Shemini
Encyclopedia
Shemini, Sh’mini, or Shmini (שְּׁמִינִי — Hebrew
for "eighth,” the third word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 26th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
cycle of Torah reading
and the third in the book of Leviticus
. It constitutes Jews in the Diaspora
read it the 25th or 26th Sabbath
after Simchat Torah
, generally in late March or April.
The parshah tells of the consecration of the Tabernacle, the death of Nadav and Avihu, and the dietary laws of kashrut
.
and consecrate the Tabernacle, Moses
instructed Aaron
to assemble calves
, rams, a goat
, a lamb
, an ox
, and a meal offering as sacrifice
s (called korbanot in Hebrew
) to God
, saying: “Today the Lord will appear to you." They brought the korbanot to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the Israelite
s assembled there. Aaron offered the korbanot as Moses had commanded. Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. Moses and Aaron then went inside the Tent of Meeting, and when they came out, they blessed the people again. Then the Presence of the Lord appeared to all the people and fire
came forth and consumed the korbanot on the altar
. And the people shouted and fell on their faces.
on it, and offered alien fire, which God had not commanded. And God sent fire to consume them, and they died. Moses told 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,’" and Aaron remained silent. Moses called Aaron’s cousins Mishael and Elzaphan to carry away Nadab’s and Abihu’s bodies to a place outside the camp. Moses instructed Aaron and his sons Eleazar
and Ithamar
not to mourn Nadab and Abihu by rending their garments or leaving their hair unshorn and not to go outside the Tent of Meeting.
And God told Aaron that he and his sons must not drink wine
or other intoxicant
s when they entered the Tent of Meeting, so as to distinguish between the sacred and the profane.
Moses directed Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar to eat the remaining meal offering beside the altar, designating it most holy and the priests’ due. And Moses told them that their families could eat the breast of the elevation offering and the thigh of the gift offering in any clean place.
Then Moses inquired about the goat of sin offering, and was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar when he learned that it had already been burned and not eaten in the sacred area. Aaron answered Moses: "See, this day they brought their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and such things have befallen me! Had I eaten sin offering today, would the Lord have approved?" And when Moses heard this, he approved.
interpreted to teach that because Nadab and Abihu fearlessly and fervently proceeded rapidly to the altar, an imperishable light dissolved them into ethereal beams like a whole burnt-offering and took them up to heaven. (On Dreams 2:9:67.)
taught that after ministering in the office of High Priest for the seven days of consecration, Moses imagined that the office was his, but on the eighth day (as indicated by ) God told Moses that the office belonged not to Moses but to his brother Aaron. (Leviticus Rabbah
11:6.)
Rabbi Eliezer
interpreted the words, “And there I will meet with the children of Israel; and [the Tabernacle] shall be sanctified by My glory,” in to mean that God would in the future meet the Israelites and be sanctified among them. The midrash reports that this occurred on the eighth day of the consecration of the Tabernacle, as reported in And as reports, “when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.” (Numbers Rabbah
14:21.)
Rav Assi of Hozna'ah deduced from the words, “And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month,” in that the Tabernacle was erected on the first of Nisan
. With reference to this, a Tanna
taught that the first of Nisan took ten crowns of distinction by virtue of the ten momentous events that occurred on that day. The first of Nisan was: (1) the first day of the Creation (as reported in Genesis ), (2) the first day of the princes’ offerings (as reported in ), (3) the first day for the priesthood to make the sacrificial offerings (as reported in ), (4) the first day for public sacrifice, (5) the first day for the descent of fire from Heaven (as reported in ), (6) the first for the priests’ eating of sacred food in the sacred area, (7) the first for the dwelling of the Shechinah in Israel (as implied by ), (8) the first for the Priestly Blessing
of Israel (as reported in employing the blessing prescribed by ), (9) the first for the prohibition of the high place
s (as stated in ), and (10) the first of the months of the year (as instructed in ). (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 87b.)
Rabbi Tanhum taught in the name of Rabbi Judan that the words “for today the Lord appears to you” in indicated that God’s presence, the Shekhinah
, did not come to abide in the Tabernacle all the seven days of consecration when Moses ministered in the office of High Priest, but the Shekhinah appeared when Aaron put on the High Priest's robes. (Leviticus Rabbah 11:6.)
, Nadab and Abihu took their offering in in joy, for when they saw the new fire come from God, they went to add one act of love to another act of life. (Sifra Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:5:4.)
Abba Jose ben Dosetai taught that that Nadab and Abihu died in when two streams of fire came forth from the Holy of Holies and divided into four streams, of which two flowed into the nose of one and two into the nose of the other, so that their breath was burned up, but their garments remained untouched (as implied in ). (Sifra Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:5:7.)
Bar Kappara
said in the name of Rabbi Jeremiah ben Eleazar that Nadab and Abihu died (as reported in ) because of four things: (1) for drawing too near to the holy place, (2) for offering a sacrifice that they had not been commanded to offer, (3) for the strange fire that they brought in from the kitchen, and (4) for not having taken counsel from each other, as says “Each of them his censer,” implying that each acted on his own initiative. (Leviticus Rabbah 20:8.)
Rabbi Eliezer
(or some say Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob
) taught that Nadab and Abihu died only because they gave a legal decision in the presence of their Master Moses. Even though reports that “fire came forth from before the Lord and consumed the burnt-offering and the fat on the altar,” Nadab and Abihu deduced from the command of that “the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar” that the priests still had a religious duty to bring some ordinary fire to the altar, as well. (Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 63a; see also Sifra Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:5:6.)
According to the Sifra, some say that Nadab and Abihu died because earlier, when at Sinai they were walking behind Moses and Aaron, they remarked to each other how in a little while, the two old men would die, and they would head the congregation. And God said that we would see who would bury whom. (Sifra Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:3:4.)
The Gemara interpreted the report in that the Tabernacle “shall be sanctified by My glory” to refer to the death of Nadab and Abihu. The Gemara taught that one should read not “My glory” (bi-khevodi) but “My honored ones” (bi-khevuday). The Gemara thus taught that God told Moses in that God would sanctify the Tabernacle through the death of Nadab and Abihu, but Moses did not comprehend God’s meaning until Nadab and Abihu died in When Aaron’s sons died, Moses told Aaron in that Aaron’s sons died only that God’s glory might be sanctified through them. When Aaron thus perceived that his sons were God’s honored ones, Aaron was silent, as reports, “And Aaron held his peace,” and Aaron was rewarded for his silence. (Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 115b.)
Similarly, a midrash
interpreted where Moses told 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.’" The midrash taught that God told this to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, when in God said, “there I will meet with the children of Israel; and the Tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory.” And Moses said to Aaron, “At the time that God told me, I thought that either you or I would be stricken, but now I know that they [Nadab and Abihu] are greater than you or me.” (Midrash Tanhuma
Shemini 1.)
Similarly, the Sifra taught that Moses sought to comfort Aaron, telling him that at Sinai, God told him that God would sanctify God’s house through a great man. Moses had supposed that it would be either through Aaron or himself that the house would be sanctified. But Moses said that it turned out that Aaron’s sons were greater and Moses and Aaron, for through them had the house been sanctified. (Sifra Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:3:6; see also 99:5:9.)
Rabbi Akiba taught that because Aaron’s cousins Mishael and Elzaphan attended to the remains of Nadab and Abihu (as reported in ), they became the “certain men” who reported “were unclean by the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover.” But Rabbi Isaac replied that Mishael and Elzaphan could have cleansed themselves before the Passover. (Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 25a–b.)
