Torah Portion

Shemini

שמיני

Leviticus 9:1-11:47
Second Samuel 6:1–7:17

Michal’s Unrequited Love for David

Michal’s Unrequited Love for David

The story of Michal, King Saul’s daughter and David’s first wife—the only woman in the Bible described as being in love with a man—is framed by two window scenes. In the first, she is the spunky, loving bride who helps David escape his pursuers through her back window. In the second, embittered and depleted in spirit, she watches the triumphant David through the window with contempt. What happened in between?

Prof.
Nehama Aschkenasy
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Nadav and Avihu Diminish YHWH’s Glory at the Tabernacle’s Inauguration

Nadav and Avihu Diminish YHWH’s Glory at the Tabernacle’s Inauguration

To highlight how Israelite ritual is not meant to be a secret known only to the priests, the Tabernacle’s inauguration is conducted publicly, before all the people, including rituals usually carried out in the sanctum. Herein lies the sin of Nadav and Avihu: offering incense before YHWH in the privacy of the sanctum.

Hartley Koschitzky
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The Cause of Nadav and Avihu’s Death: Incense Smoke?

The Cause of Nadav and Avihu’s Death: Incense Smoke?

Immediately after the death of two of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, YHWH warns Moses that priests are prohibited from consuming wine before serving in the Tabernacle. Is their mysterious death the result of some form of intoxication?

Dr.
Sheila Tuller Keiter
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Leviticus’ More Priestly Version of the Dietary Laws

Leviticus’ More Priestly Version of the Dietary Laws

Deuteronomy and Leviticus drew on common Vorlage (source text) to develop their regulations about the consumption of land, marine, and winged creatures. While Deuteronomy only lightly modifies this Vorlage, the editors of Leviticus expanded the text in several stages to align it with Priestly ideology.

Prof.
Esias E. Meyer
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The Precursors of the Ark

The Precursors of the Ark

At the battle against the Philistines at Michmas, Saul asks Ahiah the priest to bring forward the ark, so that he can consult YHWH. He is not referring to the ark of Shiloh, which was safeguarded in Kiryat-yearim at the time; in the early monarchic period, each worship site had its own priestly family with its own ark.

Prof.
Yigal Levin
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The Dangerous Ark of the Book of Samuel

The Dangerous Ark of the Book of Samuel

The ark of Shiloh is captured by the Philistines, but they soon send it back to Israel after they are struck by plague. The ark continues to wreak havoc along the way until it finds its final resting place in Jerusalem.

Dr. Rabbi
Tzemah Yoreh
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Does God Punish People Who Are Close to Him More Harshly?

Does God Punish People Who Are Close to Him More Harshly?

A midrash on the phrase venikdash bikhevodi, “and it shall be sanctified by my glory” (Exod 29:43) suggests that God is unusually strict when He punishes those who are close to Him. Rashbam strenuously objected to this popular midrash.

Prof. Rabbi
Marty Lockshin
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Why Rome Is Likened to a Boar

Why Rome Is Likened to a Boar

The Romans were baffled as to why Jews would not eat pork, an idiosyncrasy that became the subject of speculation as well as ethnic humor. In response, Jewish texts highlight the way the hated Romans remind the rabbis of pigs and wild boars.

Dr.
Malka Z. Simkovich
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The Earliest Explanation for Kosher

The Earliest Explanation for Kosher

Does God have a penchant for cows, goats, and pigeons? A distaste for pigs, mice, and weasels? If not, why are the former permitted to eat but the latter proscribed? According to some Jewish and Christian allegorical interpreters in ancient Alexandria, the Torah’s distinction between clean and unclean meats was intended to tell us as much about how to behave as how to eat.

Prof. Rabbi
Joshua Garroway
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The Animal Laws Before Kashrut: A System of Purity

The Animal Laws Before Kashrut: A System of Purity

The dietary laws in Leviticus are not expressed in terms of kosher (כשר) or not kosher but in the terms of the Priestly purity laws: purity (טהרה), pollution (טומאה), and disgust (שקץ).

Dr.
Eve Levavi Feinstein
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How God Was Sanctified through Nadav and Avihu’s Death

How God Was Sanctified through Nadav and Avihu’s Death

After the shocking death of Nadav and Avihu, Moses says to Aaron that this is what God meant when he said, “through those near to me I will sanctify Myself.”  Rashi, Rashbam, and Nahmanides struggle to understand the meaning of Moses’ message.

Prof.
James A. Diamond
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“That Is What YHWH Said,” Moses Interprets Nadav and Avihu’s Death

“That Is What YHWH Said,” Moses Interprets Nadav and Avihu’s Death

A fire comes forth from God and devours Nadav and Avihu but God does not actually say anything. It is Moses who infers what God was communicating through this act and even formulates a law based on his understanding of God’s message.

Prof. Rabbi
David Frankel
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Shemini

שמיני

Leviticus 9:1-11:47

כֹּל מַפְרֶסֶת פַּרְסָה וְשֹׁסַעַת שֶׁסַע פְּרָסֹת מַעֲלַת גֵּרָה בַּבְּהֵמָה אֹתָהּ תֹּאכֵלוּ׃

ויקרא יא:ג

Any animal that has true hoofs, with clefts through the hoofs, and that chews the cud—such you may eat.

Lev 11:3

Leviticus

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