FOR SHEMINI
NO BITING INSECTS.
When Rabbi Israel Spira was confined in the Janowska Concentration Camp – right on the border town of Lwów, Poland (today Ukraine) – it did not matter that he happened to be a Chassidic Rebbe, a Chassidic master, of the “Bluzhov” dynasty. He was treated like the rest of the Jewish people incarcerated there as slave labor.
Each morning at dawn, the Germans would force all the inmates for line up and counting. The Nazis would then lead them out of the camp for another day of hard labor in the carpentry and metalwork factory. Their day ended only at nightfall. A giant saw was given to each pair of unskilled workers. They cut the logs for use in the factory by the skilled laborers.
The conditions in the camp were horrendous: No real bedding, no real sanitary conditions, and merciless evil lurking everywhere. Besides, food consisted of 180 calories a day. These starvation rations made the simple task of standing on feet painfully difficult. Failing to meet the daily quota, however, was not an option. Anyone who was unfortunate enough to collapse on the job from sheer physical and mental exhaustion was murdered on the spot. The same with those who failed to meet the daily quota. Those who were too weak and meek were a waste of time and resources for the Nazis. Plenty more free labor, in the form of Jews, were out there somewhere in Europe.
As unfamiliar as he was with the harsh labor, the Rebbe, Rabbi Spira, was forced to perform his duties like everyone else. Despite all that, he continued to maintain his holy status as a shepherd, providing strength and warmth for all those around him.
One day, as he pulled and pushed the heavy saw with his partner, a young woman from the same work detail quietly approached him. The pallor of her face showed her to be in an extremely weak physical state.
“Rebbe,” she whispered, “do you have a knife?”
The Rebbe thought he had understood her intention. He felt the great responsibility that rested upon his shoulders. He had to dissuade her from the intended harm she wanted to inflict on herself. “My daughter,” he begged, concentrating with as much love and conviction in his heart possible. “Do not take your own life. I know that your life is now a living hell. Death must seem like a blessed release. But we must never lose hope. With G-d's help, we will survive this ordeal and see better days.”
The woman seemed oblivious to his words. “I’m asking for a knife,” she repeated. “I must have a knife. Now. Before it is too late.”
At that moment, one of the German guards noticed the whispered conversation and approached. “What did she say to you?” the thug demanded of the Rebbe.
The Rebbe froze. Chatting during work was a grave transgression. Many a camp inmate had been shot on the spot for far lesser crimes. The woman, though, was upfront. “I asked him for a knife,” she said. To the Rebbe’s horror, she then addressed her request to the guard, “Give me a knife!”
The German, too, guessed her intention, and a devilish smile flickered on his lips. This would be a novel sight for him. Still smiling, he handed her his small knife.
Taking the knife, she hurried back to her work station and bent over a small bundle of rags she had placed on one of the logs. Quickly unraveling the bundle, she took out a tiny infant. Before everyone’s astonished eyes, she swiftly and skillfully circumcised the week-old boy. The blessing was next: “Blessed are You, G-d our G-d, King of the Universe,” she recited in a clear voice, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to enter him into the covenant of Abraham our Father.”
Cradling the child in her arms, she soothed his cries. Then, she addressed the heavens, “Master of the Universe! Eight days ago you gave me a child. I know that neither I nor he will long survive in this accursed place. But now, when you take him back, you will receive him as a complete Jew.”
“Your knife,” she said, handing the now holy object back to the German. “Thank you.”
This story was told by Rabbi Israel Spira, the Rebbe of Bluzhov himself.
Throughout history, the enemies of the Jewish people have done whatever they could to exterminate the Jewish people. Their attempts have been to rid the world forever of Jews and their religion. The enemies, though, even the evil Nazis, had no idea with whom they were dealing. Being a committed Jew – on any level – means that one strives to be connected with the Divine whether it is logical or not. When logic is transcended that cannot be destroyed.
The above story explains a strange admonition in this week’s Torah portion, “Shemini.” In its laws regarding keeping Kosher, the Torah warns, several times, not to consume insects, “You should sanctify yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. And you shall not defile yourselves through eating any creeping creature that crawls on the ground. For I am G-d who is bringing you up from the land of Egypt to be your G-d. Thus, you shall be holy because I am holy.” (Vayikra (Leviticus) 11:44-45.)
The Talmud deduces that consuming an ant is a transgression of five violations. A type of bee would be six.
The question begs to be asked: Ants and bees, flies and spiders are not found on the menu of most normal human beings. Humans would actually find it detestable and loathsome even to think of any of those insects getting close to them. Is it really necessary to pile on those prohibitions for things which people naturally spurn?
It is all about being connected to the Divine. The Torah wishes to emphasize that natural feelings and logic notwithstanding, one should be focused on the G-dliness of the commandment because of the added sanctity this provides.
In the final analysis, Judaism is about a connection which transcends nature and the natural. Whether it is a repulsive creature, or a repulsive human, being connected to the Divine ultimately provides an opportunity to be elevated to a level of sacredness higher than any place in this physical world.
SUMMARY: To be connected to the Divine, a young mother performs circumcision by defying logic and human nature in Nazi camps. Refraining from eating insects follows.