Ziv: Parashat Shemini 2


Each week, Gad Barnea or Sister Agnès de la Croix (from the Community of the Beatitudes) proposes a reflection on the portion of the Pentateuch that is read in the synagogue (parashat hashavua). This week the portion is from Leviticus 9:1 - 11:47 with the haftarah (additional reading) from 2 Samuel 6:1 - 7:17. They call their reflection “ziv” – a ray of light.

ziv shemini2
Nadav et Avihu, the sons of Aaron…

This parasha deals with a classical theme of tragedy: the story of a father who has to bury his son. Here, Aaron the high priest has lost both his sons. He is wrapped in silence and contains his grief. The text is so sober regarding the reasons why Nadav and Avihu died such a brutal death that a lot of commentaries were written to try and explain the cause of the divine wrath. One of the many commentaries explains that they died because they go beyond what they were commanded to do. They offered a fire at their own initiative: a “strange fire”… But one can wonder: Nowhere in the Torah, is it stated that one should not do what he is not asked to do… The answer may be found in another detail of the text. In verse 10:16, the verb “darash” (to search) is repeated and is translated by “inquire”. Moses is looking for the goat that was burnt, instead of being eaten up as was required. It is here, just between the repeated verbs “darash” that the tradition places the center of the Torah, saying that searching and inquiring is fundamental to the understanding of the text. It is not possible to read the text of the Bible without trying to interpret it, to study it. The participation of the reader is a must. This is one of the main themes of the rabbinic tradition. The text needs to be studied and questioned. The explanation will be kept and will form the corpus of the midrash and of the Talmud. It is the unceasing work of living tradition, covering the Bible itself. But this work of research and innovation of tradition has to be done in a precise frame, with rules of interpretation and strict methods: innovating and taking creative initiative is needful, but only within specific boundaries. These hermeneutic rules, being part of tradition, have to be observed.

The commentary therefore explains that the sin of Nadav and Avihu was that of presumption, they did not receive the teaching of the elders, and preferred to follow their own will. Thus, the commentary underlines the importance of the tradition.

Another count of words or letters leads to the determination that the center of the Torah is in fact elsewhere in the same parasha. In verse 11:42 that deals with ritually unclean animals, we learn that one should not eat animals that “creep on earth”. The “vav” of this word is bigger than the other letters. The letter “vav” has the shape of a man standing upright. The upright posture of a human being should stand at the center of the Torah… Shabbat shalom.

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