The mitzvot of Shmini

That the priests not enter the Temple with grown hair

Negative · Leviticus 10:6

This mitzvah too comes to magnify the honour of the House. One should not come to the king's house in mourning and distress, as the Book of Esther says that no one may enter the king's gate in sackcloth, but in joy and honour. When we come to the Temple with awe and joy and reflect on the importance and splendour of the place, our hearts soften there and we become worthy of receiving good.

That the priests not enter the Temple with torn clothes

Negative · Leviticus 10:6

This prohibition too is meant to enhance the honour of the House. Torn clothes are a sign of mourning and grief, and it is not fitting to come before the King that way, just as no one would come to the king's gate dressed in sackcloth. Those who serve in God's House must come to it in joy and honour, so that their hearts are filled with awe and they become worthy of receiving good.

That the priests not go out from the Temple at the time of the service

Negative · Leviticus 10:7

The service of the Temple is more precious than anything in the world, so a priest may not leave it in the middle for any reason. Had they left it, that would have been a slight to the service, as if they were showing that there is something in the world more important than the service of God, if it could be set aside for it even for a moment. In this way the importance of the service is preserved in the eyes of the priests and of the whole people.

To not enter the Temple intoxicated, and likewise to not give a ruling intoxicated

Negative · Leviticus 10:9

The root of this mitzvah is simple and well known. The matters of the Temple and the words of the Torah are supremely precious, and it is only fitting to engage in them when a person's mind is settled and his actions are deliberate. One who has drunk wine and whose mind is clouded is not fit to serve in God's House or to rule on Jewish law for others.

The command of checking the signs of a beast or animal

Positive · Leviticus 11:2

The root of all the food prohibitions is that God kept from His people foods that harm the body, and the body is a vessel for the soul. Since certain animals were forbidden to us, whatever has been forbidden obliges us to examine it carefully. Therefore we were commanded to check the signs of purity before eating, so as not to stumble into what is forbidden.

To not eat an impure beast or animal

Negative · Leviticus 11:4

God knows that all the foods He kept from His people cause harm to the body, and the body is the vessel through which the soul acts and rises by its good deeds. So He kept us away from them, that the soul may do its work and the door not be shut before it by a bad bodily constitution and a dulled heart.

The commandment to check the signs of fish

Positive · Leviticus 11:9

The root of checking the signs of fish is the same as that of checking the signs of animals, and it covers all the kinds. The Torah insisted on fish that have fins and scales, because that kind suits human nature. And since other fish were forbidden, it is right to check each fish's signs carefully before eating it.

To not eat impure fish

Negative · Leviticus 11:11

God kept from His people every food that holds harm, whether from animals, from birds or from fish. The body is a vessel for the soul, and when it is nourished by good foods it stays healthy and ready to serve her. And impure fish, according to the author of the Chinuch, are among the harmful foods.

To not eat impure fowl

Negative · Leviticus 11:13

Impure birds too were forbidden for the same reason as all the food prohibitions. The body changes and is rebuilt every day from the food a person eats, and according to the quality of the food it will be healthy or sick. It is among God's kindnesses that He kept from us foods that breed harmful humours in the body, so that it may be a whole vessel for the soul.

The commandment of checking the signs of grasshoppers

Positive · Leviticus 11:21

The root of this mitzvah is as with the other kinds. Whatever locusts are forbidden to us were forbidden because they hold harm for the body, which is a vessel for the soul. So one who comes to eat of them must carefully check the signs the Torah gave, so as not to come to what is forbidden.

The commandment of the impurity of the eight swarming creatures

Positive · Leviticus 11:29

No one has ever grasped all wisdom to its end - even Moshe our teacher did not attain one of the fifty gates of understanding. But it is clear that God, the father of wisdom and of goodness, commands nothing except for our good, so even when we do not understand the benefit of a mitzvah we know that it is all for good. The author of the Chinuch suggests that impurity may harm the soul and weaken the wellsprings of the intellect, and since we do not know the essence of the soul, we cannot know its sickness or its cure.

The commandment of the matter of impurity of foods

Positive · Leviticus 11:34

The roots of impurity and purity are explained in the previous mitzvah. Impurity may harm the soul and somewhat impair the intellect, and only one who knows the essence of the soul in its depths could understand the ways of its sickness and its cure. So we accept the laws of the impurity of foods as we were commanded, confident that God commanded them for our good.

The commandment of the matter of the impurity of a carcass

Positive · Leviticus 11:39

The impurity of a carcass too belongs to the laws of impurity and purity, whose root is deep and hidden. God commands nothing except for our good, and the author of the Chinuch suggests that impurity harms the soul as illness harms the body. And since it is not in our power to know the essence of the soul, we cannot grasp all the reasons for this separation.

To not eat the swarming creature of the ground

Negative · Leviticus 11:41

The prohibition of creeping creatures is part of the food prohibitions, and they share one root. God kept from us foods that harm body and soul, and even when we do not understand the harm, we know that His wisdom is greater than ours and that it is all for our good. And the Torah calls creeping creatures an abomination - something the soul recoils from.

To not eat species of minute swarming creatures born in seeds and fruits

Negative · Leviticus 11:42

Here too the root is that of all the food prohibitions. God, the father of wisdom, commands nothing except for our good, and in all that He kept from us there is benefit for body and soul, even if it is not revealed to us. And eating such tiny creatures, even where it is not forbidden, carries something loathsome to the soul.

To not eat of the swarming creatures of the waters

Negative · Leviticus 11:43

The root of this mitzvah is like that of all the food prohibitions. The body is a vessel for the soul, and God in His kindness kept from His people everything that harms it and breeds harmful humours in it. And the tiny creatures that swim in water, such as worms and leeches, are among the foods the Torah kept away.

To not eat of swarming creatures that exist from decay

Negative · Leviticus 11:44

The author of the Chinuch writes that the root is well known. Creatures that arise from decay are a loathsome and harmful food, and God kept from His people everything that harms the body, which is a vessel for the soul. The Torah calls eating them a defiling of the soul, so that we understand that the harm is not to the body alone.