Feature Tidbit
for Parashat Shmini

Another Two Kugels

The fourth of the Four Parshiyot is HaChodesh, the Shabbat of or right before Rosh Chodesh Nissan. It most often goes along with Vayaqhel and/or P'kudei and sometimes with Tazria. Least often, HaChodesh is teamed with Sh'mini (16.3% of the time). But that's what happens this year - this Shabbat, to be specific - so let's learn something extra from the juxtaposition.

Sh'mini is the third sedra in a row to deal with korbanot. Just about half way through Sh'mini, the Torah changes topic and we are taught what animals we may eat and which ones we are forbidden to eat. After two and a half sedras of "the proper use of animals for spiritual purposes", we now have the next set of lessons - "proper personal use of animals". There still is an element of the spiritual in the "forbidden foods' part of the sedra, specifically the issue of ritual impurity from contact with the carcasses of certain animals. But we can say that the first half of Sh'mini deals with the sacred and the second half with the profane.

[By the way, the order of dealing with our "use" of animals - sacred then secular - parallels the experience of No'ach after he, his family, and all the animals emerged from the Ark. He first brought sacrifices to G-d, and then he was given permission to eat meat, with the single prohibition against EIVER MIN HACHAI, limb from a living animal. So too, do we see the same idea in the Mishna. Seder Kadashim (hard word to transliterate) begins with Z'VACHIM and MENACHOT, which deal with korbanot from the animal kingdom and plant kingdom respectively. Then we find Masechet CHULIN which deals with the many aspects of "meat for personal use".]

The main theme of the Maftir is Korban Pesach. After two p'sukim which deal with the Jewish Calendar, the rest of the Maftir (and beyond) deals with Chametz & Matza, the Seder night, and Korban Pesach. K.P. is different from all other korbanot. It is (sort of) a blend of the spiritual and the mundane. The purpose of bringing the K.P. is to eat it. As opposed to the other korbanot where the main feature is the offering of the korban on the Mizbei'ach; the eating, when that is the case, is almost incidental.

All korbanot were brought in the Beit HaMikdash between the two daily T'midim. Except for K.P. which comes AFTER the afternoon Tamid. K.P. can be brought and eaten in a state (this is where the hard copy lead tidbit stops - by accident) of ritual impurity. This can be seen as a "compromise" by G-d to facilitate our performance of this mitzva. (An individual is postponed until Pesach Sheni because of TUM'A, but the community brings and eats K.P. while TAMEI, rather than wait the month.)

What I'm trying to say, without too many proofs, but with a 'feeling", is that Korban Pesach somehow is a combination of the sacred and the mundane (although much heavier on the sacred).

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