APRIL 2 • 2020 | 39

Spirit
torah portion

C

an archaic, seemingly
mundane verses regard-
ing cleaning the Temple
be relevant to us today? Yes, and
they teach us a most profound
lesson for these trying times.
This week’
s portion
begins with the first
service performed each
morning in the Temple:
the removal of the ashes
from the altar.
Every evening, the
remains of the previous
day’
s offerings were put
on the altar to be con-
sumed by the fire. In the
morning, one shovel full
of the resulting ashes was
removed and placed in
a pile next to the altar;
when the pile got too
big, the Kohen would take the
excess ashes outside the Temple
grounds.
Since the sacred garments of
the Kohen would almost defi-
nitely get dirty while carrying
the ashes, he would change
beforehand into older, more
worn priestly garments.
What’
s fascinating about this
procedure is that one would
expect the Kohen to change into
shmatas, old rags, to do the dirty
work of taking out the ashes. Yet
he would do it while wearing his
holy garments, albeit older ones.
Why?
The Kohen is teaching us a
fundamental principle about
Divine service and about life.
When one thinks about
t“Divine service,
” what typically
comes to mind is a pristine, holy
picture, far removed from the
mundane world.
Judaism teaches us the oppo-
site. Divine service is not limited
to a specific type of act; rather,
it is defined by doing the job

that God has reserved for us,
whatever it may be. The Kohen,
even when getting dirty while
carrying ashes from the Temple,
is doing a holy act of Divine ser-
vice, which demands the wear-
ing of his holy garments.
We are living in unusual
times. Nearly the entire
globe is on lockdown.
Most of us are cooped up
at home, feeling anxious,
frustrated and isolated. “I
don’
t have time for this!
I don’
t have the patience
and energy to deal with
my spouse and kids all
day! I don’
t enjoy being
by myself!” are common
thoughts right now.
But this is the situation
God has put us all in, and
this is clearly what He wants
from us right now. That makes
the time we are cooped up in
our homes holy. This paradigm
shift in perspective takes us
from a place of deep frustration
to one of calm.
We aren’
t meant to be some-
where else doing other things.
We are meant to be at home,
spending rare stress-free time
with our loved ones and our-
selves. It’
s an opportunity that
we simply never have. It’
s a
chance to focus and invest in
ourselves, our marriages and our
children.
The portion is teaching us
that if we do what we are called
to do at this time, if we do our
best to create a positive and lov-
ing home energy during these
unusual times, then it is truly
a holy act, one that we and our
family will fondly remember,
forever.

Rabbi Noam Gross works as an educator
for the Young Professional Division of
Partners Detroit.

A Change Of Focus

Rabbi Noam
Gross

Parshat Tzav:

Leviticus

6:1-8:36;

Malachi 3:4-

24. (Shabbat

HaGadol)
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