Rabbi's Corner

Have you ever listened to supermarket cashiers talking with each other? Invariably, they discuss the same topic, something that can be termed as “the escape clause”: How long have you worked today and when are you going home? It is not unlike the two-year-old who is confined to a crib and wants to be taken out. Nor is it unlike the ten-year-old who sits in class and cannot wait of the bell to sound ending the school day. It is even like the thirty-year-old who is counting the days until s/he can go on vacation. In this time of the pandemic, we have encountered this type of attitude. On the one hand, we have had state after state count the days until they could “open up” once again, supposedly in order to try to regain financial solvency. On the other hand, with the opening up of society once again, there has been an alarming increase in new COVID-19 cases across the country. What has caused this large upsurge in COVID-19 cases? Simply this: the refusal by so many (especially young people) to abide by the guidelines issued by the CDC about wearing face masks and maintaining proper social distancing. It is evident that there are far too many people who do not like to abide by the rules and regulations that can prevent harm either to themselves or to others.

We read the following verses in this week’s double Torah portion of Chukat-Balak: “And Yisrael resided in Shittim, and the nation began to stray after the daughters of Mo’av. And they called the nation to the sacrificial banquets of their gods; and the nation ate, and they prostrated themselves to their gods. And Yisrael became attached to Ba’al Pe’or, and the wrath of HaShem burned against Yisrael.” (BaMidbar 25:1-3) The Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud) in Masekhet Sanhedrin 64a tells us that the worship of Ba’al Pe’or was the most loathsome of all idol worship. The verse from the Torah uses the word “vayitzamed,” a verb that that speaks of how the B’nei Yisrael (Children of Israel) were connected to Ba’al Pe’or like a cover that is attached with a wax seal. But if the Talmud is correct in its view of the worship of Ba’al Pe’or, if it was so abhorrent, what is it that caused the B’Nei Yisrael to be attracted to it?

The worship of Ba’al Pe’or was unique. Serving this pagan deity had no boundaries or limitations. In fact, the more one let go of anything that restricted his/her worship of Ba’al Pe’or, the better it was for the worshipper. The pull of this worship that attracted the B’Nei Yisrael was that they could do whatever they wanted. There were no boundaries. But such conduct was fatal to those who succumbed to the worship of Ba’al Pe’or: the Torah tells us that they paid the price of their actions with their lives. As it is, this episode teaches us a valuable lesson which we must apply at this critical time in human history.

Without any rules or regulations, sports such as baseball, football, and basketball are not enjoyable, either to the players themselves or to the spectators. Why is this? Because what makes any sport a challenge, and what makes that challenge enjoyable, are the many guidelines and limitations that must be followed and observed when playing the sport. The rules and regulations cause the player to develop a skill that makes the sport more professional and more enjoyable. The same holds true with following the guidelines of the CDC as we encounter each other in the public sphere. By doing so, we become more confident that we are protecting both ourselves and all whom we come into contact after such encounters. We develop the “skill” of becoming partners with HaShem in helping to bring about “Tikkun HaOlam” (the Repair of The World) at a time when the world so badly needs it.

The basis for the worship of Ba’al Pe’or was that human beings did not need rules and regulations simply because they were already great. Judaism teaches that it is the rules and regulations that make human beings great. It is the Torah and its mitzvot which make us “a light unto the nations and a kingdom of priests.”