Filling the Void

In the last years of the Second Temple, the Jewish people was divided up into several factions, with different ideologies and practices. The largest ones were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees were the sages, the bearers of the Oral Torah, followed by the vast majority of the common people. The Sadducees denied the Oral Torah. Their bastion of strength was a large part of the Priesthood, as well as the upper class. They didn't believe in a Hereafter, and saw the Temple service as essentially the be-all and end-all of Judaism. By all accounts, they were lax in most areas, relying on the cleansing of the sacrifices. But the biggest distinction between Pharisees and Sadducees that we can see, is that after the destruction of the Temple, the Pharisess thrived, and the Sadducees disappeared.
People often overlook the fact that two-thirds of the commandments in the Torah relate to the Temple and to Sacrifice. Those contemporary groups that have written the sacrifices out of Judaism need to be aware that they are denying two-thirds of the Torah before they even get started! (Yes, I am aware of the view that the sacrifices were a concession rather than a commandment. I can find little basis for that view r in classical sources, and that view is contradicted by that same author's other writings). For the Sadducees, the Temple WAS Judaism. No Temple equals no Judaism. It was over. They simply gave up.
At the fall of Jerusalem, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai persuaded the Romans to grant the sleepy coastal town of Yavneh as a refuge for the sages. He reestablished the Sanhedrin there. The Talmud reports that most of the Sages were actually quite pessimistic about the survival Of Judaism. Had Rabbi Yochanan been a modern Jewish leader, he probably would have had memorials for the Temple put up everywhere, as well as special remembrance days observed. That is not what he did. Yes, two older fast days, originally commemorating the destruction of the First Temple, were revitalized and reemphasized. But he did much more than that. He instituted many practices that had only been done in the Temple into everyday life and observance. These were "zacher laMikdash", a "Memorial of the Temple". For example, the Etrog and Lulav (the four species) are commanded in the Torah to be taken everywhere on the first day of Sukkot, but, in the Temple, they were to be taken all seven days of the feast, with a joyous procession around the altar. Rabbi Yochanan instituted that now it should be taken everywhere throughout the feast, with a procession around the "bimah" (the place from where the Torah is read) . But these practices said several different things. Yes, it was to remember that which WAS, but is now missing. But it was also to instill faith that the Temple was coming back; at the time when HaShem will choose. It was also to do SOMETHING rather than nothing. That "something" was not just an action, but an implanting of a consciousness of a nearly forgotten message.The powerful messages of the Temple Service could still be gotten, albeit in a lesser form, even now. Marching around the Bimah is NOT a substitute for the Temple. It is a memorial, a hope for restoration, and at least it gives us a sense of what should, and will be.
In our own lives, we often lose someone or something that is incredibly precious. Some people stop living at that point. Others remember the loss, but are determined to go on living, enriched by the memories of who and what was, and realizing that they will one day be reunited. As long as that thought is put into practice, the lost person still lives through them. The void is filled, and it is no longer a void.
May G-d restore all of our losses!

Details

Several years ago, on one of the "ask the rabbi" websites, a frequent poster wrote a question. He said "I can understand don't kill, don't steal; but the great concern for details, like what is or isn't permitted on Shabbat, or what ingredients in a food would render it non-kosher, why is G-d concerned with these things?" The rabbi did not answer the question. After a few days, the person posted "have I finally asked you a question that you cannot answer?" The rabbi responded "I certainly did answer. In fact, I sent you a long email. However, in your email address, I left out the "dot" in "dot com." I can't imagine that a small detail like that would prevent the email from going through".
Our lives are made up of details. A slight shift in blood chemistry can mean illness...or death. A statement to a spouse "I love you, for the most part" would spell death for the relationship.
There is a delicate balance in Torah, between obligations to G-d and to Man; commands intended to sanctify every facet of life. There is a balance between "Love" and "Fear/Awe" of G-d that we are commanded to maintain  in the proper proportions.We are equally commanded not to add to the Torah, nor to detract. Judaism neither demands abstinence from the pleasures of life, nor unbridled hedonism. In the law of the Nazirite, who takes a vow to abstain from wine and hair cutting for a period of time (Numbers, chapter 6), at the completion of his vow, he must bring a sin offering. Why? The rabbis tell us that this is because self-affliction is, in most cases, a sin both against one's self, as well as against G-d. Then why is the Nazirite vow even mentioned in the Torah? The passage comes immediately after the law of the suspected adulteress. "One who sees the immorality around him, should vow to abstain from excesses, lest he also fall to debauchery". There is a time for abstinence, and other times where it is a sin. The details make the difference.
In one of Woody Allen's essays, he asks "the body and the soul; which is better to have?" The answer of Torah is "both are essential...in the right balance". For us, there is no dichotomy between "the letter of the Law, and "the spirit of the Law". These complement, rather than conflict. Our lives, our loves, our professions; all are composed of details. We must not forget to put the "dot" in the addresses of our lives.

