The parsha (weekly Torah portion) for this week is called Shmini and means, “8th,” as in the eighth day after Aharon and his sons began their initiation ritual. I find it very interesting that this is the first time we have moved beyond a concept of seven days. Seven is the directions: north, east, south, west, up, down, and center. It is also the number of days god took to create the world. So it represents the physical world or … Continue reading
At last we are getting to the weekly Torah portion (parsha) called Shmini. I say, “At last,” because our parsha has been preempted, for the last two shabbats, by the holy days involved with our becoming a people: Pesach (Passover). Shmini is an interesting parsha, recounting the first sacrifices made by the newly anointed priests in the newly created mishcan (tabernacle). At the climax, after haShem (god/dess) comes down on the people and eats the sacrifices, two of Aharon’s … Continue reading