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RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL• SERVICE • SALES • INSTALLATIONS & • MAW- YOUR INDEPENDENT DEALER FOR Michael Levey 3/24 2000 70 , BERKLEY 399-1800 LENNOX W. BLOOMFIELD 788-9073 Torah Portion 441141 -N. OAKLAND 682-9090 les Hard To Stop A 7hinc GROSSE POINTE 882-4870 Torah Elevates Those Who Give Of Themselves the instruction (Torah) of the eleva- don-offering (olah): it is the eleva- tion upon the fire on the altar all night until the morning." This ele- vation or burnt offering was pre- sented by the Jewish community every morning and afternoon that the tabernacle and then the Temples functioned. The elevation offering s Torah a ladder, or a shackle? symbolized God's continual atten- A force of personal liberation, tion to us and our unwavering dedi- or a system of restricting and cation to God. It might seem that regulating individual autono- this ritual imposed conformity upon my? the individual, restricting his free- There is no more funda- dom within an unchang- mental question for mod- ing structure of worship. ern Jews who cherish their Yet on further reflection, rights, yet also crave guid- this verse can be read as a ance in the world. guide to the liberating Of course, the truth is force of a system such as that this is a false dichoto- our Torah. The early cha- my. It was never really a sidic movement was question of either liberty or famous for finding hints of structure. Anarchy is the passion embedded every- result of unchecked indi- where in the Torah. RABBI DANIEL They interpreted our verse vidualism. Who wants to NEVINS live in a lawless society? in the following manner: Special to the Torah liberates the individ- What type of Torah is Jewish News ual by giving him or her a truly inspired? Zot Torat code of conduct and by HaOlah — This is the fashioning a society that cherishes Torah that elevates with passion and enforces justice. Liberation (fire) even through the night of from slavery has little significance human existence — exile and suffer- without the revelation of Torah. ing — sustaining us until the dawn of redemption. Thus Torah liberates us by creat- ing a safe space, a system of bound- In other words, only if we bring aries, that allow individuals and passion to our observance can the Torah truly soar. But if we do communities to flourish in justice and in peace. indeed invest our worship with the Yet Torah is even more than that; sacred fire within each of us, then it it is a gift of love. Before the Shema will never go out, not even upon we speak of God's great love in giv- century after century of exile and ing us rules and statutes to guide suffering. The Torah will burn con- our lives. Too many people see the tinually within us until the great mitzvot, or commandments, as a sti- dawn of redemption — truth and justice lights the entire world. fling blanket suppressing our auton- omy. It is only when we can experi- This interpretation may seem far ence the mitzvot as gifts of love that removed from the original context our spirit can soar on the wings of of sacrifices upon the altar. Yet it is Torah. very true to the deep purpose of the This classic insight has been con- Torah — it is to elevate the individ- nected beautifully to the opening ual and the nation through a sacred 1 ines of our Torah portion. The discipline of holy actions. Inspired t isle, Tzav, refers to a command- by our dedication, we can prevail ment or restriction, in this case, the through the darkness of suffering, • eremony of the elevation, or burnt both individual and collective. 0 ffering. This was a sacrifice that Today is also known as Shabbat Parah, when we read the special was wholly consumed on the altar, 1 eaving nothing to be eaten. It is a maftir [last aliya in the Torah read- ing] describing the ancient red ymbol of pure dedication, with no e xpectation .of return. heifer ceremony. Hundreds of gen- The second verse should be trans- erations have been puzzled at the 1 ated very literally. It reads, "This is deep meaning of this truly bizarre ritual. In the end, the best explana- Daniel Nevins is a rabbi at Adat tion is simply that God has instruct- Shalom Synagogue. - ed the rules of this ceremony. Shabbat Tzav: Leviticus 6:1--836• Numbers 19:1-22; Ezekiel 36:16-38.