Quick Jewish Trivia Test: Is it a Jewish value to give thanks to a town? Answer- Yes. What about to give thanks to a town by exhuming dead bodies from graves? Answer: If you are Shimon Bar Yochai-yes! In this week's Torah portion, Vayishlach, Yaakov continues traveling after his reunion with his brother Eisav.
"And Ya'akov journeyed to Succot, and built himself a house, and made booths for his cattle; therefore the name of the place is called Succot. And Yaakov came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padan-Aram; and encamped (vayichan) before (et p'nai) the city." (Breishit 33: 17-18)
Midrash Rabbah teaches on verse 18:
"He showed his regard (chanan) for the important men (panim) of the city by sending them gifts. Another interpretation of 'and encamped before the city:' he began to set up market stands and sell at low prices. This teaches that a man must be grateful to a place from which he derives benefit."
The Jerusalem Talmud connects this Midrash with a beautiful but strange story about Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Shimon Bar Yochai and his son wanted to show thanks to the town of Tiveria:
"He said 'We should go and do something to better the world like our ancestors used to do: And Yaakov encamped in front of the city- they made market stands and sold [at low prices] in the marketplace. Let us purify Tiveria.' He took lupine beans and cut them up and scattered them and wherever there was a dead body, it floated up and he took it away." (Yerushalmi Sheviit 9:1)
"He said 'We should go and do something to better the world like our ancestors used to do: And Yaakov encamped in front of the city- they made market stands and sold [at low prices] in the marketplace. Let us purify Tiveria.' He took lupine beans and cut them up and scattered them and wherever there was a dead body, it floated up and he took it away." (Yerushalmi Sheviit 9:1)
This story is describing a kind of mystical miracle involved in purifying the land from the dead using lupines (pictured above, in the Galilee, where Bar Yochai lived). According to commentaries, the people of Tiveria complained that there were many unmarked burial sites in the area and the Cohanim (who are forbidden to become ritually impure by walking in cemeteries) did not know where it was permissible to walk. This is why Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and his son assisted in this matter.
This Midrash points to a number of Jewish values but for today I would like to focus on two of them. The first is the importance of showing gratitude to our communities, an appropriate theme for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday on which we express gratitude for freedom in America.
The second value is the incredibly strong Jewish imperative that bodies of the deceased be treated with incredible honor and be cared for in a holy way. Jewish communities today avoid exhuming bodies at almost all costs making this text surprising at first glance. During Talmudic times there may have been different customs; we must assume that Shimon Bar Yochai and his son did an act of kindness not just to Tiveria and its Cohanim, but also to the dead by giving them more honorable marked resting places in a new location.
As I write this d'var Torah, the most destructive wildfires in California's history are burning and destroying both lives and property. There are heart-breaking stories on the news each night and I am following the latest updates regularly, praying for those who are homeless, or injured, or have lost loved ones. Compounding the suffering, many of the dead may not be able to be identified because their remains are so badly burned as to be unrecognizable. Rains that are expected shortly may cause additional difficulties in this effort as ashes are turned to mud.
It is truly impossible for me to imagine what those affected by these fires are experiencing. It is in times like these that we are reminded just how much we have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. Most of us have our lives, our homes, our families, and our belongings. Even for those of us who suffer from injuries or illness, or who have lost loved ones recently, we at the very least know where our loved ones are and take for granted that we will have the ability to care our dead honorably. This cannot be said for many in California right now.
This Thanksgiving and Shabbat I will be thinking of the incredible kindness of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and the beautiful purple lupines that grow in the Golan. May G-d once again bless the communities that are suffering in California, and provide miracles for them just as miracles were wrought for our ancestors.
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