Шемини: Құдайға арналған құрбандықтар мен тәртіптер

Shemini, Sh'mini, or Shmini (שְּׁמִינִי—Hebrew for "eighth", the third word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 26th weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the third in the Book of Leviticus. Parashah Shemini tells of the consecration of the Tabernacle, the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, and the dietary laws of kashrut (כַּשְׁרוּת). The parashah constitutes Leviticus 9:1–11:47. It is made up of 4,670 Hebrew letters, 1,238 Hebrew words, 91 verses, and 157 lines in a Torah Scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, Sefer Torah). Jews read it the 25th or 26th Sabbath after Simchat Torah, in late March or April. In years when the first day of Passover falls on a Sabbath (as it did in 2018 and 2019), Jews in Israel and Reform Jews read the parashah following Passover one week before Conservative and Orthodox Jews in the Diaspora, for Jews in Israel and Reform Jews celebrate Passover for seven days and thus read the next parashah (in 2018, Shemini) on the Sabbath one week after the first day of Passover, while Conservative and Orthodox Jews in the Diaspora celebrate Passover for eight days and read the next parashah (in 2018, Shemini) one week later. In some such years (for example, 2018), the two calendars realign when Conservative and Orthodox Jews in the Diaspora read Behar together with Bechukotai while Jews in Israel and Reform Jews read them separately.

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or עליות, aliyot.

In the first reading, on the eighth day of the ceremony to ordain the priests and consecrate the Tabernacle, Moses instructed Aaron to assemble calves, rams, a goat, a lamb, an ox, and a meal offering as sacrifices (קָרְבֳּנוֹת, korbanot) to God, saying: "Today the Lord will appear to you." They brought the sacrifices to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the Israelites assembled there. Aaron began offering the sacrifices as Moses had commanded.

In the second reading, Aaron concluded offering the sacrifices as Moses had commanded. Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them. Moses and Aaron then went inside the Tent of Meeting, and when they came out, they blessed the people again. Then the Presence of the Lord appeared to all the people. Acting on their own, Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu each took his fire pan, laid incense on it, and offered alien fire (אֵשׁ זָרָה, eish zarah), which God had not commanded. And God sent fire to consume them, and they died. Moses told Aaron, "This is what the Lord meant when He said: 'Through those near to Me I show Myself holy, and gain glory before all the people,'" and Aaron remained silent. Moses called Aaron's cousins Mishael and Elzaphan to carry away Nadab's and Abihu's bodies to a place outside the camp. Moses instructed Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar not to mourn Nadab and Abihu by rending their garments or leaving their hair unshorn and not to go outside the Tent of Meeting. And God told Aaron that he and his sons must not drink wine or other intoxicants when they entered the Tent of Meeting, so as to distinguish between the sacred and the profane.

In the fourth reading, Moses directed Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar to eat the remaining meal offering beside the altar, designating it most holy and the priests' due. And Moses told them that their families could eat the breast of the elevation offering and the thigh of the gift offering in any clean place.

In the fifth reading, Moses inquired about the goat of sin offering, and was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar when he learned that it had already been burned and not eaten in the sacred area. Aaron answered Moses: "See, this day they brought their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord, and such things have befallen me! Had I eaten sin offering today, would the Lord have approved?" And when Moses heard this, he approved.

In the sixth reading, God then instructed Moses and Aaron in the dietary laws of kashrut (כַּשְׁרוּת).

In the seventh reading, God instructed Moses and Aaron in several laws of purity, saying: "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

Leviticus 10:1 reports that Nadab and Abihu put fire and incense (קְטֹרֶת, ketoret) in their censors and offered "strange fire" (אֵשׁ זָרָה, eish zarah). Exodus 30:9 prohibited offering "strange incense" (קְטֹרֶת זָרָה, ketoret zarah). Leviticus 10:2 reports that Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu died prematurely, after Aaron had in Exodus 32:4 fashioned for the Israelites the Golden Calf and they said, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt." Similarly, the northern Kingdom of Israel's first King Jeroboam's sons Nadab and Abijah died prematurely (Nadab in 1 Kings 15:28 and Abijah in 1 Kings 14:17), after Jeroboam had in 1 Kings 12:28 made two golden calves and said to the people, "This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!" Professor James Kugel of Bar Ilan University noted that Abihu and Abijah are essentially the same names, as Abijah is a variant pronunciation of Abihu. Perhaps reflecting some of the motivation for God's instruction in Leviticus 10:9 for priests to "drink no wine nor strong drink" while performing their duties, Isaiah 28:7 reports "the priest and the prophet reel through strong drink, they are confused because of wine, they stagger because of strong drink; they reel in vision, they totter in judgment.”

The Torah sets out the dietary laws of kashrut (כַּשְׁרוּת) in both Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14:3–21. And the Hebrew Bible refers to clean and unclean animals in Genesis 7:2 9, Judges 13:4, and Ezekiel 4:14. Leviticus 11:8 and 11 associate death with uncleanness; in the Hebrew Bible, uncleanness has a variety of associations. Leviticus 21:1–4, 11; and Numbers 6:6–7 and 19:11–16; also associate it with death. And perhaps similarly, Leviticus 12 associates it with childbirth and Leviticus 13–14 associates it with skin disease. Leviticus 15 associates it with various sexuality related events. And Jeremiah 2:7, 23; 3:2; and 7:30; and Hosea 6:10 associate it with contact with the worship of alien gods.

Philo interpreted Leviticus 10 to teach that because Nadab and Abihu fearlessly and fervently proceeded rapidly to the altar, an imperishable light dissolved them into ethereal beams like a whole burnt offering and took them up to heaven. Thus, Nadab and Abihu died in order that they might live, exchanging their mortal lives for immortal existence, departing from the creation to the creator God. Philo interpreted the words of Leviticus 10:2, "they died before the Lord", to celebrate their incorruptibility and demonstrate that they lived, for no dead person could come into the sight of the Lord. Josephus taught that Nadab and Abihu did not bring the sacrifices that Moses told them bring, but rather brought those that they used to offer before, and consequently they were burned to death.