Rabbi Simeon taught that Nadab and Abihu died only because they entered the Tent of Meeting drunk with wine. Rabbi Phinehas in the name of Rabbi Levi compared this conclusion to the case of a king who had a faithful attendant. When the king found the attendant standing at tavern entrances, the king beheaded the attendant and appointed another in his place. The king did not say why he killed the first attendant, except that he told the second attendant not to enter the doorway of taverns, and thus the king indicated that he put the first attendant to death for such a reason. And thus God’s command to Aaron in to “drink no wine nor strong drink” indicates that Nadab and Abihu died precisely because of wine. (Leviticus Rabbah 12:1.)
A midrash taught that when in “Moses diligently inquired [literally: inquiring, he inquired] for the goat of the sin-offering,” the language indicates that Moses made two inquiries: (1) If the priests had slaughtered the goat of the sin-offering, why had they not eaten it? And (2) If the priests were not going to eat it, why did they slaughter it? And immediately thereafter, reports that Moses “was angry with Eleazar and with Ithamar,” and midrash taught that through becoming angry, he forgot the law. Rav Huna
taught that this was one of three instances where Moses lost his temper and as a consequence forgot a law. (The other two instances were with regard to the Sabbath in and with regard to the purification of unclean metal utensils ) In this case (involving Nadab and Abihu), because of his anger, Moses forgot the law relating to those in the first stage of mourning (the onen), that it is prohibited for a bereaved person, prior to the burial of his dead, to eat consecrated food. Aaron asked Moses whether he should eat consecrated food on the day that his sons died. Aaron argued that since the tithe (which is of lesser sacredness) is forbidden to be eaten by a bereaved person prior to the burial of his dead, how much more certainly must the meat of the sin-offering (which is more sacred) be prohibited to a bereaved person prior to the burial of his dead. Immediately after Moses heard Aaron’s argument, he issued a proclamation to the Israelites, saying that he had made an error in regard to the law and Aaron his brother came and taught him. Eleazar and Ithamar had known the law, but kept their silence out of deference to Moses, and as a reward, God addressed them directly along with Moses and Aaron in When reports that “the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them,” Rabbi Hiyya taught that the words “to them” referred to Eleazar and Ithamar. (Leviticus Rabbah 13:1.)
Similarly, Rabbi Nehemiah
deduced from that Aaron's sin-offering was burned (and not eaten by the priests) because Aaron and his remaining sons (the priests) were in the early stages of mourning, and thus disqualified from eating sacrifices. (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 82b; see also Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 101a.)
The Rabbis in a Baraita
noted the three uses of the word “commanded” in and in connection with the sacrifices on the eighth day of the inauguration of the Tabernacle, the day on which Nadab and Abihu died. The Rabbis taught that Moses said “as the Lord commanded” in to instruct that the priest were to eat the grain (minchah) offering, even though they were in the earliest stage of mourning. The Rabbis taught that Moses said “as I commanded” in in connection with the sin-offering (chatat) at the time that Nadab and Abihu died. And the Rabbis taught that Moses said “as the Lord commanded” in to enjoin Aaron and the priests to eat the peace-offering (shelamim) notwithstanding their mourning (and Aaron’s correction of Moses in ), not just because Moses said so on his own authority, but because God had directed it. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 5b; Zevachim 101a.)
Samuel taught that the interpretation that Aaron should not have eaten the offering agreed with Rabbi Nehemiah while the other interpretation that Aaron should have eaten the offering agreed with Rabbi Judah
and Rabbi Simeon. Rabbi Nehemiah argued that they burned the offering because the priests were in the first stages of mourning. Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Simeon maintained that they burned it because the offering had become defiled during the day, not because of bereavement. Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Simeon argued that if it was because of bereavement, they should have burned all three sin offerings brought that day. Alternatively, Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Simeon argued that the priest would have been fit to eat the sacrifices after sunset. Alternatively, Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Simeon argued that Phinehas
was with then alive and not restricted by the law of mourning. (Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 101a.)
According to Rabbi Nehemiah, this is how the exchange went: Moses asked Aaron why he had not eaten the sacrifice. Moses asked Aaron whether perhaps the blood of the sacrifice had entered the innermost sanctuary, but Aaron answered that its blood had not entered into the inner sanctuary. Moses asked Aaron whether perhaps the blood had passed outside the sanctuary courtyard, but Aaron replied that it had not. Moses asked Aaron whether perhaps the priests had offered it in bereavement, and thus disqualified the offering, but Aaron replied that his sons had not offered it, Aaron had. Thereupon Moses exclaimed that Aaron should certainly have eaten it, as Moses had commanded in that they should eat it in their bereavement. Aaron replied with and argued that perhaps what Moses had heard was that it was allowable for those in mourning to eat the special sacrifices for the inauguration of the Tabernacle, but not the regular ongoing sacrifices. For if instructs that the tithe, which is of lesser holiness, cannot be eaten in mourning, how much more should that prohibition apply to sacrifices like the sin-offering that are more holy. When Moses heard that argument, he replied with that it was pleasing to him, and he admitted his error. Moses did not seek to excuse himself by saying that he had not heard the law from God, but admitted that he had heard it and forgot it. (Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 101a.)
According to Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Simeon, this is how the exchange went: Moses asked Aaron why he had not eaten, suggesting the possibilities that the blood had entered the innermost sanctuary or passed outside the courtyard or been defiled by being offered by his sons, and Aaron said that it had not. Moses then asked whether perhaps Aaron had been negligent through his grief and allowed the sacrifice to become defiled, but Aaron exclaimed with that these events and even more could have befallen him, but Aaron would not show such disrespect to sacrifices. Thereupon Moses exclaimed that Aaron should certainly have eaten it, as Moses had commanded in Aaron argued from analogy to the tithe (as in Rabbi Nehemiah’s version), and Moses accepted Aaron’s argument. But Moses argued that the priests should have kept the sacrificial meat and eaten it in the evening. And to that Aaron replied that the meat had accidentally become defiled after the sacrifice. (Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 101a–b.)
A Baraita taught that the righteous are blessed, for not only do they acquire merit, but they bestow merit on their children and children's children to the end of all generations. The Baraita deduced from the words “that were left” used in to describe Aaron’s remaining sons that those sons deserved to be burned like Nadab and Abihu, but Aaron’s merit helped them avoid that fate. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 87a.)
, Tosefta
, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of kashrut in (Mishnah Chullin 1:1–12:5; Tosefta Chullin 1:1–10:16; Babylonian Talmud Chullin 2a–142a.)
A midrash taught that Adam offered an ox as a sacrifice, anticipating the laws of clean animals in (Leviticus Rabbah 2:10.)
Rav Hisda asked how Noah knew (before the giving of ) which animals were clean and which were unclean. Rav Hisda explained that Noah led them past the Ark, and those that the Ark accepted (in multiples of seven) were certainly clean, and those that the Ark rejected were certainly unclean. Rabbi Abbahu cited “And they that went in, went in male and female,” to show that they went in of their own accord (in their respective pairs, seven of the clean and two of the unclean). (Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 116a.)
Rabbi Tanhum ben Hanilai compared the laws of kashrut to the case of a physician who went to visit two patients, one whom the physician judged would live, and the other whom the physician judged would die. To the one who would live, the physician gave orders about what to eat and what not to eat. On the other hand, the physician told the one who would die to eat whatever the patient wanted. Thus to the nations who were not destined for life in the World to Come, God said in “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.” But to Israel, whom God intended for life in the World to Come, God said in “These are the living things which you may eat.” (Leviticus Rabbah 13:2.)
