Introduction
There is a legendary story – quite possibly liberally embroidered – about Rambam at the Sultan’s court. A rival courtier claimed he could train a cat to act completely human. Rambam challenged him, insisting that an animal’s nature cannot be fundamentally changed. The Sultan arranged for a demonstration, and as the appointed day approached, Rambam’s friends reported seeing the cat walking on its hind legs, using its front paws as hands, and interacting with onlookers.
Rambam grew concerned. If proven wrong, his standing at court could diminish, potentially harming his ability to advocate for the Jewish community. On the day of the trial, as Rambam was preparing to go to the court, a mouse unexpectedly scurried into his snuff-box. Although at first slightly unnerved, Rambam appreciated that this was Divine Providence, not coincidence, and brought the box with him to court.
The cat’s performance was indeed impressive – walking upright and balancing a tea tray with remarkable poise. However, when Rambam opened his snuff-box and released the mouse, the cat’s training instantly evaporated. It dropped the tray and bounded after the mouse on all fours, reverting completely to its essential nature.
In the sichah that follows, the Rebbe communicates a similar message: No matter how spiritually elevated we become, we must ground our conduct in kabbalas ol, the acceptance of G-d’s yoke. Otherwise, it is possible that our base tendencies will take control.
Parshas Shemini spans the entire spiritual spectrum, from the Divine fire descending upon the Sanctuary’s altar to warnings against consuming loathsome creatures. This juxtaposition teaches us that without the foundation of kabbalas ol, we risk falling precipitously from whatever spiritual heights we might attain to pursue our most base inclinations, just as the well-trained cat abandoned its human pretenses when confronted with its fundamental nature.
Parshas Shemini’s Spiritual Spectrum
This week’s Torah portion discusses three subjects in sequence: First, it speaks about the eighth day of inauguration of the Sanctuary; then, about the death of Aharon’s two sons. At the end of the portion, it discusses kosher animals and the like, and it concludes with the prohibition against eating loathsome creatures and crawling things.
The superiority of the eighth day of inauguration over the previous seven days is that on the eighth day, “He, [Moshe], erected the Sanctuary and did not dismantle it.” In contrast to the previous seven days when the Sanctuary was erected and dismantled daily, on the eighth day, the Sanctuary was erected and remained standing.
True, in a spiritual sense, everything carried out according to the Torah’s command is permanent, an eternal matter. This also has ramifications in the realm of halachah. For the above reason, even though any knot that is destined to be untied is not considered a permanent knot, nevertheless, if the Torah commanded that such a knot be made, the knot is considered permanent. The command of the Torah endows it with permanence. While – like all matters of this physical world – on this material plane, the actual knot will continue to exist only for a limited time, the matter itself is eternal.
Moreover, even when untying the knot will also be done according to the Torah’s command – i.e., the Torah instructs that the knot should be untied – nevertheless, during the time the knot [physically] exists, it is an eternal matter. The act of untying it – at its appropriate time – is also eternal, but that applies at a different time.
The explanation of this concept resembles Tanya’s statement, “Above, [in the spiritual realms,] this unity is eternal, [lasting] forever.... However, below, [in this material world,] it is subject to time.” This clarifies the custom of tying the knot of tefillin each day. According to those opinions that hold that one must tie and untie the knot daily and retie it anew, it is nevertheless considered a permanent knot.
As such, it is understood that the erection of the Sanctuary during the seven days of inauguration was also an eternal matter. Even so, its timeless quality is not equivalent to the erection [of the Sanctuary] on the eighth day, when, in actual practice, “They erected it and did not dismantle it.” This is especially true since on the eighth day, “fire descended from heaven,” which represents a lofty spiritual level that was not present at all during the previous days. Thus, the eight days of inauguration collectively constitute a sublime spiritual matter, with the eighth day marking its ultimate fulfillment.
Later, the Torah reading speaks about the death of Aharon’s two sons, warning that measures be taken so that such a tragedy should not recur. As is well known, the death of Aharon’s two sons reflects the spiritual motif of ratzo (a state of intense yearning to ascend toward G-dliness) without shov, (the complementary motif of returning to material consciousness). From this, it is understood that, at that time, the Jewish people on the whole were on an extremely lofty spiritual level, to the extent that they required caution lest their souls actually expire due to excessive spiritual ecstasy.
Nevertheless, later in this same portion, the Torah warns about eating loathsome creatures and crawling things “which a person’s soul detests,” entities that most human beings find repulsive. At first glance, it is difficult to understand: How it is fitting for this commandment to be positioned adjacent to the lofty spiritual matters taught immediately beforehand?
In explanation, it could be said that although the Torah portion discusses exceedingly lofty spiritual levels, nevertheless, its conclusion emphasizes specifically the [necessity of ] accepting the yoke of Heaven, as implied by the verse, “For I am G-d who brought you up... [from the land of Egypt].” As Rashi explains, that phrase indicates that G-d took the Jews out of Egypt, “on the condition that [they] accept [His] commandments.” This stipulation is necessary because our souls are housed in bodies. Hence, caution is necessary.
(True, our soul’s connection to our bodies also leads to a positive concept: The body derives from a G-dly source that transcends intellect, comprehension, and contemplation. Therefore, its essential connection is to G-dly qualities that transcend comprehension.)
Nevertheless, the body’s inherent attraction to physical matters leads to the following practical lesson: We must rely on [the fundamental approach of ] accepting the yoke of Heaven in all matters, regardless of our spiritual standing, no matter how lofty it is. Without the foundation of the acceptance of G-d’s yoke, we may eventually stumble spiritually and fall – even to the level of eating loathsome creatures and similar paths of undesirable conduct (G-d forbid).
