The Danger of Holiness
by Seth F. Oppenheimer

A reflection on portion [Shemini, Leviticus 9:1-11:47] because, in the matters of Nadab and Abihu and of Uzzah I thought G-D was being a jerk. Yet if a man would fall to his death BASE jumping, I would not blame G-D.

A toddler may climb up
A chair
Attempt to perch upon it
She may fall
A bruise
A scrape
Some tears
A lesson learned
More care
Perhaps
Will be taken
In future adventures

A schoolboy
Climbs
A tree
Now
The height
Is greater
If
The branch is too weak
The grip insecure
A step careless
A broken arm
A shattered knee
A concussion

The climber
Approaches
The top of the spire
A finger of stone
Pointing to heaven
A crevice misjudged
A stone seeming secure
Slips
A momentary
Loss of concentration
A long fall
Time to consider
Choices
Errors
A life passing
Death

A dream of flight
A simple thing
But to scream
Skyward
In a silver shell
Propelled
Rising
On a pillar
A pillar of fire
One mistake
The pilot,
Her hands
Slick upon the yoke
The engineer,
In a minor computation
The worker
Who tightened
The six hundred thirteenth bolt
On the secondary assembly
Glory turns to catastrophe
Brilliance to ash
Exaltation to death

It is not fair
It is not just
But
It is

To climb so high
Requires care
One slip
One moment
Moment of inattention
Destruction

But
Oh!
To ascend upon the charriot
To pass through
The gates of the
Seven celestial palaces
Perhaps to
Return
Perhaps
Dead
Mad
To grasp even
A sixtieth
Of a sixtieth
Of a sixtieth
Of a partial
Understanding?
Glimpse?
Of
The HOLY

But
Four entered the orchard
One died
One went mad
One cut the roots of
Who he was
Turned away from
Himself
One
Only one
Entered in peace
and
left in peace.

Uzzah*
So honored
To escort The Ark
Only wanted
To serve
Only wanted
To help
But touch
One touch
And
Death

The sons of Aaron
Brought
A new thing
Born of a passion to serve
To be close
A strange fire
Something to please
The Holy One
In
The Holy Place
By fire
As was that
Which was brought close
They were
Consumed

To soar
To join with
To touch
To hope
To touch
The Holy
To walk among the stars
Can be
To balance
Balance
On a flaming blade
Terror
Terror and trembling
Take care
But
How
How can I
refuse the flight.

__________________________________________

by Seth F. Oppenheimer, Professor of Mathematics at Mississippi State University, a rabbinical student in the ALEPH Ordination Program, and serving Congregation B'nai Israel in Columbus, MS.

April 21, 2012, Erev 29 Nisan, 5772