Lev. 6:1-8:36
PrĂ©cis: 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. 8:22-23 “Moses brought out the second ram, the ram of ordination. Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head and it was slaughtered. Moses took some of the blood and put it on the ridge of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of the right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.”
To say that blood is an important element of our Torah text is a remarkable understatement. Blood is connected to the mark of Cain, to the sacrifices of Noah, to the Akeda, to the plague of blood, to the Paschal lamb with its blood smeared on the doorposts to save the Jews from the 10th plague, and to the multiple prohibitions (many in this parasha) reminding us to refrain from eating blood, or suffer the most dire circumstance: being cut off from the People (Lev. 7:26-27).
Here, the blood of the sacrifice is used as a kind of anointing liquid for Aaron as High Priest. Many have commented that the spots the blood is daubed upon amount to important duties he will perform: on the ear to listen, on the hand used in Temple rituals, and to the foot which will lead him (and the people) in the right direction.
This week, we observe Shabbat HaGadol, the “Great Shabbat '' which precedes Passover. Here’s a tidbit of knowledge: in earlier centuries, rabbis typically gave only 2 sermons annually: on the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and on Shabbat HaGadol. Historians relate that these sermons were intended to be reminders about how to celebrate the upcoming important holiday. In fact, many piyyutim (religious poems) were written about the specifics of Passover preparation and observance as well.
For many of us this year, the blood we read about in this verse (and in our haggadot), will be reminders of losses we have experienced individually, communally, in our country and around the world since the last Passover. I hope that we can also see here that the blood of anointing is also a sign of hope for the future, when we can once again gather in large numbers and celebrate our Exodus from the plagues of Egypt, and, please God, an “exodus” from the plague of the Covid virus.
