Shmini

Shmini means eight.  That so the name of this week’s Torah portion.  
Why is a week seven days?  Because God created the world in seven days.  Is there any culture, anywhere on earth that does not observe a seven day week?  A more natural or obvious number would be five or ten.  Seven only makes sense coming from the Creation story.  And every place, religion, nationality, and ethnicity on earth observes the same week!
Remember the tale from Genesis: God created a universe that was fully formed and then left mankind with a single task, “to till and tend it.”  In other words, our task began on the eighth day.  Seven are also the days of shivah.  When they are completed we rise up to begin life anew.  This too is the eighth day.
In the mystic tradition it is said that we are now living in the eighth day.  This is humanity’s time and opportunity to perfect the world for us.  God gave us all the necessary tools and then left us to make what we will of our lives and the world.
Our parsha opens with: “It came to pass on the eighth day . . . today, the Lord will appear to you.”  And He has.
He has crafted a world that has all the necessary ingredients to perfect ourselves and help one another achieve that same goal.  God has given us the blueprint for life, Torah.  
Today is the eighth day of creation.  Celebrate Torah.  Let it and you merge.

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