Aristeas cited as a reason for dietary laws that they distinctly set Jews apart from other people. Isaiah Gafni noted that in the Book of Tobit, the protagonist Tobit observed the dietary laws.

Tractate Chullin in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of kashrut (כַּשְׁרוּת) in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14:3–21. Reading Leviticus 11:1, a Midrash taught that in 18 verses, Scripture places Moses and Aaron (the instruments of Israel's deliverance) on an equal footing (reporting that God spoke to both of them alike), and thus there are 18 benedictions in the Amidah. A Midrash taught that Adam offered an ox as a sacrifice, anticipating the laws of clean animals in Leviticus 11:1–8 and Deuteronomy 14:4–6. Rav Ḥisda asked how Noah knew (before the giving of Leviticus 11 or Deuteronomy 14:3–21) which animals were clean and which were unclean. Rav Ḥisda explained that Noah led them past the Ark, and those that the Ark accepted (in multiples of seven) were certainly clean, and those that the Ark rejected were certainly unclean. Rabbi Abbahu cited Genesis 7:16, "And they that went in, went in male and female," to show that they went in of their own accord (in their respective pairs, seven of the clean and two of the unclean). Rabbi Tanḥum ben Hanilai compared the laws of kashrut to the case of a physician who went to visit two patients, one whom the physician judged would live, and the other whom the physician judged would die. To the one who would live, the physician gave orders about what to eat and what not to eat. On the other hand, the physician told the one who would die to eat whatever the patient wanted. Thus, to the nations who were not destined for life in the World To Come, God said in Genesis 9:3, "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you." But to Israel, whom God intended for life in the World To Come, God said in Leviticus 11:2, "These are the living things which you may eat." Rav reasoned that since Proverbs 30:5 teaches that "Every word of God is pure", then the precepts of kashrut were given for the express purpose of purifying humanity. Reading Leviticus 18:4, "My ordinances (מִשְׁפָּטַי, mishpatai) shall you do, and My statutes (חֻקֹּתַי, chukotai) shall you keep," the Sifra distinguished "ordinances" (מִשְׁפָּטִים, mishpatim) from "statutes" (חֻקִּים, chukim). The term "ordinances" (מִשְׁפָּטִים, mishpatim), taught the Sifra, refers to rules that even had they not been written in the Torah, it would have been entirely logical to write them, like laws pertaining to theft, sexual immorality, idolatry, blasphemy and murder. The term "statutes" (חֻקִּים, chukim), taught the Sifra, refers to those rules that the impulse to do evil (יצר הרע, yetzer hara) and the nations of the world try to undermine, like eating pork (prohibited by Leviticus 11:7 and Deuteronomy 14:7–8), wearing wool linen mixtures (שַׁעַטְנֵז, shatnez, prohibited by Leviticus 19:19 and Deuteronomy 22:11), release from levirate marriage (חליצה, chalitzah, mandated by Deuteronomy 25:5–10), purification of a person affected by skin disease (מְּצֹרָע, metzora, regulated in Leviticus 13–14), and the goat sent off into the wilderness (the "scapegoat", regulated in Leviticus 16). In regard to these, taught the Sifra, the Torah says simply that God legislated them and we have no right to raise doubts about them. Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah taught that people should not say that they do not want to wear a wool linen mixture (שַׁעַטְנֵז, shatnez, prohibited by Leviticus 19:19 and Deuteronomy 22:11), eat pork (prohibited by Leviticus 11:7 and Deuteronomy 14:7–8), or be intimate with forbidden partners (prohibited by Leviticus 18 and 20), but rather should say that they would love to, but God has decreed that they not do so. For in Leviticus 20:26, God says, "I have separated you from the nations to be mine." So one should separate from transgression and accept the rule of Heaven. Rabbi Berekiah said in the name of Rabbi Isaac that in the Time to Come, God will make a banquet for God's righteous servants, and whoever had not eaten meat from an animal that died other than through ritual slaughtering (נְבֵלָה, neveilah, prohibited by Leviticus 17:1–4) in this world will have the privilege of enjoying it in the World To Come. This is indicated by Leviticus 7:24, which says, "And the fat of that which dies of itself (נְבֵלָה, neveilah) and the fat of that which is torn by beasts (טְרֵפָה, tereifah), may be used for any other service, but you shall not eat it," so that one might eat it in the Time to Come. (By one's present self restraint one might merit to partake of the banquet in the Hereafter.) For this reason Moses admonished the Israelites in Leviticus 11:2, "This is the animal that you shall eat." Providing an exception to the laws of kashrut in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14:3–21, Rabin said in Rabbi Joḥanan's name that one may cure oneself with all forbidden things, except idolatry, incest, and murder. A Midrash interpreted Psalm 146:7, "The Lord lets loose the prisoners", to read, "The Lord permits the forbidden", and thus to teach that what God forbade in one case, God permitted in another. God forbade the abdominal fat of cattle (in Leviticus 3:3), but permitted it in the case of beasts. God forbade consuming the sciatic nerve in animals (in Genesis 32:33) but permitted it in fowl. God forbade eating meat without ritual slaughter (in Leviticus 17:1–4) but permitted it for fish. Similarly, Rabbi Abba and Rabbi Jonathan in the name of Rabbi Levi taught that God permitted more things than God forbade. For example, God counterbalanced the prohibition of pork (in Leviticus 11:7 and Deuteronomy 14:7–8) by permitting mullet (which some say tastes like pork). Reading Leviticus 11:2, "These are the living things that you may eat", the Sifra taught that the use of the word "these" indicates that Moses would hold up an animal and show the Israelites, and say to them, "This you may eat", and "This you may not eat." The Mishnah noted that the Torah states (in Leviticus 11:3 and Deuteronomy 14:6) the characteristics of domestic and wild animals (by which one can tell whether they are clean). The Mishnah noted that the Torah does not similarly state the characteristics of birds, but the sages taught that every bird that seizes its prey is unclean. Every bird that has an extra toe (a hallux), a crop, and a gizzard that can be peeled off is clean. Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Zadok taught that every bird that parts its toes (evenly) is unclean. The Mishnah taught that among locusts, all that have four legs, four wings, jointed legs (as in Leviticus 11:21), and wings covering the greater part of the body are clean. Rabbi Jose taught that it must also bear the name "locust". The Mishnah taught that among fish, all that have fins and scales are clean. Rabbi Judah said that it must have (at least) two scales and one fin (to be clean). The scales are those (thin discs) that are attached to the fish, and the fins are those (wings) by which it swims. Reading Leviticus 11:3, "Whatever chews the cud, among the beasts, that may you eat,” the Tosefta taught that whatever chews the cud has no upper teeth. The Mishnah taught that hunters of wild animals, birds, and fish, who chanced upon animals that Leviticus 11 defined as unclean were allowed to sell them. Rabbi Judah taught that a person who chanced upon such animals by accident was allowed to buy or sell them, provided that the person did not make a regular trade of it. But the sages did not allow it. Rav Shaman bar Abba said in the name of Rav Idi bar Idi bar Gershom who said it in the name of Levi bar Perata who said it in the name of Rabbi Nahum who said it in the name of Rabbi Biraim who said it in the name of a certain old man named Rabbi Jacob that those of the Nasi's house taught that (cooking) a forbidden egg among 60 (permitted) eggs renders them all forbidden, (but cooking) a forbidden egg among 61 (permitted) eggs renders them all permitted. Rabbi Zera questioned the ruling, but the Gemara cited the definitive ruling: It was stated that Rabbi Helbo said in the name of Rav Huna that with regard to a (forbidden) egg (cooked with permitted ones), if there are 60 besides the (forbidden) one, they are (all) forbidden, but if there are 61 besides the (forbidden) one, they are permitted. The Mishnah taught the general rule that wherever the flavor from a prohibited food yields benefit, it is prohibited, but wherever the flavor from a prohibited food does not yield benefit, it is permitted. For example, if (prohibited) vinegar fell into split beans (it is permitted). Reading Leviticus 11:7, "the swine, because it parts the hoof, and is cloven footed, but does not chew the cud, is unclean to you," a Midrash compared the pig to the Roman Empire. Just as the swine when reclining puts out its hooves as if to say, "See that I am clean", so too the Roman Empire boasted (of its virtues) as it committed violence and robbery under the guise of establishing justice. The Midrash compared the Roman Empire to a governor who put to death the thieves, adulterers, and sorcerers, and then leaned over to a counselor and said: "I myself did these three things in one night." The Gemara reported the Sages' teaching that bees' honey is permitted, because bees bring the nectar from the flowers into their body, but they do not excrete it from their body. The Gemara answered that Rav Sheshet taught (in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Jacob) that God permits honey as an exception to the principle that a substance that emerges from a non kosher animal is non kosher. For in a Baraita, Rabbi Jacob read the words of Leviticus 11:21, "Yet these may you eat of all winged creatures," and reasoned that the word "these" indicates that you may eat these, but you may not eat a non kosher winged creature. The Gemara asked why this inference was necessary, as Leviticus 11:20 provides the prohibition against eating a non kosher winged creature explicitly, saying, "All winged creatures that go upon all fours are a repugnance to you." Rather, the Gemara taught, one should understand the inference to mean that one may not eat a non kosher winged creature, but one may eat that which a non kosher winged creature discharges from its body—namely the honey of bees. Reading Leviticus 11:29–38, the Mishnah compared human blood to the blood of domestic animals in one respect, and to the blood of reptiles in another respect. The Mishnah noted that human blood is like the blood of animals in that it renders seeds susceptible to impurity (by virtue of Leviticus 11:34–38) and like the blood of reptiles in that one would not be liable to extirpation (כרת, karet) on account of consuming it. (Leviticus 7:26 forbids consuming the blood of animals, but not the blood of reptiles.) The Gemara noted the paradox that mother's milk is kosher even though it is a product of the mother's blood, which is not kosher. In explanation, the Gemara quoted Job 14:4: "Who can bring a pure thing out of an impure? Is it not the One?" For God can bring a pure thing, such as milk, out of an impure thing, such as blood. On the day when Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah displaced Rabban Gamaliel II as Principal of the School, Rabbi Akiva expounded on the words of Leviticus 11:33, "and every earthen vessel, into which any of them falls, whatsoever is in it shall be unclean." Rabbi Akiva noted that Leviticus 11:33 does not state "is unclean" but "will make others unclean". Rabbi Akiva deduced from this that a loaf that is unclean in the second degree (when, for example, the vessel becomes unclean first and then defiles the loaf in it), can make whatever it comes in contact with unclean in the third degree. Rabbi Joshua asked who would remove the dust from the eyes of Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakai (so that he might hear this wonderful proof), as Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakai said that another generation would pronounce clean a loaf that was unclean in the third degree on the ground that there is no text in the Torah according to which it would be unclean. Rabbi Joshua noted that Rabbi Akiva, the intellectual descendant of Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakai (as Rabbi Akiva was the pupil of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurcanus, a disciple of Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakai), adduced a text in the Torah—Leviticus 11:33—according to which such a loaf was unclean. The Mishnah taught that the wife of one who scrupulously observes tithes and purity laws (a chaver) may lend a sieve and a sifter to the wife of one who is lax observing tithes and purity laws (an am ha aretz), and may sort, grind and sift with her. But once she wets the flour and thereby renders it subject to uncleanness under Leviticus 11:34, she may not touch it, as one may not assist transgressors. The Mishnah taught that this teaching was said only for the sake of peace. The Gemara reported that the Sages read the words of Leviticus 11:44, "Sanctify yourselves and you will be sanctified," to teach that people who sanctify themselves a little are sanctified and assisted greatly. If people sanctify themselves below, then they are sanctified above. If people sanctify themselves in this world, then they will be sanctified in the World To Come. Rav Naḥman bar Isaac reported a Baraita: Rav Judah said that Rav said (or some say that it was taught in a Baraita) that the words of Leviticus 11:44 allude to steps one takes at a meal. "Sanctify yourselves” alludes to the first waters with which one washes one's hands before a meal; "you shall be holy" alludes to the final waters with which one washes one's hands after a meal and before reciting the Grace after Meals (בִרְכַת הַמָזוֹן, Birkat Hamazon); "for I am holy" alludes to the oil that one spreads on one's hands; and "I am the Lord your God" alludes to the Grace after Meals. The Gemara considered whether the words of Leviticus 11:44, "Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be sacred," which apply to avoiding the foods prohibited in Leviticus 11, could also teach that with regard to every act that the Torah prohibits, there is in addition a positive commandment of sanctity to avoid that act. The Gemara objected that if this were so, then every single prohibition in the entire Torah would contain both a positive commandment and a prohibition, and thus rejected this reasoning.

