Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 27 Adar II, 5784
Parsha Shemini – “Eighth”: (Leviticus 9:1 – 11:47)
Seventh Portion: Leviticus 11:33 – 11:47
Shabbat Shalom! Today is a VERY Special Shabbat. It is the final shabbat before the calendar resets with the First Month of Nisan, which happens on Monday night (after the Eclipse BTW). We celebrate the end of a cycle today and really plan for this next cycle – which is all about the PROCESS of FREEDOM! What are the things we need to be freed from? This is the new journey we are on! Let’s GO!
The context for today’s portion is the Kosher laws regarding ritual impurity. We left off yesterday talking about dead animals and carcasses. Here’s the previous passage for context:
32And if any of these dead [creatures] falls upon anything, it will become unclean, whether it is any wooden vessel, garment, hide or sack, any vessel with which work is done; it shall be immersed in water, but will remain unclean until evening, and it will become clean.
So. We are talking about dead non-kosher animals here.
Let’s dig in:
33But any earthenware vessel, into whose interior any of them falls, whatever is inside it shall become unclean, and you shall break [the vessel] itself.
So – an earthen vessel? Break it when unclean (non-kosher) dead animals fall into them.
34Of any food that is [usually] eaten, upon which water comes will become unclean, and any beverage that is [usually] drunk, which is in any vessel, shall become unclean.
This basically means, if food was in the container (in verse 33) or water or beverage was in the container, that is all unclean.
So it’s not just the container that is unclean, it’s everything. Dead non-kosher animal? It’s just DIRTY!
35And anything upon which any of their carcasses of these [animals] fall, will become unclean. [Thus,] an oven or stove shall be demolished; they are unclean, and, they shall be unclean for you.
Even if a non-kosher animal dies and falls on an oven or stove? Demolished.
So this would motivate me NOT to have non-kosher animals around my food prep areas, right?
Keeping our food separated would be crucial.
What is a word for separated? Holy. Our food. Animals. Holy. Especially the animals we eat.
This is Not to say the other animals DON’T have value. They exist for a purpose – just not as food. That is important. We somehow place value on an animal as food. That’s something I am reflecting on.
36But a spring or a cistern, a gathering of water remains clean. However, one who touches their carcass shall become unclean.
37And if of their carcass falls upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it remains clean.
So this is interesting. We get an exception. Dead animals in a spring or cistern (a naturally occurring storage of water)? The water flow keeps it pure. However, the person removing the dead animal? They are unclean.
Seeds which are to be sown – stay clean – because (likely) what is going to grow is inside the seed, and has not yet started the germination process. Because we are about to find out:
38But if water is put upon seeds, and any of their carcass falls on them, they are unclean for you.
So once the seed starts its growth process? If a non-kosher animal falls on it? It becomes unclean. It’s about potential.
Now we are going to shift a bit. We are going to talk about Kosher animals:
39If an animal that you [normally] eat, dies, one who touches its carcass shall be unclean until evening.
40And one who eats of its carcass shall immerse his garments, and he shall be unclean until evening. And one who carries its carcass shall immerse his garments, and he shall be unclean until evening.
So – this is interesting – even the clean animals – when they die? Become unclean to touch. Notice, it doesn’t prohibit anyone from EATING the carcass – it just says they are unclean until evening.
There is a distinct difference.
This begs the question; what does it mean to be “unclean until evening?” And. How does this apply to us?
Chabad has a great article on the various ideas around ritual impurities here.
The bottom line? We are all presumed to be ritually impure, so there isn’t really much to worry about here.
From Chabad:
If a person becomes impure, he or she isn’t allowed to enter the Temple area, or eat any sanctified foods such as terumah or any offerings that were brought to the Temple. It is for this reason that, nowadays, observant Jews generally refrain from entering the area of the Temple, and although terumah and other tithes still need to be separated from Israeli produce, the tithes aren’t themselves eaten, as this would require the person eating them to be ritually pure (and a verified kohen).
Thus, it is very difficult to remain pure, and there is very little benefit for someone who would attempt (imperfectly) to remain pure.
This makes a degree of sense, doesn’t it? Ok. We now shift. Remember I said snakes weren’t mentioned? Well. They get their own section here:
41And any creeping creature that creeps on the ground is an abomination; it shall not be eaten.
42Any [creature] that goes on its belly, and any [creature] that walks on four [legs] to any [creature] that has many legs, among all creeping creatures that creep on the ground, you shall not eat, for they are an abomination.
43You shall not make yourselves abominable with any creeping creature that creeps, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, that you should become unclean through them.
Wow. So before, the land non-kosher animals? The consequence was remaining ritually impure until evening. I had to go back and double check to make sure. The birds of the air and fish of the sea? They were ALSO abominations. And yet, this takes it one step further.
