21 minute read
Judaism
from Issue 227
Parshat Tzav: Installing the Kohanim, so dab them in blood?!
BY GAVRIEL COHN
This week’s Sedra details the elaborate seven-day procedure perfomed to inaugurate the Kohanim. In front of the Jewish People, Moshe immersed the Kohanim in water, dressed Aharon in his priestly garments, offered sacrifices on their behalf, and together with the Temple vessels and altar, he sprinkled them with blood and oil, thereby setting them aside to serve in the Beit Hamikdash. Yet why this strange ceremony? Is this how one should install ministers to office – spending a week dabbing them in blood and oil and offering up sacrifices? Some commentators suggest that sprinkling blood on both the altar, representing G-d’s side of the partnership, and on the Kohanim was a way of forming a pact between the Almighty and the sons of Aharon, an ancient method akin to signing a contract or like our handshakes today sealing a business deal. It was an act committing the priests to work in G-d’s Temple (Ralbag; Abarbanel). Alternatively, perhaps this week-long ceremony of Moshe offering korbanot and sprinkling their blood served as a crash course for these new Kohanim; Moshe was effectively teaching them how to perform the Temple service they would then be entrusted to perform (Gra). However, perhaps there is another explanation that can help us decipher this inauguration process of the Kohanim. The Kohanim, it seemed, were being transformed into sanctified objects of the Temple and consecrated almost as Temple offerings. All the rituals, language, and symbolism of this week-long ceremony implies that the Kohanim were actually becoming holy vessels of the Beit Hamikdash. Just like the altar, the golden ornaments, and the animals offered up, the sons of Aharon were anointed in oil and dabbed in blood. They were becoming holy objects of the sanctuary, part of the very furniture of the Temple! This theory helps us appreciate the role of the Kohanim. The priesthood was not a position of power, but of service (see Rashi, Bereshit 47:22). The Kohanim were meant to be entirely dedicated to Temple worship and to instructing the people in matters of Jewish Law. They were like vessels of the Temple, whose entire being was consecrated to serve in G-d’s house; helping those that needed offer sacrifices, achieve atonement, and come close to their Creator. They were to be totally fixed and dedicated to be functionaries of the Beit Hamikdash. Just like the Mizbeach and Menorah, they were to be vessels and conduits for the Temple service. Indeed, anyone occupying a position of influence or gifted with unique abilities should see themselves in a similar way. Like the Kohanim, they should not see their office as a sign of self-importance, but rather that they are consecrated to help others, holy vessels to perform a function for the greater good. In 1928, Rav Shimon Shkop (1860-1939), one of the outstanding Lithuanian Talmudists of the previous generation published his book of novella on the Talmud. He was one of the most brilliant Talmudic minds of the previous century. In the preface to his work, Reb Shimon explains that G-d gives us our unique talents, jobs, and resources precisely in order to help others. Almost as a personal reflection, he then comments how such is also the case regarding wisdom and study. Because he was such a gifted Talmudist, he dedicated his life to teaching others: “I was a teacher to students in the yeshiva of Telz… then in the city of Maltch… then in the city of Braynsk… then in Grodno.” He would go on to devote his entire adult life to teaching Torah to others, from the age twenty until his passing at almost eighty years old. Indeed, Reb Shimon saw himself like the Kohanim of old. He did not view himself as occupying a position of power or honour, but rather as a consecrated vessel, an object and instrument to help the people, installed to be totally dedicated to his role and what he could offer to others. That was the purpose of Moshe’s inauguration of the Kohanim, to make them holy vessels, wholly consecrated and fixed in their task to serve the nation.
Gav works as an Account Executive in Public Relations. The views expressed here are entirely his own. Questions? gavcohn@ gmail.com
Tzav
RABBI DR RAYMOND APPLE
A MENIAL TASK?
The Torah reading begins with a short one-word command, “Tzav” – “Command!” G-d tells Moses to command Aaron and his sons about clearing out the residue of the ashes on the altar.
How menial it seems! How can such petty detail be required of the priestly family? Moses complains to G-d (Vayikra Rabbah 7:1) and is told that this is a way of coming close to the A-lmighty.
Jump across the centuries and you find people telling the rabbi how menial all the detailed mitzvot are. There are such great ideas in Judaism, and here you have what some people can only call pettifogging detail – koshering chickens, clearing out the chametz, not turning on the lights on Shabbat…
Complain to the Almighty if you must, and what He tells you is that little things add up and make the daily observance of Judaism an engaging experience and a series of steps up the spiritual ladder.