The Zohar taught that Leviticus 9:2 directed Aaron to "take for yourself a bull calf for a sin offering” as an ordinance meant personally for Aaron to atone for the sin of the Golden Calf that he brought upon Israel. The Zohar taught that Aaron had to purge himself during the seven sacred days of Leviticus 8:33 and after that by means of the calf that Leviticus 9:2 directed. The Zohar observed that Aaron had to purge himself, for but for him the Golden Calf would not have emerged. Reading the words of Moses in Leviticus 9:4, "today the Lord will appear to you," Ibn Ezra taught that Moses referred to the fire that came forth from God.

Baḥya ibn Paquda taught that because God shows special goodness to certain people, by which they have been singled out, for instance, to be a prophet, a leader of a nation, or a sage whose spirit God has awakened and endowed with wisdom, understanding, counsel, and similar qualities, such people are under an obligation of additional service of God. Baḥya taught that God will continue these gifts for those who perform that service in full measure, and will increase their power over these gifts and understanding of them, and reward those people in the world hereafter. But whoever among such people rebels against God, despite the beneficence that God has specially bestowed upon them, will fall from all these degrees, and God will hold them more strictly to account, as Leviticus 10:3 says, "This is it that the Lord spoke, saying, 'I will be sanctified in them that come near Me, and before all the people I will be glorified.'"

Judah Halevi expressed admiration for those who first divided the Torah's text into verses, equipped it with vowel signs, accents, and masoretic signs, and counted the letters so carefully that they found that the gimel (ג) in gachon, גָּחוֹן ("belly"), in Leviticus 11:42 stands at the exact middle of the Torah. (Note, however, the Gemara's report, discussed in "classical rabbinic interpretation" above, that some said that the vav (ו) in gachon, גָּחוֹן, marks the half way point of the Torah. Jacob Milgrom noted that Leviticus 10:8–15 sets forth some of the few laws (along with Leviticus 6:1–7:21 and 16:2–28) reserved for the Priests alone, while most of Leviticus is addressed to all the Israelite people. Samuel Balentine explained God's instruction in Leviticus 10:9 for priests to "drink no wine nor strong drink" as a caution "against using stimulants to induce, enhance, or influence their encounter with God". Balentine described the admonition of Leviticus 10:10 to "put difference between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean" as Leviticus's "most fundamental prerequisite for priests and their congregants".

Robert Oden argued that the reason for the Priestly laws of kashrut in Leviticus 11 was the integrity of creation and what the world's created order looked like. Those things that cohere with the comprehensiveness of the created cosmology are deemed good. Kugel reported that the archaeologist Israel Finkelstein found no pig bones in hilltop sites starting in the Iron I period (roughly 1200–1000 BCE) and continuing through Iron II, while before that, in Bronze Age sites, pig bones abounded. Kugel deduced from Finkelstein's data that the new hilltop residents were fundamentally different from both their predecessors in the highlands and the city Canaanites—either because they were a different ethnic group, or because they had adopted a different way of life, for ideological or other reasons. Kugel inferred from Finkelstein's findings that these highlanders shared some ideology (if only a food taboo), like modern day Jews and Muslims. Kugel concluded that the discontinuities between their way of life and that of the Canaanite city dwellers and earlier highland settlers supported the idea that the settlers were not exurbanites. Noting that Leviticus 11:3 limits the mammals that qualify for the Jewish table to those that chew the cud and show split hoofs, Milgrom observed that these requirements effectively prohibit people from eating the flesh of the entire animal kingdom, except for three domestic plant eaters—cattle, sheep, and goats. Milgrom argued that the Bible's system of dietary laws was thus meant to tame the killer instinct in humans through a system of restrictions allowing humans to satiate their lust for animal flesh but not become dehumanized in the process. Milgrom posited that the basic rules are these: (1) The law severely limited the choice of animal food. (2) Only those who can qualify by their skill and piety can kill the animals—skill in employing a slaughtering technique that renders death painless, and piety in being aware of the Divine sanction that has permitted such slaughter. (3) The few permitted animals, when ritually slaughtered, are still not allowed for consumption until their blood is drained. Balentine argued that God's admonition in Leviticus 11:44, "sanctify yourselves and be holy; for I am holy," explained "why Israel must not defile itself by eating forbidden animals", for as God distinguished between animal species in creation, human "distinguishing between clean and unclean animals is an act of faith that mirrors God's work in establishing and sustaining the 'very good' design of creation". Mary Douglas suggested that animals that Leviticus 11 prohibits represent the vulnerable—blind worms, vulnerable scaleless fish, and ceaselessly laboring ants—which parallel human beggars, orphans, and widows. Douglas argued that Leviticus 11 directs people not to prey on them, as "Holiness is incompatible with predatory behavior." Similarly, Balentine argued that Leviticus stipulates that "only the animals that reflect the normal characteristics of their kind are edible", while those that do not possess these characteristics "are disadvantaged, because they lack the means for survival that are common to their species". Interpreting the laws of kashrut in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14:3–21, in 1997, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of Conservative Judaism held that it is possible for a genetic sequence to be adapted from a non kosher species and implanted in a new strain of a kosher foodstuff—for example, for a gene for swine growth hormone to be introduced into a potato to induce larger growth, or for a gene from an insect to be introduced into a tomato plant to give it unusual qualities of pest resistance—and that new strain to be kosher. Similarly, in the late 1990s, the Central Conference of American Rabbis of Reform Judaism ruled that it is a good thing for a Jew who observes kashrut to participate in a medical experiment involving a pork byproduct.

