Parshat Shmini continues the story of the dedication of the Temple which more or less started in the previous Parsha. The salient incident here is the death of the two sons of Aharon the High Priest during festivities. Even so the dedication and its narrative continue. After that there is a long break and the Chumash deals with other subjects. It then resumes in parshas Naso in the book of in numbers with the sacrifices brought by the chiefs of the twelve tribes. The following parsha, BeHa’alothekha, perhaps after a small aside about lighting the menorah, continues the account of the inauguration with the induction of the Levite's into temple service. With that the story is complete. However its true beginning may be in the book of Exodus, when Moshe rabenu is on Mount Sinai and receives the instructions from HaKadosh Baruch Hu on how to build the temple. This is marred by the sin of the golden calf, after which two parshas are spent on its actual construction. The building of the Temple is literarily presented in a disjointed fashion and the story contains two disasters.
The dedication of the Tabernacle starts in an orderly beautiful fashion which develops into a deep sense of joy melding into euphoria. Then horror strikes. This is similar to the revelation on Mount Sinai which after reaching the heights of serenity and beauty crashes with the golden calf.
The golden calf was a clear case of idolatry and the nation was reckoned as bad because of it. In Shmini the sons of Aharon are reckoned as righteous people who simply made a mistake in that they brought an offering of strange incense that was not called for. One can say that spontaneity was highly inappropriate at such a grand pageant. It's possible to speculate that the incense produced a foul odor or perhaps was inconsistent with the required mood, say a pine fragrance when a savory aroma was needed. Commentaries suggest they had a character flaw in that they were too ambitious. Others say they were immature in that they were not married with children. Some see a hint that they were drunk on wine. Hasidim say they were intoxicated by kidushah.
Passover contains a similar theme. When Israel is attacked at the Red Sea they shriek, “Were there no graves in Egypt that you should take us to die in the wilderness, what have you done to us by taking us out of Egypt?” (Exodus 14:11). Coming after years of brutal slavery and the ten plagues, it would have been appropriate to say to Moshe, pray to G-d that he should have mercy upon us. The problem is that they were accustomed to shrill complaining and needed to learn how to be polite and refined. In addition Hashem in his kindness and wisdom heard and took Israel out of slavery on the strength of an inchoate undeveloped prayer that was concealed in their groaning under Egyptian persecution.
The lesson of both Pesach and Shmini is that there is a tendency to stumble at the heights of sanctity. It can be caused by the evil within in a person. It can also come from immaturity and insufficient refinement. At times the world can be a dangerous place even in the temple of Hashem. This is because advancement can be a trial and error process and this has a tendency to show up when new heights are being achieved. In fact it may even be best if there is some concealment of holiness.
The Jews did get out of Egypt and build the temple even though it was destroyed, they went back into exile, and it happened a second time. Even so at the end of these days Israel will return to the Holy Land build the Temple a third time. This will herald a new era of peace on earth, good will towards man, and with that the world will begin to truly live.
לע"נ האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח
העלון ניתן לקבל בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר http://dyschreiber.blogspot.com
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