Parashat Emor: Why Jewish Guilt Is Not Very Jewish At All

When we do teshuvah, should we regularly remind ourselves of our past sins so that we don’t repeat them? The midrash on this week’s Torah portion, Emor, gives us insight into this interesting psychological question. The Torah teaches:

When an ox, or a sheep, or a goat is born, it shall remain with its mother seven days, and from the 8th day onwards, it shall be accepted as a sacrifice for fire offering to Hashem (Lev. 20:27)

The midrash (Vaiyra Rabbah 27:3) on this verse teaches which of these animals’ horns can be used for a shofar. I am including the entire midrash here which will be explained and translated section by section below.

תנינן: כל השופרות כלן כשרין חוץ משל פרה. ולמה חוץ משל פרה? אלא מפני שהוא קרן של עגל. וכתיב: עשו להם עגל מסכה, על שום: ולא יהיה עוד לבית ישראל למבטח מזכיר עון. תנא: מפני מה סוטה אינה שותה בכוס של חברתה? שלא יאמרו בכוס זה שתת פלונית ומתה, על שום: ולא יהיה עוד לבית ישראל למבטח מזכיר עון. תנינן (ויקרא כ): והרגת את האשה ואת הבהמה אם אדם חטא, בהמה מה חטאת? אלא מפני שבאה תקלה על ידה לאדם. אמרה תורה תסקל שלא תהא בהמה עוברת בשוק ויהיו אומרים: זו בהמה שנסקל פלוני על ידה על שום: ולא יהיה עוד לבית ישראל למבטח מזכיר עון. שור או כשב וכי שור נולד והלא עגל נולד? אלא משום עשו להם עגל מסכה לפיכך קראו הכתוב שור ולא עגל, הדא הוא דכתיב: שור או כשב או עז:

All horns are ritually fit for blowing except that of the cow. Why except that of the cow?Because it is the horn of a calf, and it is written, “They have made them a molten calf.”Why then is [the cow’s horn forbidden for use as a shofar? Because we are taught] “And it shall no longer bring sin to remembrance for the house of Israel.” (Ezekiel 29:16)

 The midrash above suggests that G-d does not want us to be reminded of the sin of the golden calf, therefore S/He does not let us use the horn of that same animal as a shofar. The midrash continues and suggests that not only should we not be reminded of our own sins (or those of our ancestors) but we should not be reminded of the sins of other people in the community!

For what reason does a wife suspected [of adultery] not drink [the curse water that will kill her only if she is guilty] out of [another suspected adulteress] friend’s cup ? That people might not say: “Out of this same cup So-and-so drank and died.”

In other words, while the community is aware of the current suspected adulteress being tested through the curse water, there is no reason to remind them of another woman who was killed by the curse water because she sinned. The next example in the midrash is an explanation of why the Torah teaches that an animal that has been abused in sexual relations with a human should be killed:

We must say that because it was the cause of a human being falling into a snare, the Torah has commanded that it shall be stoned, in order to prevent the possibility of a beast passing through the market-place and people saying: “This is the beast on account of which So-and-so was stoned.”

That part of the midrash was a bit surprising to be because it is hard for me to imagine how the public would know which animal was abused by a person, but apparently during that time, it was very possible that the animal was publicly identified! Lastly, the midrash uses this same reasoning to explain why the Torah in our portion refers to the animal to be sacrificed as an ox. If you remember above, parashat Emor teaches “When an ox, or a sheep, or a goat is born, it shall remain with its mother seven days, and from the 8th day onwards, it shall be accepted as a sacrifice for fire offering to Hashem.” (Lev. 20:27)

Is it brought forth as an ox? Is it not brought forth as a calf [given that the Torah refers to it being only eight days old]? It is [brought forth as a calf], but because of the text, “They have made them a molten calf,” the Torah calls it an ox and not a calf [so that we are not reminded of the sin of the golden calf].

I think this midrash is a touching commentary on how important it is to look forward positively rather than look back at past sins. Just at G-d protects us from thinking about our sins, we can also protect our friends by not mentioning their prior indiscretions. While it is important to reflect on our mistakes and to make teshuvah, once we have done that difficult work, it is time to move on. This is psychologically sound advice as well, as living with guilt forever over a wrongdoing committed once is not healthy. May this Shabbat bring all of us inspiration to be a little less critical of others about their past deeds, and even more so about our own.