Tzav

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Tzav, Tsav, Zav, or Sav (צו – Hebrew for "command,” the sixth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 25th weekly parshah or portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the second in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes Leviticus 6.1–8:36. Jews in the Diaspora read it the 24th or 25th Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in March or early April.

1 Summary
2 Commandments
3 Haftarah
4 Further reading
5 External links

[edit] Summary

God told Moses to command Aaron and the priests about the rituals of the sacrifices (korbanot in Hebrew). (Lev. 6:1.)

The burnt offering ('olah) was to burn on the altar until morning, when the priest was to clear the ashes to a place outside the camp. (Lev. 6:2–4.) The priests were to keep the fire burning, every morning feeding it wood. (Lev. 6:5–6.)

The meal offering (mincha) was to be presented before the altar, a handful of it burned on the altar, and the balance eaten by the priests as unleavened cakes in the Tent of Meeting. (Lev. 6:7–11.) On the occasion of the High Priest’s anointment, the meal offering was to be prepared with oil on a griddle and then entirely burned on the altar. (Lev. 6:12–16.)

The sin offering (chattat) was to be slaughtered at the same place as the burnt offering, and the priest who offered it was to eat it in the Tent of Meeting. (Lev. 6:17–22.) If blood of the sin offering was brought into the Tent of Meeting for expiation, the entire offering was to be burned on the altar. (Lev. 6:23.)

The guilt offering (asham) was to be slaughtered at the same place as the burnt offering, the priest was to dash its blood on the altar, burn its fat, broad tail, kidneys, and protuberance on the liver on the altar, and the priest who offered it was to eat the balance of its meat in the Tent of Meeting. (Lev. 7:1–7.)

The priest who offered a burnt offering kept the skin. (Lev. 7:8.) The priest who offered it was to eat any baked or grilled meal offering, but every other meal offering was to be shared among all the priests. (Lev. 7:9–10.)

The peace offering (shelamim), if offered for thanksgiving, was to be offered with unleavened cakes or wafers with oil, which would go to the priest who dashed the blood of the peace offering. (Lev. 7:11–14.) All the meat of the peace offering had to be eaten on the day that it was offered. (Lev. 7:15.) If offered as a votive or a freewill offering, it could be eaten for two days, and what was then left on the third day was to be burned. (Lev. 7:16–18.)

Meat that touched anything unclean could not be eaten; it had to be burned. (Lev. 7:19.) And only a person who was clean could eat meat from peace offerings, at pain of exile. (Lev. 7:20–21.) One could eat no fat or blood, at pain of exile. (Lev. 7:22–27.)

The person offering the peace offering had to present the offering and its fat himself, the priest would burn the fat on the altar, the breast would go to the priests, and the right thigh would go to the priest who offered the sacrifice. (Lev. 7:28–34.)

God instructed Moses to assemble the whole community at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for the priests’ ordination. (Lev. 8:1–5.) Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward, washed them, and dressed Aaron in his vestments. (Lev. 8:6–9.) Moses anointed and consecrated the Tabernacle and all that was in it, and then anointed and consecrated Aaron and his sons. (Lev. 8:10–13.)

Moses led forward a bull for a sin offering, Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the bull’s head, and it was slaughtered. (Lev. 8:14–15.) Moses put the bull’s blood on the horns and the base of the altar, burned the fat, the protuberance of the liver, and the kidneys on the altar, and burned the rest of the bull outside the camp. (Lev. 8:15–17.)

Moses then brought forward a ram for a burnt offering, Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head, and it was slaughtered. (Lev. 8:18–19.) Moses dashed the blood against the altar and burned all of the ram on the altar. (Lev. 8:19–21.)

Moses then brought forward a second ram for ordination, Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the ram’s head, and it was slaughtered. (Lev. 8:22–23.) Moses put some of its blood on Aaron and his sons, on the ridges of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet. (Lev. 8:23–24.) Moses then burned the animal's fat, broad tail, protuberance of the liver, kidneys, and right thigh on the altar with a cake of unleavened bread, a cake of oil bread, and a wafer as an ordination offering. (Lev. 8:25–28.) Moses raised the breast before God and then took it as his portion. (Lev. 8:29.) Moses sprinkled oil and blood on Aaron and his sons and their vestments. (Lev. 8:30.) And Moses told Aaron and his sons to boil the meat at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and eat it there, and remain at the Tent of Meeting for seven days to complete their ordination, and they did all the things that God had commanded through Moses. (Lev. 8:31–36.)

[edit] Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are 9 positive and 9 negative commandments in the parshah:

To remove the ashes from the altar every day Lev. 6:3
To light a fire on the altar every day Lev. 6:6
Not to extinguish this fire Lev. 6:6
The priests must eat the remains of the meal offerings Lev. 6:9
Not to bake a meal offering as leavened bread Lev. 6:10
The High Priest must bring a meal offering every day Lev. 6:13
Not to eat the meal offering of the High Priest Lev. 6:16
To carry out the procedure of the sin offering Lev. 6:18
Not to eat the meat of the inner sin offering Lev. 6:23
To carry out the procedure of the guilt offering Lev. 7:1
To follow the procedure of the peace offering Lev. 7:11
Not to allow any of the thanksgiving offering to remain until the morning Lev. 7:15
To burn the leftover korbanot Lev. 7:17
Not to eat from korbanot offered with improper intentions Lev. 7:18
Not to eat from korbanot which became impure Lev. 7:19
To burn all impure korbanot Lev. 7:19
Not to eat fat Lev. 7:23
Not to eat blood Lev. 7:26

[edit] Haftarah

The haftarah for the parshah is Jeremiah 7:21–8:3 & 9:22–23.

When the parshah coincides with Shabbat HaGadol (as it does in 2006, 2007, and 2009), the haftarah is Malachi 3:4–24.

[edit] Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these classical sources:

Mishnah: Challah 1:6; Orlah 2:16–17; Bikkurim 2:7–10; Shekalim 1:4, 7:6; Bava Kamma 9:7; Shevuot 5:3; Zevachim 4:3, 8:11, 9:1, 10:2, 11:1, 11:4, 12:1; Menachot 2:3, 5:1, 5:3, 6:1–2, 6:5, 7:1–6; Chullin 7:1, 10:1; Keritot 1:1.
Sifra 70:1–98:9.
Leviticus Rabbah 7:1–10:9.
Zohar 3:27a–35b.