HaMaayan/The Torah Spring
                      Edited by Shlomo Katz

                        Parashat Shemini
                    Volume V, Number 25 (211)
                  29 Nisan 5751/April 13, 1991

                        Parasha Overview

   The "eighth day" is significant to us in many ways:  This
Parasha describes the events that transpired on the eighth, and
last, day of the dedication of the Mishkan.  On the eighth day of
his life, a boy is circumcised.  Also, the Midrash tells us that it
was on the eighth day of the world's existence that Adam discovered
fire.  (This is why we recite a blessing over fire at the close of
Shabbat.)

   All of these "eighth-day-deeds" share a common theme - the idea
that G-d left His creation imperfect so that we can complete it
through our service of Him.  In the case of circumcision, Hashem
told Avraham, "[Do this] and you will be perfect" (B'reishit 17:1). 
Adam's "scientific discovery" on the first day after the week of
creation also represents man's mission to continue G-d's creative
work.  So with the Mishkan.  G-d had commanded that a Tabernacle be
built to house His "presence" amongst Bnei Yisrael.  With the
Mishkan completed and dedicated according to G-d's specifications,
man's service within begins.

   But imperfect man often enacts an imperfect service.  Thus it
happened that Nadav and Avihu offered "strange fire" in the Mishkan
and were stricken down.  When doing the work that Hashem left for
us to complete, we must remain bound by the rules that Hashem
enacted.  [Perhaps this is the lesson in the fact that Adam's first
discovery was fire, a creation endowed with both beneficial and
destructive characteristics.]  (adapted from R' A. Buchman, Bidibur
Echod)

              ************************************

   "And it was on the eighth day...."  (Vayikra 9:1)

   "And it was evening, and it was morning - one day."  (B'reishit
1:5)

   From the language shared by these two verses, the Gemara
(Megilah 10b) derives the lesson that "On the eighth day of the
dedication of the Mishkan, G-d was as happy as He had been on the
day on which He created the world."  In describing the day on which
the Mishkan was dedicated, the Midrash says:  "That day took ten
crowns:  It was the first day of creation, the first day on which
the princes of the tribes brought sacrifices, the first day of the
month (Nisan), etc."  In light of the Gemara and Midrash quoted, we
must understand the connection between dedication of the Mishkan
and G-d's creation of the world.  In particular, how can a day in
the year 2449 be called "the first day of creation"?

   The purpose of the Mishkan, say Chazal, was to provide a place
where G-d's presence could be felt as openly as It had been in Gan
Eden before Adam's sin.  Although the state of the world today is
greatly diminished from the state that Hashem had planned for the
ideal world, there were times and places where Hashem's original
design was fulfilled.  The first of these times was between Adam's
creation and sin, and another such time will be after Mashiach's
arrival.  One place where the ideal state of the world could be
seen was in the Mishkan that Moshe built.  This state was
manifested by the fact that G-d's "voice" of prophecy emanated from
the Mishkan, as well as by the overt miracles which occurred in the
Mishkan on a daily basis.

   This explains why Hashem was so "happy" with the completion of
the Mishkan, because man had finally rectified Adam's sin (at least
to a certain extent), and G-d's presence could therefore settle in
the Mishkan as it had in Gan Eden.  In a sense, therefore, the day
on which the Mishkan was dedicated was a repetition of the days of
creation, the days before Adam's sin caused G-d to hide Himself.

   Based on these thoughts we can understand as well how two men as
great as Nadav and Avihu came to sin and lose their lives at the
very moment when G-d was "experiencing" this "joy."  Hashem created
a "Yetzer Hara" ("evil inclination") in man and assigned it the
task of challenging man by thwarting in any way possible man's
close relationship to G-d.  On the day on which the Mishkan was
dedicated - the day on which G-d's presence returned to "dwell"
among mankind - the "Yetzer Hara" realized that it was doomed. 
Through the Mishkan, man would become so close to G-d that there
would be no room in man's heart for the evil inclination (just as
Adam had no Yetzer Hara.)

   What did the evil inclination do?  It caused Nadav and Avihu to
sin, and therefore, to die.  In so doing, the Yetzer Hara's attack
was directed not primarily at Nadav and Avihu, but at their father,
Aharon, the "Kohen Gadol".  Aharon was, so-to-speak, the "star" of
the dedication ceremonies, the man who would be the intermediary in
the Mishkan between man and G-d.  If the Yetzer Hara could cause
Aharon to become angry or depressed, G-d's "happiness" would be
disrupted as well, and the purpose of the Mishkan would be
frustrated.

   What happened?  "And Aharon [remained] silent."  (Vayikra 10:3)

                (based on Midrash Talpoit, "Anaf Bigdei Kehunah")

   [Note:  It is one of the cardinal tenets of our faith that G-d
has no physical form, nor human emotions.  Therefore, any reference
to G-d's "feelings", "happiness", or other human qualities should
be taken figuratively only.  On the use of anthropomorphisms in
describing G-d, please see R' Yehuda HaLevi's Kuzari or the
writings of Rambam (Maimonides).]

              ************************************

   Twice every seven years, in the fourth and seventh years of the
"Shemittah" cycle (see below), the opportunity arises to perform
the Mitzvah of "Vidui Ma'asrot".  Just such an occasion fell eight
days ago, on the seventh day of the fourth Pesach after the
Shemittah, and we therefore devote the following space to a
discussion to this rarely performed Mitzvah.

