For the next seven weeks, the Jewish world will concern itself
with the duties of the priests of old and the ancient rules for offering sacrifices. It is detailed stuff, and quite dry … at
least when not gory.
A priest is a clergy person who acts on another’s behalf,
one who intercedes between humanity and God.
In the Book of Leviticus, the Hebrew priests offer the people’s
sacrifices to God so that the people could atone. In churches around the world, Catholic
priests receive the people’s confession for the same reason. In both cases, people are cleansed, forgiven,
and rendered whole thanks to the priest’s proper performance of his
function. The priest, it is believed,
has privileged access to God.
Jews no longer have priests because we believe that all
people have access to God. This access
is achieved through prayer to the One called “Shomeah t’filah,” or “Hearer of
Prayer.” No one’s prayers are louder
than any other’s—not those of the rabbi, not those of the rich, and not those
of the pious. We stand, each one of us,
equal before God. Atonement, cleansing,
forgiveness, wholeness: these are in our
own hands.
This is both a freedom and an obligation. We are free of the hierarchy that separates
us from our Maker. At the same time, we
are obligated to take responsibility for ourselves. No one tells us exactly what we must do. No one performs rituals on our behalves. No one can forgive us but the people we have
hurt.
Rather than allow another to speak for us, we speak for
ourselves. “You shall be to Me a kingdom
of priests and a holy nation,” God tells us (Exodus 19:6). We function as our own priests, atoning,
cleansing, forgiving, and crafting wholeness on our own behalf.
פתחו־לי שערי־צדק אבא־בם אודה יה
Pitchu
li sha’arei tzedek avo-vam ode-Ya.
Open for me the Gates of Righteousness
that I may enter them and praise God. (Psalms
118:19)
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