Parasha Shemini

par le Rav Raphaël Benizri

Parasha Shemini (שמיני) — Vayikra 9:1 – 11:47. Read on Shabbat, April 3, 2027.

Summary of Parasha Shemini

On the eighth day, after the seven days of inauguration, Moshe calls Aharon, his sons and the elders of Israel. Aharon brings the prescribed offerings for himself and for the people, then lifts up his hands and blesses the people. Moshe and Aharon enter the Tent of Meeting, the glory of G-d appears, and a fire comes forth from before G-d and consumes the offerings on the altar; the people cry out in joy and fall on their faces. Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon, then bring a strange fire that G-d had not commanded them; a fire comes forth and consumes them. Aharon remains silent. Moshe instructs Aharon and his remaining sons not to display the signs of mourning. G-d forbids the kohanim to drink wine before entering the Tent of Meeting, so that they may distinguish between the holy and the profane, between the impure and the pure, and teach the laws to the people. Moshe asks why the goat of the sin-offering was not eaten, and he accepts Aharon’s explanation. The parasha then sets out the laws of permitted and forbidden animals: four-legged animals must have split hooves and chew the cud, fish must have fins and scales, and a list of forbidden birds is given, along with the rules concerning insects and creeping creatures. At the end, it restates the call: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”