RIGHT OR LEFT
The final sentence of the sidra (Lev. 8:36) tells us that Aaron and his sons carried out what G-d had commanded, turning (as Rashi informs us) neither to the right or the left.
These days “right” and “left” have a political connotation. Not just in global or national politics but religious politics too. Whoever and wherever you are on the spectrum you tend to think that it is the others who are going too far to the right or too far to the left, becoming too extreme in their orthodoxy or too extreme in their unorthodoxy.
Actually what is going on is an attempt to assess which position is right in your own situation. That does not necessarily mean that either you or others must be wrong, only that you or they are a thinking person whose opinions are in process of formation.
THE HIGHEST PRINCIPLE
Some synagogue-goers are full of complaints at this time of the year.
While the latter part of Sh’mot is read they have to listen to constant detail about the architecture and building of the Tabernacle. Then they get all the laws about the sacrificial rite and the priesthood.
Where is the spirituality? Where is the poetry? Where are the ethics?
Ask those who complain what they would prefer to hear about. Their answer might possibly be, “Shema Yisra’el” – “Hear, O Israel, HaShem is our G-d, HaShem is One!” (Deut. 6:4). Or perhaps, “V’ahavta l’re’acha kamocha” – “Love your neighbour as yourself!” (Lev. 19:18).
This sounds like an echo of a Midrashic discussion where Ben Azzai said, “To me the most important passage in the Torah is ‘Shema Yisra’el’”, and Ben Nannes said, “I have found an even more important passage, ‘V’ahavta l’re’acha kamocha’”.
Ben Pazzi, however, suggested something quite different: “Et hakeves echad ta’aseh baboker v’et hakeves hasheni ta’aseh bein ha’arbayim” – “You shall offer one lamb in the morning and the second lamb at dusk” (Ex. 29:39).
The views of Ben Azzai and Ben Nannes will appeal to today’s complainers. The Shema is the spiritual foundation of Judaism. Loving your neighbour is the basis of our ethics. But the third view? We are back to the question, “Where is the spirituality? Where is the poetry? Where are the ethics?”
Ben Pazzi cannot be joking. The Midrashic discussion is too serious-minded for that. So whatever can he mean when he says he finds such inspiration in a verse that gives technical details about the daily sacrifices?
He is affirming that both the Shema and the love of neighbour are indispensable in Judaism, but in order to be able to love G-d as required in the Shema and to love human beings in the spirit of “V’ahavta l’re’acha kamocha”, we have to be willing to make an effort, to make a sacrifice – not just once or twice in one’s life, but every day, morning, afternoon and evening.
What costs us little is worth little..
Rabbi Raymond Apple was for many years Australia’s highest profile rabbi and the leading spokesman on Judaism. After serving congregations in London, Rabbi Apple was chief minister of the Great Synagogue, Sydney, for 32 years. He also held many public roles, particularly in the fields of chaplaincy, interfaith dialogue and Freemasonry, and is the recipient of several national and civic honours. Now retired, he lives in Jerusalem and blogs at http://www.oztorah.com
Weekly Dvar Torah
FROM ERETZ YISRAEL Tzav: To Desire!
BY RABBI JUDAH MISCHEL
When Rav Chaim Shmulevitz zt”l, Rosh Yeshiva of Mir and author of Sichos Mussar was a young man he spent some time visiting with his uncle, Rav Avraham Yoffen, Rosh Yeshivah of Novardok. One evening in the beis medrash, young Chaim asked his uncle who the top student in the yeshivah was.
One after another, Rav Yoffen pointed out outstanding talmidim: “Well, I would say that the student over there by the window has the sharpest mind in the yeshivah… but that one on the other side has the quickest recall. Ah, and the student to his right is the top guy in in-depth learning, while the one on his left excels in quantity – yes, he for sure has the widest breadth of knowledge and has covered the most ground in learning…”
“So dear Feter, please tell me,” pressed R’ Chaim, “which of these four talmidim is the best in the yeshivah? The Rosh Yeshivah smiled, “The best…? Why, none of them!”
R’ Chaim looked confused. His uncle had described all the strengths and virtues of some top talmidim, yet none of them he considered to be the best. Sensing his nephew’s discomfort, Rav Yaffen directed the young man’s attention toward the back corner of the beis medrash, and pointed out yet another young man sitting and learning.
