The power of Words: Emor
Language is one of the very few features that defines being Human. Certainly other creatures have language: Trees in the forest speak to one another chemically beneath the soil, (would that be amazing to hear and speak that language!), bees dance to tell one another where the good flowers are. Other great apes can be taught sign Language. But the brain space devoted to the motor and sensory parts of language in humans is enormous! (shaded in this diagram) When I was four years old, I learned about lying, from Michael, the four-year-old little boy next door, who just made up a lie in answer to my question. When I asked him why, he just shrugged. We have the full range of words and the power to abuse them or write poetry so true it makes the heart soar. What could it mean for the troubling times we’re in?
In Genesis, G8d speaks, and the world comes to be. This week’s reading Emor, begins “speak”(emor) to the Priests (Aaron’s sons, Kohanim), speaking…. Emor begins with the silent letter “Aleph”. Moses is instructing the Priests to avoid contact with the dead, except for their immediate relatives. The Hasidic masterpiece Mei Hashiloach explains this: A Kohen will see every harsh thing in the world as a purposeful act of the Holy One, and become really angry, so upset is he with the suffering. “as discussed in the holy Zohar. Therefore God commanded, “Emor el haKohanim – say to the Kohanim.” “Emor – say,” means speaking softly. God enjoins us to whisper into the ears of the servants of God that they should not hold grudges (against G8d) Source page linked Here (for Torah nerds!)
The end of the reading contains a narrative teaching more on the power of words: What does it mean to curse G8d’s name, and why does it matter? After all, it’s just words: sticks and stones can break my bones…. In the narrative, a fight breaks out when a man with an Egyptian father tries to camp in the area reserved for the tribe of Dan, which was his Israelite mother’s tribe. Apparently, you only get to camp according to Dad’s tribe. The midrash identifies the Egyptian father as the task master who was beating the slaves so severely, that Moses slew him, and had to flee Egypt. His mother was an Israelite woman (likely the child was born of rape, his mother being a slave at the time). During the scuffle, the man screams out the ineffable name of G8d (in Hebrew YHVH) whose meaning is existence itself, and curses it. This is the only form of “cursing G8d” which earns the death penalty! (Rash 24:16:1)
This seems harsh to a man in pain, ostracized, trying to defend his mother and his parentage, not to mention the fact that Moses killed his father. Like the Kohen he gets super angry. Moses is at a loss: it is one of the four times in Torah that G8d’s help is sought for judgment. (Moses’ kids do not have an Israelite Mother either) What sense can be made of it all?
The book of Job also has a dramatic discussion about using words to curse G8d. When he loses everything, Job still blesses G8d. When he’s covered in painful sores, he curses the day he’s born, but refuses to curse the Source of life itself. An angry response is understandable, but “mad” is a synonym for angry, and there can be psychological and physical chaos if we release our anger. The idea that words can create worlds has a corollary: words can destroy worlds.
There are two different words for “cursing” or blaspheming used here in Hebrew. The words used here are לקלל l’kallel and ונקב V’nikav, which mean both mean to puncture, to put a hole in something. I am reminded of a balloon suddenly pierced, it flies away and collapses as the air is released. The name for G8d YHVH is a mashup of past, present and future tenses of the verb “to be” and the “breath of life” according to Rabbi Arthur Waskow which, if it were to be pronounced, would sound like breathing. This reminds me of the ‘whispering” that is spoken to the Kohanim. To scream this name in anger and curse it is to curse existence itself . To mess with it is to question that there is meaning and goodness at the heart of life. All those who heard the curse were to place their hands upon his head and witness the punishment. In Hearing the curse, there is danger. Quoting Mei HaShiloach again “Zohar says (Vayikra, 106a), “He took the final Hei in God’s holy name and cursed him, in order to defend his mother.” This is because the final Hei hints at the world of Asiyah, the world of action. Though God desires that we fulfill His mitzvot with our actions, still He wanted to create an opening whereby He would bring about salvation even without the actions of man” This is a fascinating comment: there are no shortcuts, only by partnering with the Holy One of Blessing can we perfect the brokenness. For more on the blasphemer, see Aviva Gottleib Zornberg’s book on Leviticus: The Hidden order of Intimacy, Chapter Emor. Through her books on Torah, she has been a powerful teacher!
The air waves and print are full of screams, and lies. The Name of G8d is being used, as it has been during the Crusades and pogroms, to hurt people. Chaos, hatred and anger are being used for the power they bring. These are dangerous times. To witness all that we hold sacred, ideals such as “love the stranger” “love your neighbor as yourself” the imperative to care for the gift of creation, and that we should pursue justice, truth and peace upon which the world rests (Mishnah Avot) being threatened is profoundly disturbing. What life raft will keep us afloat? I am reminded of a story of a king who is told that his country’s wheat fields are almost completely contaminated by a fungus which causes insanity. They have enough of the old flour left to support one man – “shall it be for you, Majesty”? Ask the king’s advisors. The King thinks for a bit, and decides, “no, it must be reserved for my wisest, trusted advisor. That way when everyone has gone mad, I will have someone to look to whisper the truth in my ear and to guide me.” Can you hear the whispers, because it seems to me the world has gone made, from the abuse of words. What do you think?
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