TORAH SPARKS ניצוצות תורה
פרשת שמיני – שבת פרה
PARASHAT SHEMINI – SHABBAT PARAH
March 26, 2011 – 20 Adar II 5771 – כ’ אדר ב’ תשע"א
Annual: Leviticus 9:1 – 11:47 (Etz Hayim, p. 630; Hertz p. 443)
Triennial: Leviticus 9:1 – 10:11 (Etz Hayim, p. 630; Hertz p. 443)
Maftir: Numbers 19:1 – 22 (Etz Hayim, p. 880; Hertz p. 652)
Haftarah: Ezekiel 36:16 – 38 (Etz Hayim, p. 1287; Hertz p. 999)
Prepared by Rabbi Joseph Prouser
Baldwin, New York
Parashat Shemini, as its name suggests, describes what occurred on the eighth day, following the seven-day process of priestly ordination. The altar was used for the first time by the newly authorized priests. Moses and Aaron together bless the assembled Israelites. The people respond with shouts of joy and with worship to the divine fire that demonstrates that the sacrifices have been accepted.
Following this auspicious beginning, Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu offer ill- defined and ill-advised “alien fire” before God and they are consumed in divine fire
– the malignant equivalent of the fire that earlier had consumed Israel’s first
sacrifices as an indicator of divine favor and approval. Moses offers a brief, somewhat cryptic poetic message of consolation to his bereaved brother. Aaron responds with absolute silence to his devastating loss, and their priestly cousins remove the remains of the stricken priests from the sanctuary. Aaron and his surviving sons, in keeping with their unique obligations as priests, are adjured not to mourn in the usual manner.
God addresses Aaron directly (some say as a reward for his stoic response – or lack of response – to his sons’ violent demise), commanding him and all future priests serving at the altar to refrain from drinking wine or other intoxicants. There is a body of interpretive opinion that sees in this prohibition a clue as to the intemperate offense of Nadav and Avihu. Wine is deemed an impediment to the priestly mission of distinguishing “between the sacred and the profane, between the unclean and the clean,” as well as the priestly duty of transmitting God’s commandments to the Israelite community.
After a brief set of instructions about the meal, wave, and sin offerings, Shemini turns its attention to the Torah’s fundamental description of the dietary laws,
detailing forbidden and permitted species among land animals (split-hooved
ruminants are permitted), fish (those with fins and scales are permitted), and birds (no distinguishing physical characteristic are specified, though a lengthy list is provided), and “winged swarming things” – insects. This discussion of foodstuffs is followed by a corollary prescription of ritual impurity and its transfer from
forbidden – that is, impure or “unclean” – animals, by means of, for example, physical contact or carrying.
The parashah concludes with a critical statement of the purpose of the ritual requirements that have been detailed: “I, the Lord, am your God. You shall sanctify
yourselves and be holy, for I am holy.” The centrality of this message is reinforced by the fact that parashat Shemini is identified by the Masoretes as including the very
center of the Torah — the imperative infinitive darosh daras, customarily the last and first words of consecutive lines, in 10:16, if you are counting by words. The
Masoretic note on 10:16 is a studious play on words: darosh darash — zeh chatzi ha-Torah: “‘to investigate thoroughly’ – this is half of the Torah.”
Theme #1: “Incense and Sensibility”
“Now Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before the Lord alien fire, which He had not enjoined
upon them. And fire came forth from the Lord and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord meant
when he said: Through those near to Me I show Myself holy, And gain glory before all the people.’” Leviticus 10:1-3
Derash: Study
“God seems to be saying that he is only so holy/honored as the behavior of the
priests permits. Therefore the death of Aharon’s sons is a way of demonstrating that God’s holiness is established through correct performance of his commands.” Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses
“Boom! God incinerates them on the spot… All they did was burn the wrong incense. Is the Lord really that petty? But maybe there’s an important lesson here:
the rituals that seem so picayune and random really matter… In other words, God
seems to be saying that the deaths were not the merciless act of a vindictive deity. They were a warning to mind the details.” David Plotz, Good Book
“Religious leaders ought to embody the values of Torah in their purest form, aspiring to be a speck of perfection in an imperfect world. Their smallest
transgression is magnified many times over because of their role as mediators. Whatever the deviation committed by Aaron’s sons, wittingly or unwittingly, they
obscured and diminished God’s presence… Those who presume to speak for God must live beyond reproach.” Rabbi Ismar Schorsch
“It is very curious that concerning the execution of the sons of Aaron no one is sure what they did wrong. It is not clear what was wrong with the offending fire, translated as ‘unholy’ or ‘strange’ fire… What the young priests did is not so
important as who they are.” Mary Douglas, Leviticus as Literature
“The zone of the holy, where the divine presence takes up its headquarters, is intrinsically dangerous and, from a certain point of view, radically ambiguous.
When proper procedures are followed – a virtual obsession of these priestly writers
– miraculous signs of God’s favor are manifested. When procedures are violated, God becomes a consuming fire.” Robert Alter, The Five Books of Moses
Questions for Discussion
Is it reasonable to expect a religious leader and exemplar to be “a speck of
perfection in an imperfect world”? Do today’s leaders differ from the priests of
Israelite antiquity in this regard?
Is it accurate to say that Judaism or Jewish leaders “presume to speak for God”
today?
