Articles in Tzav
Tzav: Until Morning
Until morning is a phrase of promise and hope. The night is dark and desolate, but it won’t last forever. We might be anxious and fearful, perhaps disappointed and bitter, but it won’t last forever. Until morning. When the morning dawns, the fog will lift, the sun will shine, and …
Tzav: Smoking Hot
Smoke and FireThe temperature in the Temple was smoking hot. One can only imagine that the summer months in Jerusalem were hot enough as it was. Add to that the myriads of people that filled the temple on a given day, and the many fires atop the altar, and you …
Tzav: From the Bottom Up
The Mirror
Before the priests entered the Temple they performed ablutions at the Laver.[1] We too perform ablutions before prayer though it is not at a special laver; it is at the regular sink. The idea behind washing our hands is to wash away the negative emotions that cloud our minds …
Tzav: A Flame From Above
Vitality
How did Moses survive for forty days on Mount Sinai without food? (1) Many shrug off question with, “it was a miracle.” But actually, the very fact that we ask the question demonstrates the limitation of our perception.
We are accustomed to deriving nourishment from food, but we never wonder why …
Shabbat Hagadol: The Humble Rule
Shabbat and the King
The Shabbat before Passover is known as Shabbat Hagadol, the great Shabbat. Among the reasons for this name is that Passover is itself described in the Torah as Shababt, but it is not as restrictive as a full Shabbat – cooking for example is permissible on Passover …
Tzav: Birchat Hachamah – When the Sun Sings Again
A Unique Event
On Wednesday morning, April 8, 2009, Jews around the world recited a blessing over the sun that was last recited in twenty-eight years ago. This blessing is recited when the sun returns to its point of origin, where it was when it was first created. Though the sun …
Tzav: Food for Thought For Your Dinner Table
Sunday: Virtual sacrifice
“This is the Torah of the burned offering; this is the burned offering upon the flames upon the altar, all night till the morning.”
The fact that this verse begins with “This is the Torah of the burned offering,” teaches that our Torah studies about a burned offering are …
Tzav: Total Devotion
The Burned Offering
Our ancestors offered many kinds of sacrifices. Peace offerings, sin offerings, guilt offerings and also burned offerings. What is a burned offering? An offering that is burned in its entirety upon the altar.
