By Rabbi Yisroel Shusterman
Dedicated
in memory of Elka bas Zisel OBM
And
in memory of Leah bas Rochel OBM
The Parsha this
week, Emor, (Vayikra (Leviticus) 21:1-24:23) presents an interesting
Mitzva. “A bull, sheep or goat that is born to you shall remain under its
mother for seven days. From the eighth day onward it is acceptable as an
offering to G-d" (Vayikra (Leviticus) 22:27).
Why does the
Torah refer to the newborn animals by their mature names instead of the
usual calf, lamb and kid? The Torah wants to teach us that an animal is born
with its entire potential already actualized. It cannot develop into something
greater than it already is at this “age”.
Its qualities will never
erode, but its inherent faults will always remain.
Young at Heart
Not so for human beings. Man
is always capable of more. Rabbi Akiva, for example, was forty years old
before he learned to read Hebrew, yet he became one of the greatest Torah
scholar in history. Every human being, background and affiliation
notwithstanding, can transform him or herself and thus make great strides
forward.
The Circumcision Milestone
A calf is born and lives for
one week. Having completed one full cycle of life, it reaches its greatest
milestone: it is ready to be brought as an offering before G-d. There is no
sense in waiting any longer for it won't develop into more than it already is.
Mankind, on the other hand, lives for one week and only then begins the
journey. Circumcision, performed on the eighth day, enables us to begin a
process that only intensifies as we grow and mature.
(Though girls are not
circumcised they don't miss out on this process. Jewish thought views women as
endowed at birth with the inherent quality that men receive only at
circumcision. In this sense women begin their process of spiritual growth one
week earlier, from the time of birth.)
Forward March
It is never too late to turn
over a new leaf. Life is filled with milestones. Birth, circumcision, bar/bat
mitzvah, graduation, marriage, parenting, grand parenting and so on. If
physical maturity marches inexorably forward, it follows that spiritual
maturity can, and should, at the very least, keep pace.
(excerpts from chabad.org - Rabbi Lazer
Gurkow)
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