The biblical account of the deaths of Nadav and Avihu is unsettling. Do the interpretations of Plotz and Alter – that the lesson is attention to ritual detail and proper procedure, respectively – soften or sharpen the text’s troubling nature? To
what extent is emphasis on detailed precision in ritual observance a desirable goal in our own religious lives? In congregational worship and standards? What offense would have justified the priests’ execution? How do we explain their deaths when we are asked about depictions of the vindictive “God of the Old Testament”? What dangers are to be found in our own zone of holiness, as described by Professor Fox?
Theme #2: “No High Priests”
“And the Lord spoke to Aaron, saying: ‘Drink no wine or other intoxicant, you or
your sons, when you enter the Tent of Meeting, that you may not die. This is a law for all time throughout the ages, for you must distinguish between the sacred and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean; and you must teach the Israelites all the laws which the Lord has imparted to them through Moses.’” Leviticus 10:8-11
Derash: Study
“God’s divine presence does not manifest itself through sadness, and the priest must
thus bring God’s offerings with uplifted spirit and joy. So why is he forbidden wine? Wine induces joy! The reason is this: the priest who enters the sanctuary’s innermost precincts to conduct the Temple service must derive his elevated emotional state strictly from the joy inherent in fulfilling God’s commandments (simchah shel mitzvah). God’s Torah itself must provide the source of inspiration and the wellspring of joy.” Rabbi Simchah Bunam of Przysucha
“Aaron’s sons were killed only because they entered the Tent of Meeting intoxicated.” Vayikra Rabbah 12:1
“Especially troublesome is the Kiddush Club. This increasingly common practice consists of a group of congregants, almost invariably men, who leave the main
sanctuary at a key point in the service, typically the haftarah, and withdraw to a side room where they drink hard liquor. This phenomenon destroys kevod hatefillah (the
dignity of the service). And it is ironic that the timing of the Kiddush Club exodus usually coincides with the reading from the haftarah, which is a unique opportunity
for most of us to encounter the prophetic message. But the Kiddush Club stands for far more than a callous disregard of the sanctity of the Shabbat service. It serves as
a setting within which adults drink immoderate amounts of alcohol and often return to synagogue more than mildly intoxicated. This behavior is not lost on the rest of
the congregation, particularly the youth, including the very children of these participants. This practice glorifies and idealizes alcohol at precisely a time when
alcohol and other addictions are clearly on the rise in our community.” Rabbi Tzvi
Hersh Weinreb, Executive Vice President, Orthodox Union
“God prohibited the kohanim from performing the service in the mishkan if they had drunk wine. We are well aware that alcohol is a depressant that allows the drinker to
be self-centered and selfish. Inhibitions fall to the wayside and the drunk feels
empowered to do or say whatever he wants. Therefore, a kohain who must be completely focused on serving the people and God and must lose his individuality must never officiate in the mishkan if intoxicated.” Rabbi Aron Tendler
“O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains!
that we should, with joy, pleasance, revel, and applause, transform ourselves into beasts!” William Shakespeare, Othello
Questions for Discussion
A variety of explanations are offered for the prohibition against priests drinking
wine: to assure ritual precision, to safeguard the purity of spiritual experience, to focus the priest’s attention on the community he serves, etc. Which of these seem best to fit the narrative context of the parashah? Why does this mitzvah appear where it does?
What are appropriate limitations for the use of wine and liquor in our congregations? Is the moderate and responsible use of alcohol a more or less valuable example to young people than absolute abstinence? Should policies about alcohol differ depending on context and setting (for example, a “l’chayim” at a Sunday morning minyan attended primarily by mature adults versus an open bar at Shabbat kiddush following a bar mitzvah versus the liturgical use of wine during the course of services)?
Rabbi Tendler writes that because it is a depressant, alcohol facilitates self-centered behavior. Some would argue, to the contrary, that drinking enhances sociability.
What is the moral status of social drinking? How should this be reflected in our
private lives, and in congregational policy?
During Prohibition, Rabbi Louis Ginzberg ruled that Jewish law does not demand the use of fermented wine in ritual. Given some of the concerns expressed in the
sources provided here, should grape juice be preferred when reciting kiddush, during
a bris, under the chuppah, and so on?
Is the drinking associated with Purim a corruption of Jewish values? A breech of
“kevod hatefillah,” as Rabbi Weinreb says in other contexts? A valuable exception to the general rule of sobriety and personal probity?
Historic Note
Parashat Shemini, describing the premature death of Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu, as well as Aaron’s first blessing of the Israelite people, is read
on March 26, 2011 – the 80th birthday of actor Leonard Nimoy. As Star
Trek’s Mr. Spock, Nimoy popularized the phrase “Live long and prosper,” with the Vulcan greeting’s accompanying hand gesture, which – by his own account – he adapted from the priestly blessing he saw conducted in the synagogue of his youth.
Halachah L’Maaseh
If a person is impaired after consumption of wine (or other intoxicant), he or she should wait until the effect subsides before praying, even if the
prescribed time for prayer will elapse. If a person prays under the influence
but still has the ability to speak “before the king” (in a highly deferential, distinguished and formal manner) the prayer is valid. Prayer offered when so impaired by wine as to have lost the ability to speak “before the king” is deemed a “prayer of abomination,” which in no way fulfills the obligation for prayer. The Rema points out that these restrictions apply to both the Shema and the Amidah. Other blessings, he rules, may be recited by someone under the influence of alcohol (Shulchan Aruch 99:13). Nevertheless, the conscientious worshiper should keep in mind the Talmud’s teaching that God, from Whom all blessing derives and to Whom we offer our blessings in return, cherishes a special love for a person who does not drink to the point of intoxication (Pesachim 113b).