Parshat Shemini; Leviticus 9:1-11:47 By: Rabbi Denise L. Eger

With the coming of Parshat Shemini the sacrificial system introduced previously is in full operation. In chapter 9 of Leviticus, Aaron, the High Priest and his sons now ordained bring the Divine Presence into full residence in the Ohel Moed, the Tabernacle through their sacrifices. On the eighth day of the ordination ceremony Aaron really begins to fulfill his sacred job’s duties. The offerings are made and the entire people are witnesses. “They brought to the front of the Tent of Meeting the things that Moses had commanded and the whole community came forward and stood before Adonai (Lev. 9:5).” Aaron brings the offerings as instructed and makes expiation for himself and for the people but these must not be done in isolation. These offerings are done certainly on behalf of the people of Israel but also before the people of Israel. The community must bear witness to these offerings and to the grandeur and majesty of the ceremony and ultimately to the see how the korbanot, the offerings indeed draws God near. Our Hebrew word for sacrifice like the ones made on the altar come from the root k.r.v. in Hebrew which means to draw near. Thus these offerings made by Aaron are to bring us closer to the Divine Presence and the Divine Presence close to the People Israel.

The Sifra (the Halakhic Midrash to Leviticus) teaches us that Aaron had to be urged to come forward to fulfill his duties at first. In verse 9:7, Moses had to say to Aaron: “Come forward (or draw near) to the altar…” One might think that Aaron would be eager to begin his special and sacred duties. We might imagine Aaron freshly ordained and robed in the royal clothes of the priesthood would assume his duties in a forthright manner, taking his place at the altar with gusto. But the Sifra teaches that Aaron was fearful and uncertain of going about his duties. His conscience was troubled because of his role in the sin of the Golden Calf. (He was the one the fashioned that idol at the foot of Sinai and then tried to disclaim any responsibility for permitting the great sin of the people and tried to wiggle out of accountability for creating it.) The Sifra teaches that Aaron was reminded of his sin when he looked at the altar because the horns of the altar reminded him of the calf. He was very embarrassed. But this is why Moses urged him forward because even though Aaron had sinned, he was still given the priesthood by God. Moses concluded that God would not have given him the honor of the priesthood with out first forgiving him. In addition the first offering on the eighth day was sin offering and Aaron’s first order of business was to “make expiation for yourself and for the people….as God had commanded (Lev. 9:7)” at the newly dedicated Tabernacle. In this way Aaron could really assume his priestly duties. But more importantly the barrier in the form of the sin of the Golden Calf that distanced Aaron from the Holy Divine One was removed and he could draw himself to God and God towards him. Thus he could fulfill his priestly duties from there on out and bring the people and God into harmony and communion with one another.
We learn many things from the above referenced Midrash. First we learn an important concept in Judaism about the nature of sin and forgiveness. Our sins prevent us from being at one with ourselves and with God. Our behaviors that violate our Jewish code of morality remove us from the holy and remove us from being close to God. God