d’var torah
DIRECTORIES What Will We Do
with a Rotten Torah?
nmls 215-901-6521 • 561-631-1701
BY RABBI SHAI CHERRY
F www.

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JUNE 9, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Parshat Naso
ull disclosure: I love Torah.

Deeply. Even at its worst.

Our parshah describes a mar-
riage gone sideways. Th e visual image
of this scenario in the wilderness is
a wind of jealousy sweeping over the
husband (Num. 5:14). He suspects his
wife of infi delity, but he can’t prove it.

He accuses, and she denies. What are
the options?
He could divorce her. Th at’s radical
— aft er all, her denials might be gen-
uine. Plus, divorce requires paying the
woman a divorce settlement as stipu-
lated in all marriage contracts.

Th ey could talk. But they’ve tried
talking. He accuses and she, once
again, denies. Th e wind of jealousy
continues to blow. No teapot is safe
from a tempest.

He could publicly accuse her of a
secret tryst. She will be mortifi ed, and
if she is found innocent of wrongdoing,
he will be humiliated as well. Th e elim-
ination of doubt, however, makes the
ordeal worthwhile.

He brings her to the Jerusalem
Temple, and a priest mixes water, dirt
and the dissolved ink of an incantation.

Th e priest’s use of the four-letter name
of God quickens the conditional curse
of the bitter waters. Th e woman says,
“Amen. Amen.” She drinks from the
goblet with all eyes upon her.

Should she be innocent, she will be
blessed with child. But should she have
been unfaithful, the waters will turn
bitter as they enter her defi led vessel.

Her moral impurity will poison her
from the inside out. Whatever seed that
might be within will be expelled, and
she’ll be rendered infertile forever.

And they live happily ever aft er. Th e
end. Maybe she’ll belch from the yucky
water. She’ll feel vindicated, and he’ll
feel like a jerk and buy her chocolates
and fl owers to make it up to her.

What’s to love about this? Th e Torah
fi gured out a way to keep the cou-
ple together by allowing the husband’s
jealousy to blow over. If the wife really
had been unfaithful, she gets off easy.

Th e punishment for adultery, when it
can be proven, is death. Th e Mishnah
brings in its own deus ex machina.

Let’s say Betsy, her neighbor, heard
the headboard banging against their
common wall. Both Betsy and the adul-
teress might wonder: “Are these bitter
waters just psychodrama therapy?” Th e
Mishnah anticipates such a question
by revealing that if the adulteress had
a whole slew of good deeds under her
belt, so to speak, the eff ects of the bitter
waters might be suspended for up to
three years.

But now the rabbis are in a pickle. If
women know of that exemption, some
might become righteous sluts. But if
they don’t know, some might suspect
that the ordeal is just for show. As I
said, I love Torah!
If we pull back the camera to see how
other ancient Near Eastern cultures
deal with their jealous husbands, we’ll
notice that their water ordeals involve
rivers and drowning. Even though the
bitter waters are ugly, there was uglier.

When I declare my love for Torah,
sometimes what I mean is that I love
how the rabbis of the Mishnah and
Talmud interpret the Torah in ways
that make it seem like they’re just
as bothered with the patriarchy and
misogyny of certain texts as I am.

Th e Mishnah begins its explanation
with its own act of interpretive magic:
Th e rabbis transform the Torah’s jeal-
ousy into a warning that the husband
issues his wife against being secluded
with a certain man, Ploni.

Th is warning, to have legal force,
must be issued in front of two wit-
nesses. In order for the husband to
bring his wife to the priest in Jerusalem,
not only must she be warned, but there
must be additional witness that she
then secluded herself with Ploni. She
was warned, and she persisted.

Th e Mishnah neutralizes the over-
reactive husband and gives the woman
the opportunity to avoid the ordeal.

For me, that was the obvious injustice
that the Mishnah needed to address.

It is the next act of interpretation that
makes me so proud to be an heir to this
radically righteous tradition.

What about Ploni? Th e paramour
goes unmentioned in the Torah, but
the rabbis drag him back in, kick-
ing and screaming. Th e Torah’s Ploni
gorges on forbidden fruit without con-
sequence. But in the Mishnah, if the
woman was guilty, so was Ploni, and
he suff ers the same consequences at the
same time. Gender parity through gen-
der parody.

It boggles my mind when my rab-
binic colleagues argue their point by
saying, “But, it is written …” and leave
it at that. What is written is a snapshot
of how Jewish values were applied in
that moment in that place. Our job as
rabbis, and as Jews, is not to idolize
the text by turning it into an object of
stone but to plant its values in our soil.

