The Reward of Participation - Parasha Tzav, Shabbat HaGadol, Leviticus 6:1-8:36, Malachi 3:4-24

When I pray the Shema I cover my eyes, I focus and say the prayer as meaningfully as possible, a tradition that was birthed in the Talmud (Berachot 13b) before being codified as halakha, Jewish Law (Shulchan Arukh, OH 61:4-5).  For me I aspire to connect with the prayer, block everything out, being one with those six words in Hebrew, Shema Yisrael Adonai Elohaynu Adonai Echad, “Hear O Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one.”  As I am in touch with that moment I focus on what it means to be one with God, one with other people, one with my fellow Jews, one with nature, one with the rhythm of my day, one in body, mind, soul and spirit.  It makes sense to talk about the Shema since we know sacrifices are continued vis-à-vis our prayers.  But what we are also going to see is that in our continued reading about the sacrifices, like with the Shema, they are realized only by human involvement, a participation that leads to a reward.
 
This week’s parasha, Tzav, like Vayikra, concerns itself with the same five sacrifices we spoke of last week, but there are noteworthy differences as well. The order is slightly different, as well as the Hebrew, which surely has to do with editors.  Tzav does not give reasons of voluntary or obligatory or is as detailed.  We also read in Tzav the concern was not how to prepare the Minchah offering (compare Lev. 2:4-7 with 6:14) but more so that Aaron and his sons offered it in the right way.  In fact that is really what sets Vayikra and Tzav apart; the former is more focused on the details of the sacrifices and the role of the Kohenim as officiants whereas the latter is concerned about the role and the rites of the Kohenim as they relate to the sacrifices.  So in Vayikra we are told that the Kohenim were the ones who would slaughter the sacrifices, place them upon the alter and carry out the ritual details, further learning this week that they were also to remove the ashes from the camp.  Here in Tzav the concern is that they dress the right way (6:3), eat their portion in the right place (6:9) and recognize the holiness of the moment (6:11).  In Vayikra it was about the how of the details whereas in Tzav it was about the why that surrounded the holiness of the sacrifices.
  
We also learn here in Tzav that the Minchah offering would be used for the ordination of the Kohenim above the others. Why the Minchah offering for the priests anointing?   There is an interesting interpretation of this question found in the Zohar, the Bible of the mystics if you will, that juxtaposes Lev. 6:12 and 7:35 to offer an answer to our question.  It says in 6:12 that “this is the offering of Aaron and his sons …” and albeit slightly different it says in 7:35 “this is consecrated portions …”  Here the word “this” is both zeh and zot in Hebrew, grammatically masculine and famine respectively.  Now while it is because of the syntax and other surrounding words in each section, the word “this” in its masculine and famine form speaks of Aaron's, the High Priest, masculine and famine qualities that made it possible for him to harmonize opposite forces, brining good tidings of peace to all in the same way that the diversity of the people came together to build the Mishkan (Rabbi Ellie Munk).  The Kohenim were to be a solidifying force for the people and appreciate, hence the Minchah offering, the depth of their purpose regarding their role in the community Israel.  But it was so much more than that.
 
It says in Leviticus 7:11 that the Priests and the Priests alone were to consume the holiness of the Minchah offering, but only by touching it, did they become Holy.  Was the Minchah magical that if they ate they were holy?   According to Rashi, the Kohenim became holy not just because they touched it but because they absorbed it.  In some cases as we’ll shall see later in Leviticus contamination comes from mere touching, but not in this case according to Rashi and other Sages before him (Also see Zevachim 97b).  It is also very clear, however, that the Minchah sacrifice alone was empty unless it was consumed by the Kohen and not just merely done.  We see this in our Haftarah reading, this week being Shabbat HaGadol before Pesach we read from Malachi 3, where it is about the justice of Israel’s sacrifices and just not the motions, as we also read in Isaiah 1.  Likewise, the Kohen just did not lay his hands on the head of the offering as we read in Vayikra (1:4), but absorbed it into his body, and therefore his spirit, here in Tzav (6:11), becoming one with the sacrifice and the people at the same time.
 
When we pray the Shema we are supposed to become one with the prayer.  We cover our eyes as a way of concentration, a way to focus on its meaning and purpose, we cover our eyes to absorb that prayer into our mind and heart just like the Kohenim absorbed the Minchah offering into their physical body and became holy.  Prayer is a mirror that changes us by allowing us to see the world differently, changing us from the inside out because we absorbed the prayers meaning and sought to be one with its message. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel taught that we became holy not just because God is holy but because God become our partner when we pray, and that is exactly what happened with sacrifices and why they made Aaron and his sons holy when they absorbed them.  We should think about that at our Seders next week when we consume the Maror and Matzot. 
          
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Pesach Sameach,
Rabbi Adam