Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
In This Week’s Parashah: מָה בַּפָּרָשָׁה
Full Parashah Reading: Vayikra 9:1-11:47
- Shemini means eighth, and it refers to the day after the seven days of מִלּוּאִים (milluim, inauguration) that we learned about in last week’s parashah. It is the first day of the regular routine of using the mishkan.
- Aharon prepares קָרְבָּנוֹת (korbanot, sacrifices), and he blesses בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל (Benei Yisrael, the Israelites).
- A fire from God consumes the korbanot! This is a powerful sign of God’s presence. Seeing this, all the people sing out and bow down.
- Nadav and Avihu, two of Aharon’s sons, bring a “strange fire” before God. They are consumed by fire. When Aharon finds out, he is silent.
- God teaches the rules about which animals are kosher:
- Land mammals: if they have split hooves and chew their food more than once
- Fish: if they have fins and scales
- Birds: the Torah lists around 20 birds that are not kosher, so any bird not on
the list is, in theory, kosher
- Insects: if they are the kinds of grasshoppers or locusts listed in the parashah
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