There is no shortage of issues to challenge us in Portion Sh’mini. We return to the issue of sacrifices and the role of Aaron. But quickly we read of one of the most interesting, and disturbing stories in Torah. Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu (chapter 10) bring their sacrifice. It is “alien fire” (eish zara), a sacrifice that was not “commanded” (lo tzivah). The result: death. Commentaries are rich on this passage and no doubt will form some conversation in your weekly Torah study. Were they intoxicated? Or was it an act of rebellion against Aaron? In any case the result is staggering form when the news is given to Aaron, his response is silence (10:3) How have we responded to the news of a death of those close to us?
But there is other equally challenging issue in this portion. Leviticus 11 introduces us again to food laws. What we may or may not eat covers a vast number of verses. As I was considering this portion, these passages reminded me that we have just exited Passover, where food is such an important issue. Indeed, we read at seder the famous ha lachma onya “the bread of affliction” and that all who are hungry they should come and eat. I wonder, in this world of increased anxiety, the political tensions here and abroad, the on-going gun violence in our country, what are we hungry for? Right now, ask yourself, what are you hungry for? What feeds your soul that may be lacking?
Here is a hint on this from a modern commentary that channels the thoughts of Mordecai Kaplan. It is based on the passage from the portion (Leviticus 11.45) that reminds the Israelites that Adonai brought them from Egypt to be their God and that “you shall be holy, for I am holy”. Are we hungry for holiness? “Kaplan believed that when we as individuals act and live with a sense of holiness, that we reach a higher level of existence, a level that can counter our own fears. “We replace fear and distrust of both us and others with peace, poise, and power, and bring godliness into life—ours and others”. ( A Year With Mordecai Kaplan. Rabbi Stevem Carr Reuben. P. 103)
Is this idealistic? Perhaps. We are a long way from a society that sees holiness as a foundation. But each of us, in our own way can choose to live a life that does model that sense of the sacred in life. Maybe it is one relationship at a time, one person at a time, one act of holiness at a time that can satisfy our hunger for peace, safety, and security.
Shabbat shalom
Rabbi Richard F Address
Rabbi Richard F. Address, D.Min, is the Founder and Director of www.jewishsacredaging.com. Rabbi Address served for over three decades on staff of the Union for Reform Judaism; first as a Regional Director and then, beginning in 1997, as Founder and Director of the URJ’s Department of Jewish Family Concerns and served as a specialist and consultant for the North American Reform Movement in the areas of family related programming. Rabbi Address was ordained from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1972 and began his rabbinic career in Los Angeles congregations. He also served as a part time rabbi for Beth Hillel in Carmel, NJ while regional director and, after his URJ tenure, served as senior rabbi of Congregation M’kor Shalom in Cherry Hill, NJ from 2011-2014.
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