gd’s mitzvot and always we celebrated Purim and the other holidays. It never mattered whether we felt like celebrating. Even in Auschwitz there was Passover, Sukkot and Chanukah.  

The story of Purim, according to the Megillah, is a story of v’nahafoch hu—of fate turning at the drop of a hat, of life suddenly and irrevocably reordered. It’s a story of carefully made plans turned upside down—of plots and subplots, of hopes unrealized and destinies fulfilled. It’s a story of miraculous transformations, life changing at breathtaking speed.

My friends, this is the story of all our lives at the moment. This past year has been defined by sudden, dramatic changes; everything we do has changed—even the way we celebrate and mark Jewish holidays.

And so on Purim and today on Shushan Purim we rejoice for the miraculous deliverance we experienced at the hand of Gd—saving us when it looked like it was all over, but somehow we were saved. We pray that Gd will also save us from Covid 19—the enemy of all mankind as He brings healing to all who suffer from it.

My blessing to Mehirah Yaffa, on her baby naming this morning, is that she will take to heart the efforts of her parents who will, no doubt, raise her in a home where there is a tamid—where every single day, all of Gd’s mitzvot will be honored even though sometimes it demands sacrifice. May she always be a source of nachat (true joy) to her family, our congregation and the Jewish people. And to this let us all say, Amen!