The Number Eight

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1. From Seven to Eight

   Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

   What links Brit Milla, the Metzora, the Eighth Day of Miluim, and Shmini Atzeret? The number seven represents nature, and the number eight represents that which transcends nature. 

2. Shemini: A Roller Coaster of Emotions

   Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 20 minutes

   We examine the quintessential "Yom HaShemini" ("The Eighth Day) - the roller coaster of emotions that transpires on this culmination of the Seven days of preparation for the Dedication of the Mishkan. This day of great tension is meant to include Divine Revelation in the Mishkan, showing that God has forgiven Israel for the Golden Calf, at least to the extent that He will once again show Himself to be in their midst. This is also the day the Mishkan becomes operative with Aharon as Kohen Gadol, despite his role in the Sin of the Golden Calf.

   But there is a delay. What accounts for the delayed revelation? Does something go wrong? We consider the complicated mix of emotions as the revelatory moment comes at the same time as the deaths of Nadav and Avihu, and look at the significance of other important "eighth days."