34 March 21 • 2019
jn

I

n the classic movie History of the 
World, Mel Brooks plays King Louis 
of France during the 18th-century 
French Revolution. Exemplifying the 
excesses of the pre-statehood French 
monarchy, Brooks finishes many a 
scene with the now-famous expression, 
“It’
s good to be the king.
” 
The irony, of course, is that 
it was good to be the king 
until the French Revolution 
took place and the king lost 
his head.
I can’
t help but think of the 
French Revolution as we come 
to this week’
s Torah portion. 
Tzav informs us that, calling 
forward Aaron and his sons, 
Moses himself bathed these 
soon-to-be kohanim: priests of 
the Jewish people. He dressed 
them, armed them with the 
appropriate ritual tools and 
anointed them formally. 
They were not kings, but 
perhaps even more important. The 
priests’
 job was to maintain the prac-
tice of sacrifices: the system by which 
our people connected to God. Their 
honor and that of all the priests who 
followed derived from their lineage. 
If Aaron’
s descendants continued to 
have children, the priesthood of Israel 
would continue. Indeed, it was good to 
be the Kohen. 
Yet, like France of the late 19th cen-
tury, the kohanim were also victims of 
a revolution. With the destruction of 
the Holy Temple, the sacrificial service 
came to an end. In an act of renais-
sance and transformation, the rabbis 
replaced sacrifices with prayer, and the 
value of learning replaced the impor-
tance of lineage.
The rabbis, to keep Judaism follow-
ing the destruction, essentially behead-
ed the priesthood (though not priests). 
No longer were the leaders of the 
Jewish people simply born; now they 
had to be made. Since then, Jewish 
leaders earn their positions based on 

knowledge, skills and their commit-
ment to Jewish values.
Because of the rabbinic revolution, 
the roll of kohanim has changed dra-
matically. Today, they primarily per-
form ritualistic functions. In fact, the 
Conservative rabbinate has lifted some 
of the ancient prohibitions on 
kohanim, and the Reform move-
ment has disbanded with the 
priestly caste system altogether. 
Indeed, the role of the modern 
kohen bears little resemblance to 
that of his ancestors. 
But it also means that there 
is no inherent system for the 
transition of leadership from one 
generation to the next. Rather, in 
each generation, our community 
turns to passionate, commit-
ted and learned individuals to 
assume the mantle of leadership. 
This is true for our people, 
especially within our communal 
agencies and synagogues. Having 
shifted focus millennia ago from lin-
eage to learning, we can no longer 
assume there will always be people to 
fulfill leadership roles. Each of us must 
do his/her part so that Judaism may 
continue to shape our lives and that of 
our children so that we might continue 
to serve as a light to the other nations. 
May God bless each of us that we 
might step forward to serve our people 
and our community with wisdom, pas-
sion and compassion. The priesthood 
is gone. It’
s up to us, now. ■

Rabbi Aaron Starr is spiritual leader of 
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.

CONVERSATIONS
• What can you do to strengthen 
Judaism and the Jewish people? 
• To what leadership role might you 
aspire within your favorite agency or 
synagogue? 
• What aspects of leadership must 
we look for in today’
s Jewish lead-
ers?

Rabbi
Aaron Starr

Parshat Tzav: 

Leviticus 

6:1-8:36; 

Jeremiah 

7:21-8:3, 

9:22-23.

spirit

torah portion

Jewish
Leadership
Evolves

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE 
Spot
l
i
ght
 
Ev
ent

Chairs – Diane and Randy Orley

AN EVENING WITH LIZA LONG, 
MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE 
AND AUTHOR

The Price of Silence
L ng
A Mom’
s Perspective
 on Mental Illness

The Price 

of Silence

Liza Long

Foreword by 

Harold S. Koplewicz, MD

A Mom’
s Perspective 

on Mental Illness

“A courageous, determined, radical book.” 

—ANDREW SOLOMON, PhD, author of 

The Noonday Demon and Far from the Tree

PLUME

6:30 PM REGISTRATION | 7 PM PROGRAM

CONGREGATION SHAAREY ZEDEK 

WEDNESDAY 
MAY 29 
2019

Admission $36/ 2 for $60/ Students $10

After the 2012 Newtown school 
shooting, Liza wondered if her son, 
who has bipolar disorder, was capable 
of committing a similar act in her blog 
post, “I Am Adam Lanza’s Mother.” 
Don’t miss Long’s moving story of 
helping her son and fighting stigma.

To register or sponsor, visit jfsspotlightevent.org 

GE
T 
READY for the event 
by attending our book club discussion. 

April 12 | 10 am - 12 pm 

Please register at jfsdetroit.org/priceofsilence

SHINING A LIGHT ON MENTAL HEALTH IN OUR COMMUNITY

Book signing to follow the event with books available for purchase. 
One social work CEU available. 

