Parsha Shmini

Moses Deduced the Law

After Aarons two sons die, Moses expects the ceremony of dedication to continue. This involved eating from the different sacrifices that comprised the dedication ceremony of the Tabernacle and the installation of Aaron and his two remaining sons Elazar and Itamar. Aaron himself does not know for certain whether he should continue with ceremony of dedication. So, he takes the…

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Parsha Shmini

Kosher Food

The laws of what animals, birds and fish are permitted are given this week as part of the Book of Vayikra which deals with issue of personal purity. Purity in Biblical Hebrew has nothing to do with cleanliness as we understand it. Quite the contrary, no matter how clean a person might be, certain actions and states placed them in…

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Parsha Shmini

Why Dietary Laws?

The system of sacrifices expands this week (beyond blood and certain fats) to the laws of what animals, birds and fish we can and cannot eat. It’s a progression that makes sense. Originally according to our tradition humans were not carnivores. Only after Noah’s flood when he celebrated his survival by sacrificing animals to God, do animals feature as food…

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Parsha Shmini

Rituals

Someone said to me that he believed in God but not in religion. I don’t really understand what “Believing in Religion” means. You don’t believe in the Constitution of the United States. You accept it, you choose (or not) to abide by it. The Jewish religion is something to be practiced as a way of life that is designed to…

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Parsha Tsav

Blood

Why does the Torah forbid drinking blood? First of all, I should clarify that it is only arterial blood that is forbidden. What is called blood of the flesh that remains within the meat itself is not the problem. And blood from the sacrifices was sprinkled around the altar ceremonially. It was drinking the blood like wine that was forbidden.…

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Parsha Tsav

Cleaning Clothes and the Altar

The Torah is nothing if not a manual for order and doing things properly. Nowhere is this more obvious in the ritual of the Tabernacle and sacrifices. At each stage of the sacrificial ceremony the officiating priest must change his clothes. The process of sacrificing is of course a messy business. So is separating the different parts of the animal…

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