Overview of the Weekly
Reading: Tzav Shabbat Hagadol
To be read on the Shabbat of 10 Nissan, 5762 (March 23)
Torah: Lev.6:1-8:36
Haftorah: Jeremiah
7:21- 8:3, 9:22-23 (about purpose of sacrifice commandments)
Stats: Tzav contains 9 positive mitzvot
and 9 prohibitive mitzvot. Among the Weekly Readings,
Tzav ranks 36 out of 54 in number of verses, 38 in
number of words, and 38 in number of letters
Tzav focuses on the Tabernacle offerings. The parsha begins by describing
the service done with the ashes of the burnt offering. This is followed
by the laws of the meal offering, the high priest's offering, the laws
of the sin offerings, guilt offerings, and peace offerings. The portion
then discusses the priests' portion of the offerings and the installation
of the priests into their service.
FROM
THE CHASSIDIC REBBES Tzav,
Shabbat Hagadol
)
"Every meal offering which is mixed with oil, or dry...to one
as much as the other." (7:10)
The meal offering mixed with oil was voluntary, but the dry one was brought
by a person who had committed a transgression. The Torah says, "to one
as much as the other." One must treat both individuals with the same respect,
love and spirit of brotherhood, regardless of the reason why the offering
was brought.
(Rabbi Yitzchak of Vorka)
Cleaning for Pesach
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev used to say: Every minute detail
of ritual law our people adheres to on Passover is dear to G-d, not the
least of which is the painstaking cleaning of the house and preparation
of the dishes and utensils which precede the holiday. This brings great
merit to the Jewish people and nullifies the evil plans of those who hate
us. He would see all the hard work being done--cleaning, polishing and
kashering--he would say, "May it be G-d's will that the heavenly
angels created by all this scraping, cleansing, washing and scouring appear
before the Heavenly Throne and argue favorably for the Jewish people."
(Maayana Shel Torah)
FROM THE MASTERS OF KABBALAH
Tzav)
Selected with permission from the five-volume English
edition of Ohr HaChaim: the Torah Commentary of Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar,
as translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk.
The holy Rabbi Chayim ben Moses Attar was born in Sale, Western Morocco,
on the Atlantic in 1696. His immortal commentary on the Five Books Of
Moses, Or Hachayim, was printed in Venice in 1741, while the author was
on his way to the Holy Land. He acquired a reputation as a miracle worker,
hence his title "the holy," although some apply this title only
to his Torah commentary.
"The fire of the altar shall be kept (tukad) burning thereby."
(Lev. 6:2)
The Torah informs us that when the dawn of that morning (the redemption)
finally looms, G-d's anger will burn and consume all those who have tortured
us during the many years of our exile and especially the Western nations
[the Christians and their inquisition who tortured Spanish Jewry. Ed].
The words "and the fire of the altar" are an allusion to the
many afflictions we have endured at the hands of the merciless Gentiles
who did not have pity on us seeing G-d had already punished us for so
many years. The word also recalls the self-sacrifice exhibited by Isaac
when he lay bound (akad) on the altar. The word "altar"
always conjures up the attribute of Justice in our minds. The mystical
dimension of all these concepts is contained in our word tukad [also related
to akad. Ed.]
"...The priest will wear a linen garment;" (Lev. 6:3)
The Torah switches to allude to the attribute of Love and Mercy, which
has also been implied by the word kohen. The Torah means that when that
time arrives even such attributes as Love and Mercy will consent to G-d
avenging the wrong done to the Jewish people by the nations of the world.
(Compare my commentary of Exodus 6:2 on the words "He said to him:
'I am the eternal G-d.'")
The words mado bad may be understood in lights of a comment by
our sages that G-d makes a visible mark of the blood of any Jew who was
killed because he was Jewish on His "garment." On the day when
G-d goes out to exact retribution from our enemies, He will wear that
"garment" on His heart.
The word is also a hint of the unity which was displayed by all the martyrs
who died for the sake of Judaism, i.e. who refused to compromise G-d's
unity by associating Him with any other religion.
An
essay from Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter
Tzav,
Shabbat Hagadol
)
The Shabbos before
Passover is always called Shabbos Hagadol, the "Big Shabbos,"
because on that day a 'great' miracle happened that expedited the emancipation
of the Jewish people from Egypt. From this long-standing Torah tradition,
we learn that everything connected to this Shabbos is 'great'.
As for the name of this week's Torah portion, what do we know about the
word Tzav? The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains in one of his discussions the
following:
The commandments that the Holy One Blessed Be He commanded Moshe to say
to the Jewish people were prefaced with one of three different expressions:
emor (say), daber (speak) and tzav (command).
This weeks' portion opens with the words, "Command Aharon."
Rashi (the main commentator) explains that the word tzav, which
means command, is used to express a particular idea; that is to spur or
urge the listeners for now and for all generations. Of the three expressions,
the word tzav is obviously the one most closely associated to the
whole concept of commandments. Only in this week's portion do we have
this unique expression. It is exactly this uniqueness that Rashi is stressing,
the idea of 'spurring on now and for the future'.
From a Chassidic context, the root of the word commandment - mitzvah
in Hebrew, derives from the Hebrew word tzavatah, which means connection.
From this we learn that the entire purpose of a commandment (mitzvah)
is to connect, and also that our direct connection to G-d can only come
through commandments!
Compared to the omnipotent Creator, the finite human and his finite reality
have no status. It is only through the actual action of the mitzvah that
an infinite tie is created between G-d, the commander, to the Jew, who
is commanded.
Since tzav also comes from the root tzavatah/connection,
clearly it emphasizes the idea of connecting to G-d more than the other
expressions (emor and daber). When the other expressions,
'say' or 'speak' are used, it is almost as if a person is being given
a choice whether to listen or not. Why? Because spiritually they only
reach the external levels of a person's soul. Tzav/command however,
is clearly an obligation, -we have no choice, -we will do it. It goes
to the inner depth of our soul and creates the connection automatically.
It is true that as a Jew we always have the choice of fulfilling a command
or not. Nevertheless, those commandments that were commanded with the
word tzav are implanted deeper into our spiritual reality. If one
does not fulfill the specific commandments mentioned in this parsha called
Tzav, a tension is created between us and the divine connection
that has already been brought into existence.
What do we learn from our portion that begins with the word Tzav?
We learn that our inner soul has been uncovered, the barriers have been
eliminated and we can move ahead to fulfill G-d's will energetically and
with all of our strength. Any apparent obstacles that still exist can
be easily brushed away and it will be clearly revealed that each of us
is connected on every level of soul to G-d's commands and with desire
to fulfill His will.
Shabbat Shalom!
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