Readings for Saturday, April 26, 2025

Readings for Saturday, April 26, 2025

Shemini (Eighth)

9:1-11:47 Vayikra (Leviticus)

Shemini is the third sedrah in Vayikra (Leviticus).  Shemini means eighth.  The sedrah takes its name from the third word in the opening verse of the sedrah, “On the eighth (‘shemini’) day, Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel.”  In the preceding sedrah of Tzav, we read about the consecration of the Kohanim, which took seven days.  The narrative in Shemini starts with the day immediately following the events described in Tzav; hence the appellation of the eighth day.  There are those who liken the seven days described in Tzav to the Seven Days of Creation.  In the first week, God was at work in the world.  On the eighth day, it was time for Man to take responsibility for the world he had been given.  Likewise, Moshe had worked for seven days to consecrate the Kohanim.  On the eighth day, it was time for Aaron to assume his responsibility in helping to make the Israelites a holy nation, a nation of priests.

The sedrah is three chapters long.  Chapter 9 describes the events of the Eighth Day.  Chapter 10 describes the events surrounding the death of two of Aaron's sons.  Chapter 11 describes the Laws of Kashrut.

The Eighth Day (9:1-24)

After seven days of consecration where Moshe was performing the rituals, now, on the eighth day, Aaron begins to function fully as the Kohein Gadol.  From now on, only the Kohanim will be responsible for the sacrificial cult in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple in Jerusalem.  According to some commentators, Aaron shows some hesitancy in accepting his role because he remembers, with shame, the episode of the Golden Calf.  But Moshe reassures him that his sin has been forgiven and Aaron does indeed “Come forward to the altar.…”  Supposedly, the sacrifices offered by Aaron in Shemini mark the start of our formal worship, which continues unbroken to modern times through the daily prayer services.  At the conclusion of the sacrifices, Aaron blesses the people.  We see a reminder of this in many congregations today, where Rabbis offer a blessing at the conclusion of Shabbat Eve and Morning Services.  Finally, a fire from the Lord consumes the offerings signifying Divine approval.  You might remember the fifteenth and last part of the Seder, which is called Nirtzah.  During Nirtzah we ask for God’s approval for what we have done.  For without His approval, all is for naught.  The event described here is an earlier reminder of the concept that without a spark of the divinity, ritual is a meaningless spectacle.

The Events Surrounding the Death of Aaron’s Sons (10:1-20)

The chapter opens with the death of Nadab and Abihu, two of Aaron’s four sons.  They are described as bringing “esh zarah” (alien or strange fire) before the Lord which results in their instant death.  The text offers no explanation for their behavior nor does it specify what is meant by the term “alien fire.”  Some commentators contend that they brought incense of their own creation into the Tabernacle.  We know from previous discussions that incense was of great importance since the morning service carries the daily reminder that a Kohein Gadol who entered the Sanctuary with unfit incense was subject to the death penalty.  What we do know for sure is that God found the behavior so offensive that he took their lives in a seemingly miraculous way.  He rejected their fire by consuming them with a fire of His own.  Apparently, only their souls were consumed, because in subsequent verses we read about their cousins grabbing the miscreants’ tunics and removing their bodies from the camp.  All that is offered by way of explanation in the text is Moshe telling Aaron, “This is what the Lord meant when He said ‘Through those near to Me I show Myself holy and assert My authority before all the people.’”  In other words, the Priests are expected to follow the rules.  Leadership does not allow for license and privilege.  Rather it demands an even higher standard of behavior since failure on the part of the leaders (remember Aaron and the Golden Calf) will cause the people to go astray.  And what was Aaron’s response to this calamity at the moment of his greatest triumph?  “And Aaron was silent.”  Aaron said nothing.  Aaron did nothing.  Did he “accept the justice of the decree” or was he a grieving father, too overwhelmed by the events, or a little of both?  We cannot be sure.  But just in case Aaron or his two remaining sons missed the message, Moshe tells them not to mourn so that they can avoid death at the hands of an angry God.  This strange chapter ends with Moshe angrily denouncing Aaron and his sons for not consuming the sacrifice of purification in the appropriate manner.  Aaron points out the ritual reason for why they behaved as they did.  At the human level, he also points out to his brother that they were reluctant to eat the purification sacrifice in light of the punishment that had befallen their family.  Moshe acknowledges that Aaron has acted correctly after all.

