Beyond the details: Finding meaning and intention in Parshat Shemini

Parshat Shemini

Some see nonsense. I see care and thoughtfulness and intentionality.

Parshat Shemini opens with details about the korbanot, the sacrifices offered to God. There is much talk about the fat, the kidneys, the protuberance of the liver. There is the dashing of blood and turning the offering into smoke.

Later there is a long list of foods Jews can eat and cannot eat. Locusts, crickets and grasshoppers are in. Seagulls, pelicans and bats are out.

A lot of Jews throw their hands up at all this. It seems out of touch with reality, picayune, hopelessly ancient. The problem with dismissing all this is that we stop ourselves from accepting a challenge. The challenge here is to figure out why in the world these details are here in the first place. Now, we could drill down into the specifics to tease out a metaphor or some historical context. Millions have done that over thousands of years.

But if we zoom out a bit and look at this from a distance, what I see is care and attention. Let’s look at the korbanot. I am not the first to suggest that if God really is God then what we offer should make no difference. If God is truly God, what does the Divine need with the dashing of blood and turning the offering into smoke? The answer is that God does not need this. We need this. We need some way to show attention to God and at the time, offerings were au courant. I like to imagine how the Cohanim and Levites and all the Israelites felt, not during the ceremonies, but after they were done. How satisfying for them to walk away from the Temple feeling connected, that they accomplished their very best to show attention to God. The details are interesting but the satisfaction from a job well done is the larger point.

It’s the same thing with all the animals. Put yourself back in a world where you personally get your own food. It’s completely believable that you could be wandering about and see some bird (or insect) and make it your lunch. But now you have a list of birds (or insects) and you show attention and intentionality as you decide to capture or not. It’s not about the bird (or insect). It’s about you and your decision to abide by the rules of the community and show attention to God.

Last week you all joined a seder, I hope. There are long seders and short seders, intense seders and jovial seders. All kinds of seders. The only real rule is to accomplish those 15 steps. The real goal is to show attention and intentionality to what you are doing. Some will say you are not doing it right. What they really mean is that they have a different goal with their attention and intentionality and they are little too judgy. The only thing wrong is if you mock the seder. That’s not nice and mocking erodes the intentionality of others.

So I say to you, indulge the details of this parasha if you wish. They are fascinating. But if not that, be impressed by the effort, the attention, the intentionality of doing something for a greater purpose. When it comes to living as a Jew, where do you put in your effort, your attention, your intentionality? And when you do, do you feel a sense of satisfaction? PJC

Rabbi Larry Freedman is the director of the religious school of Congregation Beth Shalom and the newly unified Beit Kulanu. This column is a service of the Greater Pittsburgh Jewish Clergy Association.