Politics and Archaeology

I had for many years admired the late Vendyl Jones (1930-2010). He had been a Baptist Minister, who realized that the Bible could not really be understood without a firm grasp of Hebrew. He devoted himself to intense study. This led him to become a Noachide (long before most people had ever heard the term). He became a life-long advocate for all people to come to G-d through the Covenant of Noah. He went to Israel, dividing his time between the Holy Land and his native Texas.Two of his five children converted to Judaism. He did archaeological work both under Jordanian and Israeli auspices. He worked at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered (among other sites). He was particularly fascinated by the "Temple Scroll", which revealed hints as to where the sacred artifacts of the ancient Temple were hidden. (One of the great mysteries of Jewish history is that the list found in that scroll is identical, word for word, with a list contained in a 17th century work, which no one had taken seriously). He trained in archaeology. But his interest was more in the direction of theology.He hoped to pave the way for the restoration of the Temple service. He was an adventurer archaeologist. He was looking for the Lost Ark of the Covenant. He did find the ancient anointing oil, as well as a store of the incense from the Temple (although some question the identification of the latter). Towards the end of his life, he was sure that he had found the hiding place of the Ark, but was stymied by the red tape that characterizes Israeli bureaucracy. Some claimed that the Indian Jones character was based on him, but others deny this.All I can say is that if it wan't, the coincidences were remarkable. After discovering that we had a mutual friend, I extended an invitation to him to come to my home for dinner.
He showed up at my door in his ten gallon hat and snake skin suspenders. My kids were awed, and, frankly, so was I. My children showed him the various antiquities that they had found over the years; pieces of pottery and stone implements.He graciously identified each thing, and gave its history. Finally, I asked him a question that had baffled me for decades. When I was in college (1966-1970), I took many courses in Bible and the ancient Near East. My professors, who were by no means Orthodox Jews, repeatedly made the point that the Bible had proven totally reliable in terms of history. Archaeologists merely needed to figure out where a site should be, dig into the ground, and find not only the site, but often uncover evidence of Biblical events. By the time I graduated, articles began appearing in magazines and journals that stated the opposite. It was all folklore. Nothing in the Bible, before the fifth century BCE, was genuine. I asked Vendyl Jones what had changed. His answer surprised me, but made supreme sense. It was politics!
Before the 1967 Six Day War, the rhetoric coming out of the Middle East was that Israel would be destroyed and its people "thrown into the Sea". Most of the world saw Israel as David facing Goliath. After Israel accomplished victory in that war, which many considered nothing short of a miracle, the rhetoric suddenly changed. Israel was the aggressor. Israel was Goliath. Little by little that narrative came to be accepted by most of the world. Showing the accuracy of the Bible now became unpopular and politically incorrect Jewish claims to the Land of Israel would serve to foster Israeli "imperialism" Non-Jewish archaeologists, as well as secular, left wing Israeli archaeologists, shifted their view of history.A revisionist history, and a revisionist archaeology, became the fashion of the day. Palestinian archaeologists even went further. There never was a Temple, the Jews had only been in the Land for fifty years, and Jesus was a Palestinian.
I was "bowled over" by his remarks. This approach was not new in the history of the world. Stalin had made the evolutionary theories of Lamarck official State policy, because they fit into the theories of Marxism. Facts were twisted to fit a political concept. Science does not exist in a bubble. In 1975, a respected American physician published a book which garnered headlines. No need for natural foods. Colorings are harmless, preservatives are actually GOOD for you, we need more sugar, not less. These ideas became widely accepted by many, until it was revealed that the work had been funded by a junk food manufacturer. Pure science, alas, does not exist.
Vendyl Jones left a profound legacy. Let us examine carefully not only what is written, but also why. may we see the day when G-d's Truth prevails! May we see the day when the Ark of the Covenant will again rest in glory in the restored Temple!