Parashot Acharei–Mot and Kedoshim / Nachum J Stone

.ויקרא 18:3

כְּמַעֲשֵׂה אֶרֶץ־מִצְרַיִם אֲשֶׁר יְשַׁבְתֶּם־בָּהּ לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ וּכְמַעֲשֵׂה אֶרֶץ־כְּנַעַן אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי מֵבִיא אֶתְכֶם שָׁמָּה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ וּבְחֻקֹּתֵיהֶם לֹא תֵלֵכוּ׃

In our parsha we read”  and their customs do not follow”

When a passuk is written with an abstract clause, it can’t be interpreted literally. One cannot “walk” in a set of laws or behaviors. This invites a wide range of interpretations. Some interpret, not to follow the laws of the gentiles. Some interpretations are hairstyle, behavior, architecture, dress, fashion. Rambam, following a number of Talmudic sources rules “all the above”.
[11 avoda zara 1-3]

Rashi quoting the medrash halacha explains:

ובחקתיהם לא תלכו. מַה הִנִּיחַ הַכָּתוּב שֶׁלֹּא אָמַר? אֶלָּא אֵלּוּ נִימוֹסוֹת שֶׁלָּהֶן — דְּבָרִים הַחֲקוּקִין לָהֶם — כְּגוֹן טַרְטִיָּאוֹת וְאִצְטַדִיָּאוֹת,

“their theaters and circuses” in other words, their leisure activities. Rambam did not bring this at all in his longer list of forbidden activities.

As we (hopefully) enter the last stages of our CoronaVirus isolation, I think that we can better appreciate Rashi’s interpretation, which seems to be more metaphoric or abstract than Rambam.

To a large degree, many of us have been forced into almost full-time leisure mode. What did we do with our time? A lot of everything, of course. The mix of activities are on a continuum of spiritual, intellectual, mundane, mindless and perhaps even embarrassing. The choices we made to a large degree indicate our values.

Rashi is instructing us to avoid the entertainments that do not promote or perhaps are even in conflict with our ideals and mores. As we emerge from our isolation, we can use the opportunity to evaluate how we used our time.

*******

In today’s (Wednesday) Daf, Shabbat 54b, the discussion surrounds a certain cow who walked about on Shabbat improperly adorned with a decorative ribbon. (It is forbidden to have one’s animal carry an unnecessary burden in the public domain on Shabbat.) The cow is identified as belonging to Ribi Elazar ben Azariya, even though it was not his. The gemara explains that Ribi Elazar ben Azariya is assigned responsibility for the cow, which belonged to a neighbor, because he didn’t protest the inappropriate decoration. The leaders of a community are responsible for the behavior of the collective.

Each of us has a leadership role to play within our families, communities, employment. And that is leading by example. Certainly, no one should stick their noses into anyone else’s affairs. We must all get our own priorities in order. Have we taken steps to welcome God into our lives? Does our behavior properly express the purpose of our being?

As we strive to make our day-to-day lives reflect the ideals of Judaism, we help each other and all of Am Yisrael. When we accept Rashi’s advice to limit our adoption of entertainments of the gentiles, we can start walking in the Godly path.