Dvar Torah Parashat Shemini

Dedicated in Honor of Our New Grandsons,

Eliot D. Tawil, Jesse M. Pava, and Eliot Z. Tawil

By Lori and Eliot Tawil and Family

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Parashat Shemini

Unconditional Love

Between Pesach and Shavuot our Rabbis told the Jewish nation to learn pikrei avot—ethics of our fathers to improve our middot and prepare them for receiving the Torah. The second Bet Hamikdash was destroyed because of sinat chinum—baseless hatred, and to counteract that our Rabbis suggest that we treat everyone with unconditional love to bring the Bet Hamikdash speedily and in our days. During this auspicious month of Nissan, it is a time of geula—redemption. Let us bring the geula by treating everyone with the love and respect we would want to receive ourselves.

R’ Yechiel Spero shares a story that happened to a religious family many years ago in Bnei Brak. All the children were thriving except for one son, Avrumi. He was struggling in all areas, in school, with his friends, with his siblings… One day after a big fight with his siblings, Avrumi packed a backpack, and despite his family’s pleas he ran out of the house. His family was devastated, and to make matters worse it was Erev Pesach.

As the family prepared for Pesach his parents cried, hoping he would come home. He did not. Pesach began, and the father went to pray at the Lederman shul where the Steipler Gaon prayed. After davening he asked the Rabbi for advice, and the Rabbi answered one word, “Wait.”

The father went home, and instead of starting the seder like all the other families, he instructed his family to wait. So, they waited and waited, but Avrumi did not come home. After two hours he went to the Steipler’s house and asked him what to do. The Steipler answered simply, “Wait.”

The father returned home and told his family what the Rabbi said. Again, the entire family waited almost two hours. As the father was going to go back to the Rabbi, there was a knock at the door. It was Avrumi. “Abba, can I come home?” he asked with tear-filled eyes.

“Of course Avrumi,” the father said bringing him into the house. Avrumi sees his older and younger siblings all sitting on the couch. He sees the seder table is untouched. Not a crumb of matzah or splash of grape juice was seen. He looked up at his father in wonder, and he says, “You waited for me! I can’t believe you waited for me.”

“Of course we waited for you,” his father responded with a smile. He fell into his father’s arms and never looked back. From then on he turned his life around. We may think the world is going on around us, and that we are not important. But Hashem is waiting for us to find our way back to Him. When we overcome that shame and ask Hashem if He can let us come home, we know He will welcome us back with open arms. So too we should forgive our friends and family when they try to change and treat everyone with ahavat chinum—unconditional love especially during the omer.

Accept the Almighty’s Will

This week’s parasha discusses the death of Aharon’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu. The Torah describes Aharon’s reaction to his sons’ death, “And Aharon was silent (10:3).” Rabbi Zelig Pliskin explains in his book, Growth Through Torah, that Aharon was greatly praised for his silence. It’s logical that only before something happens can one take action to prevent it. But afterward, there is nothing to do. It is a challenging task, but many sages were praised for accepting the Will of Hashem. Rabbi Akiva always used to say when something happened, “All that the Almighty does is good.” Nachum Ish Gam Zu, used to say, “This, too, is for good.” Aharon, the first High Priest, stayed silent and that was admirable, but wouldn’t it have been better if he praised Hashem during this difficult moment?

When a person says, “Everything Hashem does is for the best,” about something that initially pained or frustrated him, it implies that at first, he looked at the situation as unfavorable, but he used his intellect to overcome the adverse reaction. Intellectually, he knows that all the Almighty causes to occur is ultimately for good, enabling him to accept the situation. But an even higher level is to internalize the concept that whatever the Almighty does is positive and good. When this is a person’s automatic evaluation of every occurrence, he does not have to convince himself that a specific event is good. Such a person accepts everything that occurs in his life with immediate joy.

This was the greatness of Aharon. He remained silent because he knew clearly that everything the Almighty does is purposeful. We should all strive to emulate this. Acceptance of Hashem’s Will is the most crucial attitude for living a happy life. The more we learn to accept the Will of the Almighty, the greater joy we will experience.

