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EMOR 5764-2004
"The Blasphemer - A Midrashic View"
Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald
This
coming week's parasha, parashat Emor, deals, for the most
part, with the laws of the Cohanim--the Priests. These
priestly instructions, are followed (in Leviticus Chapter
23) with laws regarding the observance of the various
Jewish festivals. The final chapter of the parasha, Leviticus
24, concludes with three seemingly unrelated themes: the
kindling of the Menorah (candelabra), the placing of the
Show Bread on the Tabernacle table and the story of the
blasphemer.
The
story of the blasphemer opens in Leviticus 24:10. The
Torah tells us, "Va'yay'tzay ben eesh'ah Yis'r'ay'lit,
v'hoo ben eesh Mitz'ree, b'toch b'nay Yisrael,"
The son of an Israelite woman who was [also] the son of
an Egyptian man, went out among the children of Israel.
This son of the Israelite woman fought in the camp with
an Israelite man. During the fight, the son of the Israelite
woman pronounced the name of G-d and blasphemed.
The
blasphemer was then brought to Moses for judgement. The
Torah identifies the blasphemer's mother's name as Shlomit
the daughter of Divri, of the tribe of Dan. Since Moses
did not know how to deal with the blasphemer's transgression,
the man was put under temporary arrest to await legal
ruling. After consulting with G-d, Moses instructs the
people to take the blasphemer outside the camp. Witnesses
who had heard him blaspheme were told to place their hands
on the blasphemer's head, and the entire people were instructed
to stone him to death.
Trying
to make sense of the strange juxtaposition between the
tale of the blasphemer and the laws of the Show Bread,
the Talmud explains that the blasphemer had gone about
the camp of Israel scoffing at the Show Bread, saying:
"A king normally eats warm, fresh-baked bread. Why
should G-d have old, cold bread in the Tabernacle?"
After being rebuked by an Israelite for speaking disrespectfully,
the two came to blows and the son of the Israelite woman
uttered the curse in the name of G-d.
The
Midrash, cited by Eliyahu KiTov in his weekly parasha
studies, develops the elaborate story of the blasphemer,
placing its actual origin in Egypt. The story begins 60
years before the Exodus from Egypt, and concludes either
two years, or 39 years, after the Exodus.
After
Moses was weaned by his biological mother and returned
to his stepmother, Pharaoh's daughter, Bithya, he spent
his youth and adolescence as a prince in the house of
Pharaoh. Bithya had raised Moses with a strong Jewish
consciousness. Although Moses knew of his Hebrew brothers'
suffering, travail and slavery, he had never gone out
to actually see them. In order to help the Israelite slaves,
Moses arranged to be placed in charge of Pharaoh's workers,
and made it possible for the people of Israel not to work
on Shabbat. He explained to his Egyptian compatriots that
without proper rest, the overworked slaves would die of
fatigue and Egypt would be left with no workers.
When
Moses first started going out to look after his brothers,
he wore a disguise so that he wouldn't be recognized.
One day, Moses overheard the Egyptian taskmasters complaining
about how powerless they were. They were especially upset
by Pharaoh's decree that there may be no sexual mixing
with the Israelite women, so that the pure Egyptian pedigree
not be contaminated. One taskmaster however reported that
there was one Hebrew woman who was unusually friendly.
Whenever she brought food to the fields for her husband,
she talked and gossiped with everyone, "How are you,
dear Taskmaster?" "How are you, officer?"
"Hello, husband." In fact, she was called "Shlomit,"
because she always asked for the "Shalom"--the
well-being of everyone.
The
very next day the Egyptian taskmaster came to Shlomit's
house. Ordering her husband to his labors, the Egyptian
persuaded Shlomit to have relations with him. When the
husband realized what was happening, he returned to confront
the Egyptian. In response, the Egyptian taskmaster attempted
to kill the man.
Moses,
however, had gone out without his disguise, to keep an
eye on the scheming Egyptian. When Moses saw the Egyptian
taskmaster beating the husband, he looked "this way
and that," and killed the Egyptian using the Tetragrammaton--the
ineffable name of G-d.
The
husband of Shlomit whose life Moses had saved, was named
Datan. Moses was not concerned that Datan would reveal
what he had done to the Egyptian, after all, Moses had
just saved the man's life. Datan, on the other hand, looked
upon Moses as a traitor to his brothers for he, Moses,
had many opportunities to intervene on the peoples' behalf
previously, but had never done anything for them. Datan,
in fact, was greatly concerned that the Jews would be
blamed for Moses' violence. So he went home and told his
brother, Aviram, what had happened.
Aviram
concurred with Datan's concerns. The brothers then schemed
to quarrel publicly the next day expecting that Moses
would intervene. When Moses berated Datan, calling him
a wicked man for beating his brother, Datan immediately
ran to Pharaoh to reveal that Moses had killed an Egyptian,
forcing Moses to flee to Midian.
