Is there a sin so terrible it will bar one from G!d's presence?

Acharei Mot is a very very challenging Torah portion. I won't go into the details, but it covers a lot of territory, all of it on the more negative side of things, as in prohibitions and taboos. So we wrestle with it to find a glimmer or two of something instructive and positive for us here and now.

Opening with another review of the death of Aharon's two sons, Aharei Mot moves on to detail various commandments. At first glance, it looks a bit like a box of taboo miscellany with nowhere better to be placed. Conservative Movement's Rabbi Andy Shapiro Katz suggests a connection between these seemingly unconnected laundry lists of taboos and prohibitions, seeing that each commandment can be sorted into one of three main categories of Jewish ritual law:
1) worship in particular times and places,
2) regulation of food consumption
3) regulation of intimate relationships, even between consenting adults.

Rabbi Katz then goes on to point out a very puzzling verse in our portion, a verse addressing some of the duties of the High Priest:

"Thus he shall purge the Kodesh (the central area of the Mishkan) of the uncleanness and transgression of the Israelites, whatever their sins; and he shall do the same for the Ohel Mo'ed (Tent of Meeting), which abides with them in the midst of their uncleanness." (Leviticus/VaYikra 16:16).

The simple, plain, and obvious meaning of this verse is that before the Kohen Gadol enters into the Mishkan (or later, the Temple), to perform the special Yom Kippur ritual to purge the nation of its sins, he has to first perform particular rites to "purge" the Kodesh and the Ohel Mo'ed of the uncleanness they have accumulated due to the people's sins. (This is similar to the concept of "kashering" the Tent of Meeting like traditional Jews kasher their dinnerware to render them truly clean and pure. Kashering is simply a concept of making something pure, or kosher.)

That last phrase, that the Mishkan "abides with them in the midst of their uncleanness," particularly catches our attention. After all, where else might the Mishkan abide? Since Mishkan, a word meaning "dwelling place", was built as a place for the Holy to dwell in the midst of the Hebrew people in the desert and on the move, where else could it ever be?

It is only the dwelling presence of the Holy as the Shechinah which makes the Mishkan something more than a simple portable tent meeting space. Furthermore, it is this dwelling Presence of the Holy in their midst that makes the Hebrews more than a tribe of newly freed slaves wandering about in the desert. This Presence accompanied them and even directed them in their forward journey. This Presence was their Cause, their defining identity which delineated them from all other peoples and tribes in their world at that time.

So what can this verse mean?

Perhaps, then, this verse in Leviticus is reminding us that even though this Holy Place is to be treated with utmost care and concern over purity and holiness, and that it is to be purged thoroughly–– both the place itself and the people–– the Holy still dwells within us, imperfect and human as we are. G!d is with us, us as in individually and collectively, even when we don't follow all the rules and make mistakes.

Yet, have you ever wondered if there is a sin so terrible that it will drive Shechinah away from within us, that might bar one from G!d's Presence?

I'll give you a hint. In Leviticus 16:4 of our Torah portion, it describes a curious mandate to the high priest. In order to enter the Kodesh (Holy) area of the Mishkan, Aharon (Aaron) has to wear clothing made strictly of fabric, not containing any of the rich materials of his usual, special, high priestly garments. Even though he is serving in his highest capacity as the high priest of the entire community, he must garb only in very plain and simple clothing.

So here we have a nearly endless litany of rules rules rules, rules about worship, rules about food consumption, and rules about sexual relations, and yet the high priest himself must strip away the rich outer garments of his rank and high priestly authority, and enter the holy place of the Mishkan in very plain and simple attire.

What does that mean for us? In simple terms, we see that it is not how and when we worship, what we eat, and with whom we are sexually intimate that drives away the Shechinah, as taboo as some of those things could be. Rather, the deeper issue at work here is pride  (and explained in Sotah 5a of the Babylonian Talmud). When it comes to entering the holiest place on earth, deep within, we cannot hide behind pomp and circumstance, fancy attire, wealth, power, rank, authority, knowledge, or even a sense of mission. For it is only pride and arrogance that drive away Shechinah from within us. And that is because it is our pride and arrogance which edges G!d out. It is not G!d who leaves us; it is our arrogance and pride which bar us from relating to G!d's presence within us. The Holy Place is open and inviting us to enter; we simply cannot enter clothed in our pride.

What is this pride and arrogance the Talmud describes as being so powerful as to drive away Shechinah from within us?

When we spread gossip and rumors and slander others, we are focusing on their sins and our self-righteousness. Gossip peddling is “counterfeit sincerity.” It is when we peddle gossip as if we were just innocently talking, with no harm intended. It doesn't even matter if what we say is true or fact! It is still considered lashon hara, evil speech, if it is not essential that we share information we might know (or think we know or have deduced) about others and their intentions, actions, etc.

Pride and arrogance is when we see ourselves as better than others, when we diminish others so as to make ourselves look better by contrast, or even when we purposefully withhold a kindness because of our injured ego or pride, thereby placing ourselves far away from G!d.

Pride and arrogance is when we must be right and know it all, when we approach life from being the one "in the know" rather than open to another perspective or further information.

At these times, it is not G!d that is distanced from us, but we who distance ourselves because there simply is no room beyond our own pride and arrogance. The holiest of places within the Mishkan was small, but a tiny space. There is no room for us and our puffed up ego.

The Feast of Unleavened Bread just reminded us that it is our puffed up ego, represented by the leaven, which we must excise during the festival known (but misnamed) as Passover. Why? Not because it is just another silly rule we must follow, or because bread and leavened products are unhealthy to eat, but because for one week, it reminds us of a deeper spiritual lesson: that G!d dwells in our midst as long as we remove our ego which the leaven represent, and we stay grounded and humble and stop diminishing others by what we say to and about them, by how we treat them individually and collectively.

Like the high priest, we, too, must strip ourselves of the clothing of pride and arrogance, and enter into the Holy Place within, clothed only in our humble spirit and open heart, wearing only the garment woven of our kindnesses to others.

How often have I approached that Holy place within, unknowingly wearing the Emperor's new clothes, convinced that I was fully clothed rather than very naked, because my kindnesses were so few and my ego so puffed up with pride? How often have I made things all about me as the center of the universe rather than approaching life from the perspective of being an invited guest, here to offer kindness and service to the greater good?

And so, with this Torah portion, we learn again that the most beautiful garment we can wear is the one woven from our kind heart and humble spirit. Then, that Holy Dwelling Place within each one of us, is kashered, made holy and pure once again, ready to receive the indwelling Shekinah, because there is room for G!d only in the humble and kind heart, the heart and mind open to the moment, looking for opportunities to be kind and to serve humanity.