JTS Torah Archive

Prayer as Resonance

Mar 29, 2024 By Luciana Pajecki Lederman | Commentary | Shabbat Parah | Tzav

According to sociologist Harmut Rosa, the main role of rituals is to produce axes of resonance, through which we not only affect but also open ourselves to being affected by God, people, and even things around us. In conceiving of Jewish prayer, our ancient rabbis indicate a concern with creating resonance, by balancing “affecting” and “being affected.”

The Primacy of Questions

Mar 31, 2023 By Joel Seltzer | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol | Tzav | Pesah

The truth is, of all the Jewish holidays of the year, Pesah, requires the most forethought, the most planning, the most cleaning, and yes, the most questions! The Jewish tradition understands deeply that ritual does not simply “occur,” instead it is the result of painstaking preparation and “beginning with the end in mind.”

Lessons From the Ashes

Mar 18, 2022 By Naomi Kalish | Commentary | Tzav

Many of us choose our careers and life roles carefully and spend our days engaged in pursuits about which we feel passionate. However, sometimes even a vocation can feel like drudgery. Whether a profession, family role, or volunteer position, roles that once came with a sense of calling or purpose can become hard to face and starting the day can require exceptional energy. This can happen as part of the ups and downs of ordinary life but is especially true when we experience multiple simultaneous crises.

A Child’s Gifts

Mar 23, 2019 By Ariella Rosen | Commentary | Tzav

As an educator, I find it a unique challenge at this time of year to generate meaning from the book of Vayikra, especially for young learners. Homemade board games, guided meditations, and not-so-literal reenactments have all been attempts to translate detailed descriptions of burnt offerings and differentiation of the clean and unclean, into accessible and relatable concepts in our contemporary experience of Judaism.

I wonder how it is, then, that this book has customarily served as a child’s first taste of Torah study, an idea highlighted in a midrash on the opening verses of Parashat Tzav. 

A Set Table

Mar 25, 2016 By Yonatan Dahlen | Commentary | Tzav

I try to bless
When I wear Your stars as my blanket;
My winter coat when days are dark
When life is a knife
Resting on the altar of time.

Restoration

Mar 27, 2015 By Craig Scheff | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol | Tzav

“What is certain is that you love bringing things back to life. It is a wonderful feeling to identify the undermining factors, eradicate them, and restore something to its true glory.”

Strengthsfinder 2.0 is a popular assessment tool for identifying and applying an individual’s strengths. The book is based on the premise that we should spend more time in our professional lives building upon our strengths than trying to overcome our weaknesses. The quote above refers to the person who possesses the “restorative” talent, the ability to resuscitate and rekindle the vitality of relationships.

The Fire Within

Mar 11, 2014 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Tzav

Parashat Tzav discusses the role of the priests in the Temple, and emphasizes the vigilance with which they were to offer sacrifices.

Stoking the Perpetual Fire of Freedom

Mar 20, 2013 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol | Tzav

As we approach the festival of Passover, the domestic excitement and drama increase. This anticipation is seamlessly reflected in Parashat Tzav.

Choosing the Right Outfit

Mar 19, 2011 By Michelle Lynn-Sachs | Commentary | Tzav

The parashah contains a variety of detailed instructions to the Israelite priests regarding how they are to perform the sacrificial rites. Included in these instructions are detailed descriptions of what they are to wear as they go about their duties. Significant mention of clothing occurs twice in the parashah: once at the beginning, as part of the instructions for what to do with the ashes resulting from a sacrifice, and once at the end, in a description of the public ceremony to invest Aaron and his sons as priests.

Different Kinds of Teshuvah

Mar 19, 2011 By Andrew Shugerman | Commentary | Text Study | Tzav

What does “a broken spirit,” let alone the return of animal sacrifice, have to do with preparing for Purim, the wildest holiday in our tradition?

A Pesah Message for My Students

Mar 27, 2010 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol | Tzav | Pesah

This week’s Torah portion reports instructions given by God to Moses concerning Aaron and his priestly descendants. The rest of us, as it were, are invited to eavesdrop.

How Worship Might Shape Our Minds

Mar 22, 2008 By Arnold M. Eisen | Commentary | Tzav

Even after years of probing Leviticus for insight, and each year finding more significance in the book’s attempt to sanctify everyday experience, I found myself captured by Douglas’s description of the Levitical system of animal offerings as “philosophizing by sacrifice.” She writes: “Not only in ancient Israel, but in many parts of the world, philosophizing by sacrifice can be quite paradoxical and abstruse.”

The Power of the Mind Over Reality

Mar 25, 2005 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Tzav

Judaism is a choir of many voices.

An Offering of Wholeness

Apr 3, 2004 By Melissa Crespy | Commentary | Tzav

Despite all the detail in Parashat Tzav, it is not entirely clear what is meant by the zevah sh’lamim – often translated as “peace offering” or “offering of well-being”. It is clearly differentiated from the other sacrifices in our parashah because the worshipper participates in its ritual offering, and receives part of the animal for him or herself. In all the other sacrifices in the parashah, it is only the priests who take part in the ritual and the consumption of the sacrifice.

Bringing the Messianic Redeption

Apr 3, 2004 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol | Tzav | Pesah

The most distinctive feature of Shabbat ha-Gadol, the Great Sabbath just before Passover, is that it called for a sermon. For in the pre-emancipation synagogue, the rabbi customarily spoke but twice a year: on the Shabbat prior to Passover and on the Shabbat between Rosh ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur, Shabbat Shuvah. These sermons tended to be halakhic in character, reminding congregants of the elaborate and proper observance of the holy day to come.

For Whom Do We Dress?

Mar 22, 2003 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Tzav

Parashat Tsav raises the issue of clothing, and how our outer presentation can mirror, or even influence, our thoughts and behavior.

Keeping “The Fires of Israel” Lit

Mar 22, 2003 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Tzav

In a session not long ago with Seminary students on religious services, I was asked about the restoration of a phrase from the siddur that the Conservative movement had dropped as early as the 1940’s.

Dove and Rabbit

Mar 23, 2002 By Matthew Berkowitz | Commentary | Tzav | Pesah

The experience of the exodus from Egypt, Yeziat Mitzrayim, which we commemorate on Passover, is indelibly marked in the collective consciousness of the Jewish nation. It is this notion — of having been slaves to the Egyptians — that plays such a profound role in defining the moral and ethical demands that the Torah places on us. Having known the experience of oppression, we are commanded to take that to heart, lest we turn to oppress our fellow human beings. Thus, Passover is a time in which we dwell on the essence of what it is that defines us as a people: how does our experience of slavery shape the way we behave today? What does it mean to be a chosen people? And how is that we as a people deal alternately with powerlessness and power?

Elijah at the Seder Table

Apr 7, 2001 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Shabbat Hagadol | Tzav

The Shabbat just prior to Passover is known as the Great Sabbath, Shabbat ha-Gadol.

The Spiritual Significance of the Sacrificial Cult

Mar 29, 1997 By Ismar Schorsch | Commentary | Shabbat Parah | Tzav

Our Hebrew Scripture is a library of books with many voices, a bracing diversity of literary genres and religious opinions. This is a good week to remind ourselves of that noteworthy fact as we struggle through a double dosage of cultic prescriptions. Our parasha stipulates the tasks incumbent on the priests in administering the sacrifices that ordinary Israelites might offer at the Tabernacle. On top of that, because this Shabbat is the third of the four special Shabbatot leading up to Passover, we are treated to an additional reading dealing with the potion prepared from the ashes of an unblemished red heifer for the purpose of ritual purification.