Parshat Acharei Mot: Elevating The Physical
Original author - By Baruch Herschkopff, edited by the GrowTorah Summer Inchworms 2021
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One of the holiest offerings brought in the Beit Hamikdash and in the Mishkan before it, was the ketoret, the special blend of incense. The burning of the ketoret comes to its zenith in this week’s parsha, where it becomes the offering of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur as he enters the Holy of Holies.[1] The incense offering of the Kohen Gadol is contrasted with the failed offering of Aharon’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, which resulted in their deaths. The difference between the sacrifices can help us understand a perspective on a proper relationship with the environment and our responsibilities to the world around us.
Through the service in the Beit Hamikdash, humans had the ability to refine and elevate the physical world for spiritual service.[2] The ketoret in particular was a blend of spices from the far reaches of the globe, which were ground and burnt together for worshiping Hashem. Hashem describes the special components of the ketoret to Moshe soon after the Exodus from Egypt: “And the Lord said to Moses: Take for yourself aromatics, [namely] balsam sap, onycha and galbanum, aromatics and pure frankincense; they shall be of equal weight.”[3] The Talmud explains that according to tradition there are 11 spices in the ketoret.[4] Some are native to the Middle East: balsam was produced in Israel, most famously in Ein Gedi.[5] The aromatic gum resin of galbanum is procured from plants native to Persia, or modern-day Iran.[6] The various resins of frankincense are all native to the lands of Arabia.[7] Myrrh, also an aromatic resin ingredient of the ketoret, is native to Yemen, Somalia and the eastern parts of Ethiopia.[8]
However, several of the spices must have originated in the farthest attainable locations. Cloves are native to Indonesia.[9] Cassia, similar to cinnamon, is an evergreen tree native to southern China and Vietnam.[10] Spikenard could be a member of the Valerian family that grows in the Himalayas of China, or it could be lavender, which is also native to Israel.[11] Saffron, from the stamens of the saffron crocus, is native to southwest Asia.[12] Costus is native to Europe, and much of Asia, especially the Himalayas.[13] Lastly, cinnamon is native to south India and Sri Lanka.[14] The in-gathering of all these components into one blended spice offering on the holiest day of the year offers a worldwide spiritual connection. By bringing with him the essence of plants grown around the globe, the Kohen Gadol does not “leave the world behind” as he enters the Holy of Holies, rather he elevates the most refined representation of the entire world. Physical offerings and spiritual prayer intertwine to result in our kaparah.
This balance of physical and spiritual is accentuated in Bnei Yisrael’s sin in Sefer Amos, the Sefer from which our haftarah is taken. The prophecy recorded suggests a misalignment in the proper use of the world in at least two major ways. Firstly, there is a description of excess personal consumption. The prophet speaks to, “those who lie on couches of ivory and stretch out on their beds, and eat lambs of the flock and calves out of the stall…”[15] He warns them, “The Lord G-d of Hosts says: I abhor the pride of Jacob, and I hate his palaces, and I will deliver the city and the fullness thereof.” [16] Over-investing in and becoming distracted by the material world forces Bnei Yisrael out of a consciousness upon which proper use of the earth is predicated.
A second theme of Sefer Amos is the use of the physical world where people hoard resources for themselves and ignore their responsibilities towards others. Amos speaks to, “…those who rejoice over a thing of naught, who say, ‘with our strength we have taken horns for ourselves.”[17] He criticizes the use of personal power to accumulate a private gain, for “ourselves,” but not for others, calling us to recognize, instead, the shared need and the common good. The explicit harm that comes to others when we prioritize physical gain is highlighted when the Navi warns that destruction will come, “for they are selling a righteous man for money, and a poor man for a pair of shoes.”[18] When personal accumulation of physical property and the resources of the physical world are held as the highest priority, then even the most basic social justice is threatened.
HaKadosh Baruch Hu has given us a magnificent world to use for our benefit and to maintain. But as long as we see the physical world as merely a means to satisfy our own desires, the pitfalls of unsustainable living will continue to threaten us. Our drive to hoard and consume, along with our fears of never having enough, will constantly strain our relationship with the environment. The more we are able to shift our view of our relationship with the earth towards one of partnership with Hashem, even in our consumption and use of the physical world, the more we will be able to be joyfully sustained and supported in our way of living.
Suggested Action Items:
Be mindful in your shopping. Try buying only what you need that can serve a greater purpose, rather than buying on impulse.
Investigate two or three products that you buy regularly. How are they made? Are the raw materials obtained in a process of fair trade? Are the people who produce the products treated humanely? Are they used sustainably? Ask your friends to do the same with a few other products and compare notes.
Appreciate the beauty of what comes forth from the natural world. Try not to throw out items that could be repaired or used differently. Are there more ways this item, and the physicality with which it’s made, can be elevated towards spiritual endeavors? When it is finally time to throw something away, consider consciously acknowledging the service it has provided up until now. And dispose of it properly.
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Notes:
[1] Vayikra 16:12-13
[2] In fact, the Sfat Emet, a 19th century Polish, Chasidic commentator, explained that the Hebrew word for sacrifice is “korban” which comes from the root “lekarev” or to bring close. In his explanation of the Temple service in the Portion of Vayikra, he points out that all sacrifices are meant to bring the physical world closer to Hashem.
[3] Shemot 30:34 translation from chabad.org
[4] Babylonian Talmud (200 C.E.-~500 C.E.) tractate Kritot 6b
[5] Dalby, Andrew (2000), Dangerous Tastes: the story of spices, British Museum Press, 2000. especially pp. 33-35
[6] Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition
[7] Groom, Nigel, Frankincense & Myrrh: A Study of the Arabian Incense Trade, 1981.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Chinese Herbal Medicine: Materia Medica, Third Edition by Dan Bensky, Steven Clavey, Erich Stoger, and Andrew, Gamble 2004
[10] Paterson, Wilma. A Fountain of Gardens: Plants and Herbs from the Bible. Edinburgh, 1990.
[11] Dalby, Andrew,”Spikenard” in The Oxford Companion to Food, 2nd ed. by Tom Jaine. Oxford University Press, 2006
[12] McGee, H, On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Scribner, 2004.
[13] From Wikipedia
[14] Corn, Charles. The Scents of Eden: A Narrative of the Spice Trade. New York: Kodansha International, 1998.
[15] Amos 6:4
[16] Amos 6:8
[17] Amos 6:13
[18] Amos 2:6
