It's a truly bittersweet day for the Jewish people as the celebration of the inauguration of the Tabernacle turns to mourning the deaths of two of Aaron's sons. What lessons can we learn?

Last week, as the Supreme Court heard arguments regarding marriage equality for same-sex couples, I returned to the Torah portion Shemini, with its cryptic report of the tragic fate of two sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu.

Recent headlines reveal gross recklessness among public servants. I'm not going to suggest that observing kashrut or any ritual laws serves as a panacea against moral turpitude. However, they help create a framework. They provide us with discipline.

As we prepare to commemorate, Holocaust Remembrance Day, it is almost sickening to read how "the flesh and the skin were consumed in fire" (Leviticus 9:11), and even more so to consider these words and acts something God would command.

The eight day. Moses calls for Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel. "Take a young bull as a sin-offering," he says to Aaron, "to atone for the Golden Calf."