Rab
reasoned that since Proverbs
teaches that “Every word of God is pure,” then this means that the precepts of kashrut were given for the express purpose of purifying humanity. (Leviticus Rabbah 13:3.)
, there are 6 positive and 11 negative commandments
in the parshah:
(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 2:131–99. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1984. ISBN 0-87306-296-5.)
for the parshah is:
gathered together all the chosen men of Israel — 30,000 in all — and went to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant
from Baale-judah
. They brought the Ark out of the house of Abinadab
and set it on a new cart, and Abinadab’s sons Uzzah
and Ahio
drove the cart, with Ahio going before the Ark. David and the Israelites played with all manner of instruments — harp
s, psalteries
, timbrel
s, sistra
, and cymbal
s. When they came to the threshing-floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to the Ark. In anger, God smote Uzzah for his error, and Uzzah died by the Ark.
Displeased and afraid, David questioned how the Ark could come to him. So David took the Ark to the house of Obed-Edom
the Gittite and left it there for three months, during which time God blessed Obed-Edom and his house.
When David heard that God had blessed Obed-Edom because of the Ark, David brought the Ark to Jerusalem with joy. When those who bore the Ark had gone six paces, they sacrificed an ox and a fatling. The Israelites brought up the Ark with shouting and the sound of the horn, and David danced with all his might girded with a linen ephod. As the Ark came into the city, Michal
the daughter of Saul
looked out the window and saw David leaping and dancing, and she despised him in her heart.
They set the Ark in a tent that David pitched for it, David offered burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and David blessed the people in the name of the Lord. David distributed a sweet cake of bread to all the people of Israel, and the people departed to their houses. (The Haftarah ends at this point for Sephardi Jews, but continues for Ashkenazi Jews.)
When David returned to bless his household, Michal came out to meet him with scorn, taunting him for uncovering himself before his servants’ handmaids. David retorted to Michal that he danced before the God who had chosen him over her father, and that he would be viler than that. Michal never had children thereafter.
God gave David rest from his enemies, and David asked Nathan
the prophet why David should dwell in a house of cedar, while the Ark dwelt within curtains. At first Nathan told David to do what was in his heart, but that same night God directed Nathan to tell David not to build God a house, for God had not dwelt in a house since the day that God had brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, but had abided in a tent and in a tabernacle. God directed Nathan to tell David that God took David from following sheep to be a prince over Israel, God had been with David wherever he went, and God would make David a great name. God would provide a place for the Israelites at rest from their enemies, God would make David into a dynasty, and when David died, God would see that David’s son would build a house for God’s name. God would be to David’s son a father, and he would be to God a son; if he strayed, God would chasten him, but God’s mercy would not depart from him. David’s kingdom would be established forever. And Nathan told David everything in his vision.
when he “put forth his hand to the Ark.”
On Shabbat Parah, the Sabbath of the red heifer
, Jews read which describes the rites of purification using the red heifer (parah adumah). Similarly, the haftarah in Ezekiel 36 also describes purification. In both the special reading and the haftarah in Ezekiel 36, sprinkled water cleansed the Israelites.
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
for "eighth,” the third word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 26th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading
Torah reading is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to...
and the third in the book of Leviticus
Leviticus
The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Hebrew Bible, and the third of five books of the Torah ....
. It constitutes Jews in the Diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
read it the 25th or 26th Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
after Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah or Simḥath Torah is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle...
, generally in late March or April.
The parshah tells of the consecration of the Tabernacle, the death of Nadav and Avihu, and the dietary laws of kashrut
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
.
Summary
God Consecrated the Tabernacle
On the eighth day of the ceremony to ordain the priestsKohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
and consecrate the Tabernacle, Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
instructed Aaron
Aaron
In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...
to assemble calves
Calf
Calves are the young of domestic cattle. Calves are reared to become adult cattle, or are slaughtered for their meat, called veal.-Terminology:...
, rams, a goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
, a lamb
Domestic sheep
Sheep are quadrupedal, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, the even-toed ungulates. Although the name "sheep" applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries...
, an ox
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, and a meal offering as sacrifice
Korban
The term offering as found in the Hebrew Bible in relation to the worship of Ancient Israel is mainly represented by the Hebrew noun korban whether for an animal or other offering...
s (called korbanot in Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
) to God
Names of God in Judaism
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...
, saying: “Today the Lord will appear to you." They brought the korbanot to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
s assembled there. Aaron offered the korbanot as Moses had commanded. Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. Moses and Aaron then went inside the Tent of Meeting, and when they came out, they blessed the people again. Then the Presence of the Lord appeared to all the people and fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
came forth and consumed the korbanot on the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
. And the people shouted and fell on their faces.
Nadab and Abihu
Acting on their own, Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, laid incenseIncense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
on it, and offered alien fire, which God had not commanded. And God sent fire to consume them, and they died. Moses told 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,’" and Aaron remained silent. Moses called Aaron’s cousins Mishael and Elzaphan to carry away Nadab’s and Abihu’s bodies to a place outside the camp. Moses instructed Aaron and his sons Eleazar
Eleazar
Eleazar , was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second Kohen Gadol - succeeding his father Aaron. He was a nephew of Moses.-Life:...
and Ithamar
Ithamar
In the Torah, Ithamar is mentioned as the youngest son of Aaron the High Priest. After the death of his two eldest brothers Nadab and Abihu when they had been punished by the Lord for performing an unauthorized sacrificial offering, Ithamar served as a priest along with his elder brother, Eleazar...
not to mourn Nadab and Abihu by rending their garments or leaving their hair unshorn and not to go outside the Tent of Meeting.
And God told Aaron that he and his sons must not drink wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
or other intoxicant
Psychoactive drug
A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, or psychotropic is a chemical substance that crosses the blood–brain barrier and acts primarily upon the central nervous system where it affects brain function, resulting in changes in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, and behavior...
s when they entered the Tent of Meeting, so as to distinguish between the sacred and the profane.
Moses directed Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar to eat the remaining meal offering beside the altar, designating it most holy and the priests’ due. And Moses told them that their families could eat the breast of the elevation offering and the thigh of the gift offering in any clean place.
Then Moses inquired about the goat of sin offering, and was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar when he learned that it had already been burned and not eaten in the sacred area. Aaron answered Moses: "See, this day they brought their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and such things have befallen me! Had I eaten sin offering today, would the Lord have approved?" And when Moses heard this, he approved.
Dietary Laws
God then instructed Moses and Aaron in the dietary laws of kashrut , saying: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”Leviticus chapters 8–9
This is the pattern of instruction and construction of the Tabernacle and its furnishings:| Item | Instruction | Construction | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Order | Verses | Order | Verses | |
| The Sabbath | 16 | Exodus | 1 | |
| Contributions | 1 | 2 | ||
| Craftspeople | 15 | 3 | ||
| Tabernacle | 5 | 4 | ||
| Ark | 2 | 5 | ||
| Table | 3 | 6 | ||
| Menorah | 4 | 7 | ||
| Altar of Incense | 11 | 8 | ||
| Anointing Oil | 13 | 9 | ||
| Incense | 14 | 10 | ||
| Altar of Sacrifice | 6 | 11 | ||
| Laver | 12 | 12 | ||
| Tabernacle Court | 7 | 13 | ||
| Priestly Garments | 9 | 14 | ||
| Ordination Ritual | 10 | 15 | ||
| Lamp | 8 | 16 | Numbers Book of Numbers The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch.... |
|
Leviticus chapter 10
PhiloPhilo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
interpreted to teach that because Nadab and Abihu fearlessly and fervently proceeded rapidly to the altar, an imperishable light dissolved them into ethereal beams like a whole burnt-offering and took them up to heaven. (On Dreams 2:9:67.)
