Commands, Celiacs and Conscription – Tzav
צַו אֶת אַהֲרֹן וְאֶת בָּנָיו לֵאמֹר זֹאת תּוֹרַת הָעֹלָה הִוא הָעֹלָה עַל מוֹקְדָה עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ כׇּל הַלַּיְלָה עַד הַבֹּקֶר וְאֵשׁ הַמִּזְבֵּחַ תּוּקַד בּוֹ. (ויקרא ו, ב)
נִסְתָּרוֹת דַּרְכֵי ה'. Every year I discover something new hidden in my bar mitzvah parsha that proves how everything is "bashert". It further strengthens my conviction that everyone is born with a specific bar/bat mitzvah parsha for a reason, nothing is random. I believe that a person's bar/bat mitzvah parsha is a kind of a "roadmap" for their life, which only becomes apparent in retrospect. In this shiur I would like to share with you an amazing principle from the parsha that miraculously brings many, seemingly disparate, concepts together as one, in preparation for Pesach.
The Tur/Shulchan Aruch (או"ח תכח, ד) gives us an insight into the workings of the Hebrew calendar, including when/how double parshiyot are determined. The Shulchan Aruch says that in a regular year, parshat Tzav always precedes Pesach (in a leap year either Metzorah or Acharei Mot precede Pesach). The Shulchan Aruch brings a "rhyme" of the Tur to help us remember which parsha precedes which festival –
פִּקְדוּ וּפִסְחוּ וְלַמְּעֻבֶּרֶת סִגְרוּ וּפִסְחוּ מָנוּ וְעִצְרוּ צוּמוּ וּצְלוּ קוּמוּ וְתִּקְעוּ.
פִּקְדוּ וּפִסְחוּ means the parsha of פְּקֻדָּה/צַו precedes פֶּסַח, and in a leap year סִגְרוּ וּפִסְחוּ the parsha of Metzorah (referring to סִגְרוּ, quarantining the metzorah) precedes Pesach.
מָנוּ וְעִצְרוּ means the parsha of "counting", בַּמִּדְבָּר always precedes Shavuot (עֲצֶרֶת).
צוּמוּ וּצְלוּ means that the parsha of צְלוּ, davening (וָאֶתְחַנַּן) always follows צוּמוּ, the fast of Tish'a Be'Av.
קוּמוּ וְתִּקְעוּ means that the parsha of קוּמוּ, "standing up" (נִצָּבִים) always precedes Rosh HaShana (תִּקְעוּ).
Therefore, the Tur and the Shulchan Aruch translate the word צַו as a פְּקֻדָּה, a command. HKB"H tells Moshe to command Aharon and his sons about the Olah. In truth, this translation of the Tur/Shulchan Aruch is derived from the Targum Onkelos/Yontatan פַּקֵּיד יָת אַהֲרֹן, who also say the word צַו means a command.
Rashi on the other hand, quoting the Sifra (סִפרא, צו, פרשתא א,א), says that the word צַו means זֵרוּז, speeding up, urging, spurring someone on. Why does Moshe need to "noodge" Aharon and his sons to perform the mitzva of bringing the korban Olah? The Sifra explains that the Olah is a korban that is completely burned on the mizbeach. There are no parts left for the Kohanim to eat. Unlike the other korbanot which are partially burned on the mizbeach and partially eaten by the Kohanim, the Olah involves חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס, "monetary" loss for the Kohanim and they therefore may end up performing it with less enthusiasm than the other korbanot from which they derive benefit. Therefore, they need extra זֵרוּז, spurring on.
R' Tzaddok Hakohen of Lublin has a principle that to understand a word, we need to examine the first time it is written in the Torah. Applying this principle, we will see why davka parshat Tzav has to precede Pesach, the two are umbilically connected.
The first time the word צַו appears in the Torah is וַיְצַו ה' אֱ-לֹקִים עַל הָאָדָם לֵאמֹר מִכֹּל עֵץ הַגָּן אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל (בראשית ב, טז). This is then followed by the next passuk וּמֵעֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע לֹא תֹאכַל מִמֶּנּוּ כִּי בְּיוֹם אֲכׇלְךָ מִמֶּנּוּ מוֹת תָּמוּת (שם, יז). HKB"H "commanded" or "spurred on" Adam HaRishon to eat from כֹּל עֵץ הַגָּן, and to refrain from eating from עֵץ הַדַּעַת טוֹב וָרָע.
