Speaking Out for Vayikra - No Bull!

Leviticus has a reputation for being full of obscure details and outdated rituals.  Parashat Vayikra certainly lives up to this reputation; with all manner of sin offerings and burnt offerings, slaughtered bulls and smouldering wheat cakes, pleasing odours and strewn innards.  But rather than rendering the text irrelevant it presents us with a challenge and motivates us to search for the meaning behind these ancient practices.

If it is the whole community of Israel that has erred and the matter escapes the notice of the congregation, so that they do any of the things which by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt - when the sin through which they incurred guilt becomes known, the congregation shall offer a bull of the herd as a sin offering, and bring it before the Tent of Meeting.  (Leviticus XX:13-14)

What an intriguing concept!  What sins would a whole community commit and how could they go unnoticed?  One would think that, having committed themselves to certain values and regulations, at least some of the people would do the right thing.  But to err is human and time and again, history has shown us that societies with what they perceived to be good intentions have committed terrible crimes.  We may think this does not apply to us but by virtue of the complexity of modern society and the scope of human suffering, this cannot and is not true.

Over the last 60 years, liberalism and feminism have encouraged society to change its perception of women who work in the sex industry; no longer are they branded with marks of public disgrace.  Across the developed world, governments have sought to legislate to protect the health, safety and rights of those who choose to or are forced to work as prostitutes.  Yet new research has showed that rather than improving conditions for women, this approach actually increases levels of human trafficking, child prostitution and rape.  Our society may have been erring for over half a century without anyone noticing.

In 1999, Sweden passed groundbreaking legislation that criminalized the purchasing of sexual services. The legislation was based on the notion that the prostitution perpetuates gender inequality. Since the law was passed, street prostitution had been cut in half, fewer men state that they purchase sexual services, and Sweden is no longer an attractive market for traffickers to sell women and children for sex.  There is still much debate about this incredibly complex issue but the Task Force on Human Trafficking of Israeli-based human rights organisation, Atzum, is lobbying the Israeli government to pass a bill that will mirror the Swedish model.  

Atzum Project Worker, Rebecca Hughes, addresses some of the concerns:

“Instead of helping and protecting prostitutes, legalisation helps and protects clients, pimps, and traffickers.  When legal barriers disappear, so too do social barriers.

Most prostitutes, legal and illegal, experience acts of violence, and legalisation often makes it more difficult for victims to prove that were coerced and violated. 

It is a myth that women chose to be prostitutes – 95% of prostitutes were victims of incest, rape, or sexual abuse as children and the vast majority enter the sex industry between the ages of 12-15. Studies show that 92% of women in prostitution want to leave, but are unable to leave by themselves.

There are of course individual cases of women who assert that they have the right to sell their body and criminalization may infringe upon their individual rights but those rights cannot be protected at the expense of the vast majority.

There is no evidence supporting the theory that prostitution provides an outlet for sexuality that reduces the instance of rape. Prostitution creates a society where violence directed at women and children is normalized and tolerated.”

The statistics seem to speak for themselves.  It would seem that, with the best of intentions, modern society has created legislation that only further oppresses and endangers already vulnerable women without punishing or deterring the original oppressors in any way.  Is this one of those cases of the whole community erring and the matter going unnoticed?  Now that research and experience have shown our communal guilt, are we obligated to offer a 'bull' as our sin offering?

If you feel moved to do so, Atzum is looking for volunteers to lobby the Israeli parliament to pass this bill.  “This is a basic issue of dignity and status of women.  If you want the State to be a leader in the war against modern slavery, then we urge you to get involved in our campaign.”  You can read more about this project at http://atzum.org/projects/task-force-on-human-trafficking/project-119/best-practices/ or email rebecca.atzum@gmail.com to volunteer to send one pre-written email a week to an assigned Member of Knesset.