{"id":12923,"date":"2014-03-13T11:54:23","date_gmt":"2014-03-13T17:54:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=12923"},"modified":"2014-03-13T11:54:23","modified_gmt":"2014-03-13T17:54:23","slug":"person-in-the-parsha-shemini-shabbat-parah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/person-in-the-parsha-shemini-shabbat-parah\/","title":{"rendered":"Person in the Parsha: SHEMINI (Shabbat Parah)"},"content":{"rendered":"

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB<\/p>\n

“RELIGION VS. SPIRITUALITY<\/strong>“<\/p>\n

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Treatment for addictions involves being in a process of recovery for quite some time. This fellow maintained, and many experts agree, that an addict seeking cure must commit to being \u201cin recovery\u201d as a life-long process.<\/p>\n

He had a lot to say about religion. He was especially interested in the distinction between religion and spirituality. Here is how he expressed that difference:<\/p>\n

\u201cReligion is for people who are afraid to go to hell. Spirituality is for people who have been there.\u201d<\/p>\n

His message struck a chord within me. I had long pondered the concepts of \u201creligion\u201d and \u201cspirituality.\u201d\u00a0 I once believed that the two terms were virtually synonymous. After all, weren\u2019t all religious people also spiritual? And where else besides religion could one find spirituality?<\/p>\n

But I have long since become disabused of that na\u00efve belief. Over the years, I have seen many Jews go through the motions of religious observance with neither emotion nor conviction. On the other hand, I have come to see individuals of no particular religious faith\u2014and indeed some who are confirmed atheists\u2014who, nonetheless, have profound spiritual sensitivities.<\/p>\n

It was because of my personal confusion about the relationship between religion and spirituality that the ex-addict\u2019s remark struck me as worthy of further contemplation. That was why I invited him to join me in my own addictive substance, coffee, after his talk.<\/p>\n

My new friend\u2019s distinction between religion and spirituality was based upon his theory of human nature. He had not come by this theory in a book he read or a course he took. He formulated it on the basis of his traumatic real life experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople,\u201d he said, \u201crequire a feeling of connectedness to a Higher Being. That\u2019s \u2018spirituality.\u2019 But it is just a feeling. A good feeling, to be sure\u2014a high. For me, drugs helped me achieve that feeling, but I needed to learn to achieve it elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

He quickly went on to explain the other half of his theory: \u201cBut just feeling is not enough. There needs to be some structure, some framework, and some guidelines. It can\u2019t all be just good feelings.\u00a0 That\u2019s where religion comes in. It provides the context within which the feelings can be contained, nurtured and expanded.\u201d<\/p>\n

I told him that I had to put his idea into my own private context. I immediately found myself drawing from a biblical source. Wouldn\u2019t you know that the source that came to mind was a passage in this week\u2019s Torah portion, Parshat Shemini (Leviticus<\/em> 9:1-11:47)!<\/p>\n

There, we find the following passage:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people. And there came a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed the burnt-offering and the fat upon the altar; which, when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces. And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire in it, and put incense in it, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which He commanded them not. And a fire went out from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n

I shared this brief biblical narrative with my new friend, and I used his terminology to explain it:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe procedure prescribed by God for sacrificial offerings is what you are calling \u2018religion.\u2019 There are ways to do it, and ways not to do it. Nadab and Abihu were caught up in what you call \u2018spirituality,\u2019 the ecstasy of the moment. They wanted to draw close to God. But they wanted to do it their way, with their own fire. But that was \u2018a strange fire.\u2019 He, God, had not commanded it, and that rendered it illegitimate\u2014fatally illegitimate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the story, but never quite understood it,\u201d he admitted. \u201cNow I can relate it very well to a drug-induced \u2018high.\u2019 You see, when you\u2019re on a high, you want it as your own. There is a powerful drive in you that seeks autonomy. Uncontrolled, that can be fatal. At some point, that drive has to be reined in. It needs discipline. That\u2019s where religion comes in.\u201d<\/p>\n

I asked my new friend if he was ready for some more \u201creligion,\u201d some words from the Rabbis. When he consented, I informed him that the Rabbis suggest quite a few reasons for the horrible punishment suffered by Nadab and Abihu. Although the Torah clearly identifies their sin as doing something which God had not commanded, the Rabbis find other factors which caused them to act the way they did.<\/p>\n

He was curious and asked, \u201cWhat are some of those factors?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor one thing,\u201d I explained, \u201cthe Rabbis accused Nadab and Abihu of entering the sacred precincts of the Tabernacle having excessively indulged in wine. They were inebriated. This suggested that their \u2018spirituality\u2019 was artificially induced and, thus, inauthentic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOthers maintain,\u201d I continued, \u201cthat they were disrespectful toward Moses by not consulting with him regarding the proper sacrificial procedure. Some Rabbis even suggest that they envied Moses\u2019 and Aaron\u2019s lofty positions and secretly prayed for the time when they would inherit those positions of power and glory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWow,\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cThat fits with the anti-authoritarian sentiments of so many who are hooked on pure spirituality. Their motto is, \u2018Down with authority. Let us take over!\u2019 Tell me, do the Rabbis have any other suggestions about what might lie behind this raw, unbridled \u2018spirituality.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, they do,\u201d I responded. \u201cThey suggest that Nadab and Abihu weren\u2019t wearing the proper priestly garments when they performed their incense offering.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked puzzled. He couldn\u2019t connect this particular flaw to his own experience. So I gave him my take on the significance of their failure to don the proper \u201cuniform.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe priestly robes are described as \u2018garments of honor and glory.\u2019 You cannot just approach God in your jeans and sweatshirt. Doing so demonstrates a feeling of familiarity with Him, which is inappropriate. God is not your pal. Approaching him calls for reverence, and the priestly clothing attest to that reverence. With them, your actions are sacred and inspired, truly spiritual. Without them, you\u2019re on a \u2018trip\u2019 with a buddy; you\u2019re not in the presence of the Higher Being with whom you strongly desire a deep connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

The discussion that evening ended with a disagreement:<\/p>\n

\u201cRabbi, you taught me so much tonight. You encouraged me to connect the dots between my admittedly unhealthy experience and Jewish teachings. I owe you a debt of gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

I disagreed. \u201cNo, I owe you a debt of gratitude. You forced me to realize that \u2018spirituality\u2019 and \u2018religion\u2019 are not one and the same. They are both essential for a fully religious experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

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