If we follow the Sifra's explanation (and the Gemara's – קידושין כט, ע"א) that the lashon of צַו is a lashon of זֵרוּז, in a case of חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס, then why did HKB"H use this lashon with Adam HaRishon? Where is the חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס here?
We find a hint to the answer in the gematria of the word צַו (96). צַו is the gematria of לֶחֶם חַי and also לֶחֶם חֵטְא.
Sefer Meir Panim (פרק טו, עמ' קסב) delves into the meaning of the word כֹּל, which the Ramban (בראשית כד, א) says is one of the "foundation principles" upon which this world was created. Meir Panim brings proofs that when HKB"H commanded Adam HaRishon מִכֹּל עֵץ הַגָּן אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל, He was in fact commanding him to eat from the עֵץ הַחַיִּים, whose food is לֶחֶם חַי and to not eat from the עֵץ הַדַּעַת, whose food is לֶחֶם חֵטְא.
What is the difference between the fruit/food of the עֵץ הַחַיִּים and that of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת?
The fruit of the עֵץ הַחַיִּים is spiritual food, לֶחֶם אַבִּירִים, another name for the Mann that Bnei Yisrael ate in the Midbar. Mann is זִיו שְׁכִינָה שֶׁהִתְגַּשֵּׁם, "solidified rays of Shechina" - the closest possible "physical manifestation" that something totally spiritual like the Shechina can assume.
The Gemara (יומא עה, ע"א) describes how the Mann "manifested" for different spiritual levels of people in Am Yisrael. For Tzaddikim, the Mann appeared directly at the entrance of their tents, ready to eat, in the form of לֶחֶם, a spiritual kind of bread - לֶחֶם אַבִּירִים. For a lower spiritual category of people, בֵּינוֹנִים, they had to go out of the camp to gather the Mann, which appeared for them in the form of ready-mixed dough, shaped in the form of עוּגוֹת, matzot – which they still had to bake before they could eat it (according to Rashi, ibid.). For the רְשָׁעִים, the lowest spiritual level in Am Yisrael, not only did they have to go out of the camp to gather the Man, they had wander around and scavenge for scraps until they had collected their full omer daily measure. They then had to work really hard to grind the Mann, or pound it in a mortar and pestle, then mix it into dough and finally bake it in order to eat.
This explanation in Yoma seems to contradict the translation of the word צַו above in the Sifra, who says that וַיְצַו involves חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס. HKB"H had to command Adam and spur him on to eat from the עֵץ הַחַיִּים, because by eating from the עֵץ הַחַיִּים, the Mann, it involved חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס? It seems exactly the opposite! The Tzaddikim saved time and money – they got the bread ready to eat at their doorsteps. The others had to spend time and money in preparing the food. By giving Adam HaRishon לֶחֶם אַבִּירִים, HKB"H was saving him from חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס! So why the need for זֵרוּז?
The answer can be found in the gematria of the word כִּיס which is also the gematria of - חֵלֶב וְדָם. The Gemara explains what Adam HaRishon ate in Gan Eden - ר' יְהוּדָה בֶּן תֵּימָא אוֹמֵר אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן מֵסֵב בְּגַן עֵדֶן הָיָה וְהָיוּ מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת צוֹלִין לוֹ בָּשָׂר (סנהדרין נט, ע"ב) - the angels were BBQ'ing meat for him on the spit. Where did this meat come from? The Gemara says it was meat that came down from Heaven, ready kashered – the blood removed and the forbidden fat removed - חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס, i.e חֶסְרוֹן חֵלֶב וְדָם! Melicha and Hadacha had already be done, the meat had been treibered - it was גּלָאט חָלָק before it descended from Heaven. Adam didn't have to lift a finger, the angels BBQ'd the meat and waited on him. The Eitz Yosef (עץ יוסף על בראשית רבה, טו) says that in addition to meat from Heaven, the earth gave forth ready to eat bread and pastries! Adam HaRishon enjoyed a free lunch, 24/7.
HKB"H gave Adam HaRishon the עֵץ הַחַיִּים, the Torah to "eat" from. The Mishna tells us כָּל הַמְּקַבֵּל עָלָיו עֹל תּוֹרָה מַעֲבִירִין מִמֶּנּוּ עֹל מַלְכוּת וְעֹל דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ (אבות ג, ה). As long as Adam HaRishon was focusing entirely on the עֵץ הַחַיִּים, all his needs were taken care of.
This idyllic reality requires וַיְצַו, a lashon of זֵרוּז? It seems that anyone would gladly and willingly jump at such a prospect, we wouldn't need much noodging and זֵרוּז at all! In reality though, we see that the וַיְצַו and the זֵרוּז were necessary, because the end result is that Adam HaRishon failed.
