I. Physical Blemishes and Moral Blemishes
דַּבֵּ֨ר אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֜ן וְאֶל־בָּנָ֗יו וְאֶל֙ כָּל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֲלֵקֶ֑ם אִ֣ישׁ אִישׁ֩ מִבֵּ֨ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל וּמִן־הַגֵּ֣ר בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל אֲשֶׁ֨ר יַקְרִ֤יב קָרְבָּנוֹ֙ לְכָל־נִדְרֵיהֶם֙ וּלְכָל־נִדְבוֹתָ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־יַקְרִ֥יבוּ לַיקוק לְעֹלָֽה׃ (יט) לִֽרְצֹנְכֶ֑ם תָּמִ֣ים זָכָ֔ר בַּבָּקָ֕ר בַּכְּשָׂבִ֖ים וּבָֽעִזִּֽים׃ (כ) כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־בּ֥וֹ מ֖וּם לֹ֣א תַקְרִ֑יבוּ כִּי־לֹ֥א לְרָצ֖וֹן יִהְיֶ֥ה לָכֶֽם׃ (כא) וְאִ֗ישׁ כִּֽי־יַקְרִ֤יב זֶֽבַח־שְׁלָמִים֙ לַיקוק לְפַלֵּא־נֶ֙דֶר֙ א֣וֹ לִנְדָבָ֔ה בַּבָּקָ֖ר א֣וֹ בַצֹּ֑אן תָּמִ֤ים יִֽהְיֶה֙ לְרָצ֔וֹן כָּל־מ֖וּם לֹ֥א יִהְיֶה־בּֽוֹ׃ (כב) עַוֶּרֶת֩ א֨וֹ שָׁב֜וּר אוֹ־חָר֣וּץ אֽוֹ־יַבֶּ֗לֶת א֤וֹ גָרָב֙ א֣וֹ יַלֶּ֔פֶת לֹא־תַקְרִ֥יבוּ אֵ֖לֶּה לַיקוק וְאִשֶּׁ֗ה לֹא־תִתְּנ֥וּ מֵהֶ֛ם עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ לַיקוק
Speak to Aaron and his sons, and to all the Israelite people, and say to them: When any man of the house of Israel or of the strangers in Israel presents a burnt offering as his offering for any of the votive or any of the freewill offerings that they offer to the LORD, (19) it must, to be acceptable in your favor, be a male without blemish, from cattle or sheep or goats. (20) You shall not offer any that has a defect, for it will not be accepted in your favor. (21) And when a man offers, from the herd or the flock, a sacrifice of well-being to the LORD for an explicit vow or as a freewill offering, it must, to be acceptable, be without blemish; there must be no defect in it. (22) Anything blind, or injured, or maimed, or with a wen, boil-scar, or scurvy—such you shall not offer to the LORD; you shall not put any of them on the altar as offerings by fire to the LORD.
(13) You say, “Oh, what a bother!” And so you degrade it—said the LORD of Hosts—and you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; and you bring such as an offering. Will I accept it from you?—said the LORD.
מתני׳ לולב הגזול והיבש פסול .. גמ׳ ...בשלמא יבש הדר בעינן וליכא אלא גזול בשלמא יום טוב ראשון דכתיב (ויקרא כג, מ) לכם משלכם אלא ביום טוב שני אמאי לא א"ר יוחנן משום רבי שמעון בן יוחי משום דהוה ליה מצוה הבאה בעבירה שנאמר (מלאכי א, יג) והבאתם גזול ואת הפסח ואת החולה גזול דומיא דפסח מה פסח לית ליה תקנתא אף גזול לית ליה תקנתא ...
Mishnah: A Lulav that is stolen or dried is invalid; ... Gemara: .. It makes sense for the dry [Lulav]; we need a beautiful one, and it is not. However, with a stolen [Lulav]- it makes sense on the first day of the holiday, as it is written, "For you (Leviticus 23:40)"- meaning from that which is yours. But, on the second day of the holiday, why not? Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon the son of Yochai, For the reason that it is for him a commandment that is fulfilled through a transgression. As it says, "And you have brought the stolen [animal], the lame [animal], and the ill [animal as offerings] (Malachi 1:13)." [Therefore, we see] a stolen offering is similar to a lame one. Just like a lame animal has no way to fix it, so too a stolen animal has no way to fix it [to render it permissible]....
