The Parsha in a Nutshell Parshat Shemini is the last chapter of the long section that we began in the 25th chapter of Shemot. We started with the command to build the Mishkan (the Tabernacle) and in Shemini, the building and preparations are all finished. It is finally time to start using the Mishkan. Special priestly celebrations took place to…
…apply to the days of the week but to the days of the year. There are seven holy days specified in our parsha: the first and seventh day of Pesach, one day of Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the first day of Succot, and Shemini Atzeret. On six of them we are allowed to do some work, such as cooking…
…Shemini Atzeret, is a separate festival. Succot is one of the three annual shalosh regalim (the three pilgrimage festivals) where there was a special mitzvah to travel to Jerusalem and participate in the Temple service (the other two pilgrimage festivals are Pesach and Shavuot). The main mitzvah of Succot is to “live” in a succah all eight days. The schach…
…but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” The dietary laws in Shemini parallel the prohibition given to Adam. As then, so now, a new era in the spiritual history of humankind, preceded by an act of creation, is marked by laws about…
The Parsha in a Nutshell Parshat Tazria continues the laws of purity and impurity begun in Parshat Shemini. One of the key roles of the Priest was to distinguish tahor from tamei, pure from impure. Impurity meant an individual was forbidden from entering the sacred space of the Sanctuary. These categories show us the contrast between God and human beings….
…Susan Jeffers, Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway, Ballantine Books, 2006. [6] The composer Berlioz once said of a young musician: “He knows everything. The one thing he lacks is inexperience.” DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR SHEMINI Why did the 1st Nissan begin as such a joyous day? Would you have more confidence in a reticent leader or an impetuous leader?…
It should have been the great day of celebration. The Tabernacle, Israel’s first collective house of worship, was complete. All preparations had been made. For seven days, Moses had performed the inauguration. Now, the eighth day, the first of Nissan, had arrived. The Priests, led by Aaron, were ready to begin their service. It was then that tragedy occurred. Two of…
Koren Publishers have launched a new Magerman edition of the Koren Tanach featuring, for the first time, the complete translation of Chumash by Rabbi Sacks zt”l. You can order your copy here and view the opening pages below. Peek Inside…
…You know, 13 years ago, in 1987, we had this wonderful moment on Shemini Atzeret. On Shemini Atzeret we say for the first time in the year mashiv haruach umorid hagashem. We pray to God “Who makes the wind blow”. That night there was a hurricane. If you remember, it was that night which blew down half the trees in…
…Apart from having a lot of wives, and a lot of money, and an awful lot of horses. He built the Temple. When did he inaugurate the Temple? (congregation member answers) In other words, the celebrations began a little before Succot. They went on through Succot, and b’yom hashemini – on Shemini Atzeret – he gave people the chance to…