by Rabbi Avi Billet
Parshas Tzav continues the instructions of the sacrificial order that began the book of Vayikra, describing how a korban olah (completely burnt offering) is to be left on the Mizbeach overnight, to burn through the night.
אֵ֗שׁ תָּמִ֛יד תּוּקַ֥ד עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ לֹ֥א תִכְבֶּֽה
"Thus, there shall be a constant fire kept burning on the altar, without being extinguished.”
Rashi notes that the fire on the Mizbeach is used to light the fire of the Menorah – both fires are described as being “Tamid” – meaning constant. So, in essence, we are talking about two of the vessels of the Mishkan, each serving a very different purpose, whose mission is to have fire on it at all times.
There is a notable difference, however, between the fires of the Menorah and the Mizbeach. The Menorah’s fire is oil candles, which means that by definition the candles will go out and will be relit daily. If you’ve ever tried filling an oil candle while it was lit, you know the chances of your new oil putting out the flame is actually high. The candle is MEANT to go out, then be refilled and relit. The connection between the Menorah and the Mizbeach is that the fire used to light the Menorah is supposed to come from the Mizbeach.
The fire on the Mizbeach is meant to be there always - even on Shabbos, even when people are Tamei and can’t bring Korbanos. (Yerushalmi Yoma 4:6). (Obviously it would have to be put out for travel when the Mizbeach was portable – see Bamidbar 4:13-14, though see the Torah Temimah on Vayikra 6:6 note 45, in which he records a debate in the Yerushalmi quoted above as to whether there was a small fire covered by a small vessel – which God would maintain during travel).
Two forever fires – one goes out and is revitalized daily, one is there always, no matter what.
One illuminates a room, one is the source for how service of God is in fact accomplished all the time, always available for anyone who is ready, for good reasons (to bring an Olah, Shlamim, Todah), or for bad (to bring a Chatas or Asham) to demonstrate one’s readiness to submit to the Almighty, either in thanks or in confession while seeking atonement for a wrongdoing.
As for this latter fire, Alshikh describes its constant readiness in the following way: “From this [constant flame] you can see that spirituality and holiness stands by itself.”
“Even if the wood is all burned out, and there hasn’t been a chance to put more wood on the fire, it will still not extinguish. And from this you will understand the holiness of this fire, and that it is [more] a spiritual fire [than a physical one], and the holiness of all of the service of the Mizbeach. In this way you’ll understand what is before you, and you’ll rush to do the service, which is the goal of all of this.”
In the Mishkan, only the kohanim saw the Menorah. And yet the Menorah was considered to be a light of the people – who were instructed in Tetzaveh (and other places) to all contribute to the oil. All of the people were able to see the fire on the Mizbeach, and at the very least could see the smoke from the fire from wherever they may have been.
Each fire represents our options today as the Jewish people, in particular at this time when our shuls are closed. The Menorah is like a private fire – we have to light our own fire day in and day out. We have to continue to pray – even as we add more things to pray for and think about. We pray for those we know who are ill, and for those we don’t know who are also ill. We pray for our community, our communities, for our state, for the country, for the world. We may gather in a a Zoom “minyan,” but we are still praying alone, and we can pray even and especially after the camera is turned off.
The fire of the Mizbeach is the fire that is seen by all of the Jewish people, and it is a constant no matter what else is going on. Even when the Mishkan is closed down because of “Tumah,” even when the Mizbeach is largely unused because of Shabbos – the fire remains.
For us, we have to imagine that our shul still unites us as a community, even when it is closed all week long. People are doing a tremendous amount of Chesed for others, and it is incredible to see. And we must also remember that the fire of our service of God must be maintained even when we’re not using the Mizbeach – the place where serving God takes place.
As difficult as life is now, we have our homes, we have food, we have the ability to communicate with everyone we need to be in touch with, and we have the ability to tap into resources we never paid much attention to because we also have our Internet access. Now, more than ever, rabbis and teachers are recording – in audio, in video – everything they say. Torah is even more accessible now than ever before. The big challenge is what to click on to listen to or to watch!
Let us do our part to see that in our own experience we should see that the fire of the Mizbeach is never extinguished. In this and many other merits, may we soon see our efforts rewarded with the end of the virus and a stronger than ever return to the service of the Almighty with the rekindling of the lights in our shul and the fire in our hearts as our community builds upon what we are accomplishing while in isolation.
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