Parashat Shemini – Puzzle

The outline of this week’s parasha bothers me. Here’s the basic structure of the parasha following the breaks in the Torah text:

Vayikra 9:1 – 10:7

For the first time Aharon and his sons perform the priestly service.

In a burst of enthusiasm Nadav and Avihu bring “strange fire” and are killed.

Vayikra 10:8 – 10:11

The priests are commanded about drunkenness.

Vayikra 10:12 – 10:20

Moshe tells Aharon and his surviving sons how to complete the service on that day.

Moshe gets angry because a sin offering was not eaten.

Aharon explains why the offering was not eaten and Moshe admits that he was wrong.

Vayikra 11:1 – 11:47

The kosher dietary laws are given. (These 47 verses do have a couple of breaks in the text, but I’m going to ignore them.)

Why Kosher Laws?

What are the dietary laws doing here? I don’t understand why they should be included in the parasha mostly filled with the events of Aharon and his sons.

What do you think?

Word Search Puzzle

If you need a break from the serious matters of the parasha, here’s a fun puzzle for you to try.

Which bird do you see first? Please share your findings in the comments.

Picture credit: Harris’s Hawk