Leviticus 6:1-8:36
By Barrett Holman Leak
SAN DIEGO — In 1858, while delivering a speech about women’s rights, Isabella Baumfree was viciously heckled by pro-slavery White men who were deeply angry about her success, strength and powerful speaking ability. They accused her of being a man because she was so effective.
Thus, Sojourner Truth, a human rights advocate and former slave, did publicly bare her breasts during that speech to counter the accusations that she was a man. This act was a bold and defiant response to misogyny and racism as well as a powerful statement about her identity and the rights of women to be equally included in society.
When I was six years old, I told my parents I would one day be a preacher, a writer and a “pee-seh-chol-o-gist” (psychologist) and help people with their problems in those three ways. Throughout the years, I have always received affirmation from my community about those roles. I went on to become a professional journalist, earn a graduate degree in theology and another degree in psychology as well as become an educator and spiritual counselor.
While I have always known I was born B’tzelem Elohim (in the image of God), as a child and through college, I saw many rabbis, but did not see anyone on the bima who looked like me. No one female. Definitely no Black female rabbis. Eventually, I learned there were some women rabbis, and in 2009, one African American woman rabbi was ordained in the Reform tradition. I have hoped there would be more Black women rabbis on the bima, reflecting my lived experience in contemporary Jewish practice and the diversity in the American Jewish community. The hope is unfulfilled, but I am being lifted up by Jewish women in my community and embraced by women rabbis across the United States.
Parsha Tsav primarily details the procedures for various sacrifices brought in the Tabernacle and notably the (seven-day!) ordination ceremony of the Kohanim, the priests. It also details what seems to be some very dry stuff about sacrifices. The parsha outlines the rituals for the Olah (burnt offering), the Minchah (meal offering), the Chatat (sin offering), the Asham (guilt offering), and the Zevach Shelamim (peace offering). Key instructions include the Kohen’s role in handling the blood, the portions to be burned on the altar, and the portions designated for the Kohanim to eat.
A central theme is the meticulous and orderly performance of these rituals, emphasizing the sacred duty of the priesthood. The parsha also includes the commandment to maintain a perpetual fire on the altar, symbolizing the continuous nature of divine service.
So, we know that today, the sacrificial system is no longer practiced in Judaism. However, the underlying principles and values embedded in Parsha Tsav remain profoundly relevant to us. The meticulousness and order emphasized in the rituals can be interpreted as a call for intentionality and care in our spiritual practices and communal interactions. In this is the meaning for our daily lives. Just as the Kohanim, the priests, had specific roles and responsibilities, each individual within a community, each of us, has a unique contribution to make. And some of us are to be educating spiritual leaders – rabbis.
Rambam (Maimonides) in his Guide for the Perplexed, suggests that this detailed list was about gradually weaning the Israelites from idolatrous practices by channeling their sacrificial instincts towards God. For us today, this is about finding meaningful and relevant expressions of our spirituality within our contemporary context. It means that here in 2025, Torah is still relevant for us because we both can and are called to adapt.
The emphasis on the Kohanim’s specific duties? That is a model for specialized roles within communal leadership, where individuals with particular skills and knowledge serve the greater good. Ramban (Nachmanides) is our sage who liked to focus on the mystical and symbolic dimensions of the Torah. From Nachmanides we get the suggestion that the sacrifices offered a method for individuals to connect spiritually reflecting a relationship between humanity and God.
Here in the 21st century, this is an insight into the importance of mindful engagement in our spiritual lives, but not only that – it is about finding it in the mundane, everyday actions of life. Yes, there is spiritual significance in washing the dishes, washing the car, driving your neighbor to the store, or two friends taking a break from the daily fight against antisemitism and racism to have a pizza and talk about much of nothing.
Ibn Ezra, with his focus on the minutiae, the grammar, and contextual explanations, guides us to see that there is both deep and nuanced value in understanding Jewish principles and law, seeing that there is more than the written word on the pages and it applies to us in all our living contexts.
Our current context in the USA and in the American Jewish community is quite full with the issue of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). DEI has become used as a euphemism not only for exclusion but a euphemism for Black people — and the inference that if Black people have leadership positions, or admission to an elite program or school, they are unqualified, incompetent and prevented someone who was qualified from getting the position.
In the Jewish community, the intention of criticizing DEI was about its antisemitic exclusion of Jews, Jewish values and Jewish voices (especially in our educational institutions) – but such exclusion was not being led by nor practiced by African Americans. However the African American community is acutely experiencing the blows of the fight. What is happening as DEI is being dismantled, is the elimination of African American history (which is American history), mass firings of (primarily Euro/White) women, African Americans, LGBTQ+ and working-class people, in favor or primarily Euro/white) men and wealthy elites. The existence and proud history of African Americans like the late Secretary of State, General Colin L. Powell, are deleted and at the very least, being hidden.
In the name of DEI elimination, the leader of the nation’s landmark African American history and culture museum has been fired. There is a question as to what will happen with the contents of the museum. This can now happen to the museums centered on The Holocaust and women. The movement to create a Latino heritage museum is halted. The news of this anti-DEI movement is a daily, often overwhelming hot mess. But as with the fiery Golden Calf incident, we have Torah guidance on how to handle hot messes.
The Torah describes a hierarchical structure with the Kohanim, traditionally men from the tribe of Levi, holding specific religious authority. However, interpreting this through modernity necessitates a critical examination of historical contexts and evolving Jewish values.
The exclusion of women from the priesthood in biblical times is a historical reality. However, progressive Jewish movements wrestling with text today have come to understand Jewish law and tradition as recognizing the equal spiritual capacity and leadership potential of women and non-Ashkenazi Jews, leading to the ordination of women rabbis and a very few Jews of Color. This reflects a contemporary understanding of equity and inclusion, challenging traditional interpretations that limited religious leadership based on gender and color of skin.
Strictly, the historical context of the Torah does not explicitly address the diversity of gender, racial and ethnic identities within the Jewish community as it exists today in 2025. However, the fundamental principle of B’tzelem Elohim teaches that every human being is created with inherent worth and dignity. This core Jewish value forms a strong basis for advocating for the full inclusion and participation of women and Jews of Color – including African American, Latino, and Asian Jews – in all aspects of Jewish life, including and especially in rabbinic leadership.
We are not yet there in Reform tradition: there are Reform women rabbis from which to choose but not enough African American Reform women rabbis. Current active rabbis must seek out, encourage the calling of African American and other Jews of Color to the rabbinate and find the bandwidth and energy to provide rabbinical mentorship. We are no longer enslaved to the biased and abusive idea that a rabbi can be only one gender and skin color (and dare we more than dream of the double threat of having several visibly Women of Color as rabbis?”), yet, the journey to diversity, equity, and inclusion in rabbinic leadership is still a movement towards freedom, not yet fulfilled.
Just as the Tabernacle service required the dedicated participation of the Kohanim, the modern Jewish community is enriched and strengthened by the leadership and contributions of individuals from all backgrounds. The meticulousness called for in Parsha Tsav is a call to channel our efforts into building diverse equitable and inclusive Jewish communities where all individuals can fully participate and contribute their unique gifts as both laypersons and rabbinic leaders. With this in each of our hearts and minds, let us answer that call by moving forward in our actions to create that beloved community.
*
Barrett Holman Leak is a San Diego-based freelance writer.