Parashat Shmini, Leviticus 9:1-11:47; Shabbat Parah, Numbers 19:1-22

This Parasha has been generously sponsored by Lorne Opler in honour his brother, Alan Opler.

"A place for everything and everything in its place."

Baseball season is upon us again, and with the peanuts, popcorn and Crackerjacks come all the rituals inherent to the game. I do not mean the singing of the national anthems and the seventh-inning stretch. One of the joys of watching a ball game is observing the rituals of individual players. Some have particular mannerisms they repeat each time they step into the batter’s box. Nomar Garciaparra is probably among the more entertaining ballplayers in this category. Others have had rituals that take place off the field, such as only eating poultry on the day of the game. (That would be Wade Boggs.) No matter what the ritual, each player is convinced that it helps him do his best.

If you could find a levitical priest, he would nod in agreement with the baseball player. He would understand that performing a sacrifice according to detailed instructions would obviate the need for a sacrifice fly. The baseball player must follow the proper rules of dress for the game; the priest must be appropriately attired. The ballplayer must do things "by the book" for the sake of his team, the levitical priest must also adhere to the rules for the sake of Israel’s relationship with God. You cannot go to bat when it is not your turn in the lineup, much as you would love to take a swing at the ball. There are dire consequences for the team. You can’t offer a sacrifice to God at the wrong time; there are consequences there, too.

Nadab and Abihu found that out the hard way. There they were, shortly after the ordination ceremonies were completed, eager to fulfill their priestly duties: Now Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and laid incense on it; and they offered before Adonai alien fire, which God had not enjoined upon them. And fire came forth from Adonai and consumed them; thus they died at the instance of Adonai. (Leviticus 10:1-2)

In their zeal, Nadab and Abihu either forget or ignored the detailed instructions about sacrifice. Everything has to be done properly, and that includes the timing. They bring an offering before God which is described as being esh zarah (alien fire.) Nadab and Abihu played with fire and got burned. Their sacrifice was not sanctioned, their timing was off, and it cost them their lives.

What on earth did they do wrong? This question troubled our sages. After all, you would think that the priestly zeal to serve God is something to be lauded.

One explanation is that they were more concerned with themselves than with others.

Moses and Aaron once walked along, with Nadab and Abihu behind them, and all Israel following in the rear. Then Nadab said to Abihu, 'Oh that these old men might die, so that you and I should be the leaders of our generation.'

Talmud, Sanhedrin 52a

Midrash Leviticus Rabbah draws on Leviticus 16:1 for a different explanation: The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they drew too close to the presence of the Lord. Because the two young priests drew too close to the Divine Presence, Aaron is warned not to come at will into the Shrine behind the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the ark, lest he die. (Leviticus 16:2)

Being the "player of the game" is secondary to your team winning. Baseball is a team effort and to win you have to abide by the rules. Ditto the sacrificial system; ditto Judaism. There are boundaries, as is evident in Shmini. Nadab and Abihu drew too close, crossed a boundary and suffered the consequences. The sacrificial system is about maintaining order and boundaries. This was made explicit to Aaron: This is a law for all time throughout the ages, for you must distinguish between the sacred and the profane, and between the unclean and the clean. (Leviticus 10:9-10) Throughout the book of Leviticus, the rules and parameters are there for everyone, not just the priests. The laws of found later in the parashah (Leviticus chapter 11) are all about boundaries, about things being out of place. It's not a matter of good and bad but proper order. Peanuts and crackerjacks are fine at a ballgame, chicken soup isn't. A ball hit into stands is a home run, unless it is on the wrong side of the foul post, one millimeter can make it out of bounds. Rule-wise in a ball game, a foul ball is not fair. Food-wise in a ball park, a fowl bowl is not fare. (Sorry, I couldn't resist).

"A place for everything and everything in its place;" this adage attributed to Benjamin Franklin conveys a bit of the mindset found in Leviticus, though it needs to be expanded a bit: proper place, proper time, proper items, and proper behavior. Hmm, that last one can be tough for us to take. We'll get to that in a moment.

Even in ancient times, things could get out of whack. Sometimes when this happened, you brought an offering. At other times, such events prevented you from bringing an offering. For example, persons who came in contact with a corpse were ritually impure and could not nosh on the paschal sacrifice. Why were they impure? Perhaps it had to do with the blurring of boundaries between life and death. To remedy the situation, a red heifer was burned before the priest. Its ashes were used to purify those individuals who had come in contact with a corpse. The details of this ritual (Numbers 19:1-22) are read this Shabbat, which is designated as Shabbat Parah (Shabbat of the Heifer) and occurs just before the month of Nissan, when we celebrate Pesach.

Lest we think that all this is rigid and archaic – just like baseball according to its critics – we find that we too have sensitivity to boundaries. Despite society's championing of individual desires, nonetheless there are limits. The newspapers regularly report on the downfall of leaders who went too far and got burned; whether role models in politics, business, or religion; whether the issue is one of power, greed, or fulfilling personal desires.

The lesson we learn from Shmini is one of limits. No one has complete freedom; there are always consequences. There is yet a more difficult lesson as well: Just because something feels right doesn't mean it is right. It felt right for Nadab and Abihu to bring the offering they did. But boy, were they wrong, even if they meant well! There may have been a fire burning in their hearts, but fire can be destructive unless properly channeled. This is the heart of Leviticus: channeling things properly so they are constructive rather than destructive. Many modern Jews view the rituals of Leviticus as the cold embers of an ancient fire. Its message, though, is a fire that needs to be fanned to ignite in our souls.

Shabbat shalom,
MS