Shmini

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Parshat Shmini: The Action of Our Hands

April 17, 2009 · Filed Under Shmini, Weekly Parasha ·

beit-hamikdash

In the first half of this week’s parshah, the Torah describes the event of the inaugural service of the Tabernacle. At the end of the inauguration, the Torah writes:

“Moses and Aaron came to the Tent of meeting, and they went out and they blessed the nation — and the glory of Hashem (God) appeared to the entire nation” [Leviticus: 9: 23]

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Establishing the Actions of Our Hands

March 27, 2008 · Filed Under Shmini ·

Written by: Nathan Light

In the first half of this week’s parshah, the Torah describes the event of the inaugural service of the Tabernacle. At the end of the inauguration, the Torah writes:

“Moses and Aaron came to the Tent of meeting, and they went out and they blessed the nation — and the glory of Hashem (God) appeared to the entire nation” [Leviticus: 9: 23]

What exactly did this blessing consist of? Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi, 1040-1105, famed as the author of the first comprehensive commentaries on the Torah) tells us that they said to the nation “ ‘May the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us…’ (Psalms: 90: 17), may it be the will that the Divine Providence rest in the actions of your hands”. It is interesting to note that this isn’t the first time that Rashi presents this as an explanation for a blessing. Previously, when all the vessels and utensils of the Tabernacle were finished being built, they were brought to Moses and the Torah states:

“And Moses saw the entire work, and behold! — they had done it as God has commanded, so had they done! And Moses blessed them.” [Exodus: 39: 43]

On this verse too, Rashi writes that the words of this blessing were “May it be the will that the Divine Providence rest in the action of your hands, and ‘May the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us…’ (Psalms: 90: 17)”

Rashi uses the same exact words! It is the identical blessing as the one that was stated by the inauguration of the Tabernacle! Firstly, we must ask ourselves what exactly is the meaning of this blessing, and furthermore why was it expressed by Moses at both of these episodes?

In order to understand the meaning of this blessing, we must look at the verse in Psalms that Rashi quoted. The verse reads in full: “May the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us — the actions of our hands, may He establish upon us; the actions of our hands, may He establish” [Psalms: 90: 17] What is the meaning behind the plea that God “establish the actions of our hands”? And what is the difference between “may He establish” and “may He establish upon us”?

The request before God to “establish the action of our hands” is a very profound prayer. What it means is that we ask God that every action we perform in our lives be made useful and be given value. We pray that our actions in this world should carry everlasting meaning and serve as building blocks throughout our lives. In the verse, we first beseech God that our actions be established upon us. We are asking God that everything we do should have an impact on ourselves, that we shouldn’t let our actions go to waste. We pray to find a way to integrate our daily actions into our being, and that they should become part of us in order to grow and build our character. And not only should our actions have influence on ourselves, but that the force of our actions be impressed upon others as well. We pray that our actions should spill out and provide an everlasting influence for mankind in general; those around us and those in future generations. This is the meaning behind the second “the actions of our hands, may He establish”!

Now, why was this blessing given to the Jewish nation twice? The first time Moses blessed the people in this manner was when Moses saw that the entire work involved in building the Tabernacle was complete. After all the hard work and manual labor that was put into fashioning the vessels and utensils, Moses gave the people a blessing that the “actions of their hands be established”; that their handiwork not only house God’s providence, but that it should serve as an everlasting influence upon themselves and the rest of the world. Evidently, this blessing was given at the end of a process.

The second time Moses repeated this blessing was at the end of the inauguration service for the Tabernacle. After 8 days of performing different rituals and offering various sacrifices, the Tabernacle was now fit to house God’s glory and was finally able to be used to serve God in the highest manner possible. It was at this point too that Moses blessed the people again, but this time the blessing was given at the start of a process. Although it was the end the inauguration process, it in fact marked the beginning of the Tabernacle’s use. In this blessing, Moses blessed the people that whatever action they would perform in the future, concerning the tabernacle, should carry eternal meaning and provide themselves and the world with spiritual impact.

Moses used the same exact blessing twice in two different instances to demonstrate that the prayer is applicable both prior to and following the actions of their hands. He was trying to convey two important lessons: Firstly, that whenever we complete a process or an action, we should pray that God make it meaningful, both for us and for others. And secondly, that even before we begin the action we should go in with the mindset of making it meaningful and we therefore pray in advance that God may establish it for us.

If one were to flip through the siddur (prayer book), he’d recognize that the verse from Psalms: 90: 17 appears to stand out in our prayers at two intervals. We say it every night before going to bed in the prayer of the “night time Shema”, and we also recite it once a week at the end of Shabbos in the evening prayer service. The “night time Shema” is said at the end of our day. In this prayer, we pray to God that every action we performed throughout the previous day be established and be given value in our lives and the lives of others. We say the verse again at the end of Shabbos, which is in fact the start of the new week. In this prayer, we are asking God in advance that all our actions in the upcoming week be done with proper intentions and that those actions be established in our lives and the lives of others as well.

“May the pleasantness of the Lord our God be upon us — the actions of our hands, may He establish upon us; the actions of our hands, may He establish”

Good Shabbos,

NZL

March 27, 2008 · Filed Under Jewish Reconnection, Shmini ·

Written by: Ashira Gailor

BS’D

This week’s parsha is set in the eight and final day of the mishkan’s dedication, a time where b’nei yisrael’s happiness and excitement over the completion of their tasks was at its climax. We also see the listing of all the halachas concerning kashrut and korbanot, as well as the laws of tumah (impurity). After all their hard work, this mishkan was finally ready to function, and Aharon was prepared to finally take on the role of cohen gadol that Moshe had been temporarily performing. Juxtaposed against this festive atmosphere, is the story of Nadav and Avihu, two of Aharon’s four sons. At the beginning of perek yud, we see Nadav and Avihu that Nadav and Avihu

“took his [Aharon's] fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense upon it; and they offered before the L-rd alien fire, which He had not enjoined upon them. And fire came forth from the L-rd and consumed them, thus they died at the instance of the L-rd.” (10:1-2)*

The Tanach never tells us what Nadav and Avihu’s actual sin is. What did they do that was so wrong that Hashem sent a heavenly fire down to smite them? In Vayikra rabba, Rashi states the commonly known explanation that Nadav and Avihu gave their korban while inebriated. This opinion is most likely based on the fact that, right after this tragedy occurred, Hashem decrees to Aharon that he should “drink no wine or other intoxicant, you or your sons, when you enter the tent of meeting, that you not die”* (10:9). Due to this edict’s close proximity to the incident, we can assume that there is a link between the two. The second possibility, as suggested in Eruvin is that Nadav and Avihu made their own halachic decision before Moshe, their teacher. As the Rambam states in Mishna Torah, (Hilchot Talmud Torah) “it is forbidden to determine halacha in front of one’s teacher. If one were to do such a thing, he would be liable to capital punishment”.

The gemara explains that, although a heavenly fire would come down from the heavens onto the mizbeach Nadav and Avihu decided to light a fire themselves. However, according to the Rambam, “even though fire descended from heaven, it was a mitzvah to add human fire” (Temidim u’Mishpatim 2:1) So if they had, in fact, been doing a mitzvah, why would Hashem have punished them so severely?

The job of the cohanim is to pursue shalom, to show am yisrael how Hashem’s world fits together, and to understand the intricate ways of the world. A cohen needs to understand his place in the world’s order. Nadav and Avihu forfeited their right to this place when they entered the mishkan in an inebriated state- “wine gladdens the heart” (Tehillim 104:15), and because of it, one follows his emotions and not his intellect, as it normally should be. They were not fully aware of the correct order of things, and because of this, were liable this seemingly severe punishment. As we see in Sefer Shmuel, Hashem cursed the house of the cohen Eli for honouring his sons more than Hashem Himself. Just as Eli was punished for not following the proper order of his responsibilities and remembering his place in the order of the world, Nadav and Avihu had to be punished, as well. When they decided to create their own halacha without Moshe, they again forgot the proper order of things in the way of the world, despite the fact that the halacha to which they arrived was correct.

From this incident, Rav Kook states we should “seek to find the correct balance in all things to achieve peace and divine harmony” ( Sparks of Light: Essays on the Weekly Portions Based on the Philosophy of Rav Kook) . Later on in this parsha, among the halachot of the “sheretz hashoretz” (things that swarm upon the earth), it is written:

“You shall not draw abomination upon yourselves…and thus become unclean. For I, the L-rd am your G-d , you shall sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am holy”* (11:43-44)

On this pasuk, Chazal comment that, if one were to contaminate themselves a bit, it will become a lot. If one contaminates himself in this world, he contaminates himself in the next. Contaminating oneself from below results in being contaminated from above…and the opposite to all of the above is true for purifying oneself, as well. The Chofetz Chaim illustrates this point with an example that, if one were to speak loshon hora, all the words he speaks with that same mouth are, as a result, contaminated. Even if he were to speak words of torah, to daven, to learn, each of these holy words that leave his tainted lips are brought down in merit because of the loshon hora that had passed through them just before. The zohar ellaborates that this effect is due to the koach tumah (the power of impurity) manifesting itself on each word, exponentially decreasing the level of holiness of every word the man would say. In this same way, Hashem wishes to uplift us with kedusha. Overcoming our yetzer hara, working on our avodat Hashem and fulfilling His will, brings down the spirit of sanctity on our souls. This little bit of kedusha then becomes an even greater amount.

Keeping this idea in mind, we see that we each have an incredible untapped power right at our fingertips. Each time we overcome our yetzer hara a little bit, the effect is like that of throwing a stone into a calm pool of water- the ripples from the small impact stretch out further and further, reaching corners beyond the realm of the original impact itself. As the Rambam discusses in chapter 6 of the Shemoneh Prakim, our sages state that “a person who has an inclination to sin and desires to do so is on a higher and more complete level than one who has no desire for them and does not feel discomfort in spurning them”. We each have the inclination to do things we are instructed not to by Hashem, and overcoming this desire is often the hardest part of living religious life in a secular world. We need to remember our place in this world, and our job to bring kedusha down on this earth. By overcoming our yetzer, we ensure that we don’t fall into the same trap as Nadav and Avihu and set off the “domino effect” of bringing holiness into this world, and our geula even closer…and by merit of these acts, may we be zoche to see it, speedily in our days!

I hope you all have a wonderful shabos..sorry it’s been so long!