Parsha Shmini: Captain, We Have a Breach in the Torah

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

What is the Weekly Torah Portion (Parsha) this Week?

Last week I did not write anything on the parsha (weekly Torah portion) because the parsha was a special one for Pesach (Passover).  Perhaps I should have written about Pesach instead, for that is what the parsha was about.  I was very busy cleaning my house of chometz (leavening), and myself of ego. This is one of the traditions I learned while I was in Israel:  chometz is created by yeast eating the sugar in the grains and producing CO2, … Continue reading