Leviticus chapter 9
Rabbi HelboRabbi Helbo
Rabbi Helbo was an amora who flourished about the end of the 3rd century, and who is frequently mentioned in both Talmuds. It seems that Ḥelbo was at first in Babylon, where he studied under Rav Huna, the head of the Academy of Sura, and that, like the other Babylonian amoraim, he was called "Rab"...
taught that after ministering in the office of High Priest for the seven days of consecration, Moses imagined that the office was his, but on the eighth day (as indicated by ) God told Moses that the office belonged not to Moses but to his brother Aaron. (Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus . It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel in his Aruk as well as by Rashi in his commentaries on , and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon and Nissim knew and made use of it...
11:6.)
Rabbi Eliezer
Eliezer ben Hurcanus
Eliezer ben Hurcanus or Eliezer ben Hyrcanus , a Kohen, was one of the most prominent tannaim of the 1st and 2nd centuries, disciple of R. Johanan ben Zakkai and colleague of Gamaliel II, whose sister he married , and of Joshua ben Hananiah...
interpreted the words, “And there I will meet with the children of Israel; and [the Tabernacle] shall be sanctified by My glory,” in to mean that God would in the future meet the Israelites and be sanctified among them. The midrash reports that this occurred on the eighth day of the consecration of the Tabernacle, as reported in And as reports, “when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces.” (Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers ....
14:21.)
Rav Assi of Hozna'ah deduced from the words, “And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month,” in that the Tabernacle was erected on the first of Nisan
Nisan
Nisan is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month of the civil year, on the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian; in the Torah it is called the month of the Aviv, referring to the month in which barley was ripe. It is a spring month of 30 days...
. With reference to this, a Tanna
Tannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
taught that the first of Nisan took ten crowns of distinction by virtue of the ten momentous events that occurred on that day. The first of Nisan was: (1) the first day of the Creation (as reported in Genesis ), (2) the first day of the princes’ offerings (as reported in ), (3) the first day for the priesthood to make the sacrificial offerings (as reported in ), (4) the first day for public sacrifice, (5) the first day for the descent of fire from Heaven (as reported in ), (6) the first for the priests’ eating of sacred food in the sacred area, (7) the first for the dwelling of the Shechinah in Israel (as implied by ), (8) the first for the Priestly Blessing
Priestly Blessing
The Priestly Blessing, , also known in Hebrew as Nesiat Kapayim, , or Dukhanen , is a Jewish prayer recited by Kohanim during certain Jewish services...
of Israel (as reported in employing the blessing prescribed by ), (9) the first for the prohibition of the high place
High place
High Place, in the English version of the Old Testament, the literal translation of the Hebrew במה .This rendering is etymologically correct, as appears from the poetical use of the plural in such expressions as to ride, or stalk, or stand on the high places of the earth, the sea, the clouds, and...
s (as stated in ), and (10) the first of the months of the year (as instructed in ). (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 87b.)
Rabbi Tanhum taught in the name of Rabbi Judan that the words “for today the Lord appears to you” in indicated that God’s presence, the Shekhinah
Shekhinah
Shekinah is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew word that means the dwelling or settling, and is used to denote the dwelling or settling divine presence of God, especially in the Temple in Jerusalem.-Etymology:Shekinah is derived...
, did not come to abide in the Tabernacle all the seven days of consecration when Moses ministered in the office of High Priest, but the Shekhinah appeared when Aaron put on the High Priest's robes. (Leviticus Rabbah 11:6.)
Leviticus chapter 10
According to the SifraSifra
Sifra is the Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah, as appears from Tanḥuma, quoted in Or Zarua, i. 7b. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" , and in two passages also "Sifra debe...
, Nadab and Abihu took their offering in in joy, for when they saw the new fire come from God, they went to add one act of love to another act of life. (Sifra Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:5:4.)
Abba Jose ben Dosetai taught that that Nadab and Abihu died in when two streams of fire came forth from the Holy of Holies and divided into four streams, of which two flowed into the nose of one and two into the nose of the other, so that their breath was burned up, but their garments remained untouched (as implied in ). (Sifra Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:5:7.)
Bar Kappara
Bar Kappara
Shimon Bar Kappara was a Jewish rabbi of the late 2nd and early 3rd century CE, during the period between the tannaim and amoraim. He was active in Caesarea in the Land of Israel, from around 180 to 220 CE. His name, meaning “Son of Kapparah”, was taken from his father, Eleazar ha-Kappar...
said in the name of Rabbi Jeremiah ben Eleazar that Nadab and Abihu died (as reported in ) because of four things: (1) for drawing too near to the holy place, (2) for offering a sacrifice that they had not been commanded to offer, (3) for the strange fire that they brought in from the kitchen, and (4) for not having taken counsel from each other, as says “Each of them his censer,” implying that each acted on his own initiative. (Leviticus Rabbah 20:8.)
Rabbi Eliezer
Eliezer ben Hurcanus
Eliezer ben Hurcanus or Eliezer ben Hyrcanus , a Kohen, was one of the most prominent tannaim of the 1st and 2nd centuries, disciple of R. Johanan ben Zakkai and colleague of Gamaliel II, whose sister he married , and of Joshua ben Hananiah...
(or some say Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob
Eliezer ben Jacob I
Eliezer ben Jacob I was a Tanna of the 1st century; contemporary of Eleazar b. Ḥisma and Eliezer b. Hyrcanus, and senior of Illai...
) taught that Nadab and Abihu died only because they gave a legal decision in the presence of their Master Moses. Even though reports that “fire came forth from before the Lord and consumed the burnt-offering and the fat on the altar,” Nadab and Abihu deduced from the command of that “the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar” that the priests still had a religious duty to bring some ordinary fire to the altar, as well. (Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 63a; see also Sifra Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:5:6.)
According to the Sifra, some say that Nadab and Abihu died because earlier, when at Sinai they were walking behind Moses and Aaron, they remarked to each other how in a little while, the two old men would die, and they would head the congregation. And God said that we would see who would bury whom. (Sifra Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:3:4.)
Similarly, a midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
interpreted where Moses told 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.’" The midrash taught that God told this to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, when in God said, “there I will meet with the children of Israel; and the Tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory.” And Moses said to Aaron, “At the time that God told me, I thought that either you or I would be stricken, but now I know that they [Nadab and Abihu] are greater than you or me.” (Midrash Tanhuma
Tanhuma
Midrash Tanhuma is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch haggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of R. Tanḥuma, must not be regarded as having been written or edited by him...
Shemini 1.)
Similarly, the Sifra taught that Moses sought to comfort Aaron, telling him that at Sinai, God told him that God would sanctify God’s house through a great man. Moses had supposed that it would be either through Aaron or himself that the house would be sanctified. But Moses said that it turned out that Aaron’s sons were greater and Moses and Aaron, for through them had the house been sanctified. (Sifra Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:3:6; see also 99:5:9.)
