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Tzav
4 Apr 2009
Meaning:
Command
Also known as
Shabbat HaGadol
Leviticus 6:8
(1)-8:36, 9:22-23
Malachi 3:4-24
Jeremiah 7:21-8:3, 9:22-23
Hebrews 8:1-6
Torah portion
summary:
Command to
Aaron and his sons about
1. Elevation
offering and the altar fire
2. Meal
offering
3. Sin
offering
4. Guilt
offering
5.
Thanksgiving offering
6. Instruction
about eating in a state of Contamination
7.
Consecration of Aaron and his sons, the Kohanim
The following is taken from notes of the
HafTorah of Tzav in Stone edition of the Chumash:
The Sabbath before Pesach is called Shabbat
HaGadol, the Great Sabbath, because in Egypt it was the day when G-d’s
people took the sheep to a bedpost and informed the infuriated Egyptians
that the sheep, an Egyptian deity, would become an offering to G-d. The
Jewish people obeyed the words given by G-d thru Moses His servant. Thus
the Sabbath before redemption was a day when G-d’s people showed faith and
were rewarded with His protection.
The following is taken from Moses.com:
1. Today, practically every pulpit rabbi
delivers a homily every
Shabbat. This wasn't always
the case. In Jewish communities of old, the rabbi would speak to the
congregation twice a year: On Shabbat Shuvah (the Shabbat between
Rosh Hashanah
and Yom Kippur)
the rabbi would speak about the importance of doing
Teshuvah,
and would remind the people of the numerous laws associated with the
holiday of
Sukkot (Sukkot is five days after Yom Kippur). And on
Shabbat HaGadol the rabbi would discuss in his sermon some of the
practical laws associated with
Pesach.
2. Many
communities read a special
HafTorah
(Malachi 3:4-24) which discusses "bring[ing] the entire tithe to the
storehouse [of
G-d]."
In some communities this HafTorah is only read if Shabbat HaGadol is
actually on the day before Pesach. The reason for reading a HafTorah about
tithing is as follows: In the Land of Israel, tithes must be separated
from all produce. Some is given to the Kohen, some to the
Levite,
some to the poor, and some simply had to be eaten in
Jerusalem.
On the day before Pesach, on the third and sixth year of the seven-year
sabbatical cycle, one was required to ascertain that none of these tithes
remained in his/her possession. Any remaining tithes had to be distributed
to their proper owners or destroyed.
These biblical verses from Malachi 3:16-18;
tell us that there is always a faithful remnant who fear G-d, obey Him,
and exercise discernment. G-d sees these people and records their names.
This indicates that God will never forget and will rightly judge the good
deeds of the righteous and the evil deeds of the wicked.
Shavua Tov & Hag Sameach Pesach (Happy
Passover)
Rabbi Z.
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