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Parshah Summary – P’shat
The parshah opens with the eighth day (yom hashmini) of the inauguration ceremony for Aaron and his sons to begin officiating as kohanim (priests). In a dramatic appearance of Divine power, a fire streams forth to consume the offerings on the altar, and the Sh’khinah, the Divine Presence, comes to dwell in the Sanctuary. In their enthusiasm, Aaron’s two elder sons, Nadav and Avihu, rush forward to offer aysh zarah – “strange fire.” They are consumed by the fire and perish, yet Aaron remains silent in face of his tragedy. Moses and Aaron subsequently disagree about a point of law regarding the offerings, but Moses ultimately concedes that Aaron is in the right. The laws of kashrut are given, identifying the animal species permissible and forbidden for consumption: land animals may be eaten only if they have split hooves and also chew their cud; fish must have fins and scales; a list of non-kosher birds is given, as well as a list of the kosher insects, which include four different types of locusts.
Torah of Awakening | Jewish Meditation Teaching
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן קְרַ֤ב אֶל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ וַעֲשֵׂ֞ה אֶת־חַטָּֽאתְךָ֙ וְאֶת־עֹ֣לָתֶ֔ךָ וְכַפֵּ֥ר בַּֽעַדְךָ֖ וּבְעַ֣ד הָעָ֑ם וַעֲשֵׂ֞ה אֶת־קָרְבַּ֤ן הָעָם֙ וְכַפֵּ֣ר בַּֽעֲדָ֔ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר צִוָּ֥ה יְה–וָֽה׃ Moses said to Aaron: “Come to the altar and do your Sin Offering and your Elevation Offering, atoning for yourself and for the people; and then make the offering for the people and atone for them, as the Divine has instructed… - Vayikra (Leviticus) 9:7 Parshat Shmini
There’s a story of Rabbi Simha Bunam, that once he came upon his disciples learning Torah as they feasted together. He was pleased to see them engaged in fellowship and spiritual conversation, but he also noticed that there was a slight air of tightness and over-seriousness among them. “Let me tell you a story” he said to them. “Once there was a businessman who wanted to find a new enterprise that would be lucrative. He researched and discovered that making and selling mead would be very profitable, so he set off to a neighboring city and found a master mead maker to train him.
“He spent months learning the craft, and when he finished being thoroughly trained, he headed back to his home, brewed up his first batch, and invited many people from the town to come to his mead-tasting party. But, when the guests tried it, they winced in disgust. So, he headed back to the city and demanded a refund from the mead maker. ‘Did you do exactly as I taught you?’ inquired the master. ‘Yes of course.’ They went over each step carefully, and confirmed that the businessman had done everything correctly. “‘And besides all that, you of course added the honey, right?’ asked the mead maker. ‘Honey? No – you didn’t tell me that.’ ‘You fool! You mean I have to tell you to add the honey??’” No matter how well intentioned our work in the world is, it will be bitter if we don’t do it with good heartedness – we have to “add the honey” so to speak. This is so obvious, and yet many people feel guilty taking the time for the inner work of “adding the honey” through meditation. There is a teaching in Pirkei Avot of Raban Yohanan… אָמַר לָהֶם, צְאוּ וּרְאוּ אֵיזוֹהִי דֶרֶךְ יְשָׁרָה שֶׁיִּדְבַּק בָּהּ הָאָדָם. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, עַיִן טוֹבָה. רַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אוֹמֵר, חָבֵר טוֹב. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, שָׁכֵן טוֹב. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר, הָרוֹאֶה אֶת הַנּוֹלָד. רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר אוֹמֵר, לֵב טוֹב. אָמַר לָהֶם, רוֹאֶה אֲנִי אֶת דִּבְרֵי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲרָךְ מִדִּבְרֵיכֶם, שֶׁבִּכְלָל דְּבָרָיו דִּבְרֵיכֶם. He said to them: Go out and see what is the straight path that a person should cling to. Rabbi Eliezer says: A good eye. Rabbi Yehoshua says: A good friend. Rabbi Yosi says: A good neighbor. Rabbi Shimon says: Foreseeing that which will be born. Rabbi Elazar says: A good heart. He said to them: I see the words of Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh (as better than) all of yours, because your words are included in his.
Cultivating a lev tov – “good heart” – that is, a conscious, generous presence in all that we do, is foundational for being of service in the world. There is a hint in our opening pasuk: First it says: וְכַפֵּ֥ר בַּֽעַדְךָ֖ וּבְעַ֣ד הָעָ֑ם – atoning for yourself and for the people… Then it says: וְכַפֵּ֣ר בַּֽעֲדָ֔ם – and atoning for them… Strange – first it mentions atoning both for oneself and the people, but later it only mentions the people; the self is “atoned” for once, but the people are “atoned” for twice. Why is that? Because when you work on yourself, in doing so you are also serving others: וְכַפֵּ֥ר בַּֽעַדְךָ֖ וּבְעַ֣ד הָעָ֑ם – atoning for yourself and for the people… This is because in order to be of better service to others, we need to cultivate the vessel – our minds and our hearts. The act of working on ourselves is represented by the s’firah of G’vurah, meaning “strength.” This is the inner strength needed to persist in your avodah, your meditation, prayer and other disciplines. G’vurah is saying “no” to the agendas of the world in order to prioritize your own avodah. G’vurah can appear to be selfish, and it is – but it is a kind of selfishness that is actually of benefit to others as well. Then, after you have worked on yourself: וְכַפֵּ֣ר בַּֽעֲדָ֔ם – atone for them… Meaning, then go out and serve in the world with a purified heart. This is represented by the s’firah of Hesed, meaning “lovingkindness.” Hesed, the act of saying “yes” to the world, is the underlying point – not G’vurah. Hesed is for its own sake, good in and of itself. But if it is not balanced with G’vurah, with saying “no” to the world in order to replenish our inner “honey,” we will burn out, and our Hesed will suffer. In other words, Hesed and G’vurah cannot be separate from each other; they are two sides of one reality. And when they do become separate, that is the beginning of dysfunction and ultimately of evil: G’vurah without Hesed is aggression, violence and hate, while Hesed without G’vurah just gives and gives, ultimately destroying itself. In this auspicious time of counting the Omer, may be remember to balance Hesed with G’vurah, nourishing our outward work with regular, commited inner work. Amein.
Read past teachings on Sh’mini HERE
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