Modern Jewish culture is no stranger to guilt–it often plays a starring role in sitcoms, in countless Jewish mother jokes, in family meals and inherited worries about not being “Jewish enough”. As I ponder the merits of guilt in this week’s Torah portion, it strikes me that its danger lies not in our feeling of remorse for past action, but in the way it can trap us in our fears and inadequacies, and keep us from moving forward.
I newly appreciate the ancient system of sacrifice detailed in Parsha Tzav, which prescribed rituals of coming together for the community in times of personal or communal need for atonement. Rather than worry in isolation about acts committed and omitted, the individual was able to articulate the wrong and bring a symbol of contrition.
The word “sacrifice” in Hebrew is korban. Its root, k-r-v, denotes closeness and intimacy. Sacrifices, notes Rabbi Dorothy Richman, didn’t just bring worshippers closer to God, they brought the community members into contact with one another. Perhaps that is what this system of sacrifice, or “getting close,” is trying to achieve: it insists that coming nearer to God means connecting more deeply with each other.
Without reviving the smokey animal-harming sacrificial system Parsha Tzav describes, I feel inspired to treat the guilt that arises in me frequently, over matters big and small, as a call to repair, demonstrated through communal acts of justice and compassion. When we have the courage to call out to the community when we’re troubled by remorse, we can manifest greater healing than our silent guilt or shame could ever bring about.
By Rabbi Laura Rumpf