Parshat Tzav
by Rabbi Avi Billet
There is a known passage in the Ein Yaakov which pits Ben Zoma, Ben Nanas, and Ben Pazi against one another in a bout to discover the most inclusive verse that describes the religious life. Ben Zoma – the verse of Shema Yisrael, Ben Nanas – the verse of Love thy neighbor, Pen Pazi – the verse of ‘one lamb in the morning, the second lamb in the afternoon.’
There are related teachings attributed to others:
"'Love your fellow as yourself,' R. Akiva says: This is the guiding principle of the Torah" (Sifra Vayikra 19:18). The Midrash quotes another opinion (of Ben Azai): "'This is the record of the genealogy of Man, when God created him' (Bereishit 5:1) — this is an even greater principle." The Maharal's version of the midrash presents yet a third opinion: the ultimate guiding principle is "Et ha-keves echad ta'aseh va-boker, ve-et ha-keves ha-sheni ta'aseh bein ha-arbayim" - "You shall offer the one lamb in the morning and the other in the afternoon" (Shemot 29:39 and Bamidbar 28:4).
The third teaching, in both cases, is a lesson of consistency in the daily grind – day in and day out, of having a routine.
Our parsha raises another two consistencies, both related to the Mishkan.
The first is that the Mizbeach was always supposed to have a fire on it: אֵ֗שׁ תָּמִ֛יד תּוּקַ֥ד עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ לֹ֥א תִכְבֶּֽה:.
The second is that the Korban of Aharon and sons was Tamid – a 1/10 of an Eiphah of flour – half in the morning and half in the evening.
Rashi says the regular Kohanim would bring their Korban of the 1/10 of an Eiphah of flour ONLY when they are being inaugurated as Kohanim. But the Kohen Gadol did it every day. As it says “Mincha Tamid.”
All of the commentaries we have on our Chumash lived after the destruction of the Temple. And yet, when taking a step back at their exposition and explanations of the Sacrificial Order, and its being the center of existence for our people for over 1200 years, one can’t help feeling that they had a fundamental faith we struggle with. When they said ולירושלים עירך ברחמים תשוב, they weren’t talking about just an end of terrorism and a desire to stay in a 5-star Jerusalem hotel. They were talking about returning to the days of old! To being keenly aware that a sacrifice – whether in the form of a daily תמיד or a daily flour offering – was one of many ways to get closer to God. But how important it was to know how to do so, for when the time comes that we’ll need to know.
Rashi’s point is straight out of the Sinai playbook. God said “You have to be a mamleches kohanim v’goy kadosh.” We give a lot of lip service to that idea. But what does it mean? Should we be a kingdom of priests? Or a kingdom of high priests?
I think Rashi can be teaching us that – sure, there is a technical side to the priesthood. The regular kohanim only bring this flour offering once. But the Kohen Gadol demonstrates consistency, day in and day out.
But the connection is even deeper. Anyone familiar with Rosh Chodesh Torah reading might notice something you might not have paid attention to before.
(ד) אֶת־הַכֶּ֥בֶשׂ אֶחָ֖ד תַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה בַבֹּ֑קֶר וְאֵת֙ הַכֶּ֣בֶשׂ הַשֵּׁנִ֔י תַּעֲשֶׂ֖ה בֵּ֥ין הָֽעַרְבָּֽיִם:
(ה) וַעֲשִׂירִ֧ית הָאֵיפָ֛ה סֹ֖לֶת לְמִנְחָ֑ה בְּלוּלָ֛ה בְּשֶׁ֥מֶן כָּתִ֖ית רְבִיעִ֥ת הַהִֽין:
(ו) עֹלַ֖ת תָּמִ֑יד הָעֲשֻׂיָה֙ בְּהַ֣ר סִינַ֔י לְרֵ֣יחַ נִיחֹ֔חַ אִשֶּׁ֖ה לַֽיקֹוָֽק:
The daily Tamid is mentioned right next to the daily Mincha, which is mentioned right next to a Har Sinai reference.
The questions we ought to ask ourselves include, what kind of “consistent Kohen” would each of us want to be? What “sacrifice” do we “offer” on a daily basis? Why Sinai?
