The late Johnny Cash summed it up nicely in his hit song Because of You I Walk the Line. Yes, in this world, we all must walk that line, placing ourselves on the side of holy or profane, good or evil. Ultimately, it is up to us to make the choice of which side of the line we will be on, but know that in this world, there is no standing still.
In this week's parsha, Shemini, we read: "In order to distinguish between the sacred and the profane, and between the contaminated and the pure...."
Even when we want to cross over to the holy area and do that which is right in G-d's eyes, we find that there are also lines that not everyone can cross. Take, for example, entering the Temple. An Israelite must do so only in a state of purity, a Kohen faces other obstacles, such as length of hair or clothing, while the Kohen Gadol is limited with respect to when he may enter the Holy of Holies.
The deaths in our parsha of Nadav and Avihu, the two sons of Aharon, were just such a case. They wanted to cross the line, to go the extra mile, which was off limits to them. Our rabbis teach us: "They saw their father Aharon enter with Moses and bring incense, and they saw them leave. The Divine Presence was visible, fire descended from Heaven, and they said, 'Let us do the same, causing fire to descend through our deed.'"
Even though the Torah calls them holy, being that they crossed the line without being instructed to, punishment came at once. HaShem said: If I do not punish them at once, others will come and profane My Temple. Better a hundred of them die and My glory not diminish for a moment. The commentaries write that if this is so with the righteous, how much more so with the wicked. Yes, the wicked of this world, while thinking they are riding high and walking the tightrope for the moment, are really on the wrong side of the line, waiting for their fall, which will surely come.
Dividing lines are also found at the end of our parsha, with the list of forbidden and permitted foods detailed to the Jewish people. Unlike the nations of the world, who will be forever on the other side of that line, never to cross over to the holy, the Jewish people have the capability to reach the greatest heights and be a nation of priests, as long as we follow the "road map" laid out for us in the Torah.
Yes, there are lines in this world in which people have to make their decisions on which side they want to be. Whether it is dividing lines between levels of holiness (as our rabbis teach us: ten levels of holiness descended into the world, and the Land of Israel is holier than the rest of the world, Jerusalem is holier than the Land of Israel, the Temple Mount is holier than Jerusalem... up to the most holy - the Holy of Holies), or the lines separating the profane from the holy, the good from the bad, or between the faithful to the Land and the betrayers of the Land. But let it be known that the day is coming when, sooner than most imagine, one will have to give an accounting of which side of which line he/she is on.
In this week's parsha, Shemini, we read: "In order to distinguish between the sacred and the profane, and between the contaminated and the pure...."
Even when we want to cross over to the holy area and do that which is right in G-d's eyes, we find that there are also lines that not everyone can cross. Take, for example, entering the Temple. An Israelite must do so only in a state of purity, a Kohen faces other obstacles, such as length of hair or clothing, while the Kohen Gadol is limited with respect to when he may enter the Holy of Holies.
The deaths in our parsha of Nadav and Avihu, the two sons of Aharon, were just such a case. They wanted to cross the line, to go the extra mile, which was off limits to them. Our rabbis teach us: "They saw their father Aharon enter with Moses and bring incense, and they saw them leave. The Divine Presence was visible, fire descended from Heaven, and they said, 'Let us do the same, causing fire to descend through our deed.'"
Even though the Torah calls them holy, being that they crossed the line without being instructed to, punishment came at once. HaShem said: If I do not punish them at once, others will come and profane My Temple. Better a hundred of them die and My glory not diminish for a moment. The commentaries write that if this is so with the righteous, how much more so with the wicked. Yes, the wicked of this world, while thinking they are riding high and walking the tightrope for the moment, are really on the wrong side of the line, waiting for their fall, which will surely come.
Dividing lines are also found at the end of our parsha, with the list of forbidden and permitted foods detailed to the Jewish people. Unlike the nations of the world, who will be forever on the other side of that line, never to cross over to the holy, the Jewish people have the capability to reach the greatest heights and be a nation of priests, as long as we follow the "road map" laid out for us in the Torah.
Yes, there are lines in this world in which people have to make their decisions on which side they want to be. Whether it is dividing lines between levels of holiness (as our rabbis teach us: ten levels of holiness descended into the world, and the Land of Israel is holier than the rest of the world, Jerusalem is holier than the Land of Israel, the Temple Mount is holier than Jerusalem... up to the most holy - the Holy of Holies), or the lines separating the profane from the holy, the good from the bad, or between the faithful to the Land and the betrayers of the Land. But let it be known that the day is coming when, sooner than most imagine, one will have to give an accounting of which side of which line he/she is on.