The Laws of Kashrut (11:1-47)

This is the latest in a series of strictures about eating and food.  We have already been told not to boil a kid in its mother’s milk, not to consume blood and to avoid chametz during Pesach.  Now we are given lists of creatures we can and cannot eat.  We also are given rules about contamination and containers.  God has given us these commandments so that we might be holy (11:43-45).  Some commentators put the Dietary Laws in the category of strictures known as Chuchat - laws we obey without fully knowing the reason other than that we have been commanded to follow them.  Why is hamburger holy and lobster unholy?  Despite much speculation, nobody will know until the Moshiach comes and answers the unanswerable.  There is no need to rehash the rather detailed information in the Sedrah.  (See Below)  There are many foods on the approved list that most of us would not consider eating.  For example, those of you who are tempted to eat locusts, consider this word of caution.  Ashkenazim do not eat them because their Rabbis feel that it is too difficult to distinguish the different varieties.

In the meantime here are the definitions of a few terms as they are now used that you might find useful.  “Kasher” or kosher means “ritually fit” or proper.  The designation is generally applied to food that is on the “acceptable” list and/or has been prepared according to ritual and under proper supervision where required.  “Terefah” or “treif” is the opposite of kosher.  Treif literally means torn, but now is generally applied to any food that is not kosher.  “Tame” is the term used for what is unclean.  “Tahor” is the opposite meaning pure.  These last two terms are used for matters other than just food.  There is no need to re-hash the views of different groups of Jews about the Dietary Laws.  Etz Hayim does offer an interesting middle ground, as one would expect from the harmonizing world of Conservative Judaism.  It points out that the Torah gives the laws of Kashrut in an incremental manner.  “Similarly, many Jews who begin from a position of limited observance can commit themselves to sanctifying their mealtimes in an in an incremental manner.  They may begin by avoiding pork and shellfish; continue by separating meat and dairy products, and so on.  No one need feel like a hypocrite for not keeping all of the commandments immediately.  What is important is to be on the path, to be a ‘striving’ Jew.”

Themes

Commandments

149.         The stricture against priests entering the sanctuary with disheveled hair (10:6).

150.         The stricture against priests entering the sanctuary with torn clothing (10:6).

151.         The requirement that priests, under threat of divinely ordained death, are not to leave the sanctuary during a service (10:7).

152.         The stipulation that priests should not enter the sanctuary, or render a legal ruling, after imbibing liquor (10:8-11).

153.         The specification of two characteristics - split hooves and chewing the cud - which renders land animals kosher (11:2-3).

154.         The prohibition against eating unkosher animals (11:4-7).

155.         The specification of the two characteristics - fins and scales - that render fish kosher (11:9).

156.         The prohibition against eating fish that lack fins and scales (11:10-11).

157.         The stricture against eating unkosher birds (11:13).

158.         The specification of characteristics of permitted locusts (11:21-22).

159.         The delineation of the ritual uncleanness of crawling creatures (11:29-31).

160.         A commandment relating to how food or food containers become defiled and what is to be done with them (11:32-34).

161.         The law that ritual uncleanness is conveyed by touching an animal’s carcass (11:39).

162-163. The prohibition against eating swarming creatures and tiny insects found on grains and fruits (11:41-42).

164.         The prohibition against eating creatures that swarm in water (11:43).

165.         The stricture against eating swarming creatures (11:44).

Biblical Literacy by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

Demarcations

Shemini is a sedrah of demarcations.  According to Rabbi Hertz, the first ten chapters of the book of Vayikra, including the first two chapters of Shemini, “contain The Law of the Sanctuary in the stricter sense of the term.”  Starting with the eleventh chapter of Vayikra, the last chapter in Shemini, most of the rest of the book “deals with matters other than priests and sacrifices, with what might be described as The Law of Daily Life.”  As we move through the rest of Vayikra, I will leave it to you to see if you agree with Hertz’s demarcation.  According to a note in Etz Hayim, the letter ‘Vav’ in the word ‘gachon’ (belly) in 11:42 is the middle letter of the entire Torah.  The ‘Vav’ is always written large to emphasize this.

Moshe

With the death of Aaron’s sons, we see Moshe torn between his role as a brother and a national leader.  Surely as a brother, he wanted to comfort his grieving brother.  But he had to set his personal feelings aside and serve as the national leader in a moment of challenge.  This conflict might account for his outburst concerning the consumption of the purification sacrifice.

Wine

According to the Psalms, wine may gladden the heart.  But according to Torah, leaders performing their duties are to have a clear head and avoid intoxicants of any kind lest their judgment be impaired.

Strange Fire

Traditionally, this term has been used to refer to practices that did not conform to either the Written or Oral Law.  It is often joined with the injunction about not adding to or subtracting from the Law.  Obviously Judaism has changed over the centuries.  But those changes have supposedly always been anchored in our basic laws and customs as found in the Bible.  One of the reasons we find such an emphasis on intellectual pedigree among Rabbis and Commentators is to ensure that their interpretations and innovations are not whimsical innovations.

