Our 20 % Contribution

This Week’s Torah Portion is Bechukotai, which means, In my decrees. It is the last portion in the book of Leviticus. It’s famous for containing a list of blessings and the Tochacha, a longer litany of curses. The blessings will come from God for carrying out the dictates of the Torah and the curses will, at first, be corrections; and then greater and greater misfortunes for willful disobedience. There is a section about redeeming things that have been donated and consecrated to God: a house, a field, an animal, and a tithe. In each case, the item in question can be redeemed, but also in each case, 20 per cent or a fifth must be added to its value. When something in the Torah is repeated, as here, the added fifth is repeated four times in this portion, it raises a red flag. In fact, the added fifth is mentioned a total of nine times in the Torah: eight times in the book of Leviticus, and once in the Book of Numbers. In the portion, Vayikra, the beginning of Leviticus, we are told that if we commit a sin unintentionally, we must confess, bring a guilt offering and add a fifth of its valuation to it. The same commandment applies later in that portion, to intentional sin: lying or stealing. The stolen items must be returned and a fifth added to the value. In Nasso, the second portion in the book of Numbers, we are told that any sin we commit we must confess to and add 20 per cent.
What is this 20 per cent all about? And is it as straightforward as it seems? Many of you have heard of the great kabbalist Isaac Luria and his circle, in 16th Century Safed in Israel. Rabbi Isaac, called the Lion or Ari, developed a theory of creation, The theory begins with Nothingness, called Ayin, and proceeds to the Divine becoming Manifest. Creation began, according to the Ari, with the Ayn Sof, the unimaginable infinite light that is without end; that which we call God, filling all existence. But in order to create a material world there had to be tzimtzum, or contraction. Luria theorized that God contracted the Divine Presence into vessels, but the vessels could not contain God’s Divine light, and shattered. The broken vessels that remained were mere shells or husks, called kelipot, which still contain Divine sparks. Luria taught that it is our task to redeem the husks, finding the Divine sparks within the matter that comprises our material world and raising them up to holiness. This is called Tikkun Olam, or repair of the Universe. In this way we may be active participants in healing the world. Luria’s theory relates to the concept of the added fifth in the following way.
The added fifth that God requires of us goes beyond our obligation to give to charity. It is, in a sense, God’s conception of our contribution to creation. God seems to be saying to us, “My children, I know that you will do what is right sometimes and what is wrong sometimes. When you do wrong, it hurts me, because you are a part of me and of my creation. Here is a way to fix the wrong by fixing the fabric of all creation. Bring an extra 20 percent of repair to what you have done. I’ll do 80 % of the work, but you can lift up a part of the universe and create holiness by your contribution of the fifth.” God seems to be asking us not only to restore what we have done to its original state, but to actually have a part in perfecting the world by our participation and contribution. We are dignified by God with the role of creating, like the Creator: not only putting back things to their original condition, but creating cosmic change for the good. When we realize what power we have to create goodness, we can effect changes in our very reality. The message of the added fifth is that we can do much by going beyond what is technically required of us: in kindness, in giving to charity, and in repairing the relationships we have bruised or damaged. We can find the holiness in the husks of mundane matter and release Divine sparks. The added fifth shows us how important we are to God in being co-creators of goodness and harmony. May we come to understand how much we can achieve for good and how important our contributions are to the infinite light of God in the Universe.