Tzav

Continuing the theme of Vayikra, the Rebbe traces further parallels between the Sanctuary that was built by the Israelites in the wilderness, and the Sanctuary which every Jew has within himself. This Sidra mentions the continual fire that was to be kept ...

This week’s Torah reading describes in detail the preparatory service for the dedication of the Sanctuary. The Sanctuary was a very significant place; it was G-d’s dwelling. Now anything significant, how much more so a dwelling for G-d, does not happen by...

Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. VII, p. 30ff; Vol. VIII, p. 232ff; Vol. XXXII, p. 1ff To Leap a Chasm From the earliest ages, men have been aware of a reality beyond the material a reality which transcends man’s senses and intellect. And yet, that very...

When Can Our Sages Enforce Restrictions? On the verse:Vayikra 6:2. “This is the law of the burnt offering… [It shall remain on] the altar’s hearth throughout the night,” Rashi comments: “This comes to teach that burning the fats and limbs of the sacrifice...

Introduction In one of the midrashim to which Chassidus refers very frequently, our Sages Shmos Rabbah 12:3. describe the new development brought about by the Giving of the Torah: To what can this matter be likened? To a king who decreed, “The inhabitants...

Introduction When explaining the phrase, Tehillim 16:8. שִׁוִיתִי ה' לְנֶגְדִי תָמִיד, “I placed G‑d before me at all times,” the Baal Shem Tov See Tz’vaos HaRivosh, Hosafos, p. 110. focused on the word שִׁוִיתִי, noting that it shares the same root as th...

Introduction The Baal Shem Tov once taught his disciples that everything they see or hear should serve as a lesson in serving G‑d. On their way home after hearing this teaching, they saw a non-Jew carving a cross out of the ice on the river. They were ast...

The second section of the Book of Leviticus is the continuation and completion of the preceding section, and opens as G-d tells Moses to command (Tzav, in Hebrew) Aaron and his sons to follow the procedures for offering up sacrifices. The second half of t...

Rashi, in discussing the Torah portion of Tzav, quotes the words:Vayikra 6:6. “A constant fire shall burn upon the altar; it shall not be extinguished,” and explains that “the fire about which the verse states ‘constant’ (i.e., the fire upon the outer alt...

The opening words of the Torah portion Shemini — “It was on the eighth day…”Vayikra 9:1 — are related to the first seven days of dedication, when the Mizbeach, the Altar was inaugurated. The Klei Yakar asks:Beginning of Torah portion Shemini. Why does the...