Meir Panim gives a lengthy description of how Chava, despite the fact that she had free, 24/7 "room service" (although the Gemara in Sanhedrin above describes angels preparing food for Adam, it applied equally to Chava – אִשְׁתּוֹ כְּגוּפוֹ), was duped by the נָחָשׁ into preparing her own food from the fruit of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת and fed this self-prepared food to Adam HaRishon. The passuk says וַיֹּאמֶר הָאָדָם הָאִשָּׁה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתָּה עִמָּדִי הִוא נָתְנָה לִּי מִן הָעֵץ וָאֹכֵל (בראשית ג, יב), it does not say נָתְנָה לִּי מִפְּרִי הָעֵץ וָאֹכֵל. Chava did not give Adam the fruit directly from the tree to eat, she changed its form (from the חֲמֵשֶׁת מִינֵי דָּגָן into bread). She did exactly what the Gemara above describes the רְשָׁעִים doing with the Mann, grinding it into flour, kneading it into dough and baking it. Adam ate this without asking what it was, where it came from, what hechsher it had. Not only that, he lacked gratitude and had the audacity to pass the buck – "It wasn't me, it was the woman's fault". The Yalkut Shimoni (בראשית ג, יב) says that if Adam had not complained against Chava, they would not have been evicted from Gan Eden.
Why would they do such a thing? Adam and Chava were living a utopian existence, lacking for nothing. Despite this they felt that they were lacking something. חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס in gematria isכְּחֶסְרוֹן אָדָם וְחַוָּה and also בַּעַל וְאִשָּׁה. Similarly, Am Yisrael in the Midbar eating the Mann, were lacking nothing. Despite this they felt that they were lacking something. חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס in gematria is חֶסְרוֹן מָן.
The truth is that Adam and Chava, and the generation of the Midbar who complained against the Mann were all lacking something, they were lacking gratitude. The gematria of חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס is בְּשִׂמְחָה וּבְטוּב לֵבָב, as in the passuk תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר לֹא עָבַדְתָּ אֶת ה' אֱ-לֹקֶיךָ בְּשִׂמְחָה וּבְטוּב לֵבָב מֵרֹב כֹּל (דברים כח, מז).
The Torah is teaching us that - gratitude requires זֵרוּז.
You may think that the natural reaction of a person having Divine bounty heaped on them is one of gratitude. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Simply examine Jewish history and you will see throughout, it was specifically periods of prosperity that led to the greatest disasters. When someone experiences prosperity, they run the risk of developing the syndromes of כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי עָשָׂה לִי אֶת הַחַיִל הַזֶּה (דברים ח, יז) and וַיִּשְׁמַן יְשֻׁרוּן וַיִּבְעָט (דברים לב, טו).
This is the lesson of parshat Tzav. צַו means זֵרוּז and what is a central feature in parshat Tzav? The Korban Toda! Gratitude!
It was because of the lack of gratitude at the beginning of time in Gan Eden that we have Pesach at all. Meir Panim describes in detail how Pesach and what we eat on Pesach (more specifically, what we don't eat) comes to atone for the first צַו malfunction. חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס in gematria is חָמֵץ חָמֵץ חָמֵץ, corresponding to the three ways the Torah describes chametz - חָמֵץ, שְׂאוֹר, מַחְמֶצֶת. One of the most powerful weapons in the arsenal of the yetzer hara, which Chazal compare to חָמֵץ, is instilling within us a feeling that we are lacking something.
On Pesach we eat bread without chametz, without yetzer hara, to atone for the chametz bread the נָחָשׁ duped Chava into baking in Gan Eden, from the fruit of the עֵץ הַדַּעַת, which were חֲמֵשֶׁת מִינֵי דָּגָן – wheat, barley, spelt, rye and oats (מאיר פנים פרק טו, עמ' קסא). This is why you cannot make matzot mitzva from any other grain besides these five. A central characteristic that defines matzah is זֵרוּז, צַו. The entire process involves "speeding up" and constant activity.
This is why parshat צַו has to precede Pesach, they are a package deal. It was all about the original צַו failure and the remedy for that. The gematria of צַו is חֶלְבּוֹן – protein. The only grains we may bake matzot mitzva with are חֲמֵשֶׁת מִינֵי דָּגָן and these are the only grains in nature that have gluten proteins (wheat/spelt – glutenin, barley – hordein, rye – secalin, oats – avenin).
A small percentage of the population have an "allergy" to the gