Shabbos Table

Tzav is perhaps one of the most powerful portion of the Torah that teaches important moral lessons that we can apply to our modern lives as it offered deep insight and reflections on the importance of leadership, sacrifice, and determination.

In this parsha, a fire is always burning on the altar, representing the constant need for sacrifice to be made in life. It is important that we make sacrifices to improve our lives spiritually and to give back to others, just as the priests sacrificed animals to G_d.

The message in Tzav can remind us that just as the priests made sacrifices everyday, we too can tap into our emothy for other and make some sacrifices for the benefit of them if we want to make a meaningful difference in the world.

The idea of the fire always burning can also be interpreted as the need to keep our inner passion and determination alive. We must be dedicated to our goals and never let our fire burn out no matter how difficult things may seem. Rabbi Menachem Mendel reminds us of these admonitions in his teachings.

Another analogy that can be drawn from Tzav can be seen in the way the priests were instructed to clean the altar every day. This suggests that we must always “cleanse” ourselves of our negative emotions and actions. In doing so, we can better connect with our spirituality and become better people.

Rabbi Aaron of Karlin gives us further insight into this idea when he states, “The role of a leader is not to lead people to where he wants them to go, but to lead them where they ought to go, even if that means going beyond where the leader himself has been.” The leaders of the sacrificial teachings of Tzav were unquestionably assertive and acted as ethical and moral examples of strong and good leaders.

To make meaningful progress in life, we should be vigilant in our pursuits and assertive in speaking out against any pitfalls or shortcomings that we observe, espacilly within our own minds.

I especially enjoyed the moral and spiritual lessons of this parsha as it inspires us to show up with care and compassion as we sometimes have to compromise in a form of sacrifice for the people we love and the causes we stand for, while keeping our inner fire burning bright, by repeatedly cleansing ourselves and rededicating ourselves to our goals – a bit of a mouthful, I know. 😊