T orah P ortion
Look Both Ways Before You Cross
BY RABBI DAVID ACKERMAN
PARSHAT SH’MINI
“LOOK BOTH WAYS before
you cross!” That’s guidance
we’ve all heard, likely drilled
into us as children. The deep
story of Pesach, I suggest, is a
tale of looking both ways before
crossing. Pesach’s last days commem-
orate the crossing of the Red/
Reed Sea, in many ways the
climactic moment of the
Exodus. The liturgy of the
seventh (biblically, the last) day
of Pesach centers on the reading
of shirat haYam — the trium-
phal “song of the sea” after they
crossed through, completing
the first stage of their journey
from slavery to freedom. And
the medieval prayer book added
dozens of piyyutim — liturgical
poems that became part of
the worship service in many
communities — that riffed on
the themes and the very words
of the Bible’s original song.

One piyyut — a 12th-cen-
tury composition written by
Yekutiel bar Yosef — utilizes
the Torah’s words to lay out the
look both ways idea with great
power. He calls the crossing
of the sea Pesach Mitzrai —
the actual historical moment
of redemption recounted
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in the Bible.

The companion to the
Torah’s Exodus is something
that our poet calls Pesach le-Atid
— the anticipated great redemp-
tion of the future. As the note
in Siddur Lev Shalem (where a
portion of the piyyut appears
on p. 360) puts it: “throughout
the generations Pesach was not
only a commemoration of a
historical event but a signal of
a future redeemed world.” In
other words, look both ways
before you cross.

Rabbi Yitz Greenberg beauti-
fully captures Pesach’s look both
ways dynamic: “What it did was
set up an alternative concep-
tion of life. Were it not for the
Exodus, those humans would
have reconciled themselves
to the evils that exist in the
world. The Exodus reestab-
lishes the dream of perfection
and thereby creates the tension
that must exist until reality is
redeemed. This orienting event
has not yet become our perma-
nent reality … But it points
the way to the end goal toward
which all life and history must
go. Every generation comes
to grips with its own reality:
it is something to be lived in,
and also to be challenged and
overcome.” (The Jewish Way, p.

36, emphasis added)
This Shabbat we encounter
Parshat Sh’mini, often read on
the Shabbat immediately after
Pesach. In less dramatic, but
more quotidian and arguably
more realistic fashion, Sh’mini
too presents to us the challenge
and necessity of looking both
ways before we cross. Professor
Tamar Kamionkowski’s
summary (taken from her
beautiful and elegant Leviticus
commentary on p. 75, emphasis
added) of the passage I have in
mind sets the stage.

“The final verses of Leviticus
10 describe an argument
between Moses and Aaron.

Although the text is somewhat
elusive, it seems that Moses
becomes angry because he
notes that while the grain
and well-being offerings were
consumed by the priests, the
meat of the purification offering
had not been consumed as
instructed in Leviticus 6:26.

Moses rebukes Aaron’s sons
and claims that YHVH would
not accept the purification
offering on behalf of the people.

The specific content of Aaron’s
response is difficult to under-
stand, but it is clear that Aaron
is claiming the authority to
interpret the law and that Moses
submits to Aaron’s authority
regarding ritual law.”
What makes this a look both
ways moment is that, according
to the Talmud (Bavli Kiddushin
30a) the opening words of this
passage — in Hebrew darosh
darash (inquired emphatically
or explored deeply) — are the
middle words of the Torah! The
ancients (lacking streaming and
social media and the like) spent
a lot of time with holy writings
and knew the words inside and
out. The Talmud tells us that
one group of early sages were
called sofrim — usually trans-
lated as “scribes” — because
they counted (lispor) the words,
verses, even letters of Scripture
and tabulated them. Say the
sofrim (on Leviticus 10:16):
”The midpoint of the Torah
according to words; darosh
from here, darash from here.”
A technical point perhaps,
but consider what that phrase
darosh darash really means.

Something like “inquire
deeply” or “explore intently” or
“pursue meaning” or “interpret
and interpret.” And following
the directional guidance of
the sofrim all of that is to be
engaged by looking both ways,
forward and back, or from more
than one perspective, at the
same time.

As one 16th-17th century
commentator, R Shmuel Edels
(Maharsha) expresses it: “Every
word has meaning in the
direction of purity and in the
direction of impurity ... the two
are one ... they are (the) two
aspects of the Torah.”
The ancient rabbis surely
knew something
about the Roman god Janus, the
god of doorways, thresh-
olds and crossings, who was
often depicted with two faces
oriented in opposing directions.

The rabbinic version of looking
both ways belongs to us, regular
people, and not just the gods.

While often elusive and
unclear, we’re called upon to
live in the tension created by
looking back into our history
and forward toward our future,
simultaneously seeing the
impurity that exists today and
the purity that may yet come to
be tomorrow. l
and the center is firm. Sprinkle
grated cheddar cheese, if using, on
half of the omelet. Fold the other
side of the omelet over the cheese.

Fry it until the bottom browns.

Flip over the omelet. Fry it until
the cheese melts and the omelet is
an appealing crispy brown. Serve
immediately. a time until the dirt nestling
between the leaves is rinsed out.

Dry them on paper towels.

Cut off the dark green part
of the leaves and discard.

Slice the white and light green
parts into thin circles. Peel the
potatoes and dice fine. Reserve.

In a large pot, heat the oil
and margarine over a medium
flame. Add the leeks, shallot
and a pinch of salt. Sauté them
until wilting and fragrant, about
5 minutes. Add the potatoes,
garlic, rosemary and cumin.

Sauté it for 5 minutes on a low
Cut the leeks in half length- flame. Add the chicken broth,
wise. Under cold running water, bay leaves and white pepper.

fan open the leek halves one at
Raise the flame to medium,
until the broth comes to a
low simmer. Add more salt, if
needed. Simmer for 20 minutes
or until the potatoes soften in
the center.

Move the pot from the flame.

With a slotted spoon, remove
the bay leaves and discard.

Pour in the lemon juice and
coconut milk, including the
cream at the top.

Fit the immersion blender
with the cutting blade, and
whip until pureed. Warm the
soup briefly over a medium
flame. Serve immediately in a
tureen or in bowls. Top with
chives, if using. This recipe can
be refrigerated or frozen. l
sprinkle with salt. Sauté for
1-2 minutes, until sweating.

Remove the pan from the flame
for 3-5 minutes so the vegeta-
bles don’t overcook.

Meanwhile, crack the egg
whites into a medium-sized GARLICKY POTATO LEEK
bowl. Using the cutting blade SOUP | MEAT
of the immersion blender, whip Serves 8
them until foamy.

Return the pan to a
3 large leeks
medium-low flame. If the pan is
4 large potatoes
dry, add more olive oil at any time.

1½ tablespoons olive oil
Pour the whipped egg whites into
1 tablespoon margarine
the pan. Fry until the edges brown
1 shallot, chopped
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM CAN DL E L IGHTIN G
Kosher salt to taste
5 cloves of garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon dried rosemary,
crushed ½ teaspoon cumin
5 cups of chicken broth
2 bay leaves
Pinch of white pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon
juice 1 (13.5-ounce can) coconut
milk Optional garnish: 3
tablespoons minced
chives JEWISH EXPONENT
Rabbi David Ackerman is the
spiritual leader of Congregation
Beth Am Israel in Penn Valley.

The Board of Rabbis of Greater
Philadelphia is proud to provide
diverse perspectives on Torah
commentary for the Jewish
Exponent. The opinions expressed
in this column are the author’s own
and do not reflect the view of the
Board of Rabbis.

APRIL 8, 2021
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