Command:Tzav
Leviticus 6:1 to 8:36
Haftarah: Jeremiah 7:21 to 28 and 9:22, 23; Psalm 22 22
Apostolic Writings/Newer Testament/B’rit HaChadashah:Philippians 2:5 to 11
This week’s Parsha has more “commands” from The Almighty; one reason for many people thinking that the Bible, and therefore Bible-based religion, is about rules is that there are indeed 613 regulations in the Torah, plus a further 7 Rabbinic rules; namely:
To recite a blessing for each enjoyment
To ritually wash the hands before eating
To prepare lights in advance of Shabbat
To construct an Eruv (a boundary, making an area one’s “home”) to permit carrying to and within public areas on Shabbat
To recite the Hallel psalms on holy days days
To light the Chanukah lights
To read the Scroll of Esther on Purim
The numerical value (Gematria) of “Torah” is 611; the first 2 of the Big Ten (as the late Rob Lacey called them in his dramatised Synoptic Gospels called ‘The Liberator’) added to 611 makes 613. The 613 plus these 7 makes a total of 620, which is the number of characters or letters in the Sh’ma. The number and scope of these may seem daunting until we realise that The Almighty is concerned for every aspect of our lives.
This week we read that it is the obligation of the Kohanim (Priests) to keep the Ner Tamid (Eternal Fire) burning. The Almighty Himself started the flame, and it is up to us to keep it alight. Why us? Because we are a Kingdom of Priests.
As we prepare for Pesach there is a great opportunity for each of us to clear out the “old leaven” from our lives, and ensure the clarity of that flame. It could be said that preparing our cupboards for Pesach is also daunting; it does, after all, mean the removal and / or sale of all chometz / chametz. Chometz literally means “bitterness”; it is the term applied to yeast and, by extension, to all raising agents. Jewish cupboards at this time are free of bread, cakes, flour, pulses, marmite, beer, whisky and so on. Daunting? Maybe it is, but it is also a very liberating exercise. For one thing, we see how much we have hoarded over the previous 11 months, and gives us the chance to rid ourselves of that which we have hoarded.
Our Haftarah this week has the almost contradictory statement from The Almighty, saying that He would rather have obedience than sacrifice. It is not that He doesn’t require sacrifice, but that obedience is the actual heart of the matter. After all, the people had said, “We will do and we will hear”, not “we will hear and we will do” at Exodus chapter 24. So, in times like ours, when there is no Temple in which to sacrifice, it is still possible and necessary for us to be obedient.
The Newer Testament passage for the BCP Lectionary this week is often called the “Christological Hymn”. It has been beautifully put to music by Dave Clifton. I cannot fully understand how The Almighty took on human flesh, how Yeshua always was, yet chose to become somehow limited. I don’t understand how He emptied Himself, yet remained Divine. Though I don’t understand these things, they are true.
Yeshua, Himself Divine and “part” of what Maimonides (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, otherwise called the RaMBaM) termed the “multiplicity in godhead” took on human-ness. He lived, suffered and died as one of us in order to redeem us, to rescue us.
This is why, at Pesach, we recall that the Jewish people were rescued by The Almighty Himself at just the right time. Similarly we recall that “just at the right time, when we were still powerless, the Messiah died for the ungodly”! [Romans chapter 5 verse 6]
If you are attending a Passover Seder, enjoy! If you are not yet booked to attend one, have a look at the CMJ web site, on the “events” listings; there may be one near you.
Shabbat Shalom, and Chag Pesach Sameach!