Tzav: following orders

The parsha is not only named Tzav but it is also bracketed by the word. Command, give orders.

The central portion of the parsha talks about various Shlomim offerings, peace offerings, offerings of wholeness. The distinction is made between an offering of thanks, Todah, and an offering that is the fulfillment of a vow. The fulfillment of a vow implies that there was a reason for the vow, the thrall promises an offering in exchange for Gd providing a favorable outcome. (Giving tzedakah to have a good day). Thus the shlomim that is the fulfillment of a vow is like a “please “ offering and the Todah is “thank you” ( like Captain Kangaroo).

The Todah (thanksgiving) offering is eaten for only one day. Thanks become stale as they go on for a long time, they become a questioning of the benefactor as the belly grows full and the meat grows cold and spoils. Why was the favor granted? What did the giver get out of it? Why didn’t I get more?

The “please” shlomim is eaten for 2 days. It is eaten until it spoils. When you ask for something, consider what happens after you get it.

Without the orders, you would not know the proper etiquette for please and thank you, and improper manners don’t bring peace. Sometimes it is best to just follow orders [could not resist]

past

Vayikra: hidden

One of the categories of offerings discussed in the parsha is the Asham. This is often translated as the guilt offering. But I think that the English pseudo-cognate, ashamed, is more appropriate.
One of the properties of the offense for which the Asham is offered is that it is hidden- The testimony not given, the oath not fulfilled, the fraud Hiding is related to shame. When Adam recognizes his nakedness, he is ashamed and he hides. The word Asham hides the word aish, fire. The fact that the fat of the animal or the grain can burn is a secret, something that only those familiar with fire can predict. The expiation of the offering comes from revealing its hidden property.... it burns.The blood that is sprinkled from the offering is also a secret stuff, Only after cutting the animal does one experience the silent (dome) blood ( dam)

The nature of some of the offerings seems an open secret. The sin offering for the high Priest, the descendant of Aaron (maker of the golden calf) who errs is a ...bull, the grown calf. Similarly when the people as a whole err ( as they did with the golden calf) the expiation is with a ...matured calf. When the political leader, who is generally not from a tribe of Joseph ( despite Joseph’s favored status with Jacob) errs, he brings a goat, the animal that the brothers brought to prove the “death” of Joseph to Jacob. It is a reminder of the vagaries of politics.

In Heaven all secrets are revealed. Is Heaven hell?

past years

Vayakhel: Construction Projects

There are 3 great construction projects in the book of Shemoth: The building of store cities of Pithom and Ramses for Pharaoh ( 1:11), the golden calf and the Mishkan with its accouterments. The first two projects are devoid of detail. The products, the store cities and the calf, don’t matter. The details of the construction of the Mishkan take up almost half the book .
The plans for the constrution of the mishkan ( and the priestly garb) are described in Terumah and Tetzaveh. The golden calf incident, in KiThitha is followed by a description of the actual construction ( in Vayakhel) and an accounting of the material costs (Pikudei) . This order is consistent with the idea that the golden calf was an attempt to construct an object to aid in the worship, a mishkan-like thing, but not the proper, instructed thing. The golden calf demonstrates he error of worship based upon human understanding, as opposed to divine instruction, perhaps similar the other construction project, the Tower of Babel.

I imagine that there were alot instructions when the slaves built the store-cities in Egypt and the people may have felt that liberation included the freedom that allows free-form worship. Thus when Rashi identifies the airev rav as the instigators of the Golden calf, he is perhaps suggesting that for the airev rav, the liberation from slavery was the primary goal, as opposed to the Israelites who thought they were fulfilling the prophecy.

The details of the construction do not seem to deviate from the blueprint that is recorded previously. For the reader, it is a repetition. The repetition brings out the phonemes:
cofer: covering, atonement
adon: base-socket, master
nechosheth: copper, serpent ( of the Garden of Eden)


prior years

Ki Thisa: Artifice

The contrast is between Gd’s creation - words on stone - and human creations - the Golden calf. The calf is of the purest, shiniest, most precious material, a lasting material... gold. Gd’s words are on the basest material and in eternal need of interpretation. Man’s handiwork is clear. Gd’s handiwork is vague.... But Gd’s handiwork survives physical destruction. Moshe reproduces the tablets ( ultimately, his act of reproduction continues until ArtScroll and hopefully beyond). The golden calf is destroyed (?)

The Israelites announce: : Ayle Elohei Yisroel: these are the gods of Israel. What could that mean? I take elohei to mean: the powers. The power of Israel was the willingness to sacrifice their gold to the common (meaningless) cause. The people could unite, they had a drive to unite, and they were willing to pay (dues) for their union. ( Samuel Gompers). They had formed a (Zionist [in the sense of a movement with a symbol] enterprise. But this violated Gd’s sensibilities.

Moshe returns, destroys the erroneous symbol, along with the 10 commandments. Moshe negotiates the future of Israel with Gd. Forgiveness is obtained. Moshe returns with supernatural headlights. He has become magical. The law is now supernatural. The people’s wrong interpretations are subordinated to the heavenly truth ( for a while, until Lo Bashomaim He)

The power of the people needs direction. The direction should be toward heaven.

previous years