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

What Is
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We focus on Probate Litigation
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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
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We focus on Probate Litigation
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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
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Call Us.

We focus on Probate Litigation
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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

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Southfield, MI 48034
1-248-945-1111

What Is
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We focus on Probate Litigation
and Administration. Administering
estates where everyone is on the same
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parties appointed by will, trust or the
court. Protecting you from family
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