The Price of Turning a Blind Eye

Parshat Kedoshim is also known as the Holiness Code. It contains laws having to do with interpersonal conduct as well as laws purely of a religious nature. One particular law combines these two elements, namely, the prohibition against the idolatrous sacrifice of children to a deity know as Molech. This prohibition was considered so serious that the Torah demands that no one consciously permit this transgression:

And if the children of the land actually avert (he’elem ya’alemu) their eyes from the man when he gives his seed to Molech, not putting him to death, I (God) Myself shall turn My face against that man and his clan and I shall cut him off and I shall cut him off… (Leviticus 20:4-5)

As time went on, however,  this transgression faded into the nation’s past and its legislative relevance no longer played a critical role in the life of the people. As we have seen so many times before, the rabbinic sages were still able to derive both moral and religious significance from what otherwise might have been thought to be irrelevant.

We note that the words translated as “actually avert” is expressed with the doubled verb – “ayin lamed mem”. A doubled verb in biblical Hebrew is an emphatic expression. In rabbinic Hebrew this grammatical usage was already passe, rendering such the doubled verb expression as seemingly redundant. Since, from a rabbinic theological perspective, it was unthinkable that the Torah might contain a redundancy, the doubling of a verb was seen to express some other significance as we see in the following brief midrashic comments from the period of the Mishnah:

If they avert their eyes, from where do we learn that if they avert their eyes for one thing, in the end they will avert their eyes for many things? Scripture teaches: “If they surely avert (doubled verb)!”

And from where do we learn that is a single court averts its eyes, then many courts will avert their eyes? Scripture teaches: “If they (plural) surely avert their eyes!”

If the Sanhedrins (higher courts) of Israel avert their eyes. Then, in the end the Great Sanhedrin will averts its eyes… (Sifra Kedoshim Parshita 10:9-11)

Two things appear clear from this midrashic interpretation. Its author undoubtedly infers that to ignore wrongdoing is a very serious infraction, one made even more serous because it is likely to become habitual. And when sinful behavior is ignored, it can and will become rampant.

The midrash also sees the sin of “averting one’s eyes” as one that has an ever-increasing impact. If sin is ignored on the micro-level, then it will also be ignored on the macro-level until it crescendos not only among individuals but in the institutions of society as well.

Closing one’s eyes to wrongdoing and allowing bad things to happen out of convenience is ultimately a betrayal of God. Holiness is all about building God’s world on earth and the avoidance of responsibility for this task is the antithesis of the spirit of Judaism.