David gathered together all the chosen men of Israel—30,000 in all—and went to retrieve the Ark of the Covenant from Baale judah. They brought the Ark out of the house of Abinadab and set it on a new cart. Abinadab's sons Uzzah and Ahio drove the cart, with Ahio going before the Ark. David and the Israelites played with all manner of instruments—harps, psalteries, timbrels, sistra, and cymbals. When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, the oxen stumbled, and Uzzah put out his hand to the Ark. In anger, God smote Uzzah for his error, and Uzzah died by the Ark. Displeased and afraid, David questioned how the Ark could come to him. So David took the Ark to the house of Obed Edom the Gittite and left it there for three months, during which time God blessed Obed Edom and his house. When David heard that God had blessed Obed Edom because of the Ark, David brought the Ark to Jerusalem with joy. When those who bore the Ark had gone six paces, they sacrificed an ox and a fatling. The Israelites brought up the Ark with shouting and the sound of the horn, and David danced with all his might girded with a linen ephod. As the Ark came into the city, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out the window and saw David leaping and dancing, and she despised him in her heart. They set the Ark in a tent that David pitched for it, David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and David blessed the people in the name of the Lord. David distributed a sweet cake of bread to all the people of Israel, and the people departed to their houses. (The Haftarah ends at this point for Sephardi Jews, but continues for Ashkenazi Jews.) When David returned to bless his household, Michal came out to meet him with scorn, taunting him for uncovering himself before his servants' handmaids. David retorted to Michal that he danced before the God who had chosen him over her father, and that he would be viler than that. Michal never had children thereafter. God gave David rest from his enemies, and David asked Nathan the prophet why David should dwell in a house of cedar, while the Ark dwelt within curtains. At first Nathan told David to do what was in his heart, but that same night God directed Nathan to tell David not to build God a house, for God had not dwelt in a house since the day that God had brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, but had abided in a tent and in a tabernacle. God directed Nathan to tell David that God took David from following sheep to be a prince over Israel, God had been with David wherever he went, and God would make David a great name. God would provide a place for the Israelites at rest from their enemies, God would make David into a dynasty, and when David died, God would see that David's son would build a house for God's name. God would be to David's son a father, and he would be to God a son; if he strayed, God would chasten him, but God's mercy would not depart from him. David's kingdom would be established forever. And Nathan told David everything in his vision.

Both the parashah and the haftarah report efforts to consecrate the holy space followed by tragic incidents connected with inappropriate proximity to the holy space. In the parashah, Moses consecrated the Tabernacle, the home of the Ark of the Covenant, while in the haftarah, David set out to bring the Ark to Jerusalem. Then in the parashah, God killed Nadab and Abihu "when they drew near" to the Ark, while in the haftarah, God killed Uzzah when he "put forth his hand to the Ark".

When the parashah coincides with Shabbat Machar Chodesh (as it did in 2015), the haftarah is 1 Samuel 20:18–42.

Leviticus 16:1–2 (Nadab and Abihu). Numbers 3:4 (Nadab and Abihu); 26:61 (Nadab and Abihu). Deuteronomy 14:3–21 (kashrut). Psalms 58:9 (snail); 102:7 (pelican).

Letter of Aristeas. 139–52. Alexandria, 3rd–1st Centruty BCE. In The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Volume 2: Expansions of the "Old Testament" and Legends, Wisdom and Philosophical Literature, Prayers, Psalms, and Odes, Fragments of Lost Judeo Hellenistic works. Edited by James H. Charlesworth, pages 7, 22–23. New York: Anchor Bible, 1985. Philo. Allegorical Interpretation, book 2: 15:57–58, 26:104–05; book 3: 47:139–48:141, 49:144, 50:147; On Husbandry 30:131–35; On Drunkenness 32:126–27, 35:140–41; On the Migration of Abraham 12:64–69; Who Is the Heir of Divine Things? 49:238–40, 51:249–51; On Flight and Finding 11:59, 28:157; On Dreams, That They Are God Sent 2:9:67; The Special Laws, book 2: 8:33; book 4: 18:105–06, 20:110, 21:113–22:118, 36:191. Alexandria, early 1st Century C. E. In, e. g., The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by Charles Duke Yonge, pages 44, 49, 66–67, 185, 218–19, 259, 296, 298, 326, 335, 392, 571, 626–27, 635. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993. 1 Corinthians 8:8; 10:31. Circa 53–57. (abrogating kashrut). Romans 14:14. 1st century. (abrogating kashrut). Mark 7:19.|NIV Circa 66–70. (abrogating kashrut). Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 3:8:6–7; 8:8:4. Circa 93–94. In, e. g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William Whiston, pages 92, 229. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987. Acts 10:11–16, 28. 2nd century. (abrogating kashrut).

