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The week of Shemini 5762 Overview Shemini (Leviticus 9:1-11:47) begins with a
discussion of the service in the Tabernacle on the eighth day, the first day
following the seven days of installation. Aaron’s eldest sons, Nadav and Avihu,
brought an unauthorized fire offering and were consumed by flame from the Holy
of Holies. There is a short instruction given to the priests not to ever come
to the Sanctuary in a state of drunkenness. Then the completion of the service
is discussed. The balance of the portion is a discussion of the dietary laws,
specifically which mammals, fish, birds and insects are spiritually pure or
not, and which are appropriate to eat and which not. Insights Shemini begins with the words, “And behold it was the eighth day, Moshe called to Aaron and his sons and to the elders of Yisroel” (Leviticus: 1-4). The eighth day of what? Rashi explains that it was the eighth day of the installation of the Tabernacle, at the beginning of Nissan in the second year in the desert, when Aaron and his sons were to be installed as the officiating priests. Rashi also says that because of this inauguration, the day received 10 crowns – ten special events happened on this day. It was the first day of service in the tabernacle, the first time that fire came down from the heavens to consume an offering, the first time a prince brought an offering on behalf of each tribe and the first time that the shechinah (divine presence) would dwell on the Jewish people, etc…(all ten are listed in the medieval Jewish-history book, Seder Olam). Yet, this week’s portion begins with the word “Vayehi,” which is always indicative of some sad event. What could be sad? The famous Rebbe, Rabbi Uri, the Seraph from Strelisk, said that the sadness was that modest and humble Aaron was being brought into the limelight by being appointed the high priest. There is a certain beauty and richness to being humble that was forever taken away from him. G-d’s greatness, the midrash explains, can be seen in His humbleness; He created an entire world where He cannot be seen. From this we learn the beauty in being humble, something we should all try to attain and hold on to. A few verses later, (9:7), after a whole series of instructions, Moshe says to Aaron, “Come close to the altar”. The words seem redundant. Rashi explains, Aaron hesitated so much that Moshe had to encourage him by saying, “Come closer, why are you hesitating, this is what you were created for!” Sometimes, what appear to be the hardest tests in our lives are exactly what we are supposed to be doing. How can we know? The Baal Shem Tov instructed his students that when faced by a very difficult decision, they should first strip away all of their personal desires and then the correct decision will be clear. Towards the end of the portion, after the description of which animals are kosher and which not, G-d says (11:43), “Sanctify yourselves and you shall become kodesh/holy, for I (G-d) am Kodesh/Holy”. We sometimes see an interesting phenomenon, people get a flash, and make a sudden effort to improve themselves in their relationship to G-d. This continues for a while and then they begin to slip, small negative actions slowly find their way back into their daily activities. This verse contains some pertinent advice on how not let this happen. Maimonides writes about this verse, that anyone who is careful to not eat unkosher food actually increases the holiness and purity in his soul and cleanses it for the Holy One Blessed be He. Notice the order of this phrase, first a greater holiness and only then the cleansing of the soul. Shouldn’t it be the reverse, first a cleaning, which is the removal of filth, and only then holiness? The Lubavitcher Rebbe answers as follows, that when a person works on himself to get to a higher spiritual level, actions that were previously regarded as not so bad are now considered below him and inappropriate. With this, Maimonides hints that even after we have made ourselves holier and reach this ‘higher level’, we still have to be on guard and constantly search ourselves for those little details that may seem insignificant (or ‘not so bad’). The purification process he refers to comes only after one reaches this ‘higher level’. This is especially true after Pesach and during the counting of the omer when we are all more spiritually refined than we were previously. It is not a time to slack off but to make a greater effort. Shabbat Shalom, Shaul |
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