42 | MARCH 24 • 2022 

SPIRIT

Beyond 
Natural Order 
T

here were seven 
days of training for 
the Kohanim, the 
priests, in regard to their 
roles in the tabernacle. On 
the eighth day they took 
the service over and, so 
to speak, graduated 
from Kohen school.
Eight is a very 
spiritual number in 
Judaism. It shows 
up in connection to 
Chanukah, the bris 
milah and the first 
letter in chai — life. 
It also transcends the 
model of nature. As 
we know, the world 
was created in six 
days and on the sev-
enth is the Shabbat. 
This seven-day model 
gives us a definition to nat-
ural order. 
This is true not only of 
our weekly routine, but it 
also shows up in the wed-
ding, post-celebration cer-
emonies and in the funeral 
and shivah. Seven shows 
up everywhere, from the 
branches of the menorah 
in the temple to the seven 
Noahite laws, to the animals 
brought on the ark, to the 
sprinklings in the temple, 
to the fruits of Israel just to 
name a few. There are quite 
a few more, so feel free to 
do some trivia in between 
your daily Wordles.
So, what is the message 
behind eight? There are 
two ways of breaking the 
pattern. The first is where 
we have a completely dif-
ferent experience but then 

go right back to the way we 
were before. This applies to 
anything from a near death 
experience to an impact-
ful class, to a truly kismet 
moment, to so much more. 
Yet, those supernatural life- 
changing experiences 
don’t always have the 
lasting impact on the 
trajectory of our life.
Then there’s the 
second type of break-
ing the pattern. The 
eighth-day type. This 
is where we success-
fully integrate changes 
into our life. Where 
we take a spiritual 
moment and turn it 
into a spiritual experi-
ence by making it our 
own. 
This, to me, is the mes-
sage behind the name of our 
Torah portion. If we truly 
want to build a Temple, if 
we truly want to have the 
essence of spirituality as 
an active ingredient in our 
daily lives, we need to do 
two things:
1 – We need to strive a bit 
beyond our daily routine by 
going a bit beyond nature. 
2 – We need to incorpo-
rate that extraordinary thing 
back into our ordinary rou-
tine.
In other words, every 
once in a while, we need to 
go a bit beyond the seven 
days of the week and add an 
eighth day. 

Rabbi Yarden Blumstein is the teen 

director at Friendship Circle in West 

Bloomfield.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi Yarden 
Blumstein

Parshat 

Shemini: 

Leviticus 

9:1-11:47; 

II Samuel 

6:1-7:17.

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Southfield, MI 48034

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24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

What Is
Your Plan?.....
Call Us.

We focus on Probate Litigation 
and Administration. Administering 
estates where everyone is on the same 
page. Protecting you from self-dealing 
parties appointed by will, trust or the 
court. Protecting you from family 
members who always want more.

michprobate.com

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

What Is
Your Plan?.....
Call Us.

We focus on Probate Litigation 
and Administration. Administering 
estates where everyone is on the same 
page. Protecting you from self-dealing 
parties appointed by will, trust or the 
court. Protecting you from family 
members who always want more.

michprobate.com

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

What Is
Your Plan?.....
Call Us.

We focus on Probate Litigation 
and Administration. Administering 
estates where everyone is on the same 
page. Protecting you from self-dealing 
parties appointed by will, trust or the 
court. Protecting you from family 
members who always want more.

michprobate.com

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

michprobate.com

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110

Southfield, MI 48034

1-248-945-1111

We are here for you 

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Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

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We focus on Probate Litigation 
and Administration. Administering 
estates where everyone is on the same 
page. Protecting you from self-dealing 
parties appointed by will, trust or the 
court. Protecting you from family 
members who always want more.

michprobate.com

24725 West 12 Mile – Ste. 110
Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

What Is
Your Plan?.....
Call Us.

We focus on Probate Litigation 
and Administration. Administering 
estates where everyone is on the same 
page. Protecting you from self-dealing 
parties appointed by will, trust or the 
court. Protecting you from family 
members who always want more.

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