Parashat Reeh- The Process of Desensitization
One of the many Halachot discussed in Parashat Re’eh is the Torah prohibition against the consumption of blood. The Torah writes, "But be strong, not to eat the blood…" (12:23). Rather than simply issuing the prohibition, the Torah emphasizes that we must "be strong" to avoid violating this transgression.
The obvious question arises, why does observing this law require such inner strength and conviction? Blood is naturally repulsive. No ordinary, healthy person would feel any desire to drink blood. We could understand if the Torah would urge us to "be strong" not to eat a delicacy served in a restaurant with unreliable kashrut supervision. But why must the Torah exhort us to "be strong" when it comes to the consumption of blood, for which none of us feels any desire?
The ancient Egyptians observed a pagan ritual involving sacrificial offerings to spirits. As part of these ceremonies, the participants would drink the sacrificial blood. Beneh Yisrael spent two hundred and ten years in this pagan culture, where the consumption of blood was deemed a sacred religious act. Inevitably, over the course of time, they became desensitized to the repugnance of such a ritual. No matter how intrinsically abhorrent and repulsive something is, prolonged exposure has the effect of dulling the senses and making that practice more acceptable. Indeed, contemporary society in 21-century America does not need to be "strengthened" with regard to the prohibition against drinking blood. We are automatically repulsed by such a notion. But a nation that spent over two centuries among ancient pagans needed this warning. Seeing people around them participate in these rituals for so many years desensitized them to the repugnance of the act and brought it dangerously close to the realm of acceptability.
We find several examples of this process of desensitization in our times. Just several decades ago, society was innately repulsed by the so-called "alternative lifestyle." Same-gender relationships were, by and large, rejected outright and looked upon with disgust and disdain. Today, however, as advocates of this lifestyle gradually made themselves more pronounced, our senses became dulled. Even though we would never support such values, we no longer feel the same innate revulsion that even general society sensed just several decades ago.
Another area that has become victim to dangerous desensitization is that of proper attire. Our grandmothers a half-century ago would have never imagined dressing for weddings the way some women today dress. And had they seen the kind of immodest attire that is unfortunately worn today, they would have been repulsed. In fact, I have received comments at several weddings from Rabbis visiting from Israel, who simply could not believe the immodest dress they saw. For us, unfortunately, this has become standard, and we are therefore no longer shocked or repulsed. Our senses have been dulled.
We must remember that our values are dictated by the Torah, and not by the society around us. What is acceptable for them is not necessarily acceptable for us. If we remember to keep our senses attuned to the teachings of the Torah, they will not become dulled by the messages they pick up from the general society, and we will remain fully committed to the laws and values of our ancient tradition.
