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Just because someone has a lot of degrees does not mean that they have wisdom. They usually show their lack of wisdom when they take evidence and come to the wrong conclusions

Today is Holocaust Remembrance in Israel. It is one week before Israel Independence Day. It is not an accident but shows that, even though we suffered the destruction of European Jewry, we got up and continued our mission.

While going into the details of the offerings to be brought in the Tabernacle, the Torah reminds us of the laws of Kashrut. To remind us that our daily lives are what makes the big things possible.

This week’s portion is informing us that in the Tabernacle, and later the Temple, we have to be precise in our rituals. That the service is not a game. We cannot deviate from God’s instructions.

The first thing that a priest serving in the Tabernacle did in the morning was to clean out the ashes from the Menorah. This was a dirty job, Aaron would look forward to doing it every morning.

It is interesting that the Torah refers to Passover as the Holiday of Matzoth. We have to remember that the goal was to get Egypt out of the Jews. The Egyptians had inventing leavening.

When we put the three main holidays in an American historical perspective we can understand them even better.

The Torah states that we have to give an offering for an accidental sin. One of the reasons for this would teach us that while we did it by accident, we are still responsible for our actions.

More than we keeping our rituals, our rituals keep us. If we did not keep the rituals, we would not have become better people. That is what makes us special.

Ritual is important. The Book of Leviticus deals with the ritual of the Tabernacle and the bringing of sacrifices. But if it is not tied to morality, it is meaningless.