Va-Yikra - English

Rabbi Joshua Kullock

A few days ago, while doing some zapping, I suddenly found that they were rerunning the second part of Spiderman. Not being a comics addict, I found the movie to be quite entertaining, and so I watched it for a while.

For those who don´t know or don´t remember the plot of the arachnid superhero, let me tell you that Spiderman is in fact called Peter Parker. This not so popular young man is bitten by a radioactive spider, and from that moment on, he is bestowed with certain powers that will be used when needed to fight against injustice and defeat evil.

But the powers he gets from the bite are not what led Spiderman to fight the usual villains. That which will trigger the superhero spirit in Peter Parker will be the murder of his dearest uncle Ben, a murder for which he will feel responsible. Faced with this tragic episode, the movie returns again and again to the words that the uncle tells Peter before he died, and that will turn the unpopular youngster into the hero that never sleeps: "With every great power comes great responsibility."

Somehow, I think this words find their match in the texts of our tradition, particularly the Parashah we read this week. Because, in Parashat Va-yikra, the different offerings that the town members were to bring, according to their actions and omissions, are established. And guess what... those who had a tribal or priestly leadership role, had to sacrifice a larger animal - and therefore more expensive - to amend their sins.

This reminds me of a story I once heard from my friend and master rabbi Gustavo Surazski and which seems to be worth telling: A few weeks before starting the Pesach (Passover) holiday, in one of the mythical and timeless neighborhoods of Jerusalem, a very important rabbi had a problem at home: his toilet broke. Since the problem had no solution, he decided to go to a toilet (bathroom) business, bought a new toilet and placed the old one on the street.

The neighbors, who of course were the Rebbe’s pupils, at seeing their master throw out the toilet thought: ¡How pious our rabbi is! Pesach is coming and he makes sure there is no chametz at his home, not even in the bathroom. A few days later, and to the delight of toilet merchants throughout the city, half the neighborhood had changed their facilities and a pile of toilets filled the streets, waiting for the garbage truck to pick them up.

There are two conclusions that we can draw from this story. On the one hand, it seems that, for a while, the attachment to a leader or to his teachings can become so deep that people stop thinking and simply decide to repeat what they see, without questioning or reflecting upon it. But on the other hand, the story also teaches how great is the responsibility of a leader or master. That which he does or does not do, will affect people who know and respect him, and will help the group he leads to flourish and grow or inevitably sink them into a sea of darkness.