Th e rabbis knew that for the Torah not
to become petrifi ed wood, it had to be
a Tree of Life. JE
Rabbi Shai Cherry is the rabbi of
Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Elkins
Park and author of “Torah through Time:
Understanding Bible Commentary from
the Rabbinic Period to Modern Times”
and “Coherent Judaism: Constructive
Th eology, Creation, and Halakhah.” Th e
Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia
is proud to provide diverse perspectives
on Torah commentary for the Jewish
Exponent. Th e opinions expressed in
this column are the author’s own and
do not refl ect the view of the Board of
Rabbis.




calendar
JUNE 17–MAY 19
M O N DAY, JU N E 1 3
MAHJONG GAME
Melrose B’nai Israel Emanu-El
Sisterhood invites the community
to join our weekly friendly mahjong
game Mondays at 7 p.m. Cost is
$36 per year or free with MBIEE
Sisterhood Membership. For more
information, call 215-635-1505 or
email office@mbiee.org. 8339 Old
York Road, Elkins Park.

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STORYTELLERS WORKSHOP
SUNDAY, JUNE 12
LG BTQ I A+ P I C NI C
Join Tribe 12 and JProud in a celebration of Pride, community, acceptance and togetherness for an after-
noon of friends, family and fun field day games. The picnic and field day will begin at 2 p.m., but please
consider joining us an hour beforehand as we pick juneberries (indigenous to Philadelphia). For questions,
to request accommodations or just to say hi, reach out to yo@tribe12.org.

FRI DAY, J UN E 10
SUNDAY, JU N E 12
Join Rabbi Alexander
Coleman, Jewish educator and
psychotherapist at the Institute
for Jewish Ethics, at 9 a.m. for a
weekly journey through the Torah
portion of the week with eternal
lessons on personal growth
and spirituality. Go to ijethics.

org/weekly-torah-portion.html to receive the Zoom link and
password. Join Jewish Relief Agency from 9
a.m.-2 p.m. for junior and all ages
food packing, as well as food delivery
to allow recipients to receive assis-
tance directly to their door, alleviating
some of the challenges they may
face, such as transportation, language
barriers or access. Additional delivery
opportunities are available on Mon-
day through Wednesday. For more
information about JRA’s volunteer
schedule, please visit jewishrelief.

org/calendar. 10980 Dutton Road,
Philadelphia. PARSHA FOR LIFE
JRA FOOD PACKING
From 10 a.m. to noon, volunteers
will pack boxes of food and other
critical household supplies with
the Jewish Relief Agency. This is a
great opportunity for team building
and for small and large groups to
come volunteer at JRA. For more
information about JRA’s volunteer
schedule, please visit jewishrelief.

org/calendar. 10980 Dutton Road,
Philadelphia. JRA FOOD DELIVERY
FELSTIVAL Federation Early Learning Services
is hosting an inaugural spring festival
from 12-6 p.m. (rain date: June 26) to
connect with our dedicated commu-
nity who have generously aided the
mission of FELS, especially our chil-
dren and families. Visit felskids.org/
felstival-2022 for more information.

The event will be hosted by our
Paley Early Learning Center, 2199
Strahle St., Philadelphia.

CONCERT LEGENDS
The Congregations of Shaare
Shamayim invite you to join us for
Legends: An Evening With Johnny
Cash, Dean Martin and Barbra
Streisand at 2 p.m. Seating prices
for this event range from $40-100.

Please contact the synagogue
office at 215-677-1600 for more
information. 9768 Verree Road,
Philadelphia. KLEZMER JAM SESSION
Join the members of the New
Klezmaniax, Or Hadash’s house
klezmer band, for a fun, informal
jam session 2:30-4:30 p.m. All
instruments and performance levels
welcome. Picnic to follow. Please
pre-register at forms.gle/EciV-
qXqug6THYrmr9. 190 Camp Hill
Road, Fort Washington.

Stories have always been a way to
communicate. Before people learned
how to write, they would tell each
other stories. Stories are much eas-
ier to remember than simple facts.

Acquire skills to share your unique
experiences with the next genera-
tion with this Golden Slipper Gems
workshop at 1 p.m. Register at gold-
enslippergems.org/storytelling. 3901
Conshohocken Avenue, Philadelphia.

TU E SDAY, JU N E 1 4
‘EAT - PRAY - LOVE’
Why do Jews eat a triangle-shaped
dough on Purim? What is the impor-
tance of dates in Islam? These
questions and more will be the
focus of this virtual course. Each
week in June, Golden Slipper on
the Main Line will explore a different
religious tradition and the food that
is accompanied by it. 11 a.m. Con-
tact msimonhazani@goldenslipper.

org or 610-359-8632 for more
information. LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
JT Trinicari performs oldies and
newsies to give you an afternoon
of laughs and dancing at Tabas
Kleinlife at 12:30 p.m, with bingo to
follow. Street parking available. Call
215-745-3127 for information. 2101
Strahle St., Philadelphia.

BINGO WITH BARRY
Join Barry at Tabas Kleinlife for an
afternoon of bingo from 12:30-3:30
p.m. on June 14, 15 and 16. Free
parking and free to play with snacks
available on June 15. For more
information, call 215-745-3127.

2101 Strahle St., Philadelphia.

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