Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 21 Adar II, 5784
Parsha Shemini – “Eighth”: (Leviticus 9:1 – 11:47)
First Portion: Leviticus 9:1 – 9:16

Greetings! For those of you celebrating Easter, may it be meaningful!

Today, we start a new Parsha – Parsha Shemini.  Shemini is the Hebrew word for Eighth.

I’ve shared before the significance of the number 8 in Kabbalah.  From Chabad:

“In kabbalistic teachings, the number seven symbolizes perfection – perfection that is achievable via natural means – while eight symbolizes that which is beyond nature and its (inherently limited) perfection.”

We spent last week focused on “command” and the inauguration – the initiation of the high priest. Today, we begin to move from natural perfection to SUPERNATURAL perfection. As we do this work, we will begin to see MORE supernatural perfection from Hashem.  That is the message of “Eighth.”  Let’s dig in:

1And it was on the eighth day, that Moses summoned Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel.

So here is the title of the Parsha. The initiation was complete. Aaron was instilled as the spiritual authority for the Children of Israel. The same guy who oversaw the golden calf.

Just take that in. Again. I’ve been stuck on that for the past week.

Aaron oversaw the Golden Calf. And became the Spiritual Authority for the Children of Israel.

If we ever thought we’d be judged for our mistakes, Aaron is a story worth reflecting on.

Let’s keep going:

2And he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a bull calf as a sin offering, and a ram as a burnt offering, [both] unblemished, and bring [them] near before the Lord.

3And to the children of Israel, you shall speak, saying, ‘Take a he goat as a sin offering; and a calf and a lamb, [both] in their first year and [both] unblemished, as a burnt offering,

4and an ox and a ram as peace offerings, to slaughter before the Lord, and a meal offering mixed with oil, for today the Lord is appearing to you.’ “

So Moses is walking through Aaron’s leadership.

Offer up one more sacrifice for yourself, Aaron – for your sin. Then an additional offering for your guilt.

Then tell the children of Israel to do the same.

And.

Add a peace offering and a meal offering.

Because Hashem is going to appear.

It’s basically a message of “get ready.”

Are we ready? Are we ready for Hashem to appear?

Or are we stuck in our sin? In our guilt? Without peace?

We’ve got to deal with this within ourselves.

Here’s the takeaway:

• Where are we stuck? Can we let it go?
• Where does our guilt reside? Will we let it go?
• When can we let these go to have peace?

These are reflective questions for us to chew on. Once we do? We will SEE Hashem show up. He is going to show up regardless – the question is whether we will receive Him.  Let’s keep going:

5And they took what Moses had commanded, to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the entire community approached and stood before the Lord.

So they did what they were asked to.  They didn’t argue. They didn’t complain. They did.

6And Moses said, “This is the thing the Lord has commanded; do [it], and the glory of the Lord will appear to you.”

7And Moses said to Aaron, “Approach the altar and perform your sin offering and your burnt offering, atoning for yourself and for the people, and perform the people’s sacrifice, atoning for them, as the Lord has commanded.

8So Aaron approached the altar and slaughtered his sin offering calf.

9And Aaron’s sons brought forward the blood to him, and he dipped his finger into the blood, placing [some] on the horns of the altar, and he poured the blood at the base of the altar.

10And the fat, the kidneys, and the diaphragm with the liver from the sin offering, he caused to [go up in] smoke on the altar, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

11And he burned the flesh and the hide in fire, outside the camp.

12And he slaughtered the burnt offering. And Aaron’s sons presented the blood to him, and he dashed it on the altar, around.

13And they presented the burnt offering to him in its [prescribed] pieces, along with the head. And he caused [them] to [go up in] smoke on the altar.

14And he washed the innards and the legs, and he caused [them] to [go up in] smoke on the altar, along with the burnt offering.

Moses turned to Aaron and said “follow this – it’s your turn first.” And Aaron and his sons did as they were commanded to do.  All on the eighth day.

Then?

15And he brought forward the people’s sacrifice; he took the people’s sin offering goat, slaughtered it, and made it a sin offering, like the first one.

16And he brought forward the burnt offering and prepared it according to the law.

So to me? The takeaway? Is we are called to deal with the high priest within. Then we are called to look externally to navigate our relationships. It all starts with the high priest within.

How are you connected to that high priest?