“You shall not make yourselves abominable.” Wow. Um. That is saying SOMETHING. So eating a pig vs eating a snake? Yeah. Pig more ok.
44For I am the Lord your God, and you shall sanctify yourselves and be holy, because I am holy, and you shall not defile yourselves through any creeping creature that crawls on the ground.
45For I am the Lord Who has brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God. Thus, you shall be holy, because I am holy.
46This is the law regarding animals, birds, all living creatures that move in water and all creatures that creep on the ground,
47to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten.
We close this parsha with WHY? Why is important. We must understand WHY we can’t eat these creatures. What we bring in is crucial.
The why? Hashem is separated. He is holy. He created US to be Holy as well. He separated animals to be holy. And. He freed us from slavery. We are no longer trapped.
As we enter this new phase. The shift of the new month in Nisan? We are called to decide once again whether we will be “different” or use our freedom to be like everyone else. This is the choice.
What are your thoughts?
Here are my thoughts from the past two years:
Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 24 Nisan, 5783. Day 9 of the Omer.
Todays Omer theme is Discipline of Discipline. From Chabad:
“Examine the discipline factor of discipline. Is my discipline disciplined or is it excessive. Do I have enough discipline in my life and in my interactions? Am I organized? Is my time used efficiently? Why do I have problems with discipline and what can I do to enhance it? Do I take time each day for personal accounting of my schedule and accomplishments? Does my discipline include the other six aspects (see here for more on these traits), without which discipline cannot be effective and healthy?
Exercise for the day: Make a detailed plan for spending your day and at the end of the day see if you’ve lived up to it.”
Ok. Let’s dig into the final portion of Shemini.
As I read through my notes from a year ago, I’m connecting with the idea of external and internal things. What happens to us vs what we take within us?
Circumstances are all around us. Some of the things happening we are aware of. Some we are not. Most we are not (I’d argue).
But what we have the opportunity to be aware of? What we bring within us. What we eat. What thoughts we choose to dwell on. What we turn our consciousness to. We can decide THAT.
As an example, I’m learning that I have a choice. When something happens around me; I can connect this moment with something conscious from my past. Or a conscious thought I have of the future. I can ask myself, “how does this circumstance connect to the future I desire?” Or I can ask myself, “how does this circumstance block the future I want?” Or I can ask “how does this circumstance get me closer to the future I want?”
All three questions are legitimate questions. But they bring energy to them. What we choose to be conscious of (vs what we allow our subconscious to control) is something we do have the ability to dig into.
What do we do with this ability? What patterns emerge for us? What default questions are we asking in our head? What energy are we attaching to circumstances? These are the things to be curious about.
As we are earthen vessels, what we allow to come inside can impact us in significant ways.
What do you think?
Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 23 Adar II, 5782
Shabbat Shalom! What a great Torah portion it has been this week! I’m excited to bring it to conclusion!
Yesterday we discussed kosher mitzvahs and the importance of which animals we eat bring a piece of Hashem into the world around us. We ended the portion talking about dead creatures corrupting and making things unclean.
Todays portion keeps going and tells us that basically if a dead creature falls into an earthenware object, everything becomes unclean. It’s basically a broken vessel at that point. Everything in the pot is impure – the food, water, anything.
Now the Torah allows us to possess these items still; as long as we keep in mind they are ritually impure.
Something interesting about this; Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgenstern of Kotsk wrote:
“Because this type of vessel is made from the earth, its only worth is the fact that it is a receptacle; earth has no value in itself. Therefore it only becomes impure through its interior.
Human beings are also made from dust (Genesis 2:7), and so their true worth is also measured by their interior-~-their content-not by superficial characteristics.”
That’s a really interesting thought. Our external characteristics don’t give us our worth and Value; it’s what is inside.
Let’s keep going.
Next we learn about a gathering of water – a pit or spring. That will remain ritually pure even if it comes into contact with impure things. It even has the power to purify others. However, if a person touches a carcass while in the spring, they will still become ritually impure.
Finally- if a carcass falls on a seed that is down – which has never become wet, it remains ritually pure. However if water or another liquid is put upon seeds and then a carcass falls on them, they are ritually impure.
Now; we need to stop here because there is an important lesson. Rabbi Schneerson makes a revelatory statement here:
“Water has the tendency to fall from a high place to a lower place. It is also a binding agent which causes substances to adhere together. In practical terms, these two qualities represent a Judaism which is not “dry” and purely academic, but “moist” and vibrant. It will cause you to attract and “bind” with people who are not as knowledgeable as you, in an effort to bring them closer to Judaism.
Hasidic thought explains that the forces of impurity are spiritual “parasites” that target specifically those areas which are potential places of holiness. This is the inner reason why food must first become wet in order to become susceptible to ritual impurity, for only a “moist” Judaism permeated with the “waters” of love and communication is a source of genuine holiness and spiritual vitality.”
