Parshat Tzav 5769 Edited

8/14/2019 Parshat Tzav 5769 Edited

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Parshat Tzav: Shabbat Hagadol 5769

Of Matzot and Mitzvot

The Parsha begins with a turn of phrase that is unusual inthe Torah: " Tzav ," command:

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1. And the Eternal God spoke to Moshe, saying, 2.Command Aharon and his sons, saying, This is the

Torah of the burnt offering... The word tzav is related to the word mitzva; it denotes theimperative, and Rashi understands that in this form, tzav connotes quickness or immediacy.

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Command Aharon- The word tzav is in all cases aword denoting an exhortation to quickness

The source for this teaching is a passage in the Talmud:

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The School of R. Yishmael taught: whenever

command is stated, its only purpose is to denote anexhortation to quicknessTalmud Bavli Kiddushin29a 1

There is another instance in which Rashi speaks of speedthat may be instructive: An earlier instance is to be foundin his comments on the Torahs discussion of the

1 This Talmudic source appears in a discussion of another topic altogether. Rashi's association of our present subject, the sacrificial rites of the olah, with the need for speed - is not easily understood, and isdebated by other commentaries. See Siftei Hachamim and the Mizrahi on Vayikra 6, 1.

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Redemption in general, and matza in particular: The Torahcommands us to "guard the matzot":

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And you shall guard the matzot; for on this same dayI brought your armies out of the land of Egypt; andyou shall observe this day throughout yourgenerations as a law forever.

The word ushmartem, to observe or guard, is understood

by Rashi as a commandment of activity: "

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Guard the matzot, that they do not becomechametzRebbi Yoshia said, Dont read "matzot"

rather "mitzvot"; just as you shouldnt let the matzabecome chametz )leavened bread(, you shouldnt leta mitzva become spoiled; rather, when anopportunity arises, perform the mitzva immediately.)Rashi Sh'mot 12:17(

Rashi cites a teaching from the Mechilta, 2 which draws our

attention to the concept of quickness involved in theproduction of matzot. The idea is taken one step further,as the commandment regarding the specific mitzva of matzot is established as an archetype for all thecommandments: Just as one should guard the dough frombecoming chametz, )leavened bread( one should guard all

2 Mechilta Bo section 9

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the mitzvot; if an opportunity to perform a mitzva presentsitself, this opportunity should not be missed. One must actimmediately, rapidly, seizing the opportunity to performall mitzvot.

Aside from the linguistic similarity, the comparisonbetween matzot and mitzvot is not immediately clear.Matza is made by mixing water and flour; if more than 18minutes elapse, rather than matza, you have chametz -instead of unleavened bread, you have leavened bread.Rather than matzot mitzva, matzot made for the solepurpose of performing a singular mitzva which we may

fulfill only one night each year for a limited number of hours we have chametz. On Pesach this is a criticaldifference. The commandment to guard the matzotrequires speed; if one tarries, the unleavened dough willrise, and become forbidden chametz. 3

However, not all mitzvot are as time-sensitive. Manymitzvot are not at all affected by time; there is no clock,certainly not 18 minutes, and if the mitzva is performedtomorrow rather than today, ostensibly nothing is lost.Why would Rashi draw this parallel between matzot, whichmust be made with careful attention to time, and all othermitzvot, regardless of the urgency of the time constraintsinvolved in their performance? Why require us to performall mitzvot with such speed? What effect does this timefactor have on the mitzvot that we fulfill?

Let us consider the reason things are done quickly. Peopleact quickly for one of two reasons: either they want to get

3 See Maharal comments on Aggda Chulin page 92

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the task out of the way, in order to free themselves to doother things, or they are so eager that they cannot wait toperform the act in question. 4

The former may be a very wise approach to life: Whenfaced with arduous tasks, procrastination is often theworst course of action. Tasks begin to pile up, and what atfirst was difficult soon becomes impossible. Yet despite thewisdom of this approach, it is not necessarily a properattitude in the performance of mitzvot: We do not performmitzvot in order to "get them out of the way". Mitzvotshould be performed because we wish to adhere to the

Word of God, because we wish to have a relationship withGod. The performance of mitzvot is an expression of love;love is not something to be rushed through, to be gottenout of the way.

