Torah Portion's | Staley Family Ministries

Sh'mini (Eighth)

Written by Jim Staley

GOD'S SECOND CHANCE FOR A NEW BEGINNING

I know I say this a lot, but this week's Torah portion is one of my favorites to talk about. This is the portion that's all about something new. Adam lost the priesthood when he sinned in the Garden of Eden. Since then, every historical event of the Bible led up to the inaugural moment found in this Torah portion. During it, the priesthood would be reestablished. The first part of the portion is the drum-roll moment where "Adam" begins the process of coming back to life. And not only does scripture detail opening day at the Levitical "ball park" for us, it also holds the pattern for our own inaugural moments where we, too, can experience the glory of God. Let's dive in.

Written by Jim Staley

This week's portion is called Shemini, which means "eighth." It comes from the opening part of this parsha where it talks about the priests being inaugurated on the eighth day. And although there is much to be said about that and how it's connected to us being inaugurated as priests on the prophetic eighth day after the seventh millennium, today I'm going to focus on a different part of the section: the profane fire of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus chapter 10.

Written by Jim Staley

EMOR

PART 1: DON'T DISQUALIFY YOURSELF!

In chapter 23 of this week's Torah portion, Emor, which means "say," we have the main instructions for the Feasts of the LORD. But because that topic has been covered extensively by both me and many other teachers, I'm going to take time to unpack the part of the parsha that deals with the regulations for the priests. There are several important things we can learn from these instructions, so let's jump right in!

Sh'mini (Eighth)

Profane Fire Makes Crispy Critters

Don't Disqualify Yourself!