Parashat Tzav 5783
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Constancy and Careful Guarding: How to Link the Jewish Past with the Future
A D’var Torah for Parashat Tzav
By Rabbi Mitchell Blank (’21)
This coming Shabbat is the last one before Passover begins (Shabbat HaGadol) and the Torah reading this year falls on Parashat Tzav. Both Tzav and Exodus 12, the chapter that details Passover observance, emphasize the biblical world view that constancy of action (temidut) and careful guarding of ritual (shemira) are the glue linking past and future generations. The Rabbis endorse these paths to Jewish survival yet also understand that the ultimate guarantor of continuity in an ever-changing world is intergenerational peace. Passover, the time of our freedom and redemption, is davka the holiday our sages choose to accentuate that the most important mitzvah is to maintain Jewish continuity by children and parents being in dialogue.
Parashat Tzav begins with particulars of Olat HaTamid, the daily burnt offering. Intertwined in these details is a related command, Read More >
