Contributing to a strong, vibrant, and diverse Jewish community in and around Philadelphia

Rabbi Gregory Marx

Parashat 

Vayikra

A Lesson in Sublimation

Sigmund Freud argued that sublimation is a defense mechanism, where we take

emotionally unacceptable impulses and transform them into socially conventional and constructive activities. He gives an example of someone who is in emotional turmoil, and consequently creates passionate art. A conflicted animated soul often channels emotional turbulence into artistic expressions, either in art, music or writing. More broadly, sublimation, transforms raw or negative energy into something more productive and of higher societal value. Surgeons, who do so much good for society, in many cases tell of childhood experiences where they were drawn to blood and trauma.

Freud did not know the Bible well; he often found examples of his theories in Greek mythology. It is regrettable that he did not look at the book of Leviticus or this week’s torah portion, Vayikra as an example of sublimation. It lays out the details of various types of sacrifice. They were bloody, barbaric, nasty, violent, and from our perspective quite primitive. It was a gruesome business. “The bull shall be slaughtered before GOD; and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall offer the blood, dashing the blood against all sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting…. The priest shall bring the pigeon to the altar, pinch off its head, and turn it into smoke on the altar; and its blood shall be drained out against the side of the altar. … The priest shall tear it open by its wings, without severing it, and turn it into smoke on the altar, upon the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, of pleasing odor to GOD.”

Moderns complain that there is little to learn from the sacrificial cult. Ask any Bar/Bat Mitzvah student studying this portion. But there is more to meet the eye. Sacrifices harness our destructive impulses and turn them into productive practices.

Life is difficult, painful, disappointing, petty, and often barbaric. The human psyche has many different layers, which include conflicting convictions drives and feelings. The deeper layers of the human psyche are nonverbal, contradictory and often impulsive. Each of us contains the persons we were at every previous stage of development. We are, despite our supposed sophistication, all at the same time a complex expression of competing emotions and reactions. We can be empathetic and selfish, loving and spiteful, peace loving, and violent. The book of Leviticus helps us accept our passions and endeavors to challenge them properly. It takes the darker side of humanity and sanctifies it in a formal religious context.

Take the violent side of humanity and connect it to sacrifice. Take the guilty side of us and connect it to sacrifice.

Most who do terrible things are loners. The papers are full of neighbors commenting on the recent mass shooter, “He usually kept to himself.” Notice, then that Leviticus 7:15 reads, “If any of the flesh of that sacrifice of well-being is eaten on the third day, it shall not be acceptable; it shall not count for the one who offered it. It is an offensive thing, and the person who eats of it shall bear the guilt.” The sacrifice is to be eaten on the first two days, necessitating a crowd who will promptly and completely consume the heifer . It must be observed with others. Social bonds have a knack of limiting our darker side. Our inner conflicts can be mitigated by a caring community. Maybe the Torah portion is attempting to link us to each other and thereby help us cope with our inner pain.

The sacrificial cult was the best way our ancestors had to control the violent side of our personhood. It allowed us to express the ugly side of humanity, but within a religious and a safe confined context. We were called upon to lift it up to God rather than to drive it underground where it could percolate up in probably less constructive ways.

In the days of Leviticus, our religious practices were more violent while society was more secure. There was greater stability within the social norms. Rules were obeyed. Boundaries were set. People knew what was expected of them. Today, is the opposite. Our religion is more sanitized, with less boundaries and fewer expectations. There are no more sacrifices, and that’s OK, but regrettably our society is far more violent. This is no coincidence.

The message of Vayikra is more needed now than ever: Do not ignore the complexity of the human psyche. Instead, find healthy and socially acceptable religious expressions for it.