Mishnah: Sheviit 5:9, 7:4; Bikkurim 2:7, 11; Pesachim 8:8; Sotah 5:2; Avodah Zarah 5:2; Horayot 3:5; Menachot 5:6; Chullin 1:1–12:5. Land of Israel, circa 200 C. E. In, e. g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, pages 81, 84, 171–72, 246, 455, 670, 695, 743, 765–87. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. Tosefta: Berakhot 4:17; Demai 2:7; Sotah 5:13; Zevachim 8:25; Shehitat Chullin 1:1–10:16; Parah 1:5. Land of Israel, circa 250 C. E. In, e. g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 1, pages 26, 85, 853; volume 2, pages 1347, 1371–1405, 1746. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002. Sifra 99:1–121:2:13. Land of Israel, 4th Century C. E. In, e. g., Sifra: An Analytical Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 2, pages 121–229. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988. Jerusalem Talmud: Peah 12b; Kilayim 69a; Sheviit 55b; Terumot 1b, 73a, 88a, 100a, 101a; Maasrot 41a; Orlah 34a; Bikkurim 12b; Shabbat 13a, 78b; Eruvin 10b; Pesachim 13b, 24a, 62b–63b; Yoma 3b; Taanit 20b; Megillah 15a, 29a; Moed Katan 17a; Chagigah 8a, 23a; Nazir 23a, 27b; Sotah 23b, 26a, 36a; Gittin 11a; Bava Kamma 30a; Sanhedrin 46b, 72b. Tiberias, Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. Reprinted in, e. g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volumes 3, 5, 6b–9, 12–13, 16, 18–19, 21, 25–28, 34–37, 39, 41, 45. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006–2018. And in, e. g., The Jerusalem Talmud: A Translation and Commentary. Edited by Jacob Neusner and translated by Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, B. Barry Levy, and Edward Goldman. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009. Leviticus Rabbah 1:8; 2:10; 10:4; 11:1–14:1; 20:4–5, 8–10; 26:1. Land of Israel, 5th Century. In, e. g., Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 4, pages 12, 29, 125, 135–79, 257–62, 325. London: Soncino Press, 1939. Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 53b, 61a; Shabbat 12a, 27a, 63b–64a, 83b–84a, 87b, 90b, 95b, 107a, 123b, 125a, 136a–b; Eruvin 13b, 28a, 63a, 87b, 104b; Pesachim 14a, 16a, 18a–b, 20b, 23a–b, 24b, 49b, 67b, 82b–83a, 91b; Yoma 2b–4a, 5b, 21b, 39a, 53a, 73b, 76b–77a, 80a–b, 87a; Sukkah 25b; Beitzah 6b, 19a, 20a; Rosh Hashanah 16b; Taanit 15b, 17b, 26b; Megillah 9b, 10b, 18a; Moed Katan 2a, 13a–b, 14b–15b, 19b, 24a, 28b; Chagigah 11a, 19a, 22b, 24a, 26b; Yevamot 20b, 40a, 43a, 54a–b, 74b–75a, 87a, 114a; Ketubot 15a, 50a, 60a; Nazir 4a, 38a, 52a, 64a; Sotah 27b, 29a–b, 38a–b, 47a; Gittin 60a–b, 61b–62a, 68b; Kiddushin 30a, 59b, 80a; Bava Kamma 2a–b, 16a, 25b, 38a, 54a–b, 62b–63a, 64b, 76b–77a, 78a, 81a; Bava Metzia 22a, 61b, 90b; Bava Batra 9b, 66b, 80a, 91a, 97a; Sanhedrin 5b, 17a, 22b, 52a, 70b–71a, 83b, 107b, 108b; Makkot 3b, 11a, 13a, 16b; Shevuot 5a, 7a, 9b–10b, 14b, 18b, 23a, 36b; Avodah Zarah 40a, 47b, 68b; Horayot 4a, 12b; Zevachim 3a–b, 10b, 17b, 25b, 28a, 34a, 55a, 60a, 61b, 69b, 82a–b, 99b, 100b–01b, 105a, 115b; Menachot 23a, 29a, 39b, 59a, 61a, 62a, 70b, 93b, 96b, 101b; Chullin 2a–142a; Bekhorot 6a–7b, 9b, 15b, 16a, 38a, 45b, 51a; Keritot 4b, 13b, 15b, 21a, 22a; Meilah 16a–17b; Tamid 33b; Niddah 18a, 19b, 21a, 42b, 51a–b, 55b, 56a. Sasanian Empire, 6th Century. In, e. g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 volumes. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006.

