Mark Twain's Jewish Concerns | 5784
The third book of the Torah, Vayikra, ends with whispers. In our parsha, the long list of curses that will befall the Jewish people, known as the tochacha (lit. rebuke), is traditionally read in a whispered tone. Even whispered, the curses are frightening—destruction of Jewish civilization, exile among the nations, running in fear without even knowing who is pursuing us.
Why does Sefer Vayikra end on this note?
This is not the only list of curses we have in the Torah. A second tochacha appears in Sefer Devarim, Parshas Ki Savo. Ramban in our parsha explains that the list of curses in our parsha refers to the exile after the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdash, while the tochacha in Parshas Ki Savo refers to the pains of our current exile, following the destruction of the second Beis Hamikdash.
Interestingly, as the curses grow more and more harrowing, the Torah tells of a time when the sound of a driven leaf—later used for the title of Milton Steinberg’s classic novel on Elisha ben Avuya—will cause the Jewish people to flee and they will not even know who is pursuing them. As they run, without it even being clear if they are actually being persecuted, they will stumble over one another. The Talmud interprets this imagery to mean that Jews are responsible for one another (כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה) and will be punished for one another’s sins.
Why is our collective responsibility for one another introduced in such a negative context? Isn’t this supposed to be inspiring—why is it introduced as the reason for our exile?
And finally, our list of tochacha ends with some measure of comfort—God promises that he will still remember the covenant he made with our forefathers. There is no such comfort in the tochacha of Parshas Ki Savo. Why does our tochacha include such words of consolation as opposed to the list in Sefer Devarim? What is the function of these comforting words?
To understand all this, let’s explore the context of one famous American’s reflections on the Jewish People.
Read the rest on Substack, and listen to the full shiur above!