Omer Day 11
This week’s reading, Shemini, is a continuation of the previous week’s reading, Tzav,
where we learned about the Tabernacle’s seven-day inaugural ceremony. This week’s
reading opens on the eighth day, when God’s presence descends upon the Tabernacle.
On that day, Aaron’s sons Nadab and Avihu die when offering an uncalled-for incense
sacrifice. The portion concludes with a discussion about the laws of Kosher and ritual
purity.
Let’s read from the Parsha. The context of this passage is the eighth day of the seven day
Tabernacle dedication (the counting issue is for another moment).
Lev 9:1 On the eighth day Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel,
Lev 9:2 and he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a bull calf for a sin offering and a ram
for a burnt offering, both without blemish, and offer them before the LORD.
(and Aaron did so and afterward)
Lev 9:22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he
came down from offering the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings.
Lev 9:23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting, and when they came out
they blessed the people, and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.
Lev 9:24 And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and
the pieces of fat on the altar, and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their
faces.
This teaching is in the name of Tali Loewenthal (contributing editor at Chabad.org) and
the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
In our journey through life we have many different kinds of experience. Some are happy
and boisterous; some are more somber; some are just dogged day-to-day getting through
what has to be done; some are serene and moving; some are inspiring.
Through all this, at every step of our lives, we have an important relationship with the
Infinite, with God the Creator and Life of the Universe. Much of the time we may be
completely unaware of this relationship. The joys or the worldly problems of the moment
hide it from us. At other times, there may be some kind of hint of recognition.
This week’s Torah reading provides an intense example of recognition of God. The
Israelites, guided by Moses, had constructed the beautiful Sanctuary. It showed many
kinds of craftsmanship and artistry, expressed in gold, silver, copper, cedar wood and
skillfully woven tapestries.
But the Sanctuary was intended to be more than that. The purpose of the Sanctuary was
to be a dwelling place for the Divine, a place where you could recognize God.
Directed by Moses, there had been a seven day long ceremony of dedication of the
Sanctuary, making it not just a work of craft and art but a Divine dwelling. Our Parsha
starts on the eighth day (Shemini means “eighth”). In Leviticus 9:6 Moses makes a
statement which is striking in its directness: “This is what God has commanded you to
do, so that the Glory of God will be revealed to you“.
His instructions concerned bringing offerings at the altar and were follow exactly. Then
Aaron blessed the people. Then Moses and Aaron entered the Tent of the Sanctuary, and
came out and both blessed the people. At that point, suddenly, God’s glory was revealed
in a practical way: a stream of fire which emerged from the Tent of the Sanctuary and
ignited the offering on the altar.
At that moment the Israelites recognized God. They shouted and prostrated themselves
before the Sanctuary. They did not think of trickery, or pyrotechnics, as some people
might today, in our later, technological, secular and cynical age. For the Israelites with
Moses it was a moment of recognition of the Divine.
However, what about us, more than 3,300 years later? What about a time when we do
not see this kind of revelation? When the world seems to conduct itself according to very
sober and rational rules, without apparitions of Divine fire?
One possibility is that although we do not see the revelation, we act as if we did. Our
physical eyes and mind, well trained for assessing bank-statements and mobile-phone
agreements, do not perceive God. But our souls and the Holy Spirit in us do. So we
should act accordingly, as if our conscious minds were also directly aware of the Divine,
by dedicating ourselves to the service of God and each other.
This can lead, to another possibility: when we do the right thing, guided by the Holy
Spirit, then sometimes, in some way, almost without our realizing it, we may actually
experience moments of awareness and recognition. The Shabbat or festival table, the
birth of a baby, our private prayer time, a wedding are moments of recognition of the
Divine. Gentle, almost imperceptible. But real.
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