Rabbi Akiba taught that because Aaron’s cousins Mishael and Elzaphan attended to the remains of Nadab and Abihu (as reported in ), they became the “certain men” who reported “were unclean by the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover.” But Rabbi Isaac replied that Mishael and Elzaphan could have cleansed themselves before the Passover. (Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 25a–b.)
Rabbi Simeon taught that Nadab and Abihu died only because they entered the Tent of Meeting drunk with wine. Rabbi Phinehas in the name of Rabbi Levi compared this conclusion to the case of a king who had a faithful attendant. When the king found the attendant standing at tavern entrances, the king beheaded the attendant and appointed another in his place. The king did not say why he killed the first attendant, except that he told the second attendant not to enter the doorway of taverns, and thus the king indicated that he put the first attendant to death for such a reason. And thus God’s command to Aaron in to “drink no wine nor strong drink” indicates that Nadab and Abihu died precisely because of wine. (Leviticus Rabbah 12:1.)
A midrash taught that when in “Moses diligently inquired [literally: inquiring, he inquired] for the goat of the sin-offering,” the language indicates that Moses made two inquiries: (1) If the priests had slaughtered the goat of the sin-offering, why had they not eaten it? And (2) If the priests were not going to eat it, why did they slaughter it? And immediately thereafter, reports that Moses “was angry with Eleazar and with Ithamar,” and midrash taught that through becoming angry, he forgot the law. Rav Huna
Rav Huna
Rav Huna , a Kohen, was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the second generation and head of the Academy of Sura; He was born about 216, died in 296-297 ).-Youth:...
taught that this was one of three instances where Moses lost his temper and as a consequence forgot a law. (The other two instances were with regard to the Sabbath in and with regard to the purification of unclean metal utensils ) In this case (involving Nadab and Abihu), because of his anger, Moses forgot the law relating to those in the first stage of mourning (the onen), that it is prohibited for a bereaved person, prior to the burial of his dead, to eat consecrated food. Aaron asked Moses whether he should eat consecrated food on the day that his sons died. Aaron argued that since the tithe (which is of lesser sacredness) is forbidden to be eaten by a bereaved person prior to the burial of his dead, how much more certainly must the meat of the sin-offering (which is more sacred) be prohibited to a bereaved person prior to the burial of his dead. Immediately after Moses heard Aaron’s argument, he issued a proclamation to the Israelites, saying that he had made an error in regard to the law and Aaron his brother came and taught him. Eleazar and Ithamar had known the law, but kept their silence out of deference to Moses, and as a reward, God addressed them directly along with Moses and Aaron in When reports that “the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them,” Rabbi Hiyya taught that the words “to them” referred to Eleazar and Ithamar. (Leviticus Rabbah 13:1.)
Similarly, Rabbi Nehemiah
Rabbi Nehemiah
Rabbi Nehemiah was an Israelite, circa AD 150 .He is attributed as the author of the Mishnat ha-Middot , making it the earliest known Hebrew text on geometry, although other historians assign to a later period by an unknown author...
deduced from that Aaron's sin-offering was burned (and not eaten by the priests) because Aaron and his remaining sons (the priests) were in the early stages of mourning, and thus disqualified from eating sacrifices. (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 82b; see also Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 101a.)
The Rabbis in a Baraita
Baraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
noted the three uses of the word “commanded” in and in connection with the sacrifices on the eighth day of the inauguration of the Tabernacle, the day on which Nadab and Abihu died. The Rabbis taught that Moses said “as the Lord commanded” in to instruct that the priest were to eat the grain (minchah) offering, even though they were in the earliest stage of mourning. The Rabbis taught that Moses said “as I commanded” in in connection with the sin-offering (chatat) at the time that Nadab and Abihu died. And the Rabbis taught that Moses said “as the Lord commanded” in to enjoin Aaron and the priests to eat the peace-offering (shelamim) notwithstanding their mourning (and Aaron’s correction of Moses in ), not just because Moses said so on his own authority, but because God had directed it. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 5b; Zevachim 101a.)
Samuel taught that the interpretation that Aaron should not have eaten the offering agreed with Rabbi Nehemiah while the other interpretation that Aaron should have eaten the offering agreed with Rabbi Judah
Judah ben Ilai
Judah bar Ilai, also known as Judah ben Ilai, Rabbi Judah or Judah the Palestinian , was a tanna of the 2nd Century and son of Rabbi Ilai I. Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he is the one referred to simply as "Rabbi Judah" and is the most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah.Judah bar Ilai...
and Rabbi Simeon. Rabbi Nehemiah argued that they burned the offering because the priests were in the first stages of mourning. Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Simeon maintained that they burned it because the offering had become defiled during the day, not because of bereavement. Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Simeon argued that if it was because of bereavement, they should have burned all three sin offerings brought that day. Alternatively, Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Simeon argued that the priest would have been fit to eat the sacrifices after sunset. Alternatively, Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Simeon argued that Phinehas
Phinehas
-Biblical figures:*Phinehas, son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the High Priest*Phinehas, son of the High Priest Eli. He was a priest at Shiloh, and died when the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant-Other :*Pinchas, the 41st weekly Torah portion....
was with then alive and not restricted by the law of mourning. (Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 101a.)
According to Rabbi Nehemiah, this is how the exchange went: Moses asked Aaron why he had not eaten the sacrifice. Moses asked Aaron whether perhaps the blood of the sacrifice had entered the innermost sanctuary, but Aaron answered that its blood had not entered into the inner sanctuary. Moses asked Aaron whether perhaps the blood had passed outside the sanctuary courtyard, but Aaron replied that it had not. Moses asked Aaron whether perhaps the priests had offered it in bereavement, and thus disqualified the offering, but Aaron replied that his sons had not offered it, Aaron had. Thereupon Moses exclaimed that Aaron should certainly have eaten it, as Moses had commanded in that they should eat it in their bereavement. Aaron replied with and argued that perhaps what Moses had heard was that it was allowable for those in mourning to eat the special sacrifices for the inauguration of the Tabernacle, but not the regular ongoing sacrifices. For if instructs that the tithe, which is of lesser holiness, cannot be eaten in mourning, how much more should that prohibition apply to sacrifices like the sin-offering that are more holy. When Moses heard that argument, he replied with that it was pleasing to him, and he admitted his error. Moses did not seek to excuse himself by saying that he had not heard the law from God, but admitted that he had heard it and forgot it. (Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 101a.)
According to Rabbi Judah and Rabbi Simeon, this is how the exchange went: Moses asked Aaron why he had not eaten, suggesting the possibilities that the blood had entered the innermost sanctuary or passed outside the courtyard or been defiled by being offered by his sons, and Aaron said that it had not. Moses then asked whether perhaps Aaron had been negligent through his grief and allowed the sacrifice to become defiled, but Aaron exclaimed with that these events and even more could have befallen him, but Aaron would not show such disrespect to sacrifices. Thereupon Moses exclaimed that Aaron should certainly have eaten it, as Moses had commanded in Aaron argued from analogy to the tithe (as in Rabbi Nehemiah’s version), and Moses accepted Aaron’s argument. But Moses argued that the priests should have kept the sacrificial meat and eaten it in the evening. And to that Aaron replied that the meat had accidentally become defiled after the sacrifice. (Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 101a–b.)
A Baraita taught that the righteous are blessed, for not only do they acquire merit, but they bestow merit on their children and children's children to the end of all generations. The Baraita deduced from the words “that were left” used in to describe Aaron’s remaining sons that those sons deserved to be burned like Nadab and Abihu, but Aaron’s merit helped them avoid that fate. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 87a.)
