Shemini שְּׁמִינִי - Eighth
Torah Portion: Leviticus 9:1-11:47
Leviticus 10:16–20
10:16 Moses diligently inquired about the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burned. He was angry with Eleazar and with Ithamar, the sons of Aaron who were left, saying, 17 “Why haven’t you eaten the sin offering in the place of the sanctuary, since it is most holy, and he has given it to you to bear the iniquity of the congregation, to make atonement for them before Hashem? 18 Behold, its blood was not brought into the inner part of the sanctuary. You certainly should have eaten it in the sanctuary, as I commanded.”
19 Aaron spoke to Moses, “Behold, today they have offered their sin offering and their burnt offering before Hashem; and such things as these have happened to me. If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have been pleasing in Hashem’s sight?”
20 When Moses heard that, it was pleasing in his sight.
Today’s Meditation:
Aaron is not allowed to mourn for his sons, so he chooses not to eat the sin offering (verse 19), perhaps because he is sad or wants to fast. For whatever reason, it is definitely tied in with the death of his sons. And once Moses hears his reasoning, he seems to excuse him. This teaches us today that sometimes we need to be flexible with people. We need to have compassion and understanding, and not judge too quickly. We need to listen to people and hear their hearts. And that means if we have to change our plans, that’s okay. Let’s continue to learn how to treat others through Torah study.
Today’s Challenge:
Also, today we learned about obeying authority and questioning authority. There is definitely a time and place for it. I used to tell my employees, “Family comes first.” So, if there were family issues or important events, they took precedence over work. Not all employers are like that. So today, I challenge you to think about your boss/employer. Be kind and do what he/she says. If they do not understand something you are trying to tell them, then have patience and explain. Work it out just like Aaron did.
