Originally written: April 26th, 2017
"Good luck movin' up cuz I'm movin' out!"
You might recognize that line from the chorus of a Billy Joel song (that was apparently released the year I was born:). The song has nothing to do with this post, other than word-association, and now you might be humming it later, so sorry about that.
The Torah details two ritual motions performed while bringing sacrificial offerings called, in Hebrew:
teruma and tenufa, which the commentator Rashi defines as:
Teruma: lifting up and down, and
Tenufa: waving back and forth.
(Writing tip: You will probably lose most of your readers' attention when you begin talking about ritual sacrificial offerings. So if you kept reading, you are special. If you make it all the way to the end, you're probably related to me:)
One formulation for this in the text is:
"You should sanctify the breast of waving and the leg of lifting, that were waved and lifted"
On one of these verses, Rashi raises a question, for which he states he has no answer:
Why does the verse attribute teruma (lifting) to the thigh (Hebrew: shok- more on that later) and tenufa (waving) to the breast (Hebrew: chazeh) when in fact both motions were performed on both body parts?
It could have more easily written:
"Sanctify the breast and leg by waving and lifting."
Why say waving breasts and lifting legs, when they did both to both?
Rashi's self-proclaimed style is to explain the words from the most linguistic, straightforward, textually honest perspective, (which, fun fact, is called in Hebrew: pshuto shel mikra).
But I was thinking we could explore a homiletic possible interpretation,
It's a little involved, but I'll sum it up at the end:
Ritual sacrifices are called avodat/s hakorbanot/s, which actually means service of closeness. One of the purposes of this service was to enhance relationships- mostly between man and G-d, but also interpersonally. The two body parts mentioned in the above verse: chazeh-breast and shok-thigh, were part of the 24 priestly gifts endowed to the tribe who operated the sanctuary on behalf of the nation. Much of the service is interpreted not only as physical laws and rituals performed, but also as instructive metaphor.
Reminder:
Teruma means lifting up ("rahm" in Hebrew means high)- it is a vertical movement.
On the other hand, Tenufah, waving, is forward, or horizontal.
Stay with me here (please:).
The chest is often used to represent the "higher self," the seat of the heart, thought, spirituality, and sensitivity.
The thigh is the uppermost part of the the "lower self," the more physical needs, drives, walking, and movement. [Some men have a custom to wear a cloth belt called a "gartel" to symbolize separation between the upper and lower parts of the self.]
Of the many dichotomies in mitzvot/s (G-d's commandments), one division is:
mitzvot/s that are between humans and our Creator, vs the interpersonal - between fellow humans.
Those between people and G-d, such as prayer, we could describe as vertical- upward focus.
Interpersonal mitzvot/s, like kindness, we could describe as horizontal- moving outward, along a level horizon.
See where this is going? If not, don't worry, I'll elaborate.
When we're in a heart or "higher self zone"- engaging in lofty acts, such as prayer, the "teruma," the upliftedness, is activated. But when we get too wrapped up in the "between self and G-d" side of religion, a danger is that we can fly too high, and start to feel superior to, avoid, or neglect other people. So with regard to the breast part of the korban, we get a reminder about tenufa- waving, outward.
"You're praying? That's great- pray for others too. You're studying Torah? Nice. Now go help your mother."
On the other hand, when we're in our more physical or action-based mode, symbolized by the leg, the tenufa is activated- there is movement. But there, I may need to be reminded about teruma, to elevate and sanctify the act. I may be getting all involved in some community initiative to help others, and that's terrific. But it could be even holier if I ascribe intention to do it as a mitzvah, connecting to G-d.
I used to teach Judaic studies in a high school, and two scenarios from that stint could illustrate this dichotomy:
Story #1:
A tenth grader runs over enthusiastically to share:
"I'm really proud of myself; I've decided to commit myself to daven (pray) daily." My response was both admiration and advice:
"That's terrific- I'm really proud of you too. I just want to let you know, that sometimes when we take a step up in the domain of 'between man and G-d', our lower inclination can trip us up interpersonally. In your newfound value of davening, you may find yourself judging or looking down on the same friend with whom you skipped davening last week. Don't fall into that trap- try to be as resolute to respect your friends as you are to your prayer commitment. Good luck with it all!"
Story #2:
I was supervising morning prayer group, and an 11th grader came running in at the end of the service. "I'm sorry I missed davening," she breathed, but I was excused to work on a project for the Israel advocacy group." I asked if she wanted me to try and get her some time to make up her prayers, and she blinked at me, and repeated for me slowly : "I said I got excused."
Sometimes, and some people, communities, institutions, etc are particularly attentive to the "chazeh" and "terumah" part of service. Often these are the more ritual, solitary, or meditative aspects of practice.
Others are more drawn more towards community service, activism, or charity work, symbolized by the "shok"- leg, or tenufa- spreading outward of self.
An interesting linguistic twist that supports this hypothesis:
The word "chazeh" means breast but the exact letters also make up the word which means "insight" or "spiritual vision"- it's even used to mean prophecy sometimes (chazon). The word "shok" means thigh, but the letters also spell "marketplace"[interpersonal exchange of physical and material goods] and also: "to sustain physically with water or food."
Maybe the verse highlights the vertical movement of the leg, and the horizontal movement of the chest, rather than vice versa, to remind us to stay balanced.
When we're out there doing, spreading goodness among the people, we need to remember to include G-d, to hold space for the soul.
And when we're in our deep and lofty headspace, the inner chamber of the chest, focusing vertically, upward, we should remember to care about other people too.
Meaning: In healthy religion, balance is vital.
We need to serve with our hearts, treasure some solitude, grow inwardly, find ourselves, strive upward.
We also need to engage with others, contribute to society, promote tikkun olam (world improvement).
And if we get too absorbed in our own individualized worship of G-d, we may need to supplement some tenufa. If we get too busy out there taking social action, so that we're neglecting our sense of soul and Divine connection, we need a dose of teruma.
Balanced growth moves both upward and outward.
Maybe that's what the phraseology of the verse is hinting.
(Again, not the message of the Billy Joel song, though.)
Ok, I know that was a lot of parts, so just to sum up the ideas list-style:
Teruma means raising, vertical, could symbolize holiness between self and G-d, spiritual, natural to the chazeh (chest/insight) but word-associated with the shok (leg) perhaps for balance (to sublimate the physical and social)
Tenufa means waving, horizontal, could symbolize between person to person, action-based, natural to the shok (leg/marketplace/food) but associated with chazeh for balance (to ground and anchor the lofty and individual as part of a community)
If you read all the way to the end, and you followed, well, wow and thanks!
(This post was originally titled: "Raising Thighs and Waving Breasts," but I realized that wouldn't accurately reflect the tone and content, so I saved that blooper for you to see at the end:)
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