This
terrible incident of Mesira (talebearing to the government)
indicated that the Jews were not yet ready for redemption.
During the next 60 years, Datan and Aviram were oppressed
along with all Jews, but their fierce resentment towards
Moses did not diminish. When Moses returned after 60 years
to redeem his people, they confronted him and warned him
that his overtures to Pharaoh had only made things worse
for the Jewish people, and that G-d would look down upon
him, judge him and punish him.
After
her intimacy with the Egyptian, Datan's wife, Shlomit,
had become pregnant. Datan himself was not sure whether
Shlomit was a victim of coercion or had willingly given
herself to the Egyptian. Despite this uncertainty, Datan
continued to support his wife and helped raise the child
as his own. In fact, no one knew the secret of the child's
birth, except for Datan and his brother Aviram. Although
Datan eventually took another wife and told his subsequent
children the secret of the child, they were very discreet
about the secret.
The
child of Shlomit grew up thinking that he was a Jew since
he was enslaved with the rest of the Israelites. The young
man witnessed all the great miracles that occurred in
the process of the Exodus from Egypt. He even merited
to have a portion of Manna come down specifically for
him in the wilderness, and he settled among his "father's"
tribe, the tribe of Reuben.
It
was only when they joined in the rebellion of Korach,
that the true wickedness of Datan and Aviram became apparent.
When the earth opened to swallow Korach and his followers,
Datan and Aviram, their wives and their children were
consumed as well. Shlomit's son, however, the child of
the Egyptian taskmaster, remained alive. Only then was
it evident to all that the boy was not the true biological
offspring of Datan. Having no remaining family, the boy
tried to settle among the other members of the tribe of
Reuben. The Reubenites however rejected him, saying that
he was not one of them. When he tried to join his mother's
tribe, the tribe of Dan, he was also rejected. He then
went to court to insist that he be accepted among one
of the twelve tribes, but the judges decreed that he had
to live outside the camp, with the "mixed multitude"--the
Egyptians who had joined the Israelite people at the time
of the Exodus. Distraught by the decision, the man began
to quarrel.
The
rabbis say that the language found in the verse, Leviticus
24:10: "Va'yay'tzay"--literally- and
he [the blasphemer] went out, indicates that the son of
the Egyptian man had for all intents and purposes, "lost
it." He "went out" of the court, he "went
out" of the world, he "went out" of the
Torah--he, in essence, rejected the Jewish people and
their faith! After all, he said, "A king normally
eats fresh bread everyday. Are you going to give stale
bread--nine days old to your G-d? I don't believe in Moses
or his commandments!"
Say
the rabbis, had he not been an "eesh Mitzri"--an
Egyptian, in his heart, he would have accepted upon himself
the judgement imposed on him, because in judgement there's
always a loser. Had he been sincere in his commitment
to the Jewish people, the blasphemer would have been able
to turn his loss into a win. Had he paid attention to
the previous parasha concerning the Menorah, he would
have realized that every Jew needs to ask G-d to enlighten
him, and that no person is ever outside the purview of
G-d and His world. Had he only paid scant attention to
the previous portion concerning the Sukkah, the blasphemer
would have known to cover himself in the shadow of G-d.
But he rejected it all, and he cursed, using the name
of G-d, the ineffable name of G-d.
Of
great interest, is the rabbis' discussion of the halakhic
status of the blasphemer. They learn from the words "B'toch
b'nay Yisrael," (Lev. 24:10) that the blasphemer
had actually converted to Judaism. Why they ask, should
he have to convert to Judaism, after all his mother was
Jewish? They respond saying that since his birth occurred
before the giving of the Torah, the blasphemer was actually
considered to be a Noahide, and Noahides follow patrilineal
descent.
Nachmanides
(Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, 1194-1270, Spanish Torah commentator)
maintains, that starting with Abraham, all his biological
descendants are considered Jewish. The Egyptian son, maintains
Nachmanides, was converted only because it was felt that
he was somehow blemished by his Egyptian lineage.
Why
was the blasphemer put to death? Suggest the rabbis, because
he attempted to use the ineffable name of G-d that he
had heard at Sinai, to wipe away his blemishes. He never
really understood the basic principles of Judaism. He
felt no need to be cleansed internally. He was put to
death, because he could not accept either the lifestyle
or the philosophy of the people of Israel.
Jewish
tradition maintains that from the bitter can come sweet,
and that only through rigorous labor can there be true
accomplishment. In Judaism there are no shortcuts to Teshuva
(repentance). Sweat and hard work lead to forgiveness,
perfection and correction.
The
blasphemer could not be accepted among the people of Israel
unless he understood and accepted that, and he refused.
Despite the disadvantaged background of the blasphemer,
he was given many opportunities to learn. But he chose
not to.
This
is the message of the Midrash, and this is the message
of the blasphemer.
May
You Be Blessed.
Copyright
2007 National Jewish Outreach
Program www.njop.org
