Parashat Tzav — Command
צַו
Tzav (צַו) means "command" — taken, as every parashah name is, from the portion's opening words in the Hebrew.
The Readings
Torah Leviticus 6:1-8:36 Read →
Haftarah Jeremiah 7:21-8:3, 9:22-23 Read →
B'rit Chadashah Romans 12:1-8 Read →
What Happens in Tzav
Command — tzav — Aharon and his sons: the offerings of Vayikra are now given again from the priests' side of the altar, the operating manual for those who serve. This is the torah of the olah: the burnt offering stays on the hearth all night, and the fire of the altar shall be kept burning on it — it shall not go out. Three times the command repeats, and tradition hears in the esh tamid, the perpetual fire, a picture of devotion that must be tended daily lest it die. Each morning the priest puts on his linen garments to lift the ashes from the altar — even the humblest chore in the house of God is done in holy dress — then changes clothes to carry them outside the camp.
The torah of each offering follows with the priests' portions and boundaries. The minchah is eaten by Aharon's sons as matzah in the holy place — most holy, like the sin and guilt offerings. The chatat is slaughtered where the olah is slaughtered, its blood demanding such reverence that whatever touches the flesh becomes holy. The asham likewise is most holy, its blood thrown against the altar. Then the shelamim opens fellowship wide: brought as thanksgiving (todah), it comes with cakes of matzah and even leavened bread, and must be eaten the same day it is offered — gratitude does not keep; it is spoken fresh or it spoils. Vow and freewill offerings may stretch to the second day, but by the third the meat is an abomination. Standing over the whole system are two perpetual statutes: you shall eat neither fat nor blood.
Then the ordination commanded in Tetzaveh is carried out to the letter. Moshe assembles the congregation at the tent door — the thing that YHVH commanded to be done — washes Aharon and his sons with water, and clothes Aharon piece by piece: tunic, sash, robe, ephod, breastplate with Urim and Tummim, turban, and the golden plate. He anoints the mishkan and everything in it, sprinkles the altar seven times, and pours oil on Aharon's head. Then the offerings of consecration: the sin-offering bull, the burnt-offering ram, and the ram of ordination, whose blood Moshe puts on the right ear, right thumb, and right big toe of Aharon and each son — hearing, doing, and walking claimed for the service of God — with blood and anointing oil sprinkled on men and garments together. The ordination portions are waved and burned, the flesh boiled and eaten at the tent door, and the charge is laid down: you shall not go out from the door of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are fulfilled... and keep the charge of YHVH. And Aharon and his sons did all the things that YHVH commanded by the hand of Moshe.
Main Themes
Perpetual fire — devotion that never goes out The priests' portion and holy eating Thanksgiving offered fresh, not stale Consecrated ear, hand, and foot Seven days at the doorway — patient consecration
Key Events
· The torah of the burnt offering and the ash removal
· The laws of the grain, sin, and guilt offerings
· The peace and thanksgiving offerings
· The prohibition of eating fat and blood
· The anointing of Aharon and his sons
· The seven days of ordination at the tent door
Key People
Moshe Aharon Aharon's sons
Key Verses
Leviticus 6:13 Read →
“Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.”
Leviticus 7:37 Read →
“This is the law of the burnt offering, the meal offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, the consecration, and the sacrifice of peace offerings”
Leviticus 8:36 Read →
“Aaron and his sons did all the things which the LORD commanded by Moses.”
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