This is something I’m really reflecting on this morning.
What are your thoughts?
All of these have been about non-kosher dead animals. We are about to see what happens when a kosher animal dies;
Anyone who touches a dead kosher animal will be ritually impure until evening.
However, anyone who eats part of a carcass without touching it first is not ritually impure until evening. The exception to this is if he carries at least an olives bulk of its carcass. Which makes them ritually unclean until evening.
The portion and Parsha closes with some reptile hatred. So if you are a fan on reptiles, you may not enjoy this:
- Any creeping creature that creeps on the ground is an abomination. It must not be eaten or fed to others
- You must not eat any snake or worm that goes on its belly – and any scorpion that walks on four legs, or any centipede that has many legs, and all creeping creatures that creep on the ground for they are an abomination.
- We just not make our souls abominable by eating a creeping creature that creeps.
Why? Why should we do all of this? The portion/Parsha ends with the reason:
Because God is our Holy God. We should sanctify ourselves and be Holy because God is Holy. Because God is a God who is bringing us up from the land of Egypt to be our God. Thus we should be Holy because God is Holy.
Ok let’s stop. There’s a lot of “Holy” there. I am reflecting on how all of us hear that word and have different thoughts; from “better than you” to “merely set apart” and everything in between.
What are you bringing with you to the definition of “Holy?” It’s an important question.
Instead of answering that myself – I’m going to share an article that really helped me understand and navigate the concept from a different perspective than what I brought to the definition. I encourage you to read the article and let me know what you think!
So there you have it. Todays portion and the conclusion of Parsha Shemini (remember it means eighth).
It’s about holiness. This is why the number 8 in Judaism is connected with the Devine. What are your thoughts?
Haftorah thoughts:
Todays Haftorah is from II Samuel 6:1-7:17
The Haftorah talks about the passing of Uzzah which happened while transporting the ark in Jerusalem- similar to the passing of Nadab and Abihu in our Parsha this week.
David was just coronated as the King of Israel- and he decided to bring the ark into Jerusalem.
They placed the ark on a wagon. Abinadabs sons, Uzzah and Ahio led the cattle which drove the new wagon.
Uzzah walked to the side of the ark while Ahio walked in front.
David and all Israel played before the ark many different instruments.
When they arrived in Nacon, Uzzah was concerned because the oxen had slipped and he though the ark was going to fall; so he reached out to grab the ark.
Let’s stop here. Good intentions for sure. But the results are not good.
God became angry at Uzzah for his lack of faith in thinking the ark would fall. God struck Uzzah for inadvertently forgetting that it was God’s ark, and Uzzah died.
Talk about buzzkill.
What a moment. All the people were there. And what happens next is fascinating and really something for us to learn.
David was upset with himself.
He owned the issue for what happened. He didn’t recognize the holiness of the ark and took it too cavalierly – and Uzzah died because of it.
It caused him to pause and consider the best way to move forward.
A lesson for us; even when we make a significant mistake; we don’t have to cycle to a place of fear and the inability to move. We need to reflect and decide how best to still move forward.
David decides to detour to visit Obed-edom the Gittite.
The ark was delayed there for three months. And while there, Hashem blessed Obed-edom and his entire household.
David was informed of this and this allowed David to joyfully proceed from the house of Obed-edom; but with one significant change.
Each time those who were carrying the ark took six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened ox.
Wow. That’s a significant change. But that kept them safe.
David danced joyfully with all his strength before God.
When the ark finally reached the city, Saul’s daughter Michal (David’s wife) looked at David with contempt. She felt it was not appropriate for a king to dance. And certainly not in front of the ark.
But they continued on; brought the ark and set it into the tent. David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Hashem. David then blessed the people in the name of the God of Hosts. He gave to everyone in the crowd – a loaf of bread, a generous portion of good meat, and a bottle of wine. Then everyone went home.
David returns home and his wife Michal criticized him; Michael didn’t recognize that David was dancing FOR Hashem.
For the sin of insulting King David; Michal had no children to the day of her death.
Now let’s hold up here. Because that seems super harsh.
All she did was criticize her husband- and the punishment was being barren?
Wow.
But let’s dig a little more. She didn’t just criticize David. This wasn’t a “you leave the cap off the toothpaste” insult. She was insulting David’s connection with Hashem and she was criticizing the king.
And we learned recently in the story of Esther – than even a wife is required to respect the King. Esther’s life was on the line even going to The King. That’s how serious it was. So Michal criticizing David was a very serious thing indeed. But she wasn’t put to death. She was barren.
Feelings of anger towards Hashem for this is valid. I’d encourage those angry to approach Him because he can handle your anger.
The Haftorah closes with Nathan giving David extreme encouragement – a message from God that cautions David from building a permanent temple. And, a message that blesses David.
It’s a great ending to a difficult story.
What are your thoughts?
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