Torah: Lv 6-8:36 JPS transl http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jp...
Haftorah: Jer 7:21-8:3, 9:22-23 / Ez 36:16-38 JPS transl http://learn.jtsa.edu/topics/parashah/jp...
Aliyot: 1. Lv 6:1-11
2. Lv 6:12-7:10
3. Lv 7:11-38
4. Lv 8:1-13
5. Lv 8:14-21
6. Lv 8:22-29
7. Lv 8:30-36
OVERVIEW: &&&&&&&&&&&
In Vayikra, Moses addresses the general public regarding sacrifices: what and how sacrifices should be made, but in Tzav, the audience is restricted to the priests, regarding the particularities of sacrifice. Moreover, the instruction of sacrifice seems countered by the prophets whon rail against empty ritual. Tzav frequently falls on Shabbat HaGadol, the last shabbat before Pesach when the haftorah is read from Malachi regarding God's enduring love for Israel and the warning of final judgment and messianic age heralded by the return of Elijah. Tzav reiterates the importance of maintaining the perpetual fire on the altar which is interpreted as man's need of sustaining a passion for God's commandments and maintaining faith in God. Instructions on clearing the ashes from the altar and the institution of Aaron and his sons for the priesthood fall within the parasha.
IN FOCUS: %%%%%%%%%%%
"A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out." Lv 6:6
"All meal offerings brought before Hashem shuld not be prepared leavened for you shall not cause to go up in smole from any lavening or any honey as a fire." III-1 Vayikra, Lv 2:11
"You must not bring an abhorrent thing into your home..." Dt 7:26
"Every haughty person is an abomination to the Lord." Prv 16:5
"Hear, O Israel! the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shlal love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign upon your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead, inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." V-2 Voeshenan Dt 6:4-9
KEEP IT BURNING &&&&&&&&&&&
The second half of Tzav is concerned with the installation of Aaron and his sons as priests. For seven days and nights, they were restricted to the confines of the Tent of Meeting, during which they repeated the ritual of ordination. Blood from the sacrificial ram was put on the ridge of the right earlobe, the right thumb and the right large toe. In the links below, there is a quote by Philo, providing a metaphorical explanation. In Yisro, Moshe brings down the Ten Commandments from the mountain. The first is to love God. But how can we love God? We show love through the way we listen, the way we act and the way we go in life.