Kashrut

This week’s parasha also includes some of the most intriguing commandments and one of the most critical and dramatic proofs that Hashem is the indisputable Author of our Torah.

We learn from our kashrut laws that only four animals in the world have only one of the two signs of a kosher animal. In the thousands of years since the Torah was given to us, scientists have not found any other animals like this. This proves that Hashem wrote our holy Torah, because He’s the One who created the world and what animals He put in it!

The Torah describes the signs of a kosher animal. To be kosher, the animal must have split hooves and chew its cud. Then the Torah lists the four animals which have only one kosher sign. “This is what you shall not eat from among those that bring up their cud or that have split hooves: The camel, for it brings up its cud, but its hoof is not split. The hyrax, for it brings up its cud, but its hoof is not split. The hare, for it brings up its cud, but its hoof is not split. The pig, for its hoof is split and is completely separated, but it does not chew its cud (11:4-7).”

The Kli Yakar notes that the Torah goes through the trouble to list these animals’ kosher characteristics and then explains what they lack. This suggests that animals with one kosher element are worse than those without kosher signs. They are like people who make no real effort to behave well but make a big deal of publicizing their occasional good deeds or traits instead of concentrating on getting rid of their deficiencies. This “dishonesty” — flaunting their one kosher sign — labels these animals as non-kosher!

It’s a fantastic fact that no other animal has ever been found that fits the Torah’s description of the pig — having a split hoof but not chewing its cud! Of the four animals that are not kosher due to only having one kosher characteristic, the pig is the only one that has a split hoof. Pigs often stick out their legs to display their cloven feet and fool people into thinking they are kosher, even though they do not chew their cud. They look kosher on the outside but aren’t kosher on the inside.

It is not enough to have the outward appearance of an admirable person; one’s inner life is what counts. Our values and the things we strive to achieve make us who we are.

Eating Kosher is Humane

One of the hallmarks of Jewish law is extreme sensitivity to the pain of others. The mandate to minimize suffering extends even to animals, and it’s evident in our kashrut laws. Jewish law commands the kosher animal’s neck to be slit in a quick motion. Most mammals have two main arteries carrying blood to and from the brain. The carotid artery is in front of the neck, and the vertebral artery is in the back of the neck. When an animal’s neck is slit, the carotid artery is severed, but the vertebral artery remains intact. This means blood flows toward the animal’s brain, keeping it conscious and in pain until it bleeds out, which is inhumane.

Remarkably, out of the entire animal kingdom, only kosher animals possess a unique physiological trait. The circulatory system of kosher animals is designed so that both the carotid and vertebral arteries are in the front of the neck. When shechting a kosher animal, both arteries are severed, causing the animal to lose consciousness, resulting in a virtually painless death immediately. Of all the animals on the entire planet, only kosher animals have this quality. Such an unparalleled knowledge of our world clearly points to a Master Planner and Creator.

Eating Kosher is Good for Body and Soul

Pigs have a high-speed digestive system and can digest poisonous food without getting sick; that is why they eat garbage. The poisons are wrapped with fat and remain inside the body; anyone who eats pork will consume those toxins.

On the other hand, kosher animals are herbivores and eat only grass or grain, which they digest slowly; therefore, they must avoid poisons. Lobsters and shellfish, also not kosher, roam the seabed and consume the refuse. Contaminated shellfish have caused almost instant death in countless cases.

Besides the health reasons that benefit us physically, our rabbis teach us that our kashrut laws primarily affect our spiritual well-being. Rashi explains that various animals are forbidden to Jews because our spiritual mission is to attach ourselves to the ultimate source of spiritual life, Hashem. These non-kosher animals, if eaten, influence our neshama. Eating forbidden foods prevents us from learning Torah properly and dulls our senses. By observing the laws of kashrut, a Jew can pull himself up the ladder of kedusha. But if he ignores them, he will contaminate himself and eventually build up a barrier blocking his spiritual growth. This is called timtum halev, the dulling or polluting of the heart!

