Orayta Parsha Study Group: Tzav - צו

(2) Command Aaron and his sons thus: This is the ritual of the burnt offering: The burnt offering itself shall remain where it is burned upon the altar all night until morning, while the fire on the altar is kept going on it.

(18) Speak to Aaron and his sons thus: This is the ritual of the sin offering: the sin offering shall be slaughtered before the LORD, at the spot where the burnt offering is slaughtered: it is most holy.

(1) The kohen who purges denotes the one who dashes the blood — i.e., the one who purges the sinner of his sin. Many commentators have translated this verb in the sense of “to wash”, or “to render ritually pure” (as in, “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be purified” [Psalms 51:9]).

(15) And the flesh of his thanksgiving sacrifice of well-being shall be eaten on the day that it is offered; none of it shall be set aside until morning.

(18) Then he brought forward the ram of burnt offering. Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the ram’s head,

ואת פר החטאת ואת שני האילים, the bull as a sin offering is mentioned first, in accordance with the statement of our sages that whenever both a sin offering and a burnt offering have to be brought the sin offering is brought first. (Pessachim 59) The reason is simple; how could the person offering the burnt offering expect it to be welcome in the eyes of G’d if he still required atonement for a sin in order to be in G’d’s good graces? David paraphrases this in Psalms 40,7 עולה וחטאת לא שאלת, “You do not ask for burnt offerings and sin offerings.” This bull became a “sin offering” after having been anointed, a procedure similar to the anointing of the High Priest for his office. However, in this instance the blood of this sin offering was not brought into the sanctuary, seeing that the sin of Aaron and his sons had not been of such a severity as would require this additional procedure. Severe errors by the High Priest are the ones listed in Leviticus 4,3 or 4,13 by the Supreme Court. Such errors require that the blood of their sin offerings be brought into the sanctuary itself. We explained all this at the appropriate place in chapter 16. The reason why the Torah first deals with the burnt-offering before dealing with the consecration offerings, is that there was an element of sin, i.e. need for forgiveness in connection with the burnt offering, as is evident from the Torah’s concluding remark ונרצה לו לכפר עליו, “and it shall become acceptable for him to atone for him.” (1,4). The reason why the Torah first deals with the burnt-offering before dealing with the consecration offerings, is that there was an element of sin, i.e. need for forgiveness in connection with the burnt offering, as is evident from the Torah’s concluding remark ונרצה לו לכפר עליו, “and it shall become acceptable for him to atone for him.” (1,4) whereas in all other שלמים offerings the priest receives the right thigh, in the case of the mandatory שלמים offering of the Nazir at the end of his term, the priest received both the right thigh and the foreleg, זרוע. As to the ram of the consecration offering שלמים, even the thigh is offered on the altar. When a non priest offers a שלמים, generally speaking, he will donate the thigh together with the lower leg, to the priest who enters inside the holy domain out of bounds to the owner of the sacrifice. The Nazir donates also the יד, i.e. the foreleg, symbolically handing the priest the work of his hands, which until the termination of the period of his vow as Nazir had all been dedicated to G’d. On the other hand, the rites of the consecration offerings required that the offering itself was a preparatory offering enabling the priest henceforth to enter the holy domains of the Temple. To symbolise this the thigh was presented on the altar.