The Easy Way to Practice Judaism

There are many reasons given for not practicing Judaism.  My parents weren’t religious.  I didn’t go to Sunday School.  I cannot read Hebrew.  I am busy on Friday night or Saturday morning.  Ah but everybody eats.  And living in the United States with its abundance of food, most of us can control what we eat.  This means, most of us could practice Kashrut at least in its most rudimentary form.  This means that eating in at least a semi-kosher manner is an easy way for all of us to practice our Judaism. 

The Importance of Eight

Shemini or Eight reminds of the importance of this number.  God created the world in seven days.  Moshe consecrated the Mishkan for seven days.  But on the Eighth Day, Moshe turned the Mishkan over to Aaron.  In effect he said, now that this has been created as a holy place it is up to you to use it as such, to take it to the next level.  In the same way, God turned the world over to mankind on the Eighth Day.  He said he had created this world and now it was our place to use it properly, to take it to its next level.  The brit takes place on the Eighth Day.  The child has survived the “week of creation.”  Now it is the parents’ job to bring it into the covenant and take it to the next level - a committed Jew and decent human being.  With Havdalah, the Eighth Day begins for each of us.  Each of us has the challenge of taking the spirituality of the Seventh Day and taking into the real world of the Eighth day.

Paying the Rabbi

In Pirke Avot Rabbi Tzaddok teaches, “Do not make the Torah into a crown with which to aggrandize yourself or a spade with which to dig.  And Hillel states:  “He who uses the crown (of Torah) will pass on” (above, 1:13).  From this Rabbi Dovid Rosenthal says we “may learn that anyone who derives benefit from words of Torah takes his life from the world."  Does this mean that nobody should be able to earn compensation by “making utilitarian use of their Torah knowledge?”  There are numerous examples of sages who worked for a living, many of them at humble positions such as woodcutter, charcoal maker and a seller of pins and needles.  Rashi was a vintner and Maimonides was a full-time physician.  Apparently Maimonides thought that this injunction was aimed at the “large class of able-bodied people  who studied Torah while freeloading off of local charities, often imposing charity ‘quotas’ upon the greater community to assist them in their” self-described sacred pursuits.  Congregational rabbis in the United States hardly fit this description.

In this week’s Torah portion we are reminded that one of the purposes of the sacrifices was to provide food for the Kohanim and their families.  While rabbis are not priests, the words of our lips (prayers) have replaced the offerings on the altars (sacrifices).  If the priests gained sustenance from the role they played in offering the sacrifices of our forefathers, it serves to reason that we should provide sustenance for the rabbis who play such an integral part in our worship activities.  So, it would seem that congregational rabbis are the exception to the injunction about not making a profit from the crown of the Torah.

Haftarah

II Samuel 6:1-7:17 (Ashkenazim)

II Samuel 6:1-19 (Sephardim

The Man: Samuel opposed the creation of an Israelite monarchy.  Yet most of the writings that bear his name concern themselves with the lives of King Saul and King David, with the lion’s share of attention focused on David.   In this part of Samuel, we are seeing the climactic moments in David’s rise to power.  He began as a simple shepherd, moved on to being part of Saul’s retinue and then became an outlaw who actually served with the Philistines.  After the death of Saul, he asserted himself as the King of Judah and then united all the twelve tribes under his rule.  The crowning moment came with the conquest of Jerusalem, which became the City of the David. 

The Message: In this haftarah we find David at the zenith of his power.  He is attempting to cement his rule over the kingdom, ensure his dynasty and carry out the will of God.  The Ark of the Covenant was at place called Baalim, in land controlled by the tribe of Judah.  David went to Baalim with intention of moving the Ark to Jerusalem.  During the trip, the Ark started to slip from the cart on which it had been placed.  A man named Uzza reached out to steady the Ark and was struck down by the Lord.  David was frightened by this and was afraid to bring the Ark into the city.  So for three months he left it at the house of Obed-edom.  When David saw that Obed-edom prospered during this time, he came back and moved the ark into the city.  This time the Ark was not placed in a cart.  It was carried on the shoulders of men.  Amidst much rejoicing, the Ark was brought into the city.  The only cloud over the event was a domestic one.  When David came home, he and his wife Michal had a fight over what she deemed as his unseemly behavior during the celebration. The narrative shifts two a separate, but related event.  Here we find, David upset with himself because the Ark was kept in tent while he was living in a palace.  David wanted to build a Temple.  But the prophet Nathan had a dream and told David that God did not want him to build Him a house.  Rather, it will be one of David’s offspring who will build the Lord’s House.  Furthermore, Nathan assured David that God would establish David’s dynasty forever.  He may punish the House of David, but He will never withdraw from it as He had done with Saul. 

