Aharon and his sons

(Leviticus 6:2)

Nisan 11, 5777/April 7, 2017

This week's Torah reading, Tzav, deals in its entirety, with detailed instructions for performing the Temple offerings. "And HaShem spoke to Moshe, saying, command (tzav) Aharon and his sons, saying, this is the law of the burnt offering... " (Leviticus 6:1-2) All the manifold commandments conveyed in parashat Tzav concerning the offerings are directed toward Aharon and his sons, the kohanim (Temple priests). The entire parasha of dos and don'ts ostensibly don't concern all of us who are not the sons of Aharon. Nevertheless, Torah insists on sharing with us all these technical details, and for thousands of years, even after the destruction of the Holy Temple, we study and internalize these commandments, just as we study and internalize all the commandments and teachings which Torah encompasses and reveals to us anew each time we approach it.

But there is a particularly important message embodied in Tzav's focus on the work of Aharon and his sons. Aharon and his sons are our brothers, and we cannot express our love for G-d and draw nearer to him via the bringing of the korbanot (offerings) without the skilled and dedicated assistance of our brothers. Offerings brought by individuals are a direct and personal appeal to G-d, yet they cannot be performed without the attendance of a kohen. In other words, for G-d, even the personal requires us to include our brethren.

From the very beginning G-d declared that "It is not good that man is alone." (Genesis 2:18) Of course, G-d created woman to remedy this situation, but the result of the union between man and woman, (Adam and Eve), was the first set of brothers to share G-d's creation and to turn their hearts to their Creator. The result of their separate offerings to G-d was jealousy and shame, anger and death. The book of Genesis faithfully records the bitterness and rancor which would plague brotherly relationships throughout every generation. And the source of the rivalry could always be traced to a competition for G-d's attention, for His blessing, for His favor and for His appointment. That competition officially ends here and now in parashat Tzav.

It was clear from the moment when Aharon came to meet Moshe in Midian, and G-d told Moshe, "behold, he is coming forth toward you, and when he sees you, he will rejoice in his heart," (Exodus 4:14) that envy and animosity was not a necessary or even natural aspect of brotherhood, but, on the contrary, love and mutual respect are the proper description of brotherhood as G-d intended it.

One of the integral features of the work of the kohanim described in Tzav is the garments that they must don before performing any other aspect of the offerings. We recall that all of Israel was instructed by G-d to make these special garments for the kohanim, garments "for honor and glory." (Exodus 27:2) So it is the people of Israel that appoint and empower their brothers, the children of Aharon, to stand beside them and enable them to bring the prescribed korbanot, whose intention is to bring Israel closer to G-d. The entire spiritual dynamic of the offerings is foundationed in the realization of true brotherly love and unity with each and every offering made. Is this the secret of the "re'ach nichoach - the pleasing fragrance" of the offerings before G-d?

When we take into account that the tribe of Levi had no material inheritance in the land of Israel and that their inheritance was to serve in the Holy Temple, and that the offerings brought by their brothers to the Holy Temple, whether they were meal offerings or animal offerings, provided physical sustenance to the kohanim, then the bond and responsibility of brotherly love becomes even more pronounced. The ability for all the children of Israel to receive both G-d's spiritual and material blessings is based on and contingent upon brothers acting in love and unison for a mutually enhanced life together, to the delight of and with the blessing of their Creator.

Nowhere is the power and beauty of brotherhood more pronounced throughout the year than during the time of the Korban Pesach, the Passover offering. All of Israel is commanded to form temporary fellowships whose members will share in the bringing of and eating of the Passover offering. These fellowships are inclusive of all Israel in its entirety. Not a soul is left out. And, of course, the Passover offering cannot be brought without the assistance of our brothers, the kohanim. The Passover offering is the embodiment of everything that makes Israel a nation: Fraternity and equality before G-d, which leads, in turn, to true liberation. The power of brotherly love - the apple of G-d's eye!

-The Temple Institute