Tzav

Leviticus 6:1−8:36  

 

What Can We Learn from Taking Out the Garbage?

D'VAR TORAH BY: ROBERT TORNBERG for ReformJudasim.org

In reading Parashat Tzav just one week after reading Parashat Vayikra, one cannot help but notice how, on the surface, these two portions are nearly identical. Both of them go into great detail about the five major kinds of sacrifices offered in the Tabernacle in the wilderness (and later in the Temple). There are, however, some obvious differences:

In Vayikra, in the very first line, God instructs Moses to "Speak to the Israelite people" (Leviticus 1:1) and explain the laws of the sacrifices, while in Tzav Moses is told to "Command Aaron and his sons . . . " (6:1). In both cases very similar explanations of the various sacrifices follow.
In Tzav, the entire end of the parashah (8:1-36) contains a detailed description of the consecration of the Tabernacle and the priests. No such description is included in Vayikra.
There are some more subtle differences as well. For instance, the order in which the various sacrifices in the two portions are described is different. And, in discussing the burnt offering (the olah) in Tzav there is a focus on a perpetual fire that must be kept burning on the altar (6:6). Both of these factors provide ample opportunity for interesting questions and a variety of responses, which will not be our focus here.

There is another subtle difference, however, that is very easy to overlook when we struggle through detailed descriptions of material as remote from our lives as these sacrifices. In discussing the olah the text tells us:

The priest shall dress in linen raiment, with linen breeches next to his body; and he shall take up the ashes to which the fire has reduced the burnt offering on the altar and place them beside the altar. He shall then take off his vestments and put on other vestments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a pure place. (6:3-4)
In short, we have a reasonably specific description of how to take out the garbage! Why would this be included in the sacred text? Is it simply yet another detail for the priests to worry about? Is it just a "throw away" couple of lines that teach us nothing important? Is there something to it beyond what is on the surface?

Through the centuries various commentators have been bothered by the inclusion of this section as well. Some focus on the importance of making the sanctuary especially beautiful and ensuring that nothing – certainly not a pile of burnt ashes – mars the awesomeness of the Tabernacle. Others argue that this section teaches us that even the priests – people of great holiness – must take care of daily chores as mundane as taking the trash to the dump.

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