parshat tzav answers

Tzav 5717
Alef.

1. Tehillim 50

ח  לֹא עַל-זְבָחֶיךָ, אוֹכִיחֶךָ; וְעוֹלֹתֶיךָ לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד.	8 I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices; and thy burnt-offerings are continually before Me.
ט  לֹא-אֶקַּח מִבֵּיתְךָ פָר;    מִמִּכְלְאֹתֶיךָ, עַתּוּדִים.	9 I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goats out of thy folds.
י  כִּי-לִי כָל-חַיְתוֹ-יָעַר; בְּהֵמוֹת, בְּהַרְרֵי-אָלֶף.	10 For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
יא  יָדַעְתִּי, כָּל-עוֹף הָרִים; וְזִיז שָׂדַי, עִמָּדִי.	11 I know all the fowls of the mountains; and the wild beasts of the field are Mine.
יב  אִם-אֶרְעַב, לֹא-אֹמַר לָךְ: כִּי-לִי תֵבֵל, וּמְלֹאָהּ.	12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee; for the world is Mine, and the fulness thereof.
יג  הַאוֹכַל, בְּשַׂר אַבִּירִים; וְדַם עַתּוּדִים אֶשְׁתֶּה.	13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
יד  זְבַח לֵאלֹקים תּוֹדָה; וְשַׁלֵּם לְעֶלְיוֹן נְדָרֶיךָ.	14 Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High;
טו  וּקְרָאֵנִי, בְּיוֹם צָרָה; אֲחַלֶּצְךָ, וּתְכַבְּדֵנִי.	15 And call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt honour Me.’

It seems to me that HaKetav VeHaKabbala’s interpretation of v. 15 is not in accordance with its simple meaning. Whereas the commentator attempted to line up the two elements in v. 15 with the corresponding two elements in v. 14, I believe that the contents of v. 15 appear to relate to a third context of if not offering sacrifices, then at least reaching out to God for assistance via prayer or some other medium. Consequently, the three proper intentions for reaching out to God are: (v. 14) a) thanksgiving/subservience; b) honoring commitments that have been made to donate offerings/materiel to the Temple or other holy purposes; (v. 15) c) an appeal for Divine Help when beset by troubles.

2. 

כ  הֵיטִיבָה בִרְצוֹנְךָ, אֶת-צִיּוֹן; תִּבְנֶה, חוֹמוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם.	20 Do good in Thy favour unto Zion; build Thou the walls of Jerusalem.
כא  אָז תַּחְפֹּץ זִבְחֵי-צֶדֶק, עוֹלָה וְכָלִיל; אָז יַעֲלוּ עַל-מִזְבַּחֲךָ פָרִים.	21 Then wilt Thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt-offering and whole offering; {N} then will they offer bullocks upon Thine altar. {P}

א. Sin offerings are not brought as the result of doing good. They are means for atonement should one have transgressed. Consequently, if we are discussing what will be justified following good deeds, it will be those sacrifices that are not associated with sin or repentance.

ב. Since a quality of the Shelamim offering is that portions are not only burnt and given to the Kohanim, but there is a portion that is returned to the individual bringing the sacrifice, there is more of a sense of reciprocity which is one connotation of the term “Tzedek.”

Beit.

1. The first time “תודה” is mentioned, it is referring to the human emotion that precipitated the desire to bring a sacrifice. The second time “תודה” is mentioned, it is referring to the sacrifice itself that is named “תודה”.

2. The first time “על” appears, it connotes “for, due to”. The second time “על” appears, it means “in addition to, along with”.

3.   It would appear that R. Hirsch is closer to the Peshat in light of how he translates the first “תודה”, i.e., a feeling of thanksgiving, as opposed to Mendelsohn’s rendition, i.e., a thanksgiving sacrifice.

Gimel.

1.  Since these four cases are only examples and not exclusively the situations where a Thanksgiving sacrifice is called for, if RaShI’s comment would have begun with “for a miracle that was done on his behalf”, it would suggest that the only proper context for such a sacrifice is where there is some sort of extreme experience in which one considers himself to have been saved from an overwhelming threat. By starting with “for a matter of thanksgiving”, which parallels RaShI’s comment on Tehillim 100:1, the point is made that even if someone feels thankful after something much less dramatic has happened to him, this could also be occasion for the presentation of such a sacrifice.

2.  RaShI: 1) those who go down to the sea; 2) those who travel in the desert; 3) those who were imprisoned within a prison; 4) those who have recovered from a serious illness.

      Tehillim 107: 1) those who were imprisoned within a prison; 2) those who have recovered from a serious illness;  3) those who go down to the sea; 4) those who travel in the desert.

Perhaps the order in Tehillim reflects the degree of personal responsibility for the situation, i.e., you choose to be a sailor or a member of a caravan. However, when someone else decides to imprison you—I suppose it depends upon whether you did something criminal or this is political or even the whim of the head of government—this is none of your doing. And as for sickness, once again there might be certain precautions that one can take, but still in all, sickness strikes without visible causes of irresponsible behavior.

The order in RaShI’s commentary possibly reflects the degree of threat, i.e., when someone goes to sea or travels in the desert, forces are brought to bear that sometimes are irresistible or impossible to prevent. So you are truly at the mercy of the situation. Thisis not the case with respect to someone who is imprisoned—while you might be deprived of choice, luxury or other amenities, there isn’t necessarily phenomenon that threaten your very existence. As for sickness, granted there are some illnesses that are fatal, but there are many from which one standardly recovers. While one is ill, even if the sickness has a good prognosis, one often feels terrible and wonders if there will ever be a solution. But such feelings do not necessarily stem from the objective situation in the long term, but rather from the subjective manner in which the patient regards what is presently happening to him.

3. The first three situations usually involve a number of people who are being subjected to the danger. While there are some people who sale “solo” most are part of a crew. Similarly, those manning a caravan are numerous and are in whatever situation arises “together”. Usually a prison is an institution where numerous inmates are held simultaneously. These three are in contrast to sickness, which could be part of an epidemic and therefore many people are suffering from the same disease simultaneously, but just as commonly, this is a single instance of infirmity which stands alone from other cases of the illness.