Shemini

This Shabbat, we study the Parshah Shemini, meaning “eighth” (Leviticus 9:1). On the eighth day, following the seven days of their inauguration, Aaron and his sons begin to officiate as kohanim (priests); a fire issues forth from G-d to consume the offerings on the altar, and the divine presence comes to dwell in the Sanctuary. G-d commands the kosher laws, identifying the animal species permissible and forbidden for consumption. Also in Shemini are some of the laws of ritual purity.

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Parshat Hachodesh

On the Shabbat that falls on or before the 1st of Nissan, a special reading called "Hachodesh" (Exodus 12:1-20) is added to the regular Shabbat Torah reading. Hachodesh recounts G-d's historic communication to Moses in Egypt on the 1st of Nissan (2 weeks before the Exodus) regarding the Jewish calendar, the month of Nissan and the Passover offering.

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Chabad.org

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This week's parshah, Shemini, introduces the Torah's dietary laws. Animals must chew their cud and have split hooves to be kosher, fish need fins and scales, and a list of forbidden fowl is enumerated. To those of us in Jewish education, it is a continuing source of disappointment that so many Jews still believe the kosher laws to be outdated. After all, they reckon, in the desert our ancestors needed to protect themselves from trichinosis and all sorts of diabolical diseases so some kind of dietary system was needed. But today, they argue, in an age of refrigeration, government inspection and modern hygiene standards, the kosher laws are archaic, anachronistic and quite dispensable.

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How sad. The fact is that the kosher laws were never given to us for health reasons. If they happen to be healthy or provide good hygiene that is purely a fringe benefit. It may well be one of the perks but it has never been the reason.

While the Torah actually records no official reason for these laws, the rabbis and philosophers have speculated on their purpose. They act as a bulwark against assimilation, we are taught. On a simple level, if we keep kosher, inexorably, we will shop with fellow Jews, socialize with fellow Jews and remain close to Jewish communal life.

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On a deeper, more spiritual level, keeping kosher keeps our Jewish souls sensitive to things Jewish. This is clearly a mystical concept and imperceptible to our physical senses, but according to our sages it is a fact.

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It's very important to have a mezuzah on your door. It identifies your home as Jewish. But what really defines your home as a "Jewish Home" is the kitchen. A kosher kitchen makes a Jewish home truly Jewish. It also extends a very warm and eloquent invitation to all fellow Jews. Here you are welcome. Here it is safe to come in and eat. Make yourself at home. Your favorite diet may build healthy bodies, but a kosher diet builds healthy souls.

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From an article by Rabbi Yossy Goldman

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In Chabad, we never say that we are “bringing close those who are distant.”

It is forbidden to harm a person with words, and these words are an insult to those you wish to reach.

And it is also simply untrue. There are no Jews who are distant.

When you know the truth and live in a world of truth, you see that every Jew is close.

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Rabbi Tzvi Freeman

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An intoxicated kohen (priest) may not serve in the Sanctuary. A kohen, therefore, was forbidden to drink wine on those days that he had to serve in the Sanctuary.

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The Sages state that this law applies even today. A kohen who knows his schedule of service is even nowadays forbidden to drink wine on those days, because “the Beit Hamikdash may speedily be rebuilt, requiring the services of a qualified kohen” (Sanhedrin 22b)! The effect of consuming the minimum amount of wine that is forbidden will wear off either by: (a) sleep; or (b) the passage of time it takes to walk a mil (2000 cubits). The longest estimate for walking a mil is 24 minutes. This law proves, then, that Moshiach may appear very speedily, with a completed Beit Hamikdash, in maximum 23 minutes and 59 seconds from any moment!

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Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet

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When Rabbi Shmuel of Lubavitch was a child of seven, he asked his father: Why does man walk upright, while animals walk on all fours? Rabbi Menachem Mendel replied: "This is a kindness from G-d to man: although man treads upon the material earth, he sees the sublime heaven. Not so those that crawl on four, who see only the mundane."

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On Passover of 1943, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchok of Lubavitch related the following incident from his childhood years:

"For the Passover festival of 1890 - I was several months short of his tenth birthday at the time - a new suit of clothes was made up for me, together with a brand new pair of shoes. "In Lubavitch, the preparations for the festival were conducted in a meticulous and thorough manner. On the day before Passover, a strict procedure was followed: first, all chametz was searched out and eradicated from the yard, chicken coop, and stable. The servant Reb Mendel was busy with this for a good part of the night before and followed up with a double-check in the morning. Then, the chametz was burned, following which we would go immerse ourselves in the mikveh, dress for the festival, and bake the special matzas mitzvah for the seder. Finally, there were always the last-minute preparations to be taken care of.

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"Among these final odds and ends was a job entrusted to me: to remove the seals from the wine bottles (especially those with wording on them) and to partially pull out the corks. The latter was a most challenging task, for one had to take care that the metal of the corkscrew should not come in contact with the wine. "That year, I was busy at my appointed task in my father's room. I went about my work with great caution, careful not to dirty my new suit and - most importantly - not to dull the shine on my spanking new shoes.

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"My father noticed what was uppermost in my mind and said to me: 'Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi cites the following metaphor: A great nobleman sits at a table laden with all sorts of gourmet dishes and delicacies. Under the table lies a dog, gnawing a bone. Now, how seemly would it be were the nobleman to climb down from his chair and join the dog under the table to chew on a luscious bone?!' "My father's words so affected me that I was ashamed to even look at my new clothes. This is education."

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Rabbi Yanke Tauber

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