Tzav: New Realities

Necessity is the mother of invention. Catastrophe  leads to the adoption. 

The parsha describes the initiation of the Kohanim (priests) into their role as ministers of the sacrificial rite.  They are dressed in their PPE [Priestly Protective Equipment] (it is very dangerous to approach the Most High). Special animal sacrifices are offered, Moshe acting as the temporary High Priest. Some aspects of this unique ritual are reminiscent of the purification of the leper, suggesting that the initiation elevated Aaron and his sons from the common level of ashen purity to a higher level needed to perform the service.  Blood and suet are forbidden to every Israelite, a tradition that continues into the present. 

The Temple service continued for a millennium.  I do not think it is possible for a modern person to understand or appreciate the meaning of that service.  It would probably be equally hard for a person from that time to comprehend  Curb Your Enthusiasm. Times have changed. 

Animal sacrifices continued as part of the Jewish tradition until the destruction of the Temple , 1950 years ago.  By the time the temple was destroyed, the Israelites  had been living in a more modern, Roman, world for a century.  I suspect that their feelings about the sacrificial rites had changed.  They may have been more protective of them, considering them a link to their ancient tradition.  The sacrifices had always been based on a system of reasoning and belief that was different from the ambient culture and were a bulwark against assimilation. 

They may also have cooled to  animal sacrifice. They were living in a Roman world, after emerging from Persian domination.  These subjugations raised questions about the uniqueness of this type of service and, perhaps, its validity.  But the service continued... until it could not.  

The (Rabbinic/Priestly/sovereign) decision that made the service dependent upon the Jerusalem Temple cast the service as a community endeavor.  The blood and burning flesh were symbols of nationhood and independence.  The expiation  and sweet savor aspects were secondary to the community implications. 

We have had the technological capability for tele-health, home schooling, working from home for at least a decade.  We have stuck, for the most part, to the ways of our ancestors and traveled to the doctor, gone to school and settled for whatever teacher showed up, polluted and commuted to work.  Now we cannot do those things because they invite death.  We will not go back completely. 

The temple has been destroyed.  The substitute of learning and home ritual has served us well. I hope that the ashes of the Covid destruction will be (mostly) positive.  

Things can never be the same.