>> Torah portion
Parshat Tzav: Leviticus 6:1-8:36;
Jeremiah 7:21-8:3; 9:22-9:23.
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n Yom Kippur, we recite
confessional prayers. These
prayers of confession are
noteworthy in that they are stated in
the first person plural.
The rabbis tell us that it is forbid-
den to humiliate or shame
another person; therefore,
we say these confessions in
the first person plural form
as this enables those who
have committed any of these
offenses to atone for their
wrongdoing, without anyone
else knowing what they did
wrong. In other words, we
give people the opportunity
to repent while still respect-
ing their privacy.
This week's Torah por-
tion, Tzav, may seem unimportant
to some as it contains an in-depth
description, continuing from last
week's parshah, of the sacrificial cult
which is no longer practiced. The
sacrifices described in this portion
may seem obsolete and not worthy
of study. However, we can always find
meaning in Torah, it just may be more
difficult to find the lessons in some
portions than in others.
This parshah teaches us the same
lesson as the confessional prayers on
Yom Kippur and, according to some
scholars, may actually be the basis of
our modern mode of confession on
Yom Kippur.
Commentators have noted that the
olah (burnt offering) and the chatat
(sin offering) are to be sacrificed on
the same altar. This is, like the confes-
sionals on Yom Kippur, so as not to
embarrass people.
The olah, according to some com-
mentators, is brought by people who
have sinful thoughts, and the chatat
is brought by those who have actually
committed a wrongdoing. Both are sac-
rificed in the same place so that no one
will know the difference between the
person who has sinned in thought and
the person who has sinned in deed.
Others interpret the olah differently,
as is noted in the Etz Hayim chumash
bring your yard Ilk'
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commentary:
"The olah is purely a gift to God,
with no specific benefit to the donor
anticipated, except the satisfaction of
having brought the offering to God.
Whether brought out of a sense of rev-
erence or out of a sense of
guilt, it expresses the idea
that everything we have
comes from God, given to
us only on loan.
"It is called olah (from
the root 'to go up, as in
aliyah) not only because
it goes up in smoke but
because it elevates the soul
of the person who performs
this act of generosity" [pp.
587-588]
Whichever way you
understand the purpose of the olah,
the lesson is the same: both the olah
and the chatat offerings are made in
the same place to allow the one who
has done wrong to seek forgiveness
without being singled out by others.
Our tradition, from biblical times to
the present, has always given us ways
to make amends and to express our
repentance, whether by sacrifices, by
word or by deed. Communal prayers,
as communal sacrifices in ancient
days, allow us to keep our dignity at
the same time we are asking for God's
forgiveness and blessing. ❑
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March 29 A 2012
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