Parashat Tzav - Order and the Dexterity of detail

                                                   רפואה מן התורה

Healing from the Torah

Parashat Tzav

Leviticus 6:1-8:36

By Adam Ruditsky

     How many times have I heard it said over the past week something to the effect of, “my routine is off now that I am stuck at home, I really miss the order to my days.”  We get up, have our morning rituals that may or may not include a cup of coffee, send the kids off to school, often travel the same route to our workplace, have lunch at a set time and set place (and often eat the same thing), go to the gym after work, walk the dog when you get home, make dinner, read a good book or watch Netflix, etc., etc., etc.;  you get the picture.  Clearly this is something that is taken for granted by most of us until our present-reality asked us to “shelter-in-place.”  It was in that spirit last week we began the book of Leviticus that reflected on the Holy, but also being holy, and this week we see that “doing” holy is not arbitrary but has order.    
     To recall then last week in parashat Vayikra we looked at the redemptive nature of the sacrifices themselves, something that was connected not only to the Holy (God), but itself was a holy act that demanded it be approached with the right motivation.  This week in Tzav we are overwhelmed with the specifics pertaining to the detailed execution of the sacrifices themselves.  In Vayikra God “called” to Moses to “speak” to “all the people of Israel,” whereas in Tzav God tells Moses to “command” his brother Aaron (and his sons) to the particulars of the Priesthood’s responsibility in carrying out the sacrificial rituals.  Furthermore, in Vayikra we learned that choosing to be holy is not a commandment since you cannot mandate human free-will, but in Tzav we learn that this is a “command” as opposed to suggestion because “doing” acts of holiness require a best and a more effective way.  Tzav, taken from צב את אהרן (Moses “commanded [tzav] Aaron”), can be likened to the old idiom that say’s “the devil is in the detail," as detail can be burdensome or even conflicting when it takes more time and/or effort than expected.  As such, we find in Tzav the painstaking procedure and methods of how to execute the details of the burnt-offering and the grain-offering as well as the guilt-offering and sin-offering.  Likewise we also read about the specifics of how the Priests were to follow and carry out the ritual order of anointing (consecration of) Aaron and his son’s as well as the vestments and other related items used.  Finally, it goes into extreme detail about the how, who and when regarding the sacrifices themselves to include who can or cannot partake of its meat; back then the allowable parts were eaten for provision as well as payment.  What can we learn from this parsha?    

     Rabbi Nichole Auerbach in the Mussar Commentary suggests that the particulars associated with this parsha speak to the idea of סדר (seder; order) although I want to add that the details and specifics that incorporate סדר falls under the heading of חשבון הנפש (Cheshbone haNefesh - soul/self-accounting).  In today’s vernacular we call that “mindfulness,” a word that means “to be present,” thus Carl Jung writes that “living” does not make a person alive/present, but being “fully conscious of the presence does” or mindfulness.  Regarding Tzav חשבון הנפש asks the adjudicator and giver to be mindful in doing the ritual so that it will not become stale or just routine, making sure there is no lack of intention (kavanah) or heartfelt motivation.  As such, R’Auerbach says that order in our rituals are because “from the beginning God has a preference for order over chaos,” order regulates and guides what we do and how we do it.  Yet order has a center, and for Torah that center is God.  The center, or God, is what gives voice to the power of order that itself can be called מנוחת הנפש (m’nuchat hanefesh; lit. rest of the soul/person), or equanimity.  Equanimity, according to Mussar Rabbi Menachem Mendel Lefin in his book Chesbone HaNefesh, is about the calmness of mind that “sits quietly on guard” so that a person can take “control” over their free-will.  In this case disorder comes when mental balance is lost from being overburdened, something that happens when chaos rules the day, and therefore the mind and spirit.  The discipline of מנוחת הנפש, equanimity, allows a person to ascend the lack of order or the chaos of life by doing חשבון הנפש, or by being mindful to the purpose of order.  Therefore in Tzav when Aaron carried out his duties, both the glamorous ones and what we can call “grunt work,” he needed to transcend the disorder that lay before him to ascend to that place where he could do his service without compromising the details of his duties.  I encourage you to read the parsha and reflect upon it for yourself about the detailed order within.

     In the Talmud, Megillah 31b, there is a conversation about how to gain merit if the sacrifices are no longer carried out?  The Rabbis teach that the study of sacrifices are likened to a virtual sacrificial offering because they still have something to teach us.  In our case they teach us about the need to have order in our lives as we seek to achieve what we deem worthy and Holy.  On so many different levels right now life is challenging and not one of us who breathes is not a victim to this mess.  That being so in the same way we now exercise at home because we can’t go the gym to make order out of this disorder, our sense of spirituality can very well be the same, thus we can be assisted by the tradition of מנוחת הנפש (m’nuchat hanefesh), or equanimity, to have peace of mine despite what is out of our control.  These are trying times that demand we are mindful (חשבון הנפש) about bringing order (סדר) into our world, both spiritually and practically.  Parashat Tzav is all about the dexterity of detail. 
       

Shabbat Shalom!