Leviticus chapter 11
Tractate Chullin in the MishnahMishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, Tosefta
Tosefta
The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of kashrut in (Mishnah Chullin 1:1–12:5; Tosefta Chullin 1:1–10:16; Babylonian Talmud Chullin 2a–142a.)
A midrash taught that Adam offered an ox as a sacrifice, anticipating the laws of clean animals in (Leviticus Rabbah 2:10.)
Rav Hisda asked how Noah knew (before the giving of ) which animals were clean and which were unclean. Rav Hisda explained that Noah led them past the Ark, and those that the Ark accepted (in multiples of seven) were certainly clean, and those that the Ark rejected were certainly unclean. Rabbi Abbahu cited “And they that went in, went in male and female,” to show that they went in of their own accord (in their respective pairs, seven of the clean and two of the unclean). (Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 116a.)
Rabbi Tanhum ben Hanilai compared the laws of kashrut to the case of a physician who went to visit two patients, one whom the physician judged would live, and the other whom the physician judged would die. To the one who would live, the physician gave orders about what to eat and what not to eat. On the other hand, the physician told the one who would die to eat whatever the patient wanted. Thus to the nations who were not destined for life in the World to Come, God said in “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.” But to Israel, whom God intended for life in the World to Come, God said in “These are the living things which you may eat.” (Leviticus Rabbah 13:2.)
Rab
Abba Arika
Abba Arika was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the 3rd century who established at Sura the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as text, led to the compilation of the Talmud...
reasoned that since Proverbs
Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs , commonly referred to simply as Proverbs, is a book of the Hebrew Bible.The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" . When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint the title became "paroimai paroimiae"...
teaches that “Every word of God is pure,” then this means that the precepts of kashrut were given for the express purpose of purifying humanity. (Leviticus Rabbah 13:3.)
Commandments
According to Sefer ha-ChinuchSefer ha-Chinuch
The Sefer ha-Chinuch , often simply "the Chinuch" is a work which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was published anonymously in 13th century Spain...
, there are 6 positive and 11 negative commandments
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
in the parshah:
- A Kohen must not enter the TempleTemple in JerusalemThe Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
with long hairHairHair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
. - A Kohen must not enter the Temple with torn clothes.
- A Kohen must not leave the Temple during service.
- A Kohen must not enter the Temple intoxicated.
- To examine the signs of animals to distinguish between kosherKashrutKashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
and non-kosher - Not to eat non-kosher animals
- To examine the signs of fishFishFish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
to distinguish between kosher and non-kosher - Not to eat non-kosher fish
- Not to eat non-kosher fowlFowlFowl is a word for birds in general but usually refers to birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl and the waterfowl...
- To examine the signs of locusts to distinguish between kosher and non-kosher
- To observe the laws of impurity caused by the eight insects
- To observe the laws of impurity concerning liquid and solid foodFoodFood is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
s - To observe the laws of impurity caused by a dead beast
- Not to eat non-kosher creatures that crawl on land
- Not to eat wormWormThe term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
s found in fruitFruitIn broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
on the ground - Not to eat creatures that live in waterWaterWater is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
other than fish - Not to eat non-kosher maggots
(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 2:131–99. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1984. ISBN 0-87306-296-5.)
Haftarah
In general
The haftarahHaftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
for the parshah is:
- for Ashkenazi JewsAshkenazi JewsAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
: 2 SamuelBooks of SamuelThe Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
- for Sephardi JewsSephardi JewsSephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
:
Summary
DavidDavid
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
gathered together all the chosen men of Israel — 30,000 in all — and went to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant
Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant , also known as the Ark of the Testimony, is a chest described in Book of Exodus as solely containing the Tablets of Stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed...
from Baale-judah
Baale of Judah
Baale of Judah, meaninah", was a city in the tribe of Judah from which David brought the ark into Jerusalem . In 1 Chronicles 13:6, the city is called Kirjath-jearim ....
. They brought the Ark out of the house of Abinadab
Abinadab
Abinadab may refer to:# A man of Kirjath-jearim widely identified as a Levite , in whose house the ark of the covenant was deposited after having been brought back from the land of the Philistines . It remained there twenty years, until it was at length removed by David . It has been argued that...
and set it on a new cart, and Abinadab’s sons Uzzah
Uzzah
According to the Tanakh, Uzzah was an Israelite whose death is associated with touching the Ark of the Covenant. He was the son of Abinadab, in whose house the men of Kirjath-jearim placed the Ark when it was brought back from the land of the Philistines. With his brother Ahio, he drove the cart...
and Ahio
Ahio
Ahio - brotherly.# One of the sons of Beriah .# One of the sons of Jehiel the Gibeonite .# One of the sons of Abinadab. While his brother Uzzah went by the side of the Ark of the Covenant, Ahio walked before it guiding the oxen which drew the cart on which it was carried, after having brought it...
drove the cart, with Ahio going before the Ark. David and the Israelites played with all manner of instruments — harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s, psalteries
Psaltery
A psaltery is a stringed musical instrument of the harp or the zither family. The psaltery of Ancient Greece dates from at least 2800 BC, when it was a harp-like instrument...
, timbrel
Timbrel
Timbrel or tabret , the principal musical instrument of percussion of the Israelites, similar to the modern tambourine.-History:...
s, sistra
Sistrum
A sistrum is a musical instrument of the percussion family, chiefly associated with ancient Iraq and Egypt. It consists of a handle and a U-shaped metal frame, made of brass or bronze and between 76 and 30 cm in width...
, and cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s. When they came to the threshing-floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to the Ark. In anger, God smote Uzzah for his error, and Uzzah died by the Ark.
Displeased and afraid, David questioned how the Ark could come to him. So David took the Ark to the house of Obed-Edom
Obed-Edom
'OBED-EDOM' HEBREW: "Worshiper of Edom" / servant of Edom.# "The Gittite" , a Levite of the family of the Korhites,. He had taken up residence in Judah, perhaps as a convert to the religion of David, who had many followers among the Gittites...
the Gittite and left it there for three months, during which time God blessed Obed-Edom and his house.
When David heard that God had blessed Obed-Edom because of the Ark, David brought the Ark to Jerusalem with joy. When those who bore the Ark had gone six paces, they sacrificed an ox and a fatling. The Israelites brought up the Ark with shouting and the sound of the horn, and David danced with all his might girded with a linen ephod. As the Ark came into the city, Michal
Michal
Michal was a daughter of Saul, king of Israel, who loved and became the wife of David, who later became king of Judah, and later still of the united Kingdom of Israel....
the daughter of Saul
Saul
-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
looked out the window and saw David leaping and dancing, and she despised him in her heart.
When David returned to bless his household, Michal came out to meet him with scorn, taunting him for uncovering himself before his servants’ handmaids. David retorted to Michal that he danced before the God who had chosen him over her father, and that he would be viler than that. Michal never had children thereafter.
God gave David rest from his enemies, and David asked Nathan
Nathan (Prophet)
Nathan the Prophet was a court prophet who lived in the time of King David and Queen Bathsheba. He came to David to reprimand him over his committing adultery with Bathsheba while she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite whose death the King had also arranged to hide his previous transgression.His...
the prophet why David should dwell in a house of cedar, while the Ark dwelt within curtains. At first Nathan told David to do what was in his heart, but that same night God directed Nathan to tell David not to build God a house, for God had not dwelt in a house since the day that God had brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, but had abided in a tent and in a tabernacle. God directed Nathan to tell David that God took David from following sheep to be a prince over Israel, God had been with David wherever he went, and God would make David a great name. God would provide a place for the Israelites at rest from their enemies, God would make David into a dynasty, and when David died, God would see that David’s son would build a house for God’s name. God would be to David’s son a father, and he would be to God a son; if he strayed, God would chasten him, but God’s mercy would not depart from him. David’s kingdom would be established forever. And Nathan told David everything in his vision.
