Hello everyone,
I know it's been a little while since my last blog post; I kind of disappeared on a bit of an unannounced hiatus. Sorry about that. Between Passover preparations and a truly unfortunate number of funerals, it's been a very busy few weeks. But I'm back now, and I hope you've been able to find other Torah commentaries in the meantime to hold you over. Thank you for your understanding. So, without further ado, this week's installment:
If you've been spending any time around Ohev Shalom this past week, you're probably assuming I'm going to write something here about our synagogue play, Broadway Bound, which debuted on
Thursday night. Well, you'd be right. Following last year's highly successful performance, the Ohev Players are back with (if possible) a MORE entertaining and wildly energetic show. So if you're in the area, you DON'T want to miss this one. Please check out our website for more info on showtimes and such.
Of course, I am not the most unbiased person, being that I'm actor in the show myself. But I promise it's good. And one of the things I really love about taking part in these
productions is the sense of camaraderie that evolves among cast and crew members. We have young kids and grandparents, amateurs and professionals, make-up folks, set designers, musicians, tech people, and a whole bunch of individuals who never knew each other before signing on. Yet here we are, functioning as a unit, a team, and really developing a group dynamic. It's amazing how that happens.
I've been thinking about this concept a lot lately, and was surprised to read a Torah commentary on this week's parasha that seemed to speak to this exact issue. Our Torah portion is Shemini, and it deals with the rituals performed by the High Priest, Aaron, and his sons, as they were being installed to run all aspects of Temple worship in the
desert. Right in the middle of this very holy ceremony, tragedy strikes. Two of Aaron's four sons, Nadav and Avihu "each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before the Lord alien fire, which God had not enjoined upon them. And fire came forth from the Lord and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of the Lord" (Lev. 10:1-2). As if this wasn't puzzling enough, Moses' words of comfort to his brother in this devastating moment are, "This is what the Lord meant when God said: 'Through those near to Me I show Myself holy, and gain glory before all the people.'" How on earth is that supposed to comfort Aaron? What does it even mean? And let's add to that, what the heck does this have to do with the Ohev Players?!?
Patience, patience; all will be revealed. I read a really terrific commentary through AJWS by Adina Roth that kind of brought all of this together for me. Roth writes about how the word for 'people,' either 'Am' or 'Eidah' or 'B'nei Yisrael,' appears 11 times in chapter 9. She writes, "While Aaron and his family perform the ritual, the text alludes to the
idea that there is no rite without the people. The
priests may reach
towards the Divine, but the Divine is only contained in the face of the
entire collective." So even though this whole section tells us about the importance of a priesthood, and how they were the ones connecting directly with God, we can also see that the rituals meant nothing without the community. She goes on to suggest that the 'crime' of Avihu and Nadav can be seen in the text's focus on their self-centeredness: 'Each person' did such-and-such, using 'his' fire pan - a vessel clearly meant for a single-serving sacrifice, unlike Aaron's dedication of a giant altar for the whole people to use.
This also explains Moses' response, imagining God saying, "yes, the individuals who are close to Me get special privileges, but '[I] gain glory before ALL the people.'" The priests have a role to play, but it's meaningless without a community of people witnessing the rituals.
And for me, this week, it kind of works on two levels: It reminds me of the importance of a full cast. The individual performers are terrific, but the full company numbers are also HUGE crowd-pleasers, and vital to creating that wonderful camaraderie I spoke of. And let's not forget that we'd be nowhere without our tech and crew! At the same time, the Ohev Players are kind of like the priests, whose efforts are pointless if there aren't people (you!) witnessing our hard work. The audience has just as crucial a role to play in the success of any performance.
Besides having fun on stage and wearing some ridiculous costumes, I think having a synagogue production is essential in the life of our community. It brings people
together, it creates a sense of energy and vibrancy, it makes great use of our facility, and it gets EVERYONE involved. Whether you're on stage, behind stage, in the audience, or a contributor to our Playbill; you're a part of this. And I think the 'glory' that we're gaining is obvious to every, single one of us.
ON WITH THE SHOW!!
Photos in this blog post:
1. Image courtesy of Ohev Shalom
2. Image courtesy of Ohev Shalom
3. CC image courtesy of linearclassifier on Flickr
5. Image courtesy of Ohev Shalom
6. Image courtesy of Ohev Shalom
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