Parashat Tzav -5785

A D’var Torah for Parashat Tzav

By Rabbi Susan Elkodsi (AJR ’15)

One of the beautiful and amazing things about Torah study is that every time I encounter a parashah, I see something I hadn’t noticed before. This year is no different. As I began reading Parashat Tzav, where Moses is told to command–Tzav–Aaron to keep a perpetual fire–an aish tamid–burning on the altar all night until morning, I noticed that this requirement is mentioned three times in the first six verses.

I also noticed that not only does the Torah command us to eat matza brie, the “recipe” is included:

עַֽל־ מַחֲבַ֗ת בַּשֶּׁ֛מֶן תֵּעָשֶׂ֖ה מֻרְבֶּ֣כֶת תְּבִיאֶ֑נָּה תֻּפִינֵי֙ מִנְחַ֣ת פִּתִּ֔ים תַּקְרִ֥יב רֵֽיחַ־נִיחֹ֖חַ לה’׃

“On a griddle, with oil, it is to be made, well-stirred are you to bring it, as baked crumbled-bits of grain you are to bring-it-near, a soothing savor for YHWH.” (Lev. 6:14, Fox Translation).

Somewhere along the line I got the idea that verse 6:1, the aish tamid, was the proof-text for having the Ner Tamid, the Eternal Light, that hangs over the Aron Kodesh (holy ark) in our synagogues. The reality is that this is derived from Exodus 27:20 and Leviticus 24:2, and that’s a discussion for another time. Our parashah here is concerned with a perpetual fire that will always be burning on the altar in order to perform the various sacrificial rituals and offerings required by God.

Our modern ovens and barbecue grills heat to temperature in a matter of minutes, and the brick oven in your favorite pizza parlor may take an hour or more to reach the appropriate temperature. However, the amount of heat that needed to be generated for the various offerings, the first of which had to be offered first thing in the morning, required that the fire burn continually, to always be ready to accept what would be placed on it.

The question in my mind is, why is the commandment to keep this fire burning continually stated three times, (Lev. 6:2, 5, 6)? If the Torah repeats itself, it’s a signal to us that the repetition comes to make a point. Or, as my Rabbi S. Jerome Wallin z”l always said, “Three makes a rule.” Verse 2 tells us the fire is kept burning kol halaila ad haboker, “all night until morning.” Verse 5 tells us how that will happen, “the priest is to stoke wood upon it, every morning.” Verse 6 reiterates that, adding lo tikhbeh, “it shall not go out.” The kohanim are admonished both to not extinguish the fire, and also to not allow it to become extinguished by not stoking and adding wood.

The Etz Chaim Humash, on page 613, comments that the words tokad bo, “blazing on it,” can also be translated as “blazing within him,” meaning the priest. The suggestion is that the enthusiasm–fire–of the one performing the offering should match the flame on the altar. It also notes that as the community supported the priests by bringing offerings that provided their food, so should the community support them in their holy work.

Rabbis and cantors are today’s kohanim, we serve our communities in various capacities, and the work, while perhaps not lifting heavy animals onto an altar, is intense spiritually, physically and emotionally. It’s holy work, it’s rewarding, and it’s not easy. How do we keep our flames of enthusiasm alive in difficult times? When we’re dealing with national, international and shul politics? When our own personal lives are challenging? Three times the Torah tells us to keep the fire burning continually: Once for ourselves, once for our hevre, our fellow clergy, and once for our communities, may they keep their fires going to support us in our holy work.

____________

Rabbi Susan Elkodsi (AJR ’15) is the spiritual leader of the Malverne Jewish Center in NY and is immediate past president of the Long Island Board of Rabbis. Her writing has appeared on JewishSacredAging.com, and she has presented workshops for Limmud, NY, for AJR and in the community, and her book, Midrash HaZaK: Torah Wisdom by 70 Over 70 (but who’s counting), an anthology of divrei torah for older adults, will soon IY”H be published. Susan is passionate about helping Baby Boomers and older adults to find meaning and purpose in their lives within the context of Jewish tradition and teachings, and as part of a Jewish community. You can find her work on her website, www.babyboomerrabbi.com. In addition, she loves to knit, spin and weave, and she and her husband David recently added kittens Tiggr and Midnight to their family.