Saadia Gaon. The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, 10:15. Baghdad, Babylonia, 933. Translated by Samuel Rosenblatt, page 396. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1948. Solomon ibn Gabirol. A Crown for the King, 35:470. Spain, 11th Century. Translated by David R. Slavitt, pages 62–63. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. Rashi. Commentary. Leviticus 9–11. Troyes, France, late 11th Century. In, e. g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi's Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, volume 3, pages 93–134. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1994. Rashbam. Commentary on the Torah. Troyes, early 12th century. In, e. g., Rashbam's Commentary on Leviticus and Numbers: An Annotated Translation. Edited and translated by Martin I. Lockshin, pages 47–68. Providence: Brown Judaic Studies, 2001. Judah Halevi. Kuzari. part 3, ¶ 31. Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. In, e. g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Introduction by Henry Slonimsky, page 165. New York: Schocken, 1964. Abraham ibn Ezra. Commentary on the Torah. Mid 12th century. In, e. g., Ibn Ezra's Commentary on the Pentateuch: Leviticus (Va yikra). Translated and annotated by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver, volume 3, pages 56–84. New York: Menorah Publishing Company, 2004. Maimonides. Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Tum'at Ochalin (The Laws of the Impurity of Foods), chapter 16, ¶ 12. Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e. g., Mishneh Torah: Sefer Taharah: The Book of Purity. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, volume 2, pages 294–95. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 2009. Maimonides. Guide for the Perplexed, 1:37; 3:46, 47, 48. Cairo, Egypt, 1190. In, e. g., Moses Maimonides. The Guide for the Perplexed. Translated by Michael Friedländer, pages 53, 364, 367–68, 370. New York: Dover Publications, 1956. Hezekiah ben Manoah. Hizkuni. France, circa 1240. In, e. g., Chizkiyahu ben Manoach. Chizkuni: Torah Commentary. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 3, pages 694–712. Jerusalem: Ktav Publishers, 2013. Naḥmanides. Commentary on the Torah. Jerusalem, circa 1270. In, e. g., Ramban (Nachmanides): Commentary on the Torah. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, volume 3, pages 102–55. New York: Shilo Publishing House, 1974. Zohar 1:54a, 73b, 167b; 2:11b, 26b, 67a, 124b, 193a, 219b; 3:24b, 31b, 33a, 35a–42a, 127a, 190b. Spain, late 13th Century. Bahya ben Asher. Commentary on the Torah. Spain, early 14th century. In, e. g., Midrash Rabbeinu Bachya: Torah Commentary by Rabbi Bachya ben Asher. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 5, pages 1572–620. Jerusalem: Lambda Publishers, 2003. Jacob ben Asher (Baal Ha Turim). Commentary on the Torah. Early 14th century. In, e. g., Baal Haturim Chumash: Vayikra/Leviticus. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, edited, elucidated, and annotated by Avie Gold, volume 3, pages 1079–111. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2000. Jacob ben Asher. Perush Al ha Torah. Early 14th century. In, e. g., Yaakov ben Asher. Tur on the Torah. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 3, pages 827–51. Jerusalem: Lambda Publishers, 2005. Isaac ben Moses Arama. Akedat Yizhak (The Binding of Isaac). Late 15th century. In, e. g., Yitzchak Arama. Akeydat Yitzchak: Commentary of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama on the Torah. Translated and condensed by Eliyahu Munk, volume 2, pages 567–77. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2001.

