The Number Eight

 Shmini

Lev. 9:1-11:47

Précis: On the final day of the ordination ceremony, Moses instructs Aaron and his sons on the proper rituals. Aaron makes his offering. Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu offer “strange fire” before God. They are slain. Moses tells Aaron that he must not engage in normal mourning rituals. The Priests are prohibited from drinking alcohol while they are engaged in their sacred duties.  Next, God tells Moses and Aaron to instruct the people about the animals they are permitted to eat (part of the laws of kashrut). A general warning to guard against defilement and to be concerned about ritual purity is given.

 

Lev. 9:1 “And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel...”

 

Rabbi Andy Gordon has written about the significance of the number 8 (10 Minutes of Torah, 4/21/25). Why was the moment of ordination set for the eighth day? If we were to select a special day, would it not be the seventh (the Shabbat, the days of creation, the days in the week, the weeks of the Omer, and Joseph’s dreams for seven years of plenty and seven years of famine)? Even today, seven is important: we recite seven blessings at a marriage ceremony, and we observe seven days of shiva. Seven is a number for reflection and competition.

But this week we start with an eighth day. While eight is an important number in Jewish tradition (the number of days before a brit milah, the eight nights of Chanukah), it pales in comparison to the number seven. Rabbi Gordon suggests that the eighth day marks the start of a new journey, marking something new. It is a day on which we return to normal everyday life, as a Sunday follows Shabbat, as newlyweds mark the start of their marriage after a traditional week of celebration, and when mourners begin to reenter life after shiva.  

In this week’s reading, the priests had taken a full week of preparation for a special day.  On the eighth day, they reentered society as religious leaders. The eighth day was the start of a new adventure, a new beginning. For us, we all have many moments in our lives when we have seven days, whether to celebrate, mourn, rest, or take comfort. But we always know that an eighth day will follow. The next day of the rest of our lives is coming. 

Take Two Tablets!

Shabbat Chol HaMoed Pesach

Ex. 34:1 “The Lord said to Moses: ‘Carve two tablets of stone like the first, and I will inscribe upon thew tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you shattered.’”

            On the Shabbat which takes place during Passover, we omit the regular Torah reading and instead chant a section from the Book of Exodus (33:12-34:26). To set the context, Moses comes down from Mount Sinai and, seeing the Israelites dancing before the Golden Calf, shatters the Tablets on which are inscribed the Ten Commandments. He goes back up the mountain and returns 40 days later with a second set.

            As is noted in the Jewish Study Bible, God now prepares to formally restore the covenant by replacing the first set of tablets. The second set differed in that the stones were carved by a man (Moses) and then inscribed by God. The Sforno inferred from this that God did not entirely forgive the people after the matter of the Golden calf, but most commentators focus on the fact that this second set was a joint project between God and Man. Following this train of thought, the Sages inferred that the “oral Law” (which they believed had been transmitted with the written law) was the basis upon which human beings could adapt Jewish law to the needs of humanity.

            During the celebration of Passover, we have perhaps one of the most significant Rabbinic additions to Judaism: the Passover seder (which may well have been influenced by the Greek “symposia” taking place during the early Rabbinic period​).

            The second set of Tablets was a demonstration of the need for human understanding and thought about how we relate to our history, our tradition, and to God.