   In a typical year, the Jewish farmer in Eretz Yisrael is
required to divide his produce into four unequal shares.  The first
share - Rabbinically ordained to be 2% of the total crop - is given
to a Kohen as "Terumah".  The second share - 10% of the remainder
(=9.8% of the total) - is "Ma'aser" and is given to a Levi.  The
farmer them removes 10% of the new remainder (8.82% of the original
total) for a purpose that will be described below, and the final
share (79.38% of the original) is the owner's to do with as he
pleases.

   What becomes of the second tithe (the 8.82%)?  The answer to
this question is not the same every year.  Part of the Jewish
calendar is the seven-year Shemittah-cycle of which the first six
years are set aside for agricultural pursuits, and the seventh for
leaving the land fallow in recognition of the fact that it is G-d,
not our own labor, that is the true source of our sustenance.  In
the first, second, fourth, and fifth years of the cycle, the second
tithe becomes "Ma'aser Sheni" and is kept by its owner to be eaten
when he next travels to Yerushalayim.  In the third and sixth years
of the Shemittah cycle, this tithe is given as charity and is
therefore called "Ma'aser Ani" - the tithe for the poor.  (In the
seventh year, since the land is not cultivated, no tithes are
given.)

   Chazal learned from the Torah (in Parashat Ki Tavo) that twice
in a Shemittah cycle, in the years after Ma'aser Ani is given, we
must perform the companion Mitzvot of "Biur Ma'aser" - "consuming
the tithes" - and "Vidui Ma'aser" - "the confession of the tithes." 
In simple terms, these Mitzvot are not unlike what most Americans
must do by next Monday, the 15th of April:  Account for and pay the
previous year's unpaid taxes.  However, in the case of these two
Mitzvot, the "tax" period is not one year but three, and the
"taxes" are not given to the government but to the Kohanim,
Levi'im, and poor people of the "taxpayer's" choice.  All of these
payments must be made by the sixth day of Pesach (according to
Rambam'; the day before Pesach, according to others of the fourth
and seventh years of the Shemittah cycle.  Any "Terumah" or
"Ma'aser" that has not been disbursed by that day (or eaten by its
owner in Yerushalayim, if it is Ma'aser Sheni) must be destroyed. 
This is the Mitzvah of Biur Ma'asrot.

   On the afternoon of the seventh day of Pesach, the Mitzvah of
Vidui Ma'asrot is done.  This consists of reading the verses of the
Torah in Devarim 26:13-15:  

   I have destroyed the holy [Ma'aser Sheni and certain other     
   crops] from my house, and I have given [the first tithe] to the 
   Levi and [the Ma'aser Ani] to the convert, the orphan, and the 
   widow, in keeping with all the laws that You have commanded me; 
   I have not transgressed one of Your laws, nor have I forgotten.
   I have not eaten from [the Ma'aser Sheni] while in a state of  
   mourning, nor have I consumed any [of the tithes] while [I or  
   they were] ritually impure; I did not sell them to pay the     
   expenses of the deceased; I have obeyed the commands of Hashem, 
   my G-d, I did all that He commanded.
   [Therefore, G-d] look down from Your holy abode in the heavens 
   and bless Your nation, Israel, and the land which You have given 
   us in keeping with Your promise to our forefathers, a land which 
   is flowing with milk and honey.
  
   Does the Mitzvah of Vidui Ma'aser apply today, when the Bet
Hamikdash is not standing?  According to Sefer HaChinuch (Mitzvah
607), it does not.  However, according to two 20th-century "Poskim"
(Halachic decisors) who devoted themselves in particular to
studying the Halachot pertaining to agriculture in Eretz Yisrael,
not only does the Mitzvah of Vidui Ma'aser apply today, but it
should be fulfilled by a public reading in each "Shul" of the
appropriate Torah verses.  These Poskim are R' Avraham David
Rabinowitz-Teomim (known by the acronym "Aderet") and R' Yechiel
Michel Tikochinski.  However, R' Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook
disagrees with the "Aderet" (his father-in-law), noting that we say
in the Vidui, "I have not consumed of the tithes while I was
ritually impure," and we, today, are all presumed to be defiled by
ritual impurity.  (The word "consumed", according to R' Kook,
refers to all of our handling of the produce.)  The "Chazon Ish" is
quoted as suggesting additional reasons as well why this Mitzvah
cannot be performed today.

   (The preceding essay was compiled from the following sources: 
R' Nachman HaLevi Zelnick, Sefer Atzeret:  Shevi'i Shel Pesach,
ch.6; Rambam, Hil. Ma'aser Sheni, ch.11; Rashi, Commentary to
Devarim 26:13-15; R' Avraham Goldberg, Ha'Aretz U'Mitzvoteha, p.29;
and R' A.Y.H. Kook, Mishpat Kohen, no.56

   Reminder:  As always, nothing in HaMaayan should be relied upon
in practice.  Instead, all Halachic questions should be referred to
a competent Rabbi.


                     ********************

Posted by Alan Broder, ajb@grebyn.com (uunet!grebyn!ajb), who 
should be contacted to request back issues of HaMaayan or to get
on or off the direct email mailing list.

Shlomo Katz can not receive EMAIL, however I will pass on any
comment forwarded to me, or alternately, send your comments care of
yehuda@gwuvm.bitnet