Living in the COVID-19 World ...and Beyond #29: Another Drash

Preamble: This blog is different than most but like #7.   My great-nephew Nate was bar-mitzvah’ed (bar- or bas-mitzvah is the service within the Jewish tradition when a 13-year-old becomes an adult) on April 1st, 2023.   I was asked to deliver the drash at services the night before.  Drash means: “to probe, to seek, to inquire, or to interpret.”  My prescribed goal was to prepare a brief discussion for the congregation that probes or interprets just one point from the Torah (Jewish bible) portion that was being read that weekend.  The Torah portion that weekend was Tzav.  For those who wish to understand the Torah portion in full, here is a link to a description in Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzav.   The drash I wrote and delivered stands alone.  Below is my drash:

This Sabbath’s Torah portion essentially describes the rules for offering burnt sacrifices.    There were clear guidelines for how these rituals were to be conducted.   I read them over and read some commentaries about this Torah portion.   And I asked myself: what do burnt sacrifices and their associated rituals have to do with me or with you?   

And then I thought about a bigger idea … that there are rules or guidelines for our behavior in various circumstances.   Now that I can relate to.   I grew up with all sorts of rules and I bet you did too.

What were some of those rules?  

That one should cover their mouth with their hand when they are yawning.

That a man should hold open the door for a woman.

And my favorite: Wear your shirt tucked in.

I’m sure you can name many more.

There was a time when I needed to be told these rules and to be reminded of them.  Over time, they were installed in my mind, and they guided me regarding how to be in the world.   I followed them without really thinking about them, and they became habitual behaviors.

Many of those “rules” were straight out of Emily Post and Amy Vanderbilt -- in the 1950’s and 60’s they were “The Bible” for appropriate behavior.  

Thinking about those rules for behavior from the vantage point of today, do they make sense?

For example, feminism has taught us that men and woman are equal and a whole host of social rules that governed male/female interaction have been revised if not outright discarded.

I think we need to look at rules that we internalize when we are young and challenge ourselves to think about whether those guidelines actually make sense in our lives today.    Many will, others won’t.

What are some rules that you take for granted.   Are there any that you are ready to modify or discard?