Connection to the parshah
Both the parshah and the haftarah report efforts to consecrate the holy space followed by tragic incidents connected with inappropriate proximity to the holy space. In the parshah, Moses consecrated the Tabernacle, the home of the Ark of the Covenant , while in the haftarah, David set out to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. Then in the parshah, God killed Nadab and Abihu “when they drew near” to the Ark , while in the haftarah, God killed UzzahUzzah
According to the Tanakh, Uzzah was an Israelite whose death is associated with touching the Ark of the Covenant. He was the son of Abinadab, in whose house the men of Kirjath-jearim placed the Ark when it was brought back from the land of the Philistines. With his brother Ahio, he drove the cart...
when he “put forth his hand to the Ark.”
On Shabbat Parah
When the parshah coincides with Shabbat Parah (the special Sabbath prior to Passover — as it does in 2011 and 2014), the haftarah is:- for Ashkenazi Jews: EzekielBook of EzekielThe Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
- for Sephardi Jews:
On Shabbat Parah, the Sabbath of the red heifer
Red heifer
The red heifer or red cow was a sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible the ashes of which are used for the ritual purification of an ancient Israelite who had come into contact with a corpse.- Hebrew Bible :...
, Jews read which describes the rites of purification using the red heifer (parah adumah). Similarly, the haftarah in Ezekiel 36 also describes purification. In both the special reading and the haftarah in Ezekiel 36, sprinkled water cleansed the Israelites.
On Shabbat Machar Chodesh
When the parshah coincides with Shabbat Machar Chodesh (as it does in 2012 and 2015), the haftarah isBiblical
(Nadab and Abihu). (Nadab and Abihu); (Nadab and Abihu).- DeuteronomyDeuteronomyThe Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible, and of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch...
(kashrut).
- PsalmsPsalmsThe Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
(snail); (pelican).
Early nonrabbinic
- PhiloPhiloPhilo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
. Allegorical Interpretation 2: 15:57–58, 26:104–05; 3: 47:139–48:141, 49:144, 50:147; On Husbandry 30:131–35; On Drunkenness 32:126–27, 35:140–41; On the Migration of Abraham 12:64–69; Who Is the Heir of Divine Things? 49:238–40, 51:249–51; On Flight and Finding 11:59, 28:157; On Dreams, That They Are God-Sent 2:9:67; The Special Laws 2: 8:33; 4: 18:105–06, 20:110, 21:113–22:118, 36:191.AlexandriaAlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt, early 1st Century C.E.. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by Charles Duke YongeCharles Duke YongeCharles Duke Yonge was an English historian, classicist, and cricketer. He wrote numerous works of modern history, and translated several classical works.-Life:...
, 44, 49, 66–67, 185, 218–19, 259, 296, 298, 326, 335, 392, 571, 626–27, 635. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1993. ISBN 0-943575-93-1.
- JosephusJosephusTitus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
, Antiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
3:8:6–7; 8:8:4. Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William WhistonWilliam WhistonWilliam Whiston was an English theologian, historian, and mathematician. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism...
, 92, 229. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8.
Classical rabbinic
- MishnahMishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
: Sheviit 5:9, 7:4; Bikkurim 2:7, 11; Sotah 5:2; Menachot 5:6; Chullin 1:1–12:5. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob NeusnerJacob NeusnerJacob Neusner is an American academic scholar of Judaism who lives in Rhinebeck, New York.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Neusner was educated at Harvard University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America , the University of Oxford, and Columbia University.Neusner is often celebrated...
, 81, 84, 171–72, 455, 743, 765–87. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4. - ToseftaToseftaThe Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
: Berakhot 4:17; Demai 2:7; Sotah 5:13; Zevachim 8:25; Chullin 1:1–10:16; Parah 1:5. Land of Israel, circa 300 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:26, 85, 853; 2:1347, 1371–1405, 1746. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2. - SifraSifraSifra is the Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah, as appears from Tanḥuma, quoted in Or Zarua, i. 7b. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" , and in two passages also "Sifra debe...
99:1–121:2:13. Land of Israel, 4th Century C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Sifra: An Analytical Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 2:121–229. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988. ISBN 1-55540-206-2. - Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem TalmudThe Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
: Peah 12b; Kilayim 69a; Sheviit 55b; Terumot 1b, 73a, 88a, 100a, 101a; Maasrot 41a; Orlah 34a; Bikkurim 12b. Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 3, 5, 6b–9, 12. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006–2010. - Leviticus RabbahLeviticus RabbahLeviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus . It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel in his Aruk as well as by Rashi in his commentaries on , and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon and Nissim knew and made use of it...
1:8; 2:10; 10:4; 11:1–14:1; 20:4–5, 8–10; 26:1. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon, 4:12, 29, 125, 135–79, 257–62, 325. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
- Babylonian TalmudTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
: Berakhot 53b, 61a; Shabbat 12a, 27a, 63b–64a, 83b–84a, 87b, 90b, 95b, 107a, 123b, 125a, 136a–b; Eruvin 13b, 28a, 63a, 87b, 104b; Pesachim 14a, 16a, 18a–b, 20b, 23a–b, 24b, 49b, 67b, 82b–83a, 91b; Yoma 2b–4a, 5b, 21b, 39a, 53a, 73b, 76b, 80a–b, 87a; 25b; Beitzah 6b, 19a, 20a; Rosh Hashanah 16b; Taanit 15b, 17b, 26b; Megillah 9b, 10b, 18a; Moed Katan 2a, 13a–b, 14b–15b, 19b, 24a, 28b; Chagigah 11a, 19a, 22b, 24a, 26b; Yevamot 20b, 40a, 43a, 54a–b, 74b–75a, 87a, 114a; Ketubot 15a, 50a, 60a; Nazir 4a, 38a, 52a, 64a; Sotah 27b, 29a–b, 38a–b, 47a; Gittin 60a, 61b–62a, 68b; Kiddushin 30a, 59b, 80a; Bava Kamma 2a–b, 16a, 25b, 38a, 54a–b, 62b–63a, 64b, 76b–77a, 78a, 81a; Bava Metzia 22a, 61b, 90b; Bava Batra 9b, 66b, 80a, 91a, 97a; Sanhedrin 5b, 17a, 22b, 52a, 70b–71a, 83b, 107b, 108b; Makkot 3b, 11a, 13a, 16b; Shevuot 5a, 7a, 9b–10b, 14b, 18b, 23a, 36b; Avodah Zarah 40a, 47b, 68b; Horayot 4a; Zevachim 3a–b, 10b, 17b, 25b, 28a, 34a, 55a, 60a, 61b, 69b, 82a–b, 99b, 100b–01b, 105a, 115b; Menachot 23a, 29a, 39b, 59a, 62a, 70b, 93b, 96b, 101b; Chullin 2a–142a; Bekhorot 6a–7b, 9b, 15b, 16a, 38a, 45b, 51a; Keritot 4b, 13b, 15b, 21a, 22a; Meilah 16a–17b; Tamid 33b; Niddah 18a, 19b, 21a, 42b, 51a–b, 55b, 56a. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Medieval
- Saadia GaonSaadia GaonSaʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period.The first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic, he is considered the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature...
