Parashat Tzav – 5786

The Chain of Command

A D’var Torah for Parashat Tzav

By Cantor Sandy Horowitz

Sometimes we think about Torah on a macro level as the story of our people, our system of laws, the foundation of our heritage.  Other times, we explore a particular theme or individual or delve into the weekly parashah.  With this week’s Torah portion a single verse from Parashat Tzav stood out for me – in particular, a single word.

At this point in our narrative Moses is undergoing the rituals, as commanded by God, of formally consecrating his brother Aaron and Aaron’s sons as priests.  We read of three sacrificial offerings:

First, Moses brings forth a bull for the sin offering and we read:

וַיִּשְׁחָ֗ט וַיִּקַּ֨ח מֹשֶׁ֤ה אֶת־הַדָּם֙

“And it was slaughtered. Moses took the blood…” (Lev. 8:15)

Moses then brings a ram for the burnt offering:

וַיִּשְׁחָ֑ט וַיִּזְרֹ֨ק מֹשֶׁ֧ה אֶת־הַדָּ֛ם

“And it was slaughtered. Moses dashed the blood [against the altar]” (Lev. 8:19)

Finally, in Leviticus 8:23 we read regarding the second ram, the ram of consecration:

וַיִּשְׁחָ֓ט ׀ וַיִּקַּ֤ח מֹשֶׁה֙ מִדָּמ֔וֹ

And it was slaughtered. Moses took some of its blood ….

We take note that the first four words of these verses are quite similar, and that all three verses begin with the identical word, vayishhat, “and it was slaughtered” – identical, that is, until you look at the cantillation.

Those who have studied cantillation are aware of the various functions of this system of musical notation: when chanting from the Torah or other sacred texts, cantillation marks assist in phrasing, punctuation and word accents. They help us to memorize, or at least to become more easily familiar, with the un-voweled, unpunctuated words of the Torah scroll.  For the most part, cantillation marks do not reflect the meaning of individual words.

For the most part.  An exception is the shalshelet, the cantillation mark that is longest in duration, and rarest in usage. Shalshelet musically rises and descends three times over the word where it’s been placed and occurs only four times in the entire Torah.  One of these occurrences is in Leviticus – Parashat Tzav – verse 8:23, the focus of this exploration.

The rarity and lengthy duration suggest that unlike other te’amim (cantillation marks), we ought to stop and consider the word that is being chanted with a shalshelet.  Indeed, it is this shalshelet over the vayishhat of 8:23 that sets this verse apart from the other two verses just referenced, as these are chanted using more common te’amim (rvi’i and etnahta respectively).  Placing our lengthy, rare shalshelet over “vayishhat” in 8:23 draws our attention to the significance of this particular moment: This will be Moses’ final sacrificial act before yielding the responsibilities of the high priest to his brother Aaron.

Regarding this moment contemporary blogger Shamai Leibowitz writes, “Indeed, this winding melody [of the shalshelet] is completely counter-intuitive: According to Jewish law, the slaughtering of animals should be as fast as possible to prevent the animal from suffering. So why this long, drawn-out melody?!” Leibowitz answers his own question by stating, “Moses is reluctant to let go. Who likes to give up power?!”  Leibowitz equates what he calls the “wavering” of the shalshelet with a feeling of reluctance on the part of Moses.

I’m not so sure, however, that Moses is as reluctant to give up power as Leibowitz indicates.  We recall that when he had his initial Divine Encounter at the burning bush, Moses did not wish to embrace the power that God was about to bestow upon him; it was only with the promise of Aaron at his side that he felt capable of going up against Pharaoh on behalf of the Israelite people.

(Exodus 6:12, 7:2)

And so it was that the brothers faced up to Pharaoh together.

In the wilderness, when Moses’ father-in-law Yitro saw that he was exhausted from trying to settle everyone’s disputes and answer their questions, he counseled Moses to delegate some of his responsibilities to others.  There is no indication that he was reluctant to do so, as we read in Exodus 18:24: “Moses heeded his father-in-law and did just as he had said.”

If Moses is not feeling reluctant to give up power, what then might have been the meaning of his shalshelet of hesitation?

Years ago when I first began leading services as a lay cantor, I was advised on the value of pausing for a brief quiet moment of mental/spiritual preparation, before stepping out onto the bimah. A similar practice was seen during the recent winter Olympics – ski racers and other competitors taking a moment of mental preparation before moving into their act of competition.

One might imagine then, that before he slaughtered the ram in his final sacrificial act, Moses might have chosen to take his moment of mental/spiritual preparation. Perhaps he is considering how he, Moses, would not have arrived at this moment if it weren’t for Aaron.  Now, as the leader of the Israelite people, Moses stands before the ram of sacrifice, finally able to give Aaron his due as high priest for the community. He may well have been feeling tremendous love and pride, perhaps even gratitude for this opportunity to honor his older brother in such a significant way.

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks adds another element with regard to this moment:

“He surely feels joy for his brother, but he cannot altogether avoid a sense of loss …There were things Moses was not destined to do. He would never become a Priest. That task fell to Aaron. He would never lead the people across the Jordan. That was Joshua’s role. Moses had to accept both facts with good grace if he was to be honest with himself. And great leaders must be honest with themselves if they are to be honest with those they lead.”

This shalshelet moment of hesitation and preparation for Moses was no doubt filled with multiple layers of emotion. It is a reminder for us as well, when we encounter significant events in our own lives: that we too may take our moment to pause and reflect, so that we too may be fully present for what lies ahead.