Alshikh explains that the Korban of Aharon and his sons, this flour offering, was meant to serve as a vehicle for God to bring the kohanim closer to Him. Most importantly, he says, whatever the Kohen brings in the flour department is never brought whole. A 1/10 of an eiphah, מחציתה בבקר ומחציתה בערב – ½ in the morning and ½ in the evening.
Perhaps, because just as we have learned about Machatzis HaShekel, a focus during the Purim season, that two halves make a whole, we need to see that when people live up to being mamleches kohanim, a kingdom of priests, that together they equal more than the sum of their parts. 1/10 of a minyan, for example, might be a nice person. But it is not a minyan. Even 9/10 of a minyan is not a minyan.
In a lecture he gave on the consistency of the daily sheep offering, Rav Aharon Lichtenstein ZTL said
“At the earlier stages in one's life, of course, much of the focus should be on creating the receptacle, forming a spiritual personality. This requires several solid years of absolute devotion to working on oneself as a person, specifically through Torah study. And, as with the tamid of seven days of initiation, consistency and continuity are of the essence. But, when engaging intensively in Torah and mitzvot during one's formative years, one cannot focus solely on taking without giving. One must always bear in mind that even as he builds himself, he is concomitantly serving the greater good as well. Moreover, if one's ultimate goal is to attain better service of God, then this will also entail better service to one's fellow man.“In one's adult years, the focus turns more toward the second element within the korban tamid - the worship of God through a life of divine service and of giving of oneself to others. Of course, this role, too, demands of us consistency and devotion. The korban is called "tamid" - perpetual - in both its roles. Even more, we must remember that the first function - that of creating the receptacle for spirituality - never ceases. A balance of service and growth is, indeed, the guiding principle of the Torah.”
And so this is our challenge.
What kind of Kohen does each of us want to be?
In most cases: A Kohen Gadol. On the one hand, he has daily responsibilities in his service of the people and in his service of God. And on the other hand, he sacrifices himself in every way for the sake of his people.
What sacrifice do we offer on a daily basis?
For some of us, our daily devotion is davening. For some it is Tehillim. What else is an offering? Or sacrifice? I don’t think the Torah or God asks of us to “sacrifice” much, unless you consider ignoring all the meat in the non-kosher food section as a sacrifice. But maybe we can ask ourselves, do we give enough of ourselves to help others? Do we serve God even when it is inconvenient for us? Maybe sacrificing our time, and every now and then our schedule or plans, in order to be consistent in our service of God, and in turn to our fellow man – maybe that’s the kind of sacrifice we need today.
It’s important to add that maybe another form of “sacrifice” is pushing aside the ego that prevents us from learning and exploring. Too often people are embarrassed to ask. Or, if they don’t have a reason, or don’t like a reason, they ignore a mitzvah altogether. There’s nothing wrong with saying think like “Please explain…” “I don’t understand.” “I want to know.” “Can you show me?”
Too many people are too satisfied, if they even ask a question, they’re too satisfied with a yes or no answer. Not an explanation, not a conversation. May I or may I not? Is the pot kosher now or do I need to throw it out?
There’s also merit to accepting things for what they are, even when there isn’t a “satisfactory explanation.”
And finally - why reference Sinai?
Because over a third of the Torah takes place at Sinai – including the entire book of Vayikra. Sinai is where the people got their first tastes of Torah and halakha, and Sinai is the image of what it means to be a people of the Book, a people with a common heritage, a people who have much more to live for, a life of meaning, a life with God, a life dedicated to the ideals of ויקבלו כלם את עול מלכותיך – that “they should all accept the yoke of Your Kingdom.”
How can we be a ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדש if we don’t know enough about what we stand for and what it means to be a special people? This is our challenge – to reverse that trend.
This is also the lesson of the first תמיד in our parsha - אֵ֗שׁ תָּמִ֛יד תּוּקַ֥ד עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ לֹ֥א תִכְבֶּֽה:. We don’t have a mizbeach, but we need to light the fire under ourselves to make sure we never become complacent in our עבודת ה.
לא תכבה, that fire should never be extinguished.
Let the Sedarim and the conversations surrounding our telling over the Story of Stories be a merit for all of us to relive the moments of becoming a ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש.
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