Shemini – Buying The Dip
“Vayehi Bayom Hashmini, and it was on the eighth day.” The history goes like this. As we left Egypt we took a fifty day journey to the day of receiving the Luchos. Another forty days until the Eigel, and another 80 until Vayakhel, which was a day after Yom Kippur, when Moshe instructed us to build the Mishkan. The construction, and all, took just over two months. It must’ve been easy to get permits there, and they were done by Chanukkah. For the next couple of months we waited for Hashem’s word to start serving Him in the Mishkan. It isn’t until seven days before the new year starts that Hashem instructs Moshe to run a seven day trial, and on the eighth day it shall be inaugurated.
This time period when we all wait for the grand inauguration is used to prepare us with the necessary knowledge we’ll need when that day finally arrives. The Yidden have to learn concepts of sacrifices, reach levels of purity, and most of all, yearn for forgiveness. Hoping that as He comes to dwell among them, He has forgiven them. They would spend days targeting their cleanliness of thoughts and straining their minds to focus on seeing the love of Hashem. Noticing that each moment was a gift, and that He didn’t owe them a thing after such a betrayal. Their regret was honest and they merited to see Hashem dwell among them.
It seems as though we can spend a lifetime in preparation to that day, so how did the Yidden come to these levels so quickly? The answer is simple, “With a leader like Moshe it’s easy!” We know how hard we work to see Hashem in our everyday lives. We listen to something nice and gaze at the stars for five minutes here and there. We speak to friends and indulge in holy books from time to time. But as we observe the rest of our day we recognize how we forgot about Him as we got angry, and how we set Him aside for temporary delights. It may feel at times that we say, “I am a far cry from being worthy of living with Him all day long.”
We have moments that are filled with clarity, and we do what we can to keep that clarity around for a while. We know that it is our eyes that are weak and that we love ourselves way too much, and we allow ourselves to harm ourselves in the future for short term gains. The clarity flies away as we make that drop in the market. Investors were pouring in as they saw the graph rise, but now with this dip, people start questioning the future. It is only a few who stick around you at your lowest point, but we sure make some new friends there as well. But there is one person who believes in you more than anyone else, Moshe Rabbeinu.
It was his dedication to the job that he taught every type of person in the nation how to find Hashem. It was his duty to show people clarity in the ways of Hashem, so that they see what he is seeing. He showed our fathers the boundless love Hashem has and how much a part of Him we are. He didn’t have to write many essays to prove it, all Moshe had to do was open his eyes. He taught millions in moments and they understood how true every word was and internalized them as their mission. Moshe left them without a trace of a doubt that there is a Creator and that we are His children.
“Vayehi Bayom Hashmini.” The build up to this day was something beyond spectacular. Ask any Kallah about the days of her engagement and she will have a thicker book than Shanah Rishonah. The anticipation and preparation were intense, but it is now that they all stand in awe with clarity as they witness their biggest dream come true. Hashem came to dwell among them, a sign of redemption and love. It’s the day the Kallah waits for forever, the gown is stunning and the tears are running, heavenly butterflies tickle her smile. The day has come, “He is finally here!”
We feel this way as we anticipate the next big thing. A Chag, Simcha or Promotion, as we know they’re coming we build up our minds to it. Our excitement grows each time it crosses our mind, as the dreams and hopes for those days are overflowing. We want it to be perfect so we do as much as we can beforehand. We learn all about the significance of this upcoming event, as we ask ourselves, “How will my life be different when that day comes and this is my reality?”
Now, what if that day comes and it falls short of your expectations? The promotion was too small… there were too many fights around the table… and so on. What happens then as we have finally reached that big day and our hopes were bigger than the reality? It’s heartbreaking.
Rashi points out that on this day, ten things happened. One of them being the deaths of Nadav and Avihu. Their anticipation was high and they envisioned a day of miraculous fire from heaven. As what they dreamed of didn’t happen they erred as they acted upon their instincts and delivered an earthly fire in the Mishkan.
We have many big thoughts about the big days to come. We want Pesach to feel this way and Shavuot another. We build up and await that high point and climax but it never shows up. We become nervous as we feel empty in this void and become distraught in our efforts. We tried so hard to make it to this day with the right intentions but when it was all said and done, we lost ourselves again. We look for earthly fires to fill our emptiness and darkness, not realizing that this is exactly how this day is supposed to feel. How else would Pesach look like if there wasn’t grape juice spilling and kids crying? You can work your way to it for months but the reality will be exactly as it is.
It is this place that is called “The day after.” We’ve been excited for so long that now we have to start working in the Mishkan. The room we came from once was dark and with the help of Hashem and Moshe we were able to fill it with light. And now we’ve entered a new room which still feels dark, but it is one where you will bring light to every corner. It is in this state that we should remember all that we’ve learned in the past. Keeping up with the purity and fighting for cleanliness of heart and mind. The trick of the Yetzer Hara is to make us feel lower than our starting point, but the truth is that our graph is at the highest point it has ever been at.
Life is full of ups and downs, keep up the anticipation for greatness and dream big. When you know that you’ve worked hard and you feel like giving in to his sick requests, remember, you’re in a new room, a room filled with potential light which only you can fill. It is the light of Hashem that we started searching for, and it is throughout every stage that we uncover more and more.
David Lemmer is an Orthodox Jewish Writer and Hypnotherapist. He can be reached at LemmerHypno@gmail.com