From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, April 13, 2007 4:26 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas Shemini, 5767





                                                 Save the Date

                By Rabbi Joshua (calendrically known as The Hoffer) Hoffman    


  This week's parsha begins with the events that occurred on the eighth day of the inauguration process of the mishkan. Curiously, the opening verse tells us, " It was on the eighth day" (Vayikra 9:1), without mentioning the calendrical date, which was, according to one opinion, the first day of the first month, now known as Nissan, and, according to another opinion, the eighth day of the first month. Why was the day mentioned in this way ? Rabbi Yitzchok Meir Goodman of Far Rockaway suggested that since the entire institution of sacrifices is something that is difficult to relate to, the Torah wanted to hint to their great importance by emphasizing the number eight. According to Rav Moshe of Trani, known as the Mabit, and later the Maharal of Prague, the number eight refers to the supernatural realm of existence, that which is beyond the natural order, which is represented by the seven days of creation. In order  for us to feel the excitement of the inauguration of the mishkan, explains Rabbi Goodman, the Torah emphasizes the eighth day, without attaching a date to it. His explanation, however, is a bit difficult, because the bringing of the sacrifces that day led to the appearance of the divine presence in the mishkan, and there would therefore seem to be no need to offer a hint to the power of the sacrifices when there is a more explicit reference to their potency in the parsha itself.


  The late Rabbi Isaac Bernstein, in a taped shiur on parshas Shemini, suggested a different explanation. He mentionied the comment of the midrash that Moshe was originally going to serve as the kohein gadol, but, because he refused, for seven days, to become God's agent to take the children of Israel out of Egypt, God punished him by making Aharon, his brother, the kohein gadol in his place. However, this punishment would not have had any meaning for Moshe if he never experienced what it was like to be a kohein gadol himself. Therefore, God had Moshe serve as  the kohein gadol for the first seven days of inauguration, so that he would  understand what it was that he had lost by initially refusing to take the Jews out of Egypt. The seven days that he served as koein gadol, said Rabbi Bernstein, corresponded to the seven days that he refused God's request. That is the significance of the use of the term 'the eighth day' without any specification of the date on the calendar. This explanation, too, seems to be somewhat incongruous with the spirit of the occasion, especially as the midrash portrays it, as a day of grandeur. Why specificaly emphasize the sin of Moshe at this point? I would like to offer an alternative explanation, using Rabbi Benstein's connection of the activity of the eight days to the loss of the high priesthood by Moshe, but taking it in a different direction.


  The Ramban, in his introduction to the book of Shemos, says that the book is one of exile and redemption, recounting the exile of the Jewish people in Egypt, and culminating with their ultimate redemption. This redemption was not complete until the nation returned to the state of its forefathers, over whose tents the divine presence hovered. That is why the book of Shemos ends with a description of the divine presence hovering over the mishkan. In parshas Shemini, we are told of the process by which the mishkan was inaugurated, thereby bringing the redemption to its completion. The exile, according to the Talmud (Shabbos 10) came about as a result of the conflict between Yosef and his brothers. Now, as the redemption from that exile was reaching its conclusion, we are told that Moshe relinquished the office of high priest to his brother 'on the eighth day, 'after having experienced, for seven days, what it was like to serve in that capacity. Moshe's conformity with this duty without any indication of resistance or complaint stands in sharp contrast to the way the brothers reacted to the leadership position conferred on Yosef by their father, and, thus, serves as a backdrop to the process of bringing the divine presence back among the people, and thereby bringing the redempton process to its completion.



  Please address all correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address - JoshHoff @ AOL.com.

  To subscribe to Netvort, send a message with subject line subscribe, to Netvort@aol.com. To unsubscribe, send message with subject line unsubscribe, to the same address.




**************************************
See what's free at http://www.aol.com.