Parsha Points

Parshat Shemini is yet another biblical portion that juxtaposes jubilation and catastrophe. After months of detailed instruction to Betzalel and his team of artisans who were tasked with building the original portable sanctuary in the wilderness and detailed instructions to Aaron and his four sons on performing the ritual sacrifices at the sanctuary, the time was set for the official dedication of the sanctuary, so that the formal worship of God could commence. Seven days were designated for the consecration of the Sanctuary and for the rituals prescribed for the ordination of the Aaron and his sons to serve as the Kohanim in the Sanctuary.  

Finally on the eighth day, formal worship began with the first celebration of performing a sacrifice. This was unquestionably a high-water mark in the religious growth and maturation of Israelites, so very recently released from slavery. The people gathered around the Sanctuary and sacrifices were offered by Aaron and his sons on their own behalf and different sacrifices were offered on behalf of the rest of the people. Then Aaron blessed the people and together with Moses, Aaron entered the Tent of Meeting, the inner sanctum where Moses alone had “met” God “Face to Face”. The two men then emerged from the Tent and again they blessed the assembled people. The sense of emotional jubilation must have been palpable, a moment previously paralleled only by the revelation of God at Mount Sinai.  

That jubilation was short-lived. On that very day calamity befell the nation when two of Aaron’s sons entered the Sanctuary precincts and with overflowing joy and passion, offered an unauthorized incense offering. Instantaneously, a fire consumed them and the two of them died. A day of almost unparalleled joy turned into a day of almost unparalleled tragedy. A mere moment before, Aaron had stood with all four of his sons in the presence of an entire nation bursting with pride. Now Aaron stood alone and the entire Israelite nation was plunged into unspeakable grief.  

What had happened and what might we learn? The first lesson, not so obvious from the outcome, is “Ivdu et HaShem b’Simhah”. We learn that we must worship God with joy. Shul is not synonymous with silence. We are there to sing a new song to God, a song of joy to be in the presence of God and fellow Jews who are there for the very same reason – to celebrate that we live our daily lives in the presence of God. Sing with passion. Sing with jubilation. We need to use our voices to remind ourselves that our lives are overwhelmingly good and filled with blessings and thanksgiving.  

The corollary, however, is that our joy, our jubilation of being in the presence of God and in the presence of fellow Jews, must also be tempered with a certain dignified silence. There must be a balance between exuberant displays of unbridled joy and a passive silence that sometimes borders on boredom and ennui. The great Hasidic rebbes of the late 18th and 19th centuries struck that balance by sometimes dancing and singing with their Hasidim and at other times, finding a solitary place in a forest to pour out their hearts to God.   

Therein lies a lesson from this week’s Parsha. Let us express our joy and thankfulness in song and prayer that rises to the rafters of our sanctuary. But let us also find a moment for introspective prayer and contemplation, lest our excessive joy destroy our equilibrium with an inextinguishable fire.  

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Lionel Moses