Emor: Raising the Level of Our Humanity

It ain't easy being an ancient priest. I'm not speaking from personal experience, mind you, but I'm pretty sure I'm right about this one. In this week's Torah portion, we read about all the restrictions imposed on the Kohanim in the ancient Temple: they were not allowed to be near a dead body, they had shaving regulations, marriage restrictions, physical limitations, and even rules imposed on their family members. They were expected to be societal role models, and as such they were put on a pedestal and became too holy to approach; the model of perfect behavior, but totally inaccessible to the average person.

This must have been especially tough considering the other cultures surrounding Israel. Many other groups practiced

hedonism, idol worship, sexual promiscuity, and had no rules about interpersonal behavior. In a sense, we are looking at two extreme ends of human behavior, and neither extreme is ideal. Even today, we are tempted to stray too far one way or the other, when really we must strive to find a balance somewhere in the middle.

Right now, our sense of balance is really being put to the test. How did you feel when you heard about Osama Bin Laden's death?

More importantly, how did you behave? On one end of the extreme, we saw people cheering his death in the streets, singing "Hey, hey, goodbye," as if he were a basketball player who just

fouled out of a game. Along with this,

we have the upsetting, though perhaps not surprising, line of merchandise that has emerged already, marking the death of Bin Laden. I certainly acknowledge that he was a horrific person, a mass murderer and a terrorist, and I will even go so far as to say that I am relieved that he is dead. But how are we better than our enemies if we cheer the death of another human being, wishing we had photos of his demise so that we could revel in it even more?

At the same time, however, I don't want to take this to the other extreme. I won't pretend that Bin Laden might have repented, that forgiveness, or even negotiation, was an option in this situation. The Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that there IS a time for war; we do need to defend ourselves and our citizens, and we do need to show our enemies that we too are strong and capable. But isn't there a balance? Isn't there a way to be grateful that Bin Laden can terrorize us no longer, without wearing a T-shirt ridiculing him?

Part of our task as human beings is to rise above our natural instincts. I'm not saying we don't have crass, violent instincts,

or that we should somehow get rid of them entirely. I'm saying we need to accept that we do have them, but recognize that we need to elevate our behavior; we need to be better. The Bible teaches us about being a role model.

We may not accept the ancient priesthood as our ideal today, but that's just because society has changed, it has evolved. Our model is much more approachable today; we all can be role models to one another, if we set our mind to it. But in order to do so, we must be better than our enemies. We need to show them, and the rest of the world, a different model, and lead by example. It may not be easy, but if we are serious about defeating Bin Laden, not just the individual, but everything he stood for, there is no other choice.

Photos in this blog post:

1. CC image courtesy of Mik Hartwell on Flickr

2. CC image courtesy of bloomsberries on Flickr

3. CC image courtesy of davem_330 on Flickr

4. CC image courtesy of alancleaver_2000 on Flickr

5. CC image courtesy of sagriffin305 on Flickr