April 24, 2025 – Dr. Susanna Kokkonen

Leviticus 9:1-11:47 (Haftorah: 2. Samuel 6:1-19)

Shemini, the name of the Torah portion in Hebrew, means eight. Numbers in Hebrew have an equivalent letter and corresponding meanings. Number eight is even better than a perfect seven since it implies life above this world, transcending it. It can also mean a new beginning. This is a spiritual concept. In Jewish thought it is possible for a man to transcend his nature with its limitations. 

The Torah portion describes how Aaron and the priests began their holy work of offering sacrifices. They were told to take “…a calf for a sin offering, and a ram as an ascent offering…” (Lev.9:2) God came down in a fire to consume the offerings and the sanctuary became a holy place. There was a tragic incident where Aaron’s sons offered unauthorized offerings or “…foreign fire…” (Lev. 10:1-2). Aaron’s sons ended up dying. This seems to underscore God’s holiness. “…I will be sanctified through those near to Me and before all the people I will be glorified.” (Lev. 10: 3) It is no wonder then that the Torah describes Aaron simply holding his silence in the face of this tragedy. 

Laws of kashrut and purity were given here too. The reason for this was that God’s people would know: “…to distinguish between the unclean and the clean…” (Lev. 11:47) This principle of separation would be one of immense importance in keeping the Jewish people as a nation. In Diaspora the laws of purity and holiness kept the Jewish people alive. 

On April 26, 2025, we read of a somewhat similar incident in the designated Haftorah.* The Ark of God had been misplaced during the wars with the Philistines, but David was now the lawful ruler of the land. As David sought to bring the Holy Ark to Jerusalem, a man touched the cart to stabilize it and died. The Bible says that “…David was afraid of the Lord that day…” (2. Sam. 6:9) The Ark was then placed in the house of Oved-Edom the Gittite. David heard that as the Ark stayed in the man’s house “God blessed Oved-Edom and all his household” (2. Sam. 6: 11). Later the Ark was brought to Jerusalem to much joy by everyone.

The Word “Holocaust”

It was during the 1940’s that the word Holocaust was first used to describe what happened to the Jews of Europe during WWII. Though it is possible that it had been used figuratively during earlier periods, it is since 1945 that it has a truly clear context. This word (being of an extreme religious connotation) expresses as such the difficulty involved in describing something like the mass murder of this scale. Everyday language lacks suitable words. 

The word Holocaust is of Greek origin holokauston and in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) to Greek, the translators used it for a specific olah offering (as mentioned earlier). Olah is an offering of ascent where the whole offering is consumed, none of its parts to be used for anything else. 

Clearly there are considerable difficulties in the usage of the word concerning the genocide of the European Jews. These difficulties would be theological as well as factual. Nevertheless, it has become the term mostly used in this context.  

It is noteworthy that much of Shemini Torah reading describes what is acceptable to God and how to distinguish between things in an appropriate manner. In the ghettoes and camps (even preceding the mass murder) considerable difficulties presented themselves in this regard. Food, let alone kosher food, was scarce; gathering in groups was dangerous and even knowing the specific dates of the Hebrew calendar may have been impossible. 

Yet everywhere in Nazi occupied Europe there were attempts at marking the Biblical holidays and keeping alive what was possible in terms of religious obligations. In some instances, people for instance chose to keep Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) fast rather than eat their meagre allotment despite the constant hunger.

The Diaspora

During Diaspora (dispersion) from the Middle Ages to the Holocaust, Jewish observance was often costly and risky. 

Diaspora began at the Destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. The Romans Empire ruled the world and accomplished the destruction. In a remarkable talk in the New Testament (Luke 21) we find Jesus’ description of the beginning of the exile. 

He described the Temple: 

“…As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left…” (Luke 21:6 NIV) 

He then talked about the fate of the Jewish people living at the land of Israel:

“…They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations…” (Luke 21:24 NIV)

We can see the hardships involved in Jewish life in the Diaspora. What Jesus described is the very background of the Holocaust. Knowing history (before the Holocaust) gives us a proper, even a spiritual perspective to what happened in the 1930’s and the 1940’s.

 Throughout Jewish history we see persecution. But we need to understand that there is more. Everywhere the Jewish People faithfully kept Judaism alive.

May this be a lesson to us in all our difficulties. Shemini, eight, transcends circumstances and expresses faith.

*For an explanation of the terms see the first Pearls of The Torah Portion Blog.

Job 28:18 (NKJV)

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Matthew 13:45-46 (NKJV)

Torah Scrolls were attacked and desecrated during the Holocaust. The enduring images of the Kristallnacht (November 9-10,1938) are those of synagogues on fire and Torah Scrolls burning. Some of these desecrated Torah Scrolls disappeared, others were buried. Some were lovingly rescued and are on display in museums in various locations.

[author] [author_image timthumb='on']https://irw.duv.temporary.site/website_047320a9/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Dr-Sussanna-K-Round.png[/author_image] [author_info]Dr. Susanna Kokkonen received her Ph.D. in Holocaust Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. For ten years Dr. Kokkonen was the Director of the Christian Friends of Yad Vashem, World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem. Dr. Kokkonen has authored several books about the Holocaust and antisemitism. She educates Christian audiences worldwide including about the Jewish roots of their faith. Dr. Kokkonen is the author of the exhibits for the Holocaust Garden of Hope and serves the Holocaust Remembrance Association as Educational Advisor. [/author_info] [/author]