“Look over there. Do you see that student sitting in the back? He is the top student in the yeshivah! You see,” the Rav whispered, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm, “he is the greatest mevakeish, the student with the most desire and drive, the one who ‘wants’ Torah and growth more than anyone else here. He is on fire! He would stay there in his seat all night until morning, if I would let him. If there’s a ‘best’, he’s it. My dear Chaim, the biggest mevakeish is the most elevated student!”
“Tzav, ‘command’ Aharon and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the olah burnt offering: it is the burnt offering which burns on the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall burn with it.’”
Toras haOlah, “The teaching of the burnt offering”, is the Torah of olah, ‘elevation’, the teaching of having a burning desire for growth.
Rebbe Shlomo of Karlin exemplified and taught the great value of constantly repeating one’s Torah lessons with fiery passion. His Divine service was a living image of the fire on the mizbeyach, which had to be kept burning at all times. Whether or not there is active service taking place, the fire on the mizbeyach was always lit. Whether or not we are sitting with a holy book, our learning can remain aflame within our mind and heart.
Regardless of how we hold a candle, the flickering flame reaches upward, yearning to ascend. The flame is drawn down and anchored by the wick, which does not let it disconnect and burn out. And yet, the combustion of gasses constantly pushes upward, straining to break through and be elevated beyond the denser wick. As the flame rises, creating heat and light, air is pulled into the base of the fire, feeding the fire with oxygen, enabling the light to grow even brighter.
The young, fiery mevakeish in Novardok, “the best student’’, was none other than Reb Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, The Steipler Gaon zt”l, the author of Birchas Peretz, “The Blessing of Peretz”, or ‘The Blessing Drawn Down by the One Who Seeks to Break Through’. May we merit to follow in his ways!
May our Yiddishkeit be filled with warmth and light and passion to grow and rise toward Hashem – and yet may we also remain anchored and steadied with an eye for the future, so that our fire may burn until ‘morning’, until the coming of Mashiach.
Tzav Sidra Summary
1ST ALIYA (KOHEN) – VAYIKRA 6:1-11
The Torah adds new details about the offerings that were discussed in last week’s sidrah. The olah (elevation) offering could be left burning on the mizbeach (altar) throughout the night. In the morning, a Kohen would remove the ash. Wood needed to be added on the mizbeach every day as fuel for the three fires that were constantly burning (Rashi). The mincha (meal offering) was baked unleavened; those parts eaten by the Kohanim had to be consumed in the courtyard of the Mishkan (Tabernacle).
2ND ALIYA (LEVI) – 6:12-7:10
A fine flour offering from a tenth of an ephah volume of flour was to be offered by every Kohen on his first day of service, half in the morning and half in the afternoon. The Kohen Gadol had to bring this offering every day. Like the olah, the chatat (sin) offering was slaughtered in a designated part of the Mishkan. The procedure for an asham (guilt) offering is detailed.
3RD ALIYA (SHLISHI) – 7:11-38
One who survived a dangerous situation could bring a todah (thanksgiving) offering, which was a category of shelamim (peace) offering. It was accompanied by baked loaves; those parts of its meat designated for consumption had to be eaten within a specific time. One was forbidden to eat an offering in a state of ritual impurity. An offering which became impure was to be burned, not eaten. The blood of all animals and certain fats (chelev) of specific animals was strictly forbidden to eat. The right thigh and the chest of a shelamim (peace) offering were eaten by the Kohanim.
4TH ALIYA (REVI’I) – 8:1-13
The Torah now details the seven-day inauguration process of Aharon and his sons, starting on 23 Adar, a week before the setting up of the Mishkan (on 1 Nissan), which was detailed previously in parashat Pekudei (see Rashi’s commentary). Moshe washed and dressed Aharon in the special garments of the Kohen Gadol and anointed his head with oil. He then dressed Aharon’s sons in their designated priestly garments.
“This is the law of the meal offering: Aharon's sons shall bring it before G-d, to the front of the altar" (Vayikra 6:7)
Point to Consider: Why did Moshe have to tell the congregation that “this is the matter that G-d commanded me to do”? (see Rashi to 8:5).
5TH ALIYA (CHAMISHI) – 8:14-21
Moshe brought a bull as a chatat offering. Parts of this were burned on the mizbeach; the remainder was burned outside the camp. He then brought a ram as an olah offering. Aharon and his sons laid their hands upon both offerings (semicha).