The Maharal explains the idea of quickness in theperformance of mitzvot by noting the metaphysical natureinherent in our relationship with God. We are physicalbeings, we exist in a physical universe, yet each time weperform a mitzva we are engaging in a metaphysicalgesture: the One who commanded us is not physical,therefore the mitzva is the link between a physical being4 See the beautiful description of zerizut in the Mesilat Yesharim:

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We were therefore warned by our Sages of blessed memory )Mechilta Shemoth 12:17(, " `Watch over the matzoth' - if a mitzva presents itself to you, do not permit it to go stale;" and )Nazir 23b(, and)Pesachim 4a (, "The zealous advance themselves towards mitzvot ;" and )Berachoth 66(, "A man shouldalways run to perform a mitzva , even on the Sabbath." And in the Midrash it is stated, )Vayikra Rabbah11:8(, " `He will guide us eternally ' )Psalms 48:15 (, - with Zeal, as young maids ["eternally" and"young maids" are similarly constructed in the Hebrew], as it is said ) Psalms 68:26 (, '...in the midst of young maids playing upon timbrels."' The possession of Zeal constitutes an extremely high level of spiritual development, which a person's nature prevents him from attaining at once. He who strengthenshimself, however, and acquires as much of Zeal as he is able to, will, in time to come, truly attain to it.The Creator, may His Name be blessed, will present it to him as a reward for having striven for itduring the time of his service.

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in a physical plane, and a metaphysical being in ametaphysical plane. 5

The Maharal describes our performance of mitzvot with

speed as an expression of our desire to leave the confinesof our physical existence, to break through to themetaphysical reality. As humans, we exist in a worlddefined by time, space and matter; the performance of amitzva is an expression of our desire to break the limits of time and establish a true relationship with God whotranscends time. A mitzva is a vehicle, in which we takethe journey from the physical to the metaphysical state.

Significantly, this concept is derived from Pesach. So muchof Pesach is about time; in fact, it was in the framework of Pesach that the Jews were given the mitzva of time. 6 Our5 See Maharal Gur Aryeh Sh'mot 12:17, Netivot Olam Netivat Torah, chapter 17

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first mitzva as a nation involved the mastery of time;sanctifying time by establishing the start of each monthenabled the Jews to begin to prepare for freedom. Whilephysically still in Egypt, still enslaved, God instructed the

Jewish People to consecrate time, to master time and useit as a means of transcending to a new state of metaphysical existence. This enabled them to begin theprocess of redemption. They were then instructed toguard the Paschal Lamb for a precise time period, andthen to adhere to a careful timetable in the bringing of thesacrifice. They were told to prepare and eat the Pesachoffering rapidly, to roast, not boil, the meat, 7 ostensiblythe most rapid method of cooking. 8 Their bread for thisPesach feast was to be most rapidly prepared. All of theseelements of Pesach point in the same direction: Thisholiday is about quickness; it is about speed. This nationof slaves, no masters of their time, controlled and orderedby other men, are given mastery of time: Man, confinedand defined by time, learns to rise above time. When weperform mitzvot quickly, we demonstrate our desire toleave the confines of time, to relate to the Eternal Godwho is unconfined by the dimensions that rule humanhistory. Pesach is a holiday where we transcend time. 9

The Second Dimension7 See Shmot 12:9-12

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:8 For more on Matzah and speed, see my essay "The Matzah of Lot" in Emanations: Essays on theHolidays.

9Even in Egypt, at the first seder, on the night before they left Egypt, the Jews who performed all themitzvot of Pesach succeeded in transcending time: They sat around the table, still slaves, dressed intheir travelling clothes and eating matza the symbol of the haste with which they would leave Egyptthe following day! They were simultaneously living in the present and the future. So, too, each andevery Jew at each and every Seder throughout history is taught to live simultaneously in the presentand the past: obligated to see himself as if he were personally liberated from Egypt. For more on this theme, seemy notes on Parshat Bo in Explorations. Also see Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner, Pachad Yitzchak -Pesach,first Maamar .

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Perhaps this idea is even more far-reaching: The secondmajor festival in the Jewish calendar is Shavuot, theholiday that commemorates the Giving of the Torah atMount Sinai. Strangely, this location is lost to us: Ournational consciousness has not retained coordinates forwhat was once the holiest place on Earth.

The holiness of Mount Sinai was akin to the holiness of theBeit Hamikdash: In preparation for the Giving of the Torah,the mountain was divided into different zones, each withits own level of holiness, with access permitted to differentpeople, in a clear parallel of the structure of the Mishkan

and the Beit Hamikdash. Yet this structure was secondaryto the main aspect of the Sinaitic experience - the openingof the heavens, and the Voice of God which burst forth.Similarly, the Mishkan, which repeated andinstitutionalized the experience of Revelation at Sinai, wasbuilt in order to house the Tablets of Stone given on theSixth of Sivan at Mount Sinai; the Voice of God that hadrung out at Sinai now emanated from between the

Keruvim atop the Ark of the Covenant. 10

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10 See Ramban Shmot 25:2

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20. And the Keruvim shall stretch out their wings on

high, covering the cover with their wings, and theirfaces shall look one to another; toward the covershall the faces of the Keruvim be. 21. And you shallput the cover upon the ark; and in the ark you shallput the testimony that I shall give you. 22. And thereI will meet with you, and I will talk with you fromabove the cover, from between the two Keruvimwhich are upon the Ark of the Testimony, of all things

which I will give you in commandment to the Peopleof Israel.