Keeping Kosher

There’s a story told by Rabbi Frand of two successful Hungarian-Jewish merchants who were arrested by the Spanish Authorities during the Spanish Inquisition under false suspicion that their goods were smuggled or pirated. Due to the strong alliance between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Spanish Government did not incarcerate the two merchants During the Spanish Inquisition being a Jew was very dangerous. The government enforced harsh decrees forcing conversion or death to any Jew found. Therefore, the two Jewish merchants disguised themselves as Gentiles.

Each of the merchants was taken home and hosted by a customs official for lunch. The first merchant was seated at the table and served chicken and wine by the official’s servant. The merchant paled and hesitated, as he knew he must keep his Jewish identity a secret. Suddenly the customs agent got up and asked the merchant to follow him to the attic. There he asked the merchant if he was Jewish. Before the merchant could respond, the customs agent said, “So am I.” He explained that he was a descendant of the Marranos, Jews who outwardly converted but kept their Jewish identity a secret. The official bent down and extricated a shechitah – slaughter knife from the floorboards. “The chicken we are about to eat, I personally slaughtered it! Kosher L’Mehadrin!”

Later that day after the investigation concluded that there was nothing wrong with the merchandise, the two merchants met up. The Jew met up with his partner and asked him about his experiences. The second Jew was very distraught. He admitted that he had to eat non-kosher meat to preserve his appearance as a non-Jew as it was a matter of life and death. The first Jew told his friend, “The same thing happened to me, but I had the unbelievable fortune of being hosted by a secret Jew who knew the laws of kosher slaughter, and I was able to eat kosher.”

When he returned home he asked the Chasam Sofer what was his sin that he was forced to eat non-kosher and his partner was spared? The Chasam Sofer thought for a moment and replied, “G-d protects all those that are careful to only eat kosher. ‘Measure for measure’ the reward for this is that the Almighty will see to it that you in fact never have to eat anything prohibited. Was there ever a time when you ate something with a questionable kosher status?”

The merchant denied the thought, but after a while, he realized there was a questionable incident when he was newlywed. His wife was unsure of the Kashrut of the chicken she had purchased. Since her husband had learned the laws of slaughter, she asked him. It was a complicated case, and he was too embarrassed to admit that he was unsure, so he declared it kosher. They ate the chicken.

We can see from here that Hashem protects all who strive to listen to the laws of Kashrut, even when it’s hard, inconvenient, or embarrassing. May we all realize that Hashem indeed runs the world and learn from Aharon to accept Hashem’s Will with joy immediately. May we also strive to keep the kashrut laws as they’re written in our holy Torah because those laws elevate us in both body and soul. 

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Amram Sananes, written by Jack Rahmey

Discussion Point:

• Can we remember a situation in which we accepted Hashem’s Will with joy?

Are our kashrut standards at home, on the road, and at work up to par?

This book is a compilation of Divre Torah from the weekly parasha classes from Rabbi Sananes’ teachings over the last 10 years along with my own experiences in those classes which has stimulated my Torah growth. I’ve included many pertinent stories and life lessons to grow from at your Shabbat table. There’s also questions and discussion points at the end of each Parasha to stimulate a Torah conversation at your Shabbat table for the whole family to participate in. Also, included is a holidays section at the end of the book to use for all of our special holidays and Yomiim Toviim.



Now available in all Jewish bookstores and Amazon! Scan the barcode on the right to purchase from Amazon.

Rabbi Sananes and I look forward to hearing your feedback.

Sincerely, Rabbi Amram Sananes and Jack E. Rahmey

AmramSananes@me.com and jrahmey@rahmeyfinancial.com (917-226-6276)               

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Anyone interested in dedicating this Divre Torah Le'ilui Nishmat or Refuah Shelemah or In Honor of someone, can email me at

jrahmey@rahmeyfinancial.com. Checks can be made out to “A Life of Torah” for $101 and mailed to 2387 Ocean Ave Suite 1G, Brooklyn, NY 11229 (please put in the memo “Divre Torah”). Anyone interested in past parshiot please go to the website ParashaPerspective.org