Lev. 6:1-8:36
Précis:
The parasha begins with Adonai
ordering Moses to command (“tzav”) Aaron and his sons concerning
offerings. Requirements for the daily offerings, directions for the meal
offerings, instructions for guilt-offerings and thanksgiving offerings are
described. The parasha then describes the initial offerings of the Tabernacle made
by Aaron and his sons following their consecration to priestly service by
Moses.
Lev. 6:1-6 “This is the Torah of the burnt-offering...
The fire on the altar shall be kept burning, not to go out: the priest shall
burn wood upon it each morning… perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the
altar, not to go out."
Rabbi
Jonathan Sacks, writing in Covenant and Conversation (4/5/17)
observes that we have seen civilizations die: the Mayans, the Roman Empire and others.
They ended because the problems they faced became too complicated for them to
handle.
Sacks
suggests that this makes Jews and our faith so unusual. After two centuries of
Roman rule, the Jews were factionalized and seeking a way to transform their experience
and find a new path ahead. What was needed was a substitute for the sacrifices
which could no longer be offered at the Temple. The leaders sought substitutes
for the sacrifices we read in this week’s parasha. They focused on “gemillat chassadim,” (acts
of kindness). They focused on Torah study. They focused on prayer. They also
focused on “teshuvah” (repentance).
Looking
back, what is remarkable was the extent to which the leaders of the people
looked forward, and did not cling obsessively to the past. The Sages recognized
that the sacrifices we read about were themselves what Sacks calls “symbolic
enactments of processes of mind, heart and deed that could be expressed in
other ways as well.”
Of
course, the Jews did not disregard the past, and our liturgy and Torah readings
still include the details of the long-gone sacrificial system. But the Sages
created new institutions like the synagogue and houses of study which were
portable and enabled the Jewish People to survive and thrive everywhere.
This
seems to suggest a lesson for all of today: remember our past but plan for the future,
and consider what we would do “if...”
While
our minds are now focused on our social distancing and enforced isolation, we
may actually have some time to consider what we want the future of the Jewish
People to look like, and how we can prepare for any and all eventualities. It is in this light that we should be considering how to celebrate Passover together.
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