top of page
Recent Posts
Check back soon
Once posts are published, you’ll see them here.
Featured Posts

Parshat Tzav


If last week's parsha was an introduction to the art of sacrifices in the Mishkan, this week is the owner's manual, a sacrificial Zagat guide intended for the Kohanim. After all, it is they--Aaron and his sons, and ultimately their descendants--who are responsible for making sure that each sacrifice is prepared, presented, and delivered to G-d just as the Lord intends.

As Tzav begins: "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Command Aaron and his sons thus...'"

Tzav takes us through the way in which the priests should perform and oversee the rituals related to the sacrificial offerings including olah (burnt); minhah (grain); hatttat (purification); zevah ha-sh'lamim (well-being); n'davah (freewill).

As for the offering that a priest would present to the Lord on "the occasion of his anointment":

"...a tenth of an ephah of choice flour as a regular grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening, shall be prepared with oil on a griddle. You shall bring it well-soaked, and offer it as a grain offering of baked slices, of pleasing odor to the Lord. And so shall the priest, anointed from among his sons to succeed him, prepare it; it is the Lord's--a law for all time--to be turned entirely into smoke. So, too, every grain offering of a priest shall be a whole offering; it shall not be eaten."

Perhaps most important (and certainly most visual, as represented above) is the rule that a fire must be kept burning on the altar since the day begins and ends with burnt offerings to honor G-d. Though I am proud to say that I am both the wife and mother of Kohanim (as proven by genetic testing, as I am often reminded by my priestly husband), I cannot say that many of the rules presented in Tzav feel particularly urgent in or relevant to my daily Jewish life. But the modern interpretation of the eternal flame--that it represents an unwavering connection to the Jewish religion and peoplehood, a passion that each generation has a responsibility to pass on to the next--feels powerful, personal, and deeply relevant.

Shabbat Shalom!

Follow Us
No tags yet.
Search By Tags
Archive
  • Facebook Basic Square
  • Twitter Basic Square
  • Google+ Basic Square
bottom of page