Tzav: Orders and Ashes

This is the kind of parsha that gives the book of Leviticus its name.  The Talmud calls this book:" Torath Kohanim," the Priestly Law.  This chapter is about the priestly functions in the sacrificial rite, the edible rewards given to the priests from the sacrifices and the ritual of Priestly initiation. 

 Tzav means "command." It is the root of the word Mitzvah: commandment. The names of two parshioth  in the Torah  devolve from  tzav: this one, simply named Tzav,  and Titzaveh  in the book of Exodus.  Both deal directly with the Kohanim, the priestly aristocracy that performed the human functions in the  Mishkin and temple, mostly the sacrificial rite.  The sons of Aaron are the recipients of tzav, a direct, unquestioned order. 

The first order in this week’s parsha is the removal of the ashes from the altar.  This janitorial task is the first command for the chosen of the chosen.  Somebody must remove the accumulated, spent, waste produced from the sacrificial process. It will not be a hired hand, an underpaid, low status person.  No, it will be a priest, dressed in (white) linen who shovels the detritus; only a priest may approach the altar so intimately. 

The priests could be commanded effectively.  They had a noble tradition of obedience.  From the first time we meet Aaron, he is the duteous brother that Gd - exasperated by Moses’ self-doubt and demurral from the opportunities to work for the liberation of the Israelites - appoints as the executive assistant for the task.   Was Aaron's acquiescence to participate in the creation of the golden calf a manifestation of this ability to follow orders?  Nicht Schuldig!? 

The priest needed to maintain a special, high level of obedience.  His thoughts of eating the designated portions of the offering at the wrong time (pigul) could invalidate the  sacrifice and leave him with a very significant burden of sin (kareth).  The ability to follow instructions, when your thoughts are read, is a very high bar and requires training from earliest youth. 

There are 2 products from the sacrificial rite: ashes and expiation. The expiation comes from following the orders, the commandment, the mitzvah, which is performed in the prescribed, tzav, manner. The ashes are the physical, predictable consequences of combustion – the transfer of activation energy to flammable materials.  The ashes are left behind, usually as a somewhat unpleasant reminder of the prior activity, to be quietly discarded. Some ashes, those of the red heifer, celebrated in the special haftarah for this week, are purifying.

This week we read a special maftir and Haftara that emphasizes the purifying waters that are made with the ashes of the red heifer. Ashes and water were the only ingredients in this formula that purified from the deepest level of impurity, death. This simple substance could not erase the indelible mark, but it removed enough so that the affected person could re-enter the ritual world and continue the process of recovery.

The special reading, the maftir from parshath Chukath, describes the preparation of the purifying ashes and the necessity of their application to those who are sullied before participating in the Temple service.  This section is part of the pre- Passover cycle. Reading the special, Parah, section of the Torah and its accompanying haftarah, remind us of the preparatory process that preceded the great, communal Passover celebration in the Temple. In the Diaspora, it becomes a commemoration of the absence of that temple and the community that came with it. The absence of the red heifer ash water, and the purification it brings, becomes an insurmountable obstacle to a return to the ways and days of old (see: Yiddish Policeman’s Union).

The special haftarah for Parah emphasizes the purifying power of the heifer ashes, even in the face of ongoing transgression. In the haftarah, the misdeeds of Israel are an embarrassment before the nations of the world. They are ultimately corrected by Gd’s intervention, in part, through the magic ash water.

The ashes of the holocaust purified the Jew. Public antisemitism became distasteful, obscene. That kind of purification does not last. Like the red heifer ash water, it purifies the recipient and sullies the user. Holocaust fatigue comes quickly to the antisemite. When 1,200 Israelis were murdered, the predicted reaction of the state of Israel was criticized before it began. The “lesson” of the holocaust became a weapon used against its victims, and on Oct 7, 2024, its repeat victims.

Following the heinous murders, rapes and kidnappings, action was needed to prevent further pogroms. Soldiers had to follow orders. They questioned … and obeyed.  What standing do Diaspora Jews have? Do they dare question the decisions? Do they dare not? They will be blamed either way.

The product of every fire is ashes.