Tzav: A Flame From Above
Angels are nurtured by this raw vitality that flows directly from G-d. (2) Similarly, when Moses was in heaven, his body adapted to the heavenly delivery system and was nourished directly by G-d. The vast majority of G-d’s creation is sustained without the packaging system of food. It is only in our small universe that vitality must be packaged in the material delivery system of food. That we even wonder how Moses survived without food indicates how little we realize the limitation of our material world.
That we perceive life this way is not our fault, it’s a product of our being material creatures. Yet our purpose is to transcend this limited perspective and adopt the higher perception that the material merely encases the spiritual. It’s not food that gives life, but the Divine spark embedded in it. It’s not oxygen that gives life, but the Divine force that decreed oxygen a carrier of vitality. (3)
In the Temple
This constant reminder and reinforcement was one of the primary reasons for the sacrificial rite. When a sacrifice was placed on the altar in the Holy Temple, a flame from above in the form of a lion would descended and consume it or portions thereof. (4)
The heavenly lion of fire was a visual reminder that the animal’s physical prowess and energy are not material properties, but spiritual qualities invested into the material animal. The lion, in full form, descended from heaven in a flame of glory to demonstrate the heavenly source of the lion’s strength and very being. This is true of the lion, of the animal on the altar and by extension to the whole of creation including ourselves, bearers of the offering.
This meditation filled the minds and hearts of those who offered sacrifices in the Temple. The awe inspiring sight of the flame’s descent left an indelible impression and one could not help, but walk away a changed person. Yet, this was not the extent of the experience. It was taken to an even higher level.
To See or To Be Seen
In addition to the sacrifice being burned on the altar, a significant part of the atonement was secured by the priests, who consumed the sacramental portions allotted to them. (5) By partaking of the sacrificial meat, the priests digested and metabolized its nutrients converting animal flesh into human energy, which was in turn utilized in their sacred worship.
The consumption of the sacrificial meat by the priest was a higher form of elevation than its consumption by the fiery lion. The lion, despite its fiery and heavenly origin, was still in animal form, but through the priests the animal meat was transformed and thus elevated to human form.
The distinction of the lion and the even greater distinction of the priests are implied in their Hebrew names. Lion, in Hebrew, is Aryeh, a word that can be rearranged to read as Reiya, sight. To see is only possible when one is within sight. While it is possible to hear about something from a distance, one can only gaze upon it from up close. The flaming lion represented the heavenly realm that is up close and within sight of G-d. That the lion consumed the sacrifice indicates that it lifted us from our material state where G-d is invisible to a level where we can contemplate and even perceive His presence.
Yet the priests bring us to an even higher level in our contemplation and meditation. The first high priest was Aharon, which in Hebrew can be rearranged to read as Nireh, to be seen. The difference between Reiya and Nireh, to see or to be seen, is that the former is active whereas the latter is passive. In both cases one is close and within sight of G-d, but in the first case, we look while G-d is passive and in the second case G-d is looking while we stand passively by.
At first blush the active tense seems higher and more involved, but on reflection the opposite is true. In the context of holiness, it is the suspension of ego and even of our very selves that brings us closer to G-d. When we claim the ability to gaze upon G-d, it inevitably strengthens our perception of ourselves and of our positive attributes. This, by definition, lessens our capacity to embrace G-d fully and set ourselves aside completely. Thus Aharon’s passive approach of being seen by G-d brings us closer to G-d than the lion’s gazing upon G-d.
Aaron’s sacrifice
We now understand why the Midrash (6) seems surprised by the fact that Aaron, the high priest, was himself required to bring a meal offering every day. Does he who uplifts require uplifting, they mused.
Indeed we realize that the priest, more than anyone else, needed daily uplifting. If the primary ingredient in our quest for closeness with G-d is abject humility then it must be reinforced daily among those who successfully uplift others. They are singled out as the holiest among the nation and therefore must continuously guard against any haughtiness that might creep into their consciousness.
On an even deeper level we realize that there is no limit to how high we might ascend in our quest for holiness. On the contrary, the higher one reaches, the higher one seeks to ascend. It is thus precisely the priest, who is capable and desirous of being raised higher and higher every day. Accordingly, the High Priest brought a daily offering and with that scaled the heavens as he reached for G-d
Reflection
Though the sacrificial rite is not available to us today, the theme of the sacrifice can be brought to life every time we sit down to a meal. While our body salivates over the physical food, it is a perfect opportunity to embrace the spark of G-d embedded in the food from which its nutrients are derived. From the priests we learn that this form of worship is a daily affair, but it is not a repetitive ritual, it is a form of worship that grows every day from strength to greater strength. (7)
Footnotes
- We know he didn’t pack a picnic, as he himself testified, “Bread I did not eat and water I did not drink” (Deuteronomy 9: 9).
- See Shemot Rabbah 32: 4. On the verse (Exodus 23:21) “For my name is within him” the Midrash expounds that ministering angels are sustained only by the radiance of the Divine presence as is written (Nechemiah 9:6) “And you vitalize all.”
- Deuteronomy 7: 3.
- Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 21b.
- In the words of our sages (Babylonian Talmud, Psachim 59b), the priests ate and the bearers of the sacrifice received atonement. See also Menachot 17b based on Leviticus 7: 18 that there are two forms of consumption, consumption by the altar and consumption by the priest. The Talmud thus equates the burning of the sacrifice on the altar with the eating of it by the priests.
- Vayikra Rabbah 8: 2. The Midrash cites the story of Samson, who shortly after slaying a lion with his bare hands (Judges ch. 14) challenged the townsfolk to explain his riddle, “from the eater emerges food.” Samson was referring to the fact that the lion, who is king of the jungle and its most feared predator, is usually the eater, not the food and yet Samson turned the lion into food. In our context the riddle proclaims wonder that (the lion that descends from heaven to consume the material sacrifice and lift it to a higher plane might itself require a bit of uplifting. And yet on a higher level, which is the one the Midrash references), Aaron, who uplifts the sacrifice and its bearer to a place that even the lion cannot reach, requires further uplifting.
- Adapted from Likutei Torah Vayikra 7b
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