II. The Moral Failing of Leadership
But Rabbi Meir- how did he learn Torah from the mouth of Acher? But didn't Rabba the son of the son of Chana say, "Rabbi Yochanan said, 'What is [the meaning of] the verse, 'For my lips, a priest shall guard; knowledge and instruction they shall ask from his mouth, for he is an angel of Hashem of Legions (Malachi 2:7)'? If the teacher is like an angel of Hashem of Legions, they should ask instruction from his mouth; And if not, they should not ask instruction from his mouth.'" ... There is no contradiction. This one (ie. when there is no need for a teacher like an angel) is with a great one, and this one (ie. when there is a need for a teacher like an angel) is with a lesser one. When Rav Dimi came [from Israel], he said, "They say in the west (ie. Israel): 'Rabbi Meir ate a date and threw away the kernel.'" Rava expounded: "What is [the meaning of] the verse, 'To the garden of almonds I went down, to see the streams of water... (Song of Songs 6:11)-' why are scholars compared to almonds? To say to you, Just like an almond, even though it is dirty with mud and manure, what is inside it is not spoiled, so too a scholar, even though he has rotted, his Torah is not spoiled..."
III. Fidelity
(י) הֲל֨וֹא אָ֤ב אֶחָד֙ לְכֻלָּ֔נוּ הֲל֛וֹא אֵ֥ל אֶֽחָ֖ד בְּרָאָ֑נוּ
(10) Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us?
(14) ...the LORD is a witness between you and the wife of your youth with whom you have broken faith, though she is your partner and covenanted spouse.
(טז) כִּֽי־שָׂנֵ֣א שַׁלַּ֗ח אָמַ֤ר יקוק אֱלֹקֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְכִסָּ֤ה חָמָס֙ עַל־לְבוּשׁ֔וֹ
(16) For he who hates his partner should divorce her, says Hashem, God of Israel! He covers injustice with his garment...
Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America, pgs 126-127
Fidelity can thus be seen as the necessary discipline of sexuality, the practical definition of sexual responsibility, or the definition of the moral limits within which such responsibility can be conceived and enacted. The forsaking of all others is a keeping of faith, not just with the chosen one, but with the ones forsaken. The marriage vow unites not just a woman and a man with each other; it unites each of them with the community in a vow of sexual responsibility towards all others. The whole community is married, realizes its essential unity, in each of its marriages....
If one is to have the power and delight of one's sexuality, then the generality of the instinct must be resolved in a responsible relationship with a particular person. Similarly, one cannot live in the world; that is, one cannot become a "world citizen."... No matter how much one may live the world as a whole, one can live fully in it only by living responsibly in some small part of it. Where we live, and who we live there with definite the terms of our relationship to the world and to humanity. We thus come again to the paradox that one can become whole only by the responsible acceptance of one's partiality.
IV. Hope
(כג) הִנֵּ֤ה אָֽנֹכִי֙ שֹׁלֵ֣חַ לָכֶ֔ם אֵ֖ת אֵלִיָּ֣ה הַנָּבִ֑יא לִפְנֵ֗י בּ֚וֹא י֣וֹם יקוק הַגָּד֖וֹל וְהַנּוֹרָֽא׃ (כד) וְהֵשִׁ֤יב לֵב־אָבוֹת֙ עַל־בָּנִ֔ים וְלֵ֥ב בָּנִ֖ים עַל־אֲבוֹתָ֑ם פֶּן־אָב֕וֹא וְהִכֵּיתִ֥י אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ חֵֽרֶם׃
(23) Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the coming of the awesome, fearful day of the LORD. (24) He shall reconcile parents with children and children with their parents, so that, when I come, I do not strike the whole land with utter destruction. Lo, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before the coming of the awesome, fearful day of the LORD.