5785 Parshat Shemini Dvar Torah by Tzipora Ross

This week’s parsha begins with the words, "ויהי ביום השמיני", "It was on the eighth day" (Vayikra 9:1). As the eighth graders studied earlier this year, Rashi tells us this passage refers to the eighth day of the inauguration of the Mishkan, which fell on the first day of Nissan. For the seven previous days, Moshe took apart and rebuilt the Mishkan, teaching Aharon and his sons how to perform the avodah, the Temple service. Thus, Moshe served as the kohen gadol for these seven days. On the eighth day, all was finally ready to implement the daily avodah, and Aharon would take over.

HaRav Aharon Lichtenstein זצ"ל (rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion, whose yahrzeit is Rosh Chodesh Iyar) discusses the importance of Moshe serving as kohen gadol for this inaugural week in the Mishkan. He describes the fundamental differences between the navi, as characterized by Moshe, and the kohen gadol, as characterized by Aharon. A kohen has this title only because of an accident of birth. While he has many laws to learn in order to successfully work in the Mishkan, he merely must strictly follow these laws without deviating from them in order to succeed in his role. By contrast, the navi acquires prophecy through a combination of Hashem's choosing and the navi's own spiritual toil. Prophecy lies far beyond the ordinary, as it requires the unique ability to interpret Hashem’s command and encourage change among those for whom the prophecy is directed.

The fact that Moshe, the navi, inaugurates the Mishkan is meant to emphasize the newness of the avodah and to maintain that newness throughout the upcoming daily ritual. Hashem has chosen Moshe for this task expressly because he is not the kohen gadol, in order to emphasize this very point. As a navi, Moshe’s relationship with Hashem is constantly evolving, so it never gets stale. Moshe's role in inaugurating the Mishkan is to highlight this point for the future service in the Mishkan, making sure that the daily avodah will be inspiring.

As we return from what I hope was an inspiring Pesach, we should take the Torah and the family time we experienced over the holiday and use them to infuse a passion into our daily learning and observance of mitzvot.