22 Mar SHEMINI: “OPENING DAY” IS DAY EIGHT

The parsha begins, “And it was
on the eighth
day…” To which
eighth day is the
Torah referring?
The Torah is discussing the “eighth day” after the previous seven, during which the Jewish
people performed the Seven Days of
Inauguration Offerings. It was a “Chanukas HaBayis” [inaugural dedication], so to speak, for the Mishkan
[Tabernacle], with Moshe Rabbeinu
acting as the Kohen Gadol [High
Priest].
The “eighth day” referred to in the
above quoted pasuk [verse] was the
day when Aharon took over from
Moshe, and the Mishkan began functioning in its normal way with the Kohanim performing the services.
Rav Dovid Feinstein notes that it is peculiar that the Torah refers to this occasion as the “eighth” day. It was really
the “first” day. The first seven days
were merely a dry-run rehearsal. Every
day, they put up the Mishkan and then
took it down, and the Shechina, the Divine Presence, did not rest within it.
This was the real “Day One” of the
functioning of the Mishkan, when the
Shechina came down, yet the Torah insists on calling it the “eighth day”. The
Torah emphasizes the previous seven
days nonetheless, even calling the
whole Parsha “Shmini” (meaning
eighth). What message is the Torah
giving us?
He suggests that the Torah is teaching
us the following important lesson: in
spiritual matters, preparation is almost
as important as the real thing. If the Torah had called this “Day One”, it would
have been sending the message that all
the preparation was merely practice.
That may be how it works in worldly
affairs, but not regarding matters of
spirituality (Ruchniyus). Preparation is
vital for spiritual matters. Preparations
place the mitzvah in its proper perspective. Therefore the Torah emphasizes
that this is day 8, not day 1.
At a Siyum marking the conclusion
of a tractate of Talmud we say “We
toil in our tasks (of learning) and
they toil (in worldly tasks).
We work and receive reward and they work and do
not receive reward.” What
does this really mean?
Those who work are paid
for their work. What does it
mean “they work and do
not receive reward”? The
answer is that in other areas
of life, a person only receives reward if he completes the task, if he is successful in his endeavor. A
person is only paid for producing. It is not the effort or
preparation that counts; it is
the results: “What’s the bottom line?”
Regarding matters of spirituality, however, if a person attempts to do a mitzvah, but does not achieve the end result, the person still receives reward
for his attempt.
So too regarding the Mishkan, the
months of preparation and the Seven
Days of Inauguration Offerings are not
merely past events that are forgotten
on “Day One”. The effort of that
preparation will pay off. There will
be reward for it.
We toil and receive a reward. “Opening Day” is already “Day 8” because
all the thought and preparation that
led up to that day also play a very
important role in G-d’s calculations.
What Could Aharon Have Said?
The Torah says that when Aharon
lost his two sons, he kept quiet —
“And Aharon was silent” [Vayikra
10:3]. The Medrash says that this
verse implies that Aharon really
did have something to say, but that
he held back. What did Aharon
want to say? The Medrash gives a
very cryptic answer: He wanted to
say “On the eighth day the flesh of
his foreskin shall be circumcised.”
What is the meaning of this Medrash? The Shemen HaTov answers
by quoting a Gemarah: The Gemarah asks why Milah [circumcision]
takes place on the eighth day – why
not circumcise the baby boy immediately at birth? The Gemarah answers that Milah occurs on the
eighth day so that we will not have a
situation where everyone is happy
and the parents of the child are sad.
According to Torah law, the mother is Tameh [ritually impure] and is
forbidden to her husband for seven
days following the birth of a male
child. If the Milah took place during
that first week, everyone would be
happy, but the parents – who were
not allowed to have any physical
contact with one another – would be
sad. G-d did not want to put a damper
on the festive occasion. G-d wants
everyone to be happy – including the
father and mother – when a father
brings his son into the Covenant of
Avraham our Patriarch. Therefore the
circumcision was ‘delayed’ until the
eighth day at which time the mother
(at least on a Torah level) is permitted to her husband (even though she
is still prohibited at that point by
Rabbinic Law), so that the parents
can fully participate in the celebration of the Milah.
The Medrash is refering to this Gemarah. The Dedication of the Mishkan
was a great day of celebration for the
Jewish people. On that very day, the
two eldest sons of the High Priest suddenly died. It was as if, on a joyous day
dedicating a new synagogue, one of
the main beams collapsed killing two
of the celebrants. Clearly, such a calamity would have eradicated the celebration.
The Shemen HaTov explains that Aharon could have argued with G-d.
“Granted my sons did something
wrong, they deserved to be punished –
but do not execute Your Judgment on
them today, of all days! After all, we
learn that Milah is done on the eighth
day because You are sensitive not to
place a damper on a joyous occasion.”
However, Aharon held his peace and
kept quiet. “VaYidom Aharon” —
Aharon remained like a stone.