Theme-Link:  The sedrah describes the final dedicate of the Mishkan followed by the supernatural deaths of Nadab and Abihu.  The haftarah describes the joyful transport of the Ark to its final resting-place in Jerusalem.  This simchah is interrupted by the supernatural death of Uzza.  We do not really know why God took the lives of Aaron’s sons.  We really are not sure what is meant by “strange fire.”  But there are at least two reasons given for the death of Uzza, neither of which might be to your liking.  First, Uzza reached out to keep the Ark from falling.  By reaching out in this manner, he showed a lack of faith because “the Ark cannot fall because…the Ark carries its bearers.”  The statement “the Ark carries its bearers” provides the second cause of Uzza’s death.  The Ark was being carried on a wagon.  The Torah commands that the Ark be carried by the Levites.  If the Ark had been transported correctly, it would not have been on a wagon in the first place so Uzza would not have been tempted to act in a manner that caused his death.  We know that David learned this lesson because when the Ark was finally moved to Jerusalem, the text described the “bearers of the Ark of the Lord” moving it forward (6:13).   King David does not understand the reason for Uzza’s death.  In fact he is so frightened that he is afraid to bring the Ark into the city.  Compare his reaction to the death of Uzza with Moshe’s reaction to the death of Aaron’s son.  Their reactions might provide an insight as to why, no matter how great David was, Moshe stands a little taller in our tradition.

 Nathan:   This is not the last time that the prophet Nathan intervenes in David’s affairs.  The prophets play a unique role.  They tell the powerful things they do not want to hear.  Lest we forget, the prophets play the role for the Jews that the Jews are to play for the world.

Michal: The brief episode of “Dancing David” (6:16’ 6:20-23) provides another example of how David might have “gotten it right at the office but not at home.”  David seems to be plagued by domestic discord.  Michal was David’s first wife.  She fell in love with him (I Samuel 18:20) when he was a young warrior serving her father.  When Saul turned against David, she conspired with Jonathan to save her husband.  In a tragic twist of events, Saul gave her away to another man.  David subsequently got her back.  But by then it was more a case of political need than re-kindled passion.  In the haftarah, we see how young love has turned to bile.  She rebuked him for making a spectacle of himself with his ecstatic dancing.  And he responds by reminding her that the House of David has replaced her father’s house in God’s favor and on the throne of Israel.  And for good measure, she suffers the ultimate curse for women of her time.  Michal is barren.  For more about this interesting biblical character, consider reading Biblical Images by Adin Steinsaltz.

Pirke Avot (Saying of the Fathers) - Saturday, April 26, 2025

Pirke Avot is a collection of sayings, teachings, and ethical maxims.  A popular and eminently quotable work, it is one of the sixty-three tractates of the Mishnah. The Mishnah, consisting of centuries of oral teachings passed down from one generation to the next, was finally codified by Rabbi Yehudah Ha-Nasi in 200 C.E.  Pirke Avot is unique among the tractates of the Mishnah in that it doesn't contain any halachah (law), only aggadah (stories or legends).  Its popularity is reflected in the fact that it is included in most prayer books (including, in part, in Gates of Prayer).  Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut, one of the great teachers of the Reform Movement, suggests that Pirke Avot "teaches us the essentials of what life might be at its best."  It deals with some of life's most basic and important questions:  What is our purpose and destiny?  What is sin, and how do we conquer it?  What is wisdom?  What is my relationship to God?  Pirke Avot is divided into chapters, and each chapter is further divided into individual statements, each called a Mishnah.  It is customary to study a chapter of Pirke Avot starting with the first Shabbat after the end of Pesach (Passover).  Since Pirke Avot consists of six chapters, the work may be completed by the start of Shavuot.  However, other groups of Jews follow a cycle where they study and re-study each of the chapters until the last Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah.  Regardless of the format you choose, each week the Torah page will include selections from the chapter of the week with a few comments from a variety of sources.)

Pirke Avot - Chapter 1

“Shimon Ha-Tzadik was among the last (members) of the Great Assembly.  He would say: ‘On three things the world depends: on Torah study, on the service (of God) and on bestowing kindness.’”(1:2). Simon the Just was the High Priest who served in the Second Temple at the time of Alexander the Great.  According to the Talmud, he is the one who convinced Alexander not to destroy the Temple as he had been requested to do by the Samaritans.  Simon the Just sees the world as resting on a combination of study, ritual observance and positive human behavior.  Like a three-legged stool, the world would collapse if any one of these elements were missing.  All three are mutually inclusive and required if the world is to survive.  The Hebrew term translated, as “on bestowing kindness” is “Gemilut Chasidim” which is also translated as “acts of loving-kindness.”  Reform Jews should know this line well since it is sung to a perfectly marvelous tune during the Torah Service.