Skip to main content

שְּׁמִינִי / Shemini Parsha Overview: Reminders of Holiness

וַיִּקְרָא / vayikra / Leviticus 9:1-11:47

This is a basic overview of the parsha story in a format adaptable for kids of any age. Sources include parsha text, commentaries and midrash, though when introducing midrash, I try to include the words “some people think” or something similar. 

Please see the Vayeishev overview for how we use these narratives  in our homeschool.  I also have copywork sheets to go with the weekly parsha… enjoy!


image What if you were really, REALLY mad at somebody?

For a good reason, too:  maybe they did something just terrible.

Now, here’s the thing:  they apologized already.  They said “sorry”; they fixed what they’d done.

They even helped you out in some other ways – they’ve been super-nice ever since.

So can you forgive them?  Really; all the way?  You might stay just a little bit mad, even after all those things.

 

The Egel HaZahav was so terrible that Hashem hadn’t forgiven bnei Yisrael all the way yet.

While the Mishkan was being built, Hashem was watching to see how bnei Yisrael would behave.

Maybe He needed to see…        

·         How generously they brought gifts to build the Mishkan!

·         How well they listened to Moshe, Betzalel and Oholiav while building it!

·         Whether they would accept the kohanim as their leaders!

Shemini means “eighth” – it was the eighth day; the day the kohanim started their permanent jobs in the Mishkan.

 

image image The Mishkan was built, the kohanim were ready… the preparations were finally complete.

All of bnei Yisrael gathered outside the Mishkan to see what would happen.

A fire came down from Hashem, and Aharon and his sons’ korbanos were burnt up completely.

Aharon, the new Kohen Gadol, raised his hands and bentsched the people with birkas kohanim.

Bnei Yisrael were so excited to see this proof that they were forgiven that they sang out loud!

 

That was when something really, really sad happened.

When you’re celebrating, it’s easy to want to make the celebration even bigger. 

That’s what Aharon’s sons Nadav and Avihu decided to do.  They wanted to get even closer to Hashem.

They decided to bring a korban of their own.  Some say they brought it into the kodesh hakodashim – the holiest place!

Maybe that sounds like a great idea – but it wasn’t.

 

A few weeks ago, in Parshas Vayakhel, we learned about good intentions – wanting to do the right thing.

Good intentions are not enough without a good plan.  Nadav and Avihu didn’t ask Moshe or Aharon about their plan.

Maybe they thought that because they were from Aharon’s family, they could do what they wanted. 

But they couldn’t!  Even tzaddikim are not allowed to make their own plans; they still have to follow the Torah.

Right away, a huge fire came and burnt them up!

 

When his sons died, Aharon didn’t say anything.  He was probably very upset, but he didn’t complain.

Sometimes, bad things happen that we cannot understand; they make us feel like life isn’t fair.

Hashem then spoke to Aharon directly, reminding him of how holy the Kodesh Hakodashim is.

image What a great reward!  Usually, Hashem only gave instructions directly to Moshe.

 

The rest of Parshas Shemini talks about “tamei” and “tahor” – pure things we’re allowed to eat and touch. 

These rules are not just for the kohanim – they are for every single Jew, even today! 

Hashem cares about every tiny detail of our lives!

image Animals we can eat are called KOSHER.  It’s easy to know if an animal is kosher!  Is it…

A land animal?  Then it needs to have split feet, and chew cud.  One of these signs isn’t enough; it must have both!  That means no snakes (no feet!), no pigs (split feet, but no cud), but cows and moose are just fine.

A sea animal?  Check if it has fins and scales on its body.  One of these signs isn’t enough; it must have both!  Most of what we call fish have both – but octopus, shrimp, crab and other sea creatures do not.

A bird?  Hashem gave Moshe a long list of kinds we CANNOT eat, but today, we don’t know which ones we can’t have.  So we only eat the kinds that our ancestors knew about – like chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons.  “Birds of prey” – carnivorous hunting birds are never kosher; only plant-eating birds (and animals) are kosher.

An insect?  Yes, there are kosher insects!  Hashem gave Moshe a short list of locusts that we are allowed to eat.  Some Sefardi Jews (from Northern Africa, Asia and Southern Europe) have a tradition to eat locusts; others do not eat them.

 

Separating “tamei” from “tahor” reminds that bnei Yisrael must stay “tahor” – pure and holy in every way.  Next week, we will learn about Tzara’as, a disease that reminds us of other ways Hashem asks us to stay holy.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

לימודי קודש/Limudei Kodesh Copywork & Activity Printables

Welcome to my Limudei Kodesh / Jewish Studies copywork and activity printables page.  As of June 2013, I am slowly but surely moving all my printables over to 4shared because Google Docs / Drive is just too flaky for me. What you’ll find here: Weekly Parsha Copywork More Parsha Activities More Chumash / Tanach Activities Yom Tov Copywork & Activities Tefillah Copywork Pirkei Avos / Pirkei Avot Jewish Preschool Resources Other printables! For General Studies printables and activities, including Hebrew-English science resources and more, click here . For Miscellaneous homeschool helps and printables, click here . If you use any of my worksheets, activities or printables, please leave a comment or email me at Jay3fer “at” gmail “dot” com, to link to your blog, to tell me what you’re doing with it, or just to say hi!  If you want to use them in a school, camp or co-op setting, please email me (remove the X’s) for rates. If you just want to say Thank You, here’s a

Hebrew/ עברית & English General Studies Printables

For Jewish Studies, including weekly parsha resources and copywork, click here . If you use any of my worksheets, activities or printables, please leave a comment or email me at Jay3fer “at” gmail “dot” com, to link to your blog, to tell me what you’re doing with it, or just to say hi!  If you want to use them in a school, camp or co-op setting, please email me (remove the X’s) for rates. If you enjoy these resources, please consider buying my weekly parsha book, The Family Torah :  the story of the Torah, written to be read aloud – or any of my other wonderful Jewish books for kids and families . English Worksheets & Printables: (For Hebrew, click here ) Science :  Plants, Animals, Human Body Math   Ambleside :  Composers, Artists History Geography Language & Literature     Science General Poems for Elemental Science .  Original Poems written by ME, because the ones that came with Elemental Science were so awful.  Three pages are included:  one page with two po

It's Heart Month: 3 days left to save lives!

Dear Friends & Family: Hi, everybody! Sorry I can’t stop by in person... you're a bit out of my area.  :-) We’re out walking up and down on our street on this beautiful afternoon to raise money for Heart & Stroke.  This cause is important to me (I won't say it's close to my heart , because that would be tacky!).  I hope you'll join me by donating online. Growing up, I watched as every single one of my grandparents' lives were shortened by heart disease and strokes, and my father had a defibrillator that saved his life on more than one occasion.  Heart disease and stroke kill 1 in 3 Canadians and are the #1 killer of women. Please click this link to be redirected to my main page at the Heart & Stroke website: http://tinyurl.com/AtlasHeart Thus ends my personal appeal.  Official information follows.  :-))) ----- Heart disease and stroke is the #1 killer of women - taking more women's lives than all forms of cancer combined. But no one is immune. Th