. The Book of Beliefs and OpinionsEmunoth ve-DeothEmunoth ve-Deoth or Emunoth w'D'oth written by Rabbi Saadia Gaon - originally Kitāb ul-ʾamānāt wal-iʿtiqādāt - was the first systematic presentation and philosophic foundation of the dogmas of Judaism. The work is prefaced by an introduction and has ten chapters; it was completed in 933...
, 10:15. Baghdad, Babylonia, 933. Translated by Samuel Rosenblatt, 396. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1948. ISBN 0-300-04490-9. - Solomon ibn GabirolSolomon ibn GabirolSolomon ibn Gabirol, also Solomon ben Judah , was an Andalucian Hebrew poet and Jewish philosopher with a Neoplatonic bent. He was born in Málaga about 1021; died about 1058 in Valencia.-Biography:...
. A Crown for the King, 35:470. Spain, 11th Century. Translated by David R. Slavitt, 62–63. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-511962-2. - RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
. Commentary. Leviticus 9–11. TroyesTroyesTroyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 3:93–134. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1994. ISBN 0-89906-028-5. - Judah HaleviYehuda HaleviJudah Halevi was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, either in Toledo or Tudela, in 1075 or 1086, and died shortly after arriving in Palestine in 1141...
. KuzariKuzariThe Kitab al Khazari, commonly called the Kuzari, is one of most famous works of the medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, completed around 1140. Its title is an Arabic phrase meaning Book of the Khazars...
. 3:31. ToledoToledo, SpainToledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 165. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
- MaimonidesMaimonidesMoses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
. Guide for the PerplexedGuide for the PerplexedThe Guide for the Perplexed is one of the major works of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or "the Rambam"...
, 1:37; 3:46, 47, 48. CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt, 1190. Reprinted in, e.g., Moses Maimonides. The Guide for the Perplexed. Translated by Michael FriedländerMichael FriedländerMichael Friedländer was an Orientalist and principal of Jews' College, London. He is best known for his English translation of Maimonides' Guide to the Perplexed, which was the most popular such translation until the more recent work of Shlomo Pines, and still remains in print.Friedländer was...
, 53, 364, 367–68, 370. New York: Dover Publications, 1956. ISBN 0-486-20351-4. - ZoharZoharThe Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
1:54a, 73b, 167b; 2:11b, 26b, 67a, 124b, 193a, 219b; 3:24b, 31b, 33a, 35a–42a, 127a, 190b. Spain, late 13th Century.
Modern
- Samson Raphael HirschSamson Raphael HirschSamson Raphael Hirsch was a German rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the Torah im Derech Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism...
. Horeb: A Philosophy of Jewish Laws and Observances. Translated by Isidore Grunfeld, 47–50, 211, 314–31, 338, 574, 582–86. London: Soncino Press, 1962. Reprinted 2002 ISBN 0-900689-40-4. Originally published as Horeb, Versuche über Jissroel’s Pflichten in der Zerstreuung. Germany, 1837. - Louis GinzbergLouis GinzbergRabbi Louis Ginzberg was a Talmudist and leading figure in the Conservative Movement of Judaism of the twentieth century. He was born on November 28, 1873, in Kovno, Lithuania; he died on November 11, 1953, in New York City.-Biographical background:...
. Legends of the Jews, 3:179–92. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1911.
- Abraham Isaac KookAbraham Isaac KookAbraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar...
. The Moral Principles. Early 20th Century. Reprinted in Abraham Isaac Kook: the Lights of Penitence, the Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems. Translated by Ben Zion BokserBen Zion Bokser-Biography:Bokser was born in Lubomi, Poland, and emigrated to the United States at the age of 13 in 1920. He attended City College of New York and Rabbi Isaac Elhanan Theological Seminary, followed by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Columbia University...
, 140. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press 1978. ISBN 0-8091-2159-X. - Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
. Joseph and His BrothersJoseph and His BrothersJoseph and His Brothers is a four-part novel by Thomas Mann, written over the course of 16 years. Mann retells the familiar stories of Genesis, from Jacob to Joseph , setting it in the historical context of the Amarna Period...
. Translated by John E. WoodsJohn E. WoodsJohn E. Woods is a translator who specializes in translating German literature, since about 1978. His work includes much of the fictional prose of Arno Schmidt and the works of contemporary authors such as Ingo Schulze and Christoph Ransmayr...
, 256–57, 348. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943. - Baruch A. Levine. The JPS Torah Commentary: Leviticus: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation, 55–72, 243–48. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989. ISBN 0-8276-0328-2.
- Jacob MilgromJacob MilgromJacob Milgrom was a prominent American Jewish Bible scholar and Conservative rabbi, best known for his comprehensive Torah commentaries and work on the Dead Sea Scrolls.-Biography:...
. "Ethics and Ritual: The Foundations of the Biblical Dietary Laws." In Religion and Law: Biblical, Jewish, and Islamic Perspectives, 159–91. Edited by E.B. Firmage. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1989. ISBN 0931464390. - Jacob Milgrom. “Food and Faith: The Ethical Foundations of the Biblical Diet Laws: The Bible has worked out a system of restrictions whereby humans may satiate their lust for animal flesh and not be dehumanized. These laws teach reverence for life.” Bible ReviewBible ReviewBible Review was a publication that sought to connect the academic study of the Bible to a broad general audience. Covering both the Old and New Testaments, Bible Review presented critical and historical interpretations of biblical texts, and “reader-friendly Biblical scholarship” from 1985 to...
. 8 (6) (Dec. 1992). - Erhard S. Gerstenberger. Leviticus: A Commentary, 96–146. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996. ISBN 0-664-22064-9.
- Jacob Milgrom. Leviticus 1-16, 3:569–742. New York: Anchor Bible, 1998. ISBN 0-385-11434-6.
- Elie WieselElie WieselSir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
. “Nadab and Abihu: A Story of Fire and Silence.” In Wise Men and Their Tales: Portraits of Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic Masters, 68–81. New York: Schocken, 2003. ISBN 0-8052-4173-6. - Suzanne A. Brody. “A Detailed List.” In Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems, 87. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. ISBN 1-60047-112-9.
- Naphtali S. Meshel. “Food for Thought: Systems of Categorization in Leviticus 11.” Harvard Theological ReviewHarvard Theological ReviewHarvard Theological Review is a journal of theology, published by Harvard Divinity School. It was founded in 1908.-External links:* * * * at the Internet Archive...
. 101 (2) (Apr. 2008): 203–29.
Texts
Commentaries
- Academy for Jewish Religion, California
- Academy for Jewish Religion, New York
- Aish.com
- American Jewish University
- Anshe Emes Synagogue, Los Angeles
- Bar-Ilan University
- Chabad.org
- eparsha.com
- G-dcast
- The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash
- Jewish Agency for Israel
- Jewish Theological Seminary
- LearningTorah
- MyJewishLearning.com
- Ohr Sameach
- Orthodox Union
- OzTorah, Torah from Australia
- Oz Ve Shalom — Netivot Shalom
- Pardes from Jerusalem
- RabbiShimon.com
- Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
- Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
- Reconstructionist Judaism
- Sephardic Institute
- Shiur.com
- 613.org Jewish Torah Audio
- Tanach Study Center
- Torah from Dixie
- Torah.org
- TorahVort.com
- Union for Reform Judaism
- United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
- United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
- What’s Bothering Rashi?