Unlike the Beit Hamikdash, as soon as the Torah wasgiven, Mount Sinai became mundane. The geographiclocation of the place of Revelation became insignificant;only the content of the Revelation is celebrated by

Shavuot.

The holiday of Shavuot is about transcending thedimension of space. In much the same vein, the Talmudicdiscussion of the Holy of Holies reveals an easily-overlooked feature of the Ark:

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So said Rabbi Levi: This is transmitted to us bytradition from our fathers: The place of the Ark is notgiven to measurement. And Rabbanai said in thename of Shmuel: The Keruvim stood by sheermiracle.

11 Also see Talmud Bavli Baba Batra 99a, Megila 10b.8


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The dimensions of the Mishkan are transmitted in the Torah with great precision, including exact measurementsfor the various chambers and the placement of each of theholy vessels within them. The measurements for the Holyof Holies include the exact dimensions of the Ark of theCovenant, and the precise placement of the Ark. Yet thesemeasurements create a physical impossibility: The Ark wasplaced in the center of the Holy of Holies, a chamber of 20square cubits, yet there were ten cubits of empty spacebetween the walls of the chamber and each side of theArk. In other words, the Ark did not consume any physicalspace. 12 It transcended space. Much like Sinai experience,the Ark of the Covenant was neither defined nor confinedby space; the essential element was the content, not thelocation of the Revelation. The physical construct thathoused the Tablets of Stone somehow transcended space,and fit in to the Mishkan perfectly. 13 Although physical, the12 See Rashi's comments on Yoma 21b, and the comments of the Vilna Gaon found in the Kol Eliyahu,on Aggadot Brachot 47b.

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See the Comments of Rabbenu Bachya Sh'mot 25:10

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Ark and the Tablets belong to a metaphysical reality.Similarly, Shavuot, the day of the Giving of the Torah, isabout transcending space.

The Third Dimension The resounding final chord of the Jewish year is the thirdmajor festival, Sukkot. We are commanded to leave thecomforts of home and enter a temporary abode.

The first time Sukkot is mentioned in the Torah, it is as aholiday of the harvest:

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16. and the Feast of Ingathering, which is at theend of the year, when you have gathered in yourlabors from the field.

Later in the book of D'varim the text offers more specificinformation:

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13. You shall observe Sukkot )the Feast of Tabernacles( seven days, after you have gathered inyour grain and your wine. Dvarim 16:13

Rashi explains that the sukka is made from the refuse of the stalk and vine; from "garbage" we make a sukka .14 We , ) , , " ( , ) ,

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See Rashi Dvarim 16:13, see Rosh Hashana 13a, Sukka 12a.

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use what would otherwise be considered refuse, andfashion a home. Sukkot is a holiday where we recognizethat this entire world is a temporary abode, a dirat araie 15 .

To remind ourselves of the inconsequential nature of ourphysical possessions, the fleeting and impermanentcharacter of our worldly reality, we leave our "real homes"and enter temporary homes made of materials which arenormally rejected and discarded. Sukkot is abouttranscending matter.

The physical universe is defined by time, space andmatter; this is our reality, this is our experience. Yet we

know that there is another existence just beyond thatwhich is confirmed by our senses, beyond our limitations.Each of the three major festivals works in a separaterealm, a separate dimension of human existence, to helpus achieve transcendence. When properly understood andobserved, the three festivals enable us to connect with theInfinite, the Eternal to break through the borders of ourlimited existence.

In truth, each and every time we perform a mitzva anymitzva - we should feel that we are entering a new anddifferent realm, the metaphysical realm of God. Everymitzva should be transformative, and should leave uscompletely changed, for by performing a mitzva, byfulfilling a commandment of the Eternal God, we breakthrough the barriers that define our physical universe. We

create and sustain a relationship with the TranscendentGod.

The word tza v means command, as in the word mitzva ,commandment. When such a commandment is given tous, we ought not delay or tarry. We should see it as anopportunity to break through the confines of time, and

15 See Talmud Bavli Sukka 2a,21b,23a.11


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come to a different place - a place which transcends time,space and matter; the Place that is God. 16

16 God Himself, who is not a physical being, is often referred to in Jewish tradition as HaMakom

The Place or, less literally, The Omnipresent. Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik spoke about the use of Hamakom as a name of God in various lectures on the Haggadah. See my notes on the RavsHaggadah http://rabbiarikahn.com/therav.html .

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Parshat Tzav 5769 Edited