On the eighth day, following the seven days of their inauguration, Aaron and his sons begin to officiate as kohanim. The divine presence comes to dwell in the Sanctuary.

Aaron’s two elder sons, Nadav and Avihu, enter the Holy of Holies to offer a sacrifice, when they were not supposed to, and die.

Hayden commands the kosher laws, identifying the animal species permissible and forbidden for consumption. Also in Shemini are some of the laws of ritual purity, including the purifying power of the mikvah.

This Shabbat we bless the month of Iyar. Beginning on the second night of Pesach and continuing until Shavuot, we count the Omer daily. This is a custom dating back to the Beit Hamikdash when they counted down until Shavuot, the day we received the Torah as well as the day they brought the Omer Sacrifice. This time period is called the Sefira during which we refrain from cutting hair, listening to music and other joyous activities since this is also a time when the students of Rabbi Akiva died due a plague.

Offering a sacrifice is a special activity. And the Holy of Holies is the most sacred place. Why then did Nadav and Avihu die for their deed?

The reason is because they had such a strong will to connect to Hashem that their bodies could no longer contain their soul.

Our purpose in this world is to combine inspiration with practical action. Just feeling divinely inspired without acting on it leads to otherworldly desires which are holy, but not what is needed in our physical world.

We need to take the inspiration and use it to improve our day to day lives.

On the 28th of Nissan, the Lubavitcher Rebbe made an urgent appeal. He spoke very strongly how as the Leader of the Jewish people, he has done all he can to bring Moshiach but now it is in our hands. It is up to each and every one of us to add one more positive action to tip the scale and bring the Redemption.

In one of his travels, chassidic master Rabbi Yisachar Dov Ber of Radoshitz occasioned to stay the night at a wayside inn. In the morning, he sought out the innkeeper.

"The clock," he asked excitedly, "the clock you have hanging in my room — where is it from? Where did you get that wonderful clock?"

"Why," said the surprised innkeeper, "it's quite an ordinary clock. There are hundreds like it hanging in homes throughout the country."

"No, no," insisted Rabbi Yisachar Dov. "This is no ordinary clock. You must find out for me where this clock comes from."

If only to humor his guest, the innkeeper made some inquiries, which yielded the information that this clock once belonged to the famed "Seer of Lublin," Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz. An heir of the "Seer" had been forced by poverty to sell all his possessions, and so the clock passed from owner to owner until it came to hang in one of the guestrooms of the inn.

"Of course!" exclaimed Rabbi Yisachar Dov upon hearing the clock's history. "This clock could only have belonged to the 'Seer of Lublin.' Only the Seer's clock could mark time in such a manner!

"Your standard clock," he explained to his host, "strikes such a mournful tone. 'Another hour of your life has passed you by,' it says. 'You are now one hour closer to the grave.' But this clock proclaims: 'Another hour of galut (exile) has gone by. You are now one hour closer to the coming of Moshiach and the Redemption...'

"All through the night," concluded Rabbi Yisachar Dov, "whenever this clock sounded the hour, I leapt from my bed and danced for joy."