Isaac Abravanel. Commentary on the Torah. Italy, between 1492–1509. In, e. g., Abarbanel: Selected Commentaries on the Torah: Volume 3: Vayikra/Leviticus. Translated and annotated by Israel Lazar, pages 81–105. Brooklyn: CreateSpace, 2015. Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno. Commentary on the Torah. Venice, 1567. In, e. g., Sforno: Commentary on the Torah. Translation and explanatory notes by Raphael Pelcovitz, pages 526–37. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. Moshe Alshich. Commentary on the Torah. Safed, circa 1593. In, e. g., Moshe Alshich. Midrash of Rabbi Moshe Alshich on the Torah. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 2, pages 643–59. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2000. Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. Commentaries on the Torah. Cracow, Poland, mid 17th century. Compiled as Chanukat HaTorah. Edited by Chanoch Henoch Erzohn. Piotrkow, Poland, 1900. In Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. Chanukas HaTorah: Mystical Insights of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel on Chumash. Translated by Avraham Peretz Friedman, pages 211–18. Southfield, Michigan: Targum Press/Feldheim Publishers, 2004. Shabbethai Bass. Sifsei Chachamim. Amsterdam, 1680. In, e. g., Sefer Vayikro: From the Five Books of the Torah: Chumash: Targum Okelos: Rashi: Sifsei Chachamim: Yalkut: Haftaros, translated by Avrohom Y. Davis, pages 140–210. Lakewood Township, New Jersey: Metsudah Publications, 2012. Chaim ibn Attar. Ohr ha Chaim. Venice, 1742. In Chayim ben Attar. Or Hachayim: Commentary on the Torah. Translated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 3, pages 1019–56. Brooklyn: Lambda Publishers, 1999. Yitzchak Magriso. Me'am Lo'ez. Constantinople, 1753. In Yitzchak Magriso. The Torah Anthology: MeAm Lo'ez. Translated by Aryeh Kaplan, volume 11, pages 187–274. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1989. Naḥman of Breslov. Teachings. Bratslav, Ukraine, before 1811. In Rebbe Nachman's Torah: Breslov Insights into the Weekly Torah Reading: Exodus Leviticus. Compiled by Chaim Kramer, edited by Y. Hall, pages 321–36. Jerusalem: Breslov Research Institute, 2011. Word of Wisdom 1833. Codified as Doctrine and Covenants section 89. In, e. g., Stephen E. Robinson and H. Dean Garrett. A Commentary on the Doctrine and Covenants, Volume Three. Section 89. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2004. (Mormon dietary laws). Samson Raphael Hirsch. Horeb: A Philosophy of Jewish Laws and Observances. Translated by Isidore Grunfeld, pages 47–50, 211, 314–31, 338, 574, 582–86. London: Soncino Press, 1962. Reprinted 2002. Originally published as Horeb, Versuche über Jissroel's Pflichten in der Zerstreuung. Germany, 1837. Samuel David Luzzatto (Shadal). Commentary on the Torah. Padua, 1871. In, e. g., Samuel David Luzzatto. Torah Commentary. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 3, pages 924–33. New York: Lambda Publishers, 2012. Union of American Hebrew Congregations. The Pittsburgh Platform. Pittsburgh, 1885. ("We hold that all such Mosaic and rabbinical laws as regulate diet originated in ages and under the influence of ideas entirely foreign to our present mental and spiritual state. They fail to impress the modern Jew with a spirit of priestly holiness; their observance in our days is apt rather to obstruct than to further modern spiritual elevation.") Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter. Sefat Emet. Góra Kalwaria (Ger), Poland, up to 1905. Excerpted in The Language of Truth: The Torah Commentary of Sefat Emet. Translated and interpreted by Arthur Green, pages 159–65. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998. Reprinted 2012. Louis Ginzberg. Legends of the Jews, volume 3, pages 179–92. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1911. Abraham Isaac Kook. The Moral Principles. Early 20th Century. In Abraham Isaac Kook: the Lights of Penitence, the Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems. Translated by Ben Zion Bokser, page 140. Mahwah, New Jersey: Paulist Press 1978. G. Deutsch. "Kosher Kitchen in Military Camps". In Yearbook of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Vol. 28, pages 124–127. Central Conference of American Rabbis, 1918. Hermann Cohen. Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism. Translated with an introduction by Simon Kaplan; introductory essays by Leo Strauss, pages 103, 110, 205. New York: Ungar, 1972. Reprinted Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995. Originally published as Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums. Leipzig: Gustav Fock, 1919. Alexander Alan Steinbach. Sabbath Queen: Fifty four Bible Talks to the Young Based on Each Portion of the Pentateuch, pages 81–84. New York: Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1936. Thomas Mann. Joseph and His Brothers. Translated by John E. Woods, pages 256–57, 348. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann Fischer Verlag, 1943. Ernest Wiesenberg. "Related Prohibitions: Swine Breeding and the Study of Greek". Hebrew Union College Annual, volume 27 (1956): pages 213–33. Mary Douglas. "The Abominations of Leviticus". In Purity and Danger: An Analysis of the Concepts of Pollution and Taboo, pages 41–57. New York: Routledge, 1966. Joe Green. The Jewish Vegetarian Tradition. South Africa: 1969. Seymour E. Freedman. The Book of Kashruth: A Treasury of Kosher Facts and Frauds. Bloch Publishing Company, 1970. Noah J. Cohen. Tsa'ar Ba'ale Hayim—The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Its Bases, Development, and Legislation in Hebrew Literature. New York: Feldheim, 1976. J. C. H. Laughlin. "The 'Strange Fire' of Nadab and Abihu". Journal of Biblical Literature, volume 95 (1976): pages 559–65. Aaron Lichtenstein. "Holocaust Homily and Response". Hebrew Studies, volume 19 (1978): page 82. Gordon J. Wenham. The Book of Leviticus, pages 145–85. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979. *Samuel H. Dresner, Seymour Siegel, and David M. Pollock. The Jewish Dietary Laws. United Synagogue, New York, 1980. Alfred Cohen. "Vegetarianism from a Jewish Perspective". Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society, volume 1 (number 2) (fall 1981). Louis A. Berman. Vegetarianism and the Jewish Tradition. New York: Ktav, 1982. Elijah J. Schochet. Animal Life in Jewish Tradition: Attitudes and Relationships. New York : Ktav, 1984. Victor (Avigdor) Hurowitz. "The Priestly Account of Building the Tabernacle". Journal of the American Oriental Society, volume 105 (number 1) (January–March 1985): pages 21–30. J. David Bleich. "Vegetarianism and Judaism". Tradition, volume 23 (number 1) (Summer, 1987). Pinchas H. Peli. Torah Today: A Renewed Encounter with Scripture, pages 115–19. Washington, D. C.: B'nai B'rith Books, 1987. Baruch A. Levine. The JPS Torah Commentary: Leviticus: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation, pages 55–72, 243–48. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989. Jacob Milgrom. "Ethics and Ritual: The Foundations of the Biblical Dietary Laws". In Religion and Law: Biblical, Jewish, and Islamic Perspectives, pages 159–91. Edited by E. B. Firmage. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1989. Yochanan Zweig. "The Dedication of the Tabernacle". Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, volume 25 (number 1) (fall 1989): pages 11–16. Harvey J. Fields. A Torah Commentary for Our Times: Volume II: Exodus and Leviticus, pages 111–19. New York: UAHC Press, 1991. Roberta Kalechofsky. Judaism and Animal Rights: Classical and Contemporary Responses. Marblehead, Massachusetts: Micah Publications, 1992. Jacob Milgrom. "Food and Faith: The Ethical Foundations of the Biblical Diet Laws: The Bible has worked out a system of restrictions whereby humans may satiate their lust for animal flesh and not be dehumanized. These laws teach reverence for life". Bible Review, volume 8 (number 6) (December 1992). Mary Douglas. "The Forbidden Animals in Leviticus". Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, volume 18 (number 59) (1993): pages 3–23. Victor Avigdor Hurowitz. "Review Essay: Ancient Israelite Cult in History, Tradition, and Interpretation". AJS Review, volume 19 (number 2) (1994): pages 213–36. Walter C. Kaiser Jr., "The Book of Leviticus", in The New Interpreter's Bible, volume 1, pages 1063–83. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994. Judith S. Antonelli. "Food and Sanctification". In In the Image of God: A Feminist Commentary on the Torah, pages 257–63. Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson, 1995. Roberta Kalechofsky. A Boy, A Chicken, and The Lion of Judea—How Ari Became a Vegetarian. Marblehead, Massachusetts: Micah Publications, 1995. Rabbis and Vegetarianism: An Evolving Tradition. Edited by Roberta Kalechofsky. Marblehead, Massachusetts: Micah Publications, 1995. Ellen Frankel. The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman's Commentary on the Torah, pages 159–62. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1996. Erhard S. Gerstenberger. 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