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The Celebration Of Life
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32
August 2 • 2018
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ews have been pioneers in
medicine for more than
a thousand years. From
Maimonides to Clara Stone to
Jonas Salk, Jewish doctors have
been in the forefront of new treat-
ments and therapies.
The central book of Judaism,
the Torah, though, does not offer
specific medical techniques or
prescriptions. In this week’s por-
tion, God says that if we
The Torah offers cures
follow the Torah, we will
for this illness. God tells
not get any of the illnesses
us to build a tabernacle, a
of Egypt.
place that celebrated life,
What illnesses is the
and to construct it from
Torah talking about? Some
the materials that the peo-
have guessed that it was
ple had. Each contribution
elephantiasis or some
from each individual was
other disease too unpleas- Rabbi Aaron
valued. Instead of pyra-
Bergman
ant to talk about. I don’t
mids, said Rabbi Heschel,
think that it is actually
the Torah taught us to cre-
talking about physical dis-
ate Shabbat and holidays
ease.
as palaces in time, places
I think the Torah is talk-
where all could live, not just
ing about spiritual illnesses.
a few.
Let’s look at the ancient
The Torah teaches that power is
Egyptians who had enslaved our
to be used for the sake of the pow-
people. They were obsessed with
erless. We are to have compassion
the afterlife. This life did not mat-
for the widow, the stranger and the
ter to them. They believed that
orphan. All people are human and
you can take what you have with
infinitely valuable.
We are not the people of the
you when you die. We can see this
sun, but the people of the moon.
approach to life in their embalm-
We celebrate Rosh Chodesh when
ing of the body and the creating of
the moon is only a sliver of light in
the pyramids, an enterprise which
the sky. Life is perspective and bal-
ultimately bankrupted and weak-
ance. We know that life waxes and
ened Egypt.
wanes and that there will be good
The ancient Egyptians also
times and bad. At a wedding, we
believed that power is to be used
break a glass. Even during shivah
against the powerless. There was
we interrupt our mourning to cel-
no better time to kick a man than
ebrate Shabbat.
when he was down. They took
We Jews brought the world a
advantage of famine in the region
cure for the illnesses of Egypt, a
and enslaved those who needed
demand for compassion and jus-
their food. The rights of the indi-
tice. We have concern for the com-
vidual did not matter. Slaves were
munity, but also the rights of the
not human.
individual. We created a healthy
Egyptians believed that they
approach to life, one that has sus-
would always be powerful; they
tained us to this day and one that
saw themselves as the people of
can bring healing to the world. •
the sun and that the sun would
never set on their empire. This
Aaron Bergman is a rabbi at Adat Shalom
belief was their illness and down-
Synagogue in Farmington Hills.
fall.
Parshat Ekev:
Deuteronomy 7:12-
11:25; Isaiah 49:14-
51:3.