by Rabbi Avi Billet
In the context of asking a larger question regarding where the consecration day that we call the “Yom HaShmini” came from, as it is not commanded in the book of Shemos, and is not mentioned in the formal consecration of the Kohanim as described in the previous parsha (Tzav), Rabbi Yonatan Grossman shares the following observations regarding 7 days leading to an 8th (or a similar expression of numbers):
1. ZAV AND ZAVA (people who experience a discharge flowing from the flesh): The process of the purification of a zav and a zava consists of 2 parts: first - 7 days during which the subject must count his purity (i.e., "7 clean days"). On the day after these 7 days (called by the Torah "the eighth day" -15:14, 15:29), the zav or zava must bring offerings to the mishkan.
2. METZORA (one who has tzara’as): The metzora's process of purification - firstly, he must sit outside his dwelling for 7 days (14:8), and then, on the eighth day" (14:10), he must bring sacrifices to the Mishkan for atonement.
3. THE AGE OF AN ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE: An animal that was just born may not be brought as a sacrifice; rather, "it shall be with its mother for 7 days," and only "from the eighth day onwards it shall be acceptable as an offering by fire to God" (22:27).
4. THE OMER: The sevenfold counting of 7 days may also be linked to this model of "7 followed by 8." Namely, the counting of the Omer may be constituted of a basic count of 7 days, executed 7 times (7x7), after which the "eighth day" arrives - in practice, the fiftieth day (Shavuot). The seven Shemitta cycles (7x7) followed by the fiftieth year (Yovel) may be conceptualized similarly.
5. SUKKOT: The 7 days of Sukkot and the "eighth day" which follows them may also be connected via this same basic model.
All of the above examples demonstrate that there is a closed system of 7 days that is a preparation for the eighth day that follows them . This eighth day does not have an independent status; it is "the day after" - but it is in fact the whole purpose of the 7 preceding days… the purpose of the preparations during the 7 days is always a renewed entry into the Mishkan and a renewed appearance before God.
For the purification of the impure this is clear:
• the zav and zava count the days of their impurity, the purpose of this counting being to re-enter the mishkan - a renewed appearance before God. On the eighth day they may once again approach the holy precinct: "And he shall come before God to the door of the Ohel Mo'ed" (15:14).
• the metzora emphasizes his renewed appearance before God on the eighth day: "And the kohen who purifies shall present the person to be purified and those things (i.e., the offerings of the eighth day) before God at the door of the Ohel Mo'ed" (14:11).
The animal that can now be brought as a Korban from the 8th day onward, and the new meal offering that is brought in the Mishkan on Shavuos, only after the counting of the Omer is completed, also emphasize this idea of going from baseline into the Mishkan when the number 8 is achieved.
As a result, Rabbi Grossman concludes that a command regarding the 8th day can’t be issued until the Mishkan is completed and until the baseline has been reached. So the "Yom HaShmini" only became a possibility after the 7 days prior to it had reached their conclusion.
Of course, a similar observation is often made regarding Bris Milah, of the special nature of the 8th day, though Bris Milah doesn’t directly contain any instruction about the 7 days prior to the 8th day. In next week’s parsha we will see that a mother who gives birth to a boy experiences 7 days of tumah prior to achieving a taharah status in time for her son’s circumcision. But that is not so much about the mitzvah of Bris Milah as much as it is about the woman’s experience.
Many have made the observation that Bris Milah is meant to take the mundane and turn it holy through an action – some might even compare it to a sacrificial-type of action – which is done on the 8th day.
How can Bris Milah be compared to a sacrifice? The lap of the sandak who holds the baby is compared to an altar. The Rama writes in Shulchan Arukh YD 265 דכל סנדק הוי כמקטיר קטורת (מהרי"ל בשם רבינו פרץ), ולכן נוהגין כב שלא ליתן שני ילדים לבעל ברית אחד, כדאמרינן גבי קטורת: חדשים לקטורת, which means “Every Sandak is like one who is offering incense (in the Temple), so the practice is not to have a Sandak be used for two children [of one family] as it says regarding the incense {k'toret}, "A new person for the k'toret."
Yashresh Yaakov suggests that the numerical value (gematria) of the word Sandak = 218, if you add the values, סנדק = 60 + 50 + 4 + 100 + the 4 letters of the word = 218, which refers to a "ריח ניחוח" - a sweet fragrance from a spice offering (ריח = 218).
This likely relates to the idea that the Sandak is compared to one who brings such an offering when he is holding the baby on his lap during the bris.
While it is a mistaken notion that the Bris makes the child Jewish (his being born from his Jewish mother is what actually achieves that), the idea that the child bears the mark of the covenant, and is therefore elevated in status, is certainly true through the act of circumcision.
No matter which element of 7 leads to 8 we perceive, may we be blessed to imbue it with holiness. Especially in our buildup to Shavuos, which has 7 weeks leading to the day which follows it, our efforts between now and then should follow the model of the Mishkan – aiming up, building holiness, to become as close to God as we can during this time period.
The Yom HaShmini was meant to be a time in which the Bnei Yisrael came ever closer to God. Even the events surrounding the deaths of Nadav and Avihu was also directed towards their spiritual enhancement, even if there was either a flaw in their service, or God's desire to take their souls. But the eighth day would not have happened without the seven days, so we must make the most of every 7 day opportunity, in order for the 8th which follows can be one of the greatest level of spiritual growth.
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