These are my thoughts. What are yours?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 11 Nisan, 5783

Wow! This is Passover week. And the Parsha, Shemini, which means eighth is about an inauguration.

As we prepare to dig into the exodus story and the idea of spiritual liberation, I’ve been at an educators conference this week meeting some amazing K-12 teachers doing incredible work on equity, inclusion, and being better humans.

My take away has been the idea of rehumanizing ourselves in order to be better educators and trainers.

This is what I wrote in my journal and connects to this idea of liberation:

To see: if I look at others and “their people” I need to see myself with “my people.” If I look at myself as an independent human being with my own sovereignty, I need to see others as independent human beings with their own sovereignty. And there needs to be fidelity. I can’t choose situations where my lens works to keep me comfortable in that Choice. I need to find lenses and choices that default to discomfort. That is the work to dehumanize myself.

To hear: to listen to others’ stories with curiosity and without judgment. To recenter others’ humanity in their stories. And then be willing to share mine. To set intentions and boundaries that when listening to others’ stories that I center those souls/lives instead of my own in those moments.

In addition; wielding silence as a loving and compassionate tool instead of a weapon. Sometimes situations are called for where remaining silent enhances the relationship and community. It provides space for stories to be shared that center the betterment of those around us, instead of me. I need to work to avoid silence when speaking would communicate that someone else matters, is seen, is heard.

To feel/touch: If I emotionally react with others and their stories or questions, I need to own that emotional reaction. And when others emotionally react to my story, I need to recognize their humanity and their feelings belong to them and not me. To observe others’ feelings and not absorb them. I need to respect the emotions of others and not try to colonize them.

And wow! That’s a way we colonize others and their power. When I absorb someone else’s feelings and make them my own, I’m colonizing those feelings. Empathy. True empathy is about OBSERVING others’ emotions, and at the same time not taking someone else’s sovereignty away from them by possessing those feelings. To offer affirmation, validation, service to, and curiosity about someone else. To center their needs for support rather than my need to emotionally regulate.

To taste: although I strive to observe the feelings and emotions of others, I can’t do so at an arms length. To find opportunities where I can do work to experience situations where I experience those emotions for myself. If I am with someone and they feel sad, to understand sadness by allowing MYSELF to feel sad about ME. If they feel rejected, to allow MYSELF to feel rejected by situations and others. If they feel ABANDONED, allow MYSELF to feel abandoned. As my spiritual coach said, I don’t need permission to live. I can offer myself grace, compassion and empathy to live these emotions from myself instead of avoiding them within and colonizing these emotions from others.

To smell: to live a fragrant life where I add to the communities I’m a part of. To not just “fall in line” with the community; but to enhance it. By listening and centering space within when I need to; and then sharing wisdom, empathy and compassion with others when called to.

This is the rehumanizing work within. To avoid rigidity and lean into a desire within to be flexible. To allow myself the courage to face fears, to lean into and be curious about the unknown. To embrace chaos and work to let go of my own ego.

This is the inauguration going into Passover. At least for me.

What are your thoughts?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 17 Adar II, 5782

A new Parsha this week! We are in Parsha Shemini. Shemini means “eighth.” Because this is describing the eighth day of the inauguration of Aaron and his sons.

On the eighth day, Moses called for Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel – because there needed to be witnesses to what was going to happen.

Moses turns to Aaron and tells him to take a young bull as a sin offering. This was to atone for the golden calf incident. Aaron was also to bring a ram as a burnt offering.

Moses tells Aaron, (and really here we see the transfer of leadership) “speak to the children of Israel and say ‘take a he-goat as a sin offering; and for a burnt-offering take a calf and a lamb in their first year, and for peace offerings take an ox and a lamb to be slaughtered before God, and take a meal offering mixed with oil, for today the Tabernacle will be fully inaugurated and God’s presence is going to appear to you.”

This is a crucial moment. Because Moses was giving Aaron the responsibility to teach the people and explain what needed to be done. Aaron was going to be speaking for Hashem. This is a big moment.

Moses then tells Aaron to go to the altar and carry out the sin offering (for the golden calf) and the burnt offering, atoning for Aaron himself and the people.

Aaron went and did this. Then, when he was finished, he brought the peoples offerings before Hashem.

The portion today closes with Aaron taking the peoples sin offering and slaughtering it. Like the one he had prepared previously. Then he took the burnt offering and prepared it according to the law.

Interesting stuff here. I’m curious to your thoughts!