6TH ALIYA (SHISHI) – 8:22-29
A second ram, a shelamim, known as the ‘inauguration ram’, was offered. Moshe smeared some of its blood on the ears, thumbs and toes of Aharon and his sons. Rabbi Judah Mischel is Executive Director of Camp HASC, and Mashpiah of OU-NCSY. He is a member of Mizrachi’s Speakers Bureau (www.mizrachi.org/ speakers).
7TH ALIYA (SHEVI’I) – 8:30-36
Moshe also sprinkled inauguration oil, mixed with blood from the offerings, on Aharon and his sons, as well as on their garments. Moshe instructed them on how to eat the relevant parts of the inauguration offerings and told them not to leave the entrance to the ohel moed for the whole of the inauguration period.
HAFTARAH
G-d tells the prophet Yirmiyahu to rebuke the nation for having not listened to Him since the day that He brought them out of Egypt and repeatedly ignoring His prophets.The people’s iniquities include desecrating the Temple and involving their children in idolatrous practices, making the destruction of Jerusalem inevitable, when “the carcass of this people will be food for the bird of the heaven”.
38 JUDAISM
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Purim: Shushan and the Culture “Carousel”
BY RABBI MOSHE TARAGIN
Everything in the Purim story happened so quickly. Out of nowhere, an unknown upstart named Haman rose to power and launched a genocidal plan against the “scattered and separatist Jews”. His heinous decree was issued on the 13th of Nissan and three days later, as Pesach begun, the tide had already turned, and Jewish salvation was upon the horizon. A lot happens in a very short amount of time.
While Haman’s genocide was planned and reversed in a matter of days, drunken parties in Shushan lasted six months. Megillat Esther describes 180 days of intoxicated revelry and round-the clock carousing. These ridiculous and mindless parties bear little impact upon the actual plot. It is true, that the demotion of Vashti clears the way for Esther’s ascent, but very little else about these festivities has any long-term impact. Yet, the Megillah provides a longwinded description of the foods, wines, furnishings, marble tiling, locations, and attendees. Evidently, the parties hold the key to a deeper understanding of the Megillah story.
The Talmud sensed something sinister about these merry parties. It claims that the Jews were threatened with total annihilation because they participated in these lavish feasts. This is an odd “accusation” and an extremely harsh penalty for attending a party. After all, the same section of the Talmud records that strict kashrut standards were maintained for the Jewish attendees. Oddly, the partygoers are reprimanded even though no halachot were violated. What could be so wrong about joining a national celebration? Well, sometimes a party is more than just a party.
An interesting regional shift occurred a few hundred years before the Purim miracle. Prior to this political change, the Mesopotamian region was inhabited by warring tribes- each vying for territorial supremacy. These tribes include many familiar names from the Torah: Amon, Mo’av, Phlishtim, Edom, and Amalek- just to name a few. Around 900 BCE the first regional superpower arose - the Assyrian empire. Several innovations in warfare and weaponry allowed this nation to subdue their enemies and extend their rule over an area stretching from modern day Iran to modern day Egypt. This large territory was soon conquered by the Babylonians – the same people who sacked Jerusalem and demolished the mikdash. Like the Assyrians before them, they too, imposed their iron will and irrepressible military might upon the local cultures. This period – toward the end of the second mikdash – was the age of the great empires. Nothing like it had been experienced in this region.
Through repeated population relocations, the Assyrians conducted a form of ethnic cleansing. Nevuchadnezzar, who supervised the destruction of Yerushalayim, didn’t have time to bother with population relocation. He brought his captives to Babylonia where he forced them to submit to his rules, his gods and his local culture. Under the mighty fist of these two superpowers there was little room for national identity in ancient Mesopotamia. It had been forcibly purged.
During the sixth century BCE, as power shifted from Babylonia to Persia, something changed. Persia, the empire of 127 regions - was the land of plenty and it amicably welcomed outsiders. Everyone nation and race were embraced, and all local customs and cultural habits were respected. Repeatedly, we are told that individual and tribal customs were respected and accommodated. As the Talmud documents, visitors to the party were served their local foods and certainly, no one was forced to involuntarily drink wine (policies quite uncommon for parties of that era). Each group was afforded an eating area which matched their ethnic backgrounds; some partied in gardens, others preferred patios, while still others chose gazebos. Nothing was enforced and every culture was tolerated and encouraged.
Interestingly, we find very little mention of religion and religious ritual. Achashverosh and Haman never invoke their gods, nor do we ever witness any religious sacrifices of rituals. Religion was pushed to the background, because so many religions were represented. Evidently, everyone was allowed to worship in the privacy of their own heart as they pleased…or not at all.
Repeatedly, we read that the “letters” or official decrees were translated into each language and into every imaginable dialect. No one would be forced to read about the genocide in a foreign language. No one would be made to feel uncomfortable in the pluralistic city of Shushan. Instead of imposing one common will or culture upon diverse populations, every identity was tolerated and encouraged. Shushan is the first multicultural city. It was the Netherlands of the 6th century BCE.
Even Haman’s unexpected promotion punctuates the dynamic and fluid socio-politics of Shushan. This no-name foreigner was suddenly promoted to be the viceroy of Persia, despite not belonging to any Persian aristocracy. This is precisely what agitated Bigtan and Teresh, two guards whose conspiracy was uncovered by Mordechai, and who were ultimately hung. They were furious that Haman was promoted despite not being part of the “system”. Haman’s promotion reflects a free-wheeling and democratic society without grounded identity or any orienting culture. Alternate voices weren’t stifled and cultural diversity wasn’t homogenized as in Assyria and Babylonia. Instead, differences were accented and brought to the surface.
So far so good. This sounds like a modern city of tolerance and multiculturalism, one most of us could only dream of. It sounds like a welcome relief from the iron -fisted dictatorships of Assyria and Babylon. This sounds like a society in which Jews especially should feel welcome. What went wrong?
There is a thin line between tolerating other cultures and erasing national and cultural identity. Be eliminating any customs, religious rites, or communal groupings, people lost their natural identity “markers”. Human beings deeply identify with the groups they “belong” to such as religious groups, ethnic groups, and cultural groups. If every culture is brought to the fore and accentuated nothing truly matters. The multiculturalism of Shushan scrubbed natural identity and erased any feeling of belonging. Shushan became a carnival of endless cultural diversity but a vacuum of identity. In this international city that never slept every custom and culture was highlighted but none became anchored. Shushan became a carousel of competing interests and swirling identities. No one felt at home in this large bustling hotel.
What happens when all identity markers are scrubbed? What happens when society no longer rallies around religion, race, family or community? In that “identity vacuum” two “universal” values fill the void: sex and money. These universal desires, common to every race and ethnicity, dominate a multicultural city absent of any identity or cultural anchors.
Instead of selecting a wife, Achashverosh conducts a twelve-month rampage in which he methodically rapes young girls from across his empire. It all looks legal and regulated but, in the end, it is just vulgar and repulsive exploitation of girls who have no recourse against this rapacious monarch. Vashti wasn’t summoned for afternoon tea or for a conversation about politics and the economy. We all know, and she herself knew, that she was being summoned to be ogled at by drunken revelers. She refused and she lost her head. Such is life in the cesspool of Shushan.
When people in Shushan aren’t chasing their libido, they are stuffing their wallets. Everything in Shushan has a price tag – even genocide. Haman offered a king’s ransom for the blood of his Jewish victims. After all, everyone respects money and these days, money can buy everything. Fortunate for Haman, Achashverosh has his own stash, so millions of souls are delivered to death- for free. Without any cultural anchors Shushan spirals into greediness and pornography.
The sickening parties are a cyclone storm of gluttony, pornography, and greed. Partygoers spent six months endlessly gorging and drinking. Unable to ingest any more, they forced themselves to vomit, so they could return empty-stomached to the orgy. And all this in wide-open public display- in the courtyard of the king- for every passerby to gawk at. Lying prostrate on marble sofas and drinking from golden chalices, they provided the ultimate crass “reality show”. Who needs production teams when drunk clowns are willing to strut their wealth and roll in their own odor. Welcome to the nightmare of voyeurism where everyone stares at people, their wealth and their bodies. Welcome to Shushan.
No dignified human being belonged at that party. Certainly, no Jew belonged at that party. The moral stench should be enough to drive any Jew far away. The food may have kosher, but the atmosphere was toxic. Spending a minute in this contaminated carnival is unthinkable. Six months amidst this moral chaos is Kafka-esque. No wonder they were punished. Thank God they recovered. Better avoid Shushan’s parties.
The writer is a rabbi at Yeshivat Har Etzion/ Gush, a hesder yeshiva. He has smicha and a BA in computer science from Yeshiva University as well as a masters degree in English literature from the City University of New York.
