What Does On the Eighth Day Really Mean?

Unfortunately, the hour is late, I have studied much and now I am about to write about a topic that deserves much more time. However, I want to share this idea with you that I came up with, so what can I do. Maybe next year I will go more in depth.

This week's parsha, Shemini, starts off with a very ambiguous phrase (Vayikra 9:1):

א  וַיְהִי, בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי, קָרָא מֹשֶׁה, לְאַהֲרֹן וּלְבָנָיו--וּלְזִקְנֵי, יִשְׂרָאֵל.

1 And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron and his sons, and the elders of Israel;

All of the commentators scramble to try and figure out what eighth day the Torah is talking about. Rashi says (ibid):

ויהי ביום השמיני: שמיני למלואים, הוא ראש חודש ניסן, שהוקם המשכן בו ביום ונטל עשר עטרות השנויות בסדר עולם (פרק ז)
It was on the Eighth Day: The eighth day of the inauguration (of Aharon and his sons into the priesthood), this was the beginning of the month of Nissan, for the Mishkan (tabernacle) was built on that day and (that day) took ten crowns that are listed in Seder Olam.

Ibn Ezra says (ibid):
ויהי ביום השמיני -היה נראה לנו כי ביום השמיני שמיני לניסן, כי המשכן הוקם באחד לחדש,
And it was on the eighth day: It appears to us that the eighth day is the eighth day of Nissan, because the Mishkan (tabernacle) was built on the first of the month.

In the The Sifra (ibid) it says:
ויהי ביום. השמיני קרא . זה אחד מן הכתובים שצריך
לדרוש . נאמר כאן ויהי ביום ה שמיני ונאמר להלן ויהי
ביומ הש ל י ש י . אין אנו יודעים אם שלישי לשבת אם שלישי למנין
כשהוא אומר כי ביום השלישי ירד ה׳ לעיני כל העם על הר סיני ויה•
ביום השלישי בהיות הב קר הוה אומר שלישי למ נ י ן . וכאן נאמרו
ויהי.ביום השמיני אין אנו יודעים אם שמיני למנין אם שמיני לחדש
כשהוא אומר כי שבעת ימים ימלא את ידכם הוה אומר שמיני
למנין ולא שמיני לחדש :
And it was on the eighth day: This is one of the verses that needs to be expounded upon. It says here "And it was on the eighth day" and it says later on "And it was on the third day." We don't know if this refers to the third day of the week, or the third from counting [from an event]. For when [the Torah] says "On the third day G-D went down, [seen by] the eyes of the entire nation, on Mount Sinai or "And it was on the third day in the morning" it is referring to the third day counting [from some event]. And here it says "And it was on the eighth day" and we don't know if it is the eighth day counting [from the building of the Mishkan] or if it is the eighth day of the month. For when it says "For seven days you will fill your hands" it is talking about Eight days counting [from some event] and not the eighth of the month.

Also, it must be pointed out, as stated by the Torah viMitzva commenting on this Midrash, Chazal were of the opinion that the Mishkan (tabernacle) was erected on the 23 of Adar. For, if they held the Mishkan was erected on the first of Nissan, there is no difference between the eigth of the month of Nissan and the eighth day from the building of the Mishkan, they are the same day.

My point here is to show that this verse is very ambiguous and the true meaning seems to be hidden. However, I think that the meaning of this verse is very deep and in order to fully understand it we must first look at a Maharal and the Gemara in Tractate Megila (10b), first the Gemara:


And it came to pass on the eighth day, and it has been taught, ‘On that day there was joy before the Holy One, blessed be He, as on the day when heaven and earth were created. For it is written, And it came to pass [wa-yehi] on the eighth day, and it is written in the other place, And there was [wa-yehi] one day’?

What is the reason this day is connected to the creation of the world? It is simply because G-D did not complete the creation of the world until this point. What do I mean by that? Adam sinned and was banished from the Garden of Eden at twilight of the sixth day. The seventh day came and G-D's connection to Adam was diminished, which led to G-D's connection to the world becoming diminished. It was not until the erection of the Mishkan and the appointment of Aharon and his son's that G-D now had this close connection to the world.

The Maharal tells us about the unique connection that the tribe of Levi, specifically the Kohanim, have with G-D and how it is only through this connection that G-D really connects to the world. In Ner Mitzva, while talking about the 4 kingdoms that rule in this world before the Moshiach (Messiah) comes, the Maharal explains this idea in depth, I will summarize.

Basically, the world is made up of many different entities and is, therefore, unable to communicate with G-D because G-D is singular. (I am not going to go into this concept right now) However, there is one nation that is able to communicate with G-D and that is because they encompass and embody the idea of singularity. However, even this nation (The Jewish people) are unable to communicate and connect with G-D. It is only through the tribe of Levi that the Jewish people are able to connect to G-D, that is why they work in the Temple. The multiplicity of the world is able to be unified through the Jewish people, who are able to be unified even further into the tribe of Levi, who are able to be unified even further by the Kohanim. Through the Kohanim, the world is able to, once again, communicate with G-D in the Temple. (The whole idea of singularity is a long discussion, just think of it as purity. The world is, essentially, purified through the Kohanim.)

Once we realize this idea, the meaning of "The Eighth day" is clear. It is the "Eighth Day" of creation. The day had arrived, finally, where G-D enabled man to reach the level of communication with Him that was intended for Adam before the sin. That is why this Parsha starts off with Aharon being inaugurated into the Priesthood. This is why the Gemara in Megilah connects this verse to the creation of the world, because this was the final chapter in creation, the creation of a people that can connect to G-D and, through this people (the Jewish people), connect the rest of the world to G-D. For, this is what the Maharal tells us, the Jewish people are the prism that connects G-D to the rest of the world. (Granted, the Kohanim are the prism that connect the Jewish people to G-D, but the Kohanim are part of the Jewish people.)

Shafan and Arneves- What are They and Do They Chew Their Cud?

In Leviticus (11:1-6) It discusses what land animals are kosher and which not kosher even if they have at least one sign of kashrus. It says,

א וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה וְאֶל-אַהֲרֹן, לֵאמֹר אֲלֵהֶם. 1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them:

ב דַּבְּרוּ אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, לֵאמֹר: זֹאת הַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר תֹּאכְלוּ, מִכָּל-הַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר עַל-הָאָרֶץ. 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: These are the living things which ye may eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.

ג כֹּל מַפְרֶסֶת פַּרְסָה, וְשֹׁסַעַת שֶׁסַע פְּרָסֹת, מַעֲלַת גֵּרָה, בַּבְּהֵמָה--אֹתָהּ, תֹּאכֵלוּ. 3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is wholly cloven-footed, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that may ye eat.

ד אַךְ אֶת-זֶה, לֹא תֹאכְלוּ, מִמַּעֲלֵי הַגֵּרָה, וּמִמַּפְרִסֵי הַפַּרְסָה: אֶת-הַגָּמָל כִּי-מַעֲלֵה גֵרָה הוּא, וּפַרְסָה אֵינֶנּוּ מַפְרִיס--טָמֵא הוּא, לָכֶם. 4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that only chew the cud, or of them that only part the hoof: the camel, because he cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, he is unclean unto you.

ה וְאֶת-הַשָּׁפָן, כִּי-מַעֲלֵה גֵרָה הוּא, וּפַרְסָה, לֹא יַפְרִיס; טָמֵא הוּא, לָכֶם. 5 And the shafan, because he cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, he is unclean unto you.

ו וְאֶת-הָאַרְנֶבֶת, כִּי-מַעֲלַת גֵּרָה הִוא, וּפַרְסָה, לֹא הִפְרִיסָה; טְמֵאָה הִוא, לָכֶם. 6 And the Arneves, because she cheweth the cud but parteth not the hoof, she is unclean unto you.

ז וְאֶת-הַחֲזִיר כִּי-מַפְרִיס פַּרְסָה הוּא, וְשֹׁסַע שֶׁסַע פַּרְסָה, וְהוּא, גֵּרָה לֹא-יִגָּר; טָמֵא הוּא, לָכֶם. 7 And the swine, because he parteth the hoof, and is cloven-footed, but cheweth not the cud, he is unclean unto you.

Most commentators translate Shafan as the hyrax and the Arneves as the hare. However, there are several disagreements on this idea. When deciding how to understand what these creatures actually are there are several factors to consider. First, we must understand what the words Maaleh Geirah mean. Second, we must decide whether these animals, the hyrax and the hare, can fit into the definition of Maaleh Geirah that we conclude with. Finally, if they can not fit, we must consider the alternative understandings of the Hebrew words Shafan and Arneves.

Maaleh Geirah, what does it mean?

1)Rashi says that it means to bring up and vomit the food from its insides and it returns the food to its mouth. He says that Geirah refers to the food that is regurgitated to the mouth aka cud.

2)Onkelos renders the word Geira as dissolved food.

3)Ibn Ezra says that it refers to the action of returning food through the throat.

All three of these understandings seem to point to one conclusion. They all seem to say that the animal must chew its cud. Whether you hold the word Geira refers to an adverb, like Ibn Ezra, or a noun, like Rashi, it all seems to mean chew the cud. Also, the most compelling evidence that exists for how to describe Maaleh Geirah is to see how a camel digests food. The Gamal, or camel, chews its cud and the phrase Maaleh Geirah is used to describe the gamal, shafan and arneves' digestive characteristics. However, it could also be understood as chew the food that is brought from the stomach back into the mouth since this would also accurately describe a camel. We will discuss the difference shortly.

Now that we have defined Maaleh Geirah, can the hyrax and the hare fit into this understanding?

Here is a quote for a basic understanding of the Hyrax's digestive system from this website.

"Unlike the even-toed ungulates and some of the macropods, hyraxes do not chew cud to help extract nutrients from coarse, low-grade leaves and grasses. They do, however, have complex, multi-chambered stomachs which allow symbiotic bacteria to break down tough plant materials, and their overall ability to digest fiber is similar to that of the ungulates."

Although Hyraxes are able to digest food just as well as animals that do chew their cud, they perform no such action that can be described as chewing their cud. Also, they create no item that can even be considered cud. So whether we go according to Rashi and Onkeles that say Geirah refers to the ball of cud, or Ibn Ezra that says Geirah refers to the adverb of bring up the food there is no way to describe the Shafan as being Maaleh Geirah. This means that there must be another animal that the Torah meant when it said the word Shafan.

However, the Arneves is another story. This is classically translated as the Hare. Is this correct? Let us take a look at the Hares digestive system.

A basic understanding of the special digestion of the hare can be found on this website. "Cecotropes (also 'caecotrophes') also known as 'night feces', are the product of the cecum, a part of the digestive system, in mammals of the order lagomorpha, which includes two families: Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). Cecotropes are passed through the intestines and subsequently re-ingested for added nutrients in a process known as 'caecotrophy', 'caecophagy' 'pseudo-rumination', 'refection', or 'coprophagy.' Re-ingestion is also practiced by a few species of rodent (such as the capybara and guinea pig), a marsupial and a primate.

The process by which cecotropes are produced is called 'hindgut fermentation.' Food passes through the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, where nutrients are absorbed, and then into the colon. Through reverse peristalsis, the food is forced back into the cecum where it is broken down into simple sugars (i.e. monosaccharides) by bacterial fermentation. The cecotrope then passes through the colon, the anus, and is consumed by the animal. The process occurs 4 to 8 hours after eating. This type of re-ingestion to obtain more nutrients is similar to the chewing of cud in cattle."

Now we come to the second understanding of Maaleh Geirah, chew the food that is brought from the stomach back into the mouth. This is a good understanding since it accurately describes the camel's act of rumination. It will also describe the hares act of Cecotrope. This "night feces" can be described as cud in every aspect. The hare creates specific types of feces that would be described as Geirah according to Rashi and Onkeles. Even according to Ibn Ezra we could say that the hare's act of returning the dissolved food to its mouth from its anus could be the act of Maaleh Geirah. Therefore, we can say that the hare is the correct understanding of the word Arneves.

Still, we need to understand what is the Shafan's true translation. Perhaps the Pika, the cousin of the Rabbit, is the real Shafan. It has the same digestion habits as the hare. Therefore, it could be described as being Maaleh Geirah just like a hare. Also, as described on this website, "Pikas are native to cold climates, mostly in Asia, North America and parts of eastern Europe. Most species live on rocky mountain sides, where there are numerous crevices to shelter in, although some also construct crude burrows." This shows that the Pika fits with the descriptions of the Shafan. It is small, weak and lives in the mountains.