Shemini: Confusion

Shemini: Confusion

This week's parsha, Shemini, is the middle of the Torah. It contains the midpoint by letters: the vav of gichon, the vowel (unnecessary) letter in the word meaning belly. In context it refers to the  the belly upon which the serpent crawls. The conversation in Eden between the woman and the serpent is evoked. The gichon, the crawling on the belly was the curse imparted on the serpent for his act of seduction. 

 אֶֽל־הַנָּחָשׁ֮ כִּ֣י עָשִׂ֣יתָ זֹּאת֒ אָר֤וּר אַתָּה֙ מִכָּל־הַבְּהֵמָ֔ה וּמִכֹּ֖ל חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה עַל־גְּחֹנְךָ֣ תֵלֵ֔ךְ וְעָפָ֥ר תֹּאכַ֖ל כָּל־יְמֵ֥י חַיֶּֽיךָ׃

And the Lrd Gd said to the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

The next appearance of the word in the Torah ( there are 3 in all) is in Shemini: 

כֹּל֩ הוֹלֵ֨ךְ עַל־גָּח֜וֹן וְכֹ֣ל ׀ הוֹלֵ֣ךְ עַל־אַרְבַּ֗ע עַ֚ד כׇּל־מַרְבֵּ֣ה רַגְלַ֔יִם לְכׇל־הַשֶּׁ֖רֶץ הַשֹּׁרֵ֣ץ עַל־הָאָ֑רֶץ לֹ֥א תֹאכְל֖וּם כִּי־שֶׁ֥קֶץ הֵֽם׃ 

You shall not eat, among all things that swarm upon the earth, anything that crawls on its belly, or anything that walks on fours, or anything that has many legs; for they are an abomination.

The demotion of the serpent, from a being whose power of speech (parseltongue?)  altered the course of history, to a dust eating abomination is the midpoint, the crux, of the Torah

The parsha opens with : 

וַֽיְהִי֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִ֔י 

On the eighth day

The eighth day also evokes the creation.  It is the first day after creation. Now we will see how the system that Gd set in place evolves.  It is the day when the serpent persuaded the woman to violate the prohibition and eat of the forbidden fruit. A newborn calf may not brought into the sacrificial rite until the eighth day. The eighth day is the time set for the circumcision of a son.  In our parsha, the eighth day was the culmination of the dedication of the mishkan, the tabernacle, the locus of Gd meeting. 

The ritual to sanctify the mishkan included  sacrificial animals brought by Aaron and has sons, as the priests; and other animals brought by the community.  A calf, and eygel, was included in each set.  The animal whose  graven image had motivated the shattering of the tablets at Sinai was to be brought by both groups.  That sin was to be remembered from both perspectives: the community that insisted on a visible god and the high priest who accommodated them. 

Ambiguous intentions with fatal results is the central story of the parsha. The inauguration of the Tabernacle and the priests is nearly complete. The drama of the debut is near the climax. Aaron and his four sons are close to graduation into their roles as priests of the sacrificial service. Nadav and Avihu , the two eldest sons of Aaron, perform an unsolicited service. They enter the dark sacred space with a fire of their own making. Nadav and Avihu are struck dead. The motive  of Nadav and Avihu is not specified.  Did they want to curry favor from the Almighty? Did they want to generate another phantasmagoria, like the one brought by the prescribed ritual? Did they want to modify the ritual? Were they intoxicated?  All unknown.

The haftorah points to the centrality of this story by relating a similar narrative. King David ordered the  tablets from Sinai in the gold plated, Cherub decorated, ark moved to Jerusalem – his new capitol city. The ark had been in the house of Abinanab (since its rescue from the Philistines). Abinadab   had two sons: Uzzah and Achio. These were people more familiar than most with the ark and its power. When the oxen stumbled, upsetting the ark, Uzzah reached out to protect the ark from falling, and was struck dead for his action. Certainly, Uzzah knew the story of Nadav and Avihu; he knew that unsanctioned interaction with the ark was dangerous – possibly lethal. But Uzzah was just trying to help! He was not trying something new.  

The lethal danger associated with the ark is entangled in its sanctity.  The Holy is dangerous and the more holy, the more dangerous. These stories deter the curious from invading the sacred space. They help justify some of the rewards of priesthood as danger pay. The risk adds to the status of the rite.

The parsha brings me back to creation: the eighth day, the gichon of the serpent. The transgression of  eating of the tree of knowledge was a similar violation of the sacred in a state of confusion. 

Holocaust remembrance day happened this week.  Like the death of Nadav and Avihu  is the center of the Torah, the Holocaust is the center of my Judaism.  It is a stark ambiguity. The events happened. The Jew hating deniers emphasize its reality, its importance, and the orthogonal universe available to the bigot. The complexity of its history and morality is beyond human understanding ( I would certainly not trust AI). 

We live in a world that we can not understand.  Be careful!