OU TORAH Shemini: The Mishkan’s Two-Part Dedication Ceremony By Rabbi Menachem Leibtag

For some reason, the dedication of the Mishkan required two consecutive ceremonies: The seven day “miluim” service – which was the final topic of Parshat Tzav (see Vayikra 8:1-36); The special korbanot offered on “yom haShmini” – the ‘eighth day’ – i.e. at the conclusion of those seven days – the first topic in Parshat Shmini (see 9:1-24). As the details of these two ceremonies are very different, it would only make sense to assume that each one served a different purpose. In the following shiur, we attempt to uncover the purpose of each of these two ceremonies, while showing how their presentation in Sefer Vayikra can also help us arrive at a deeper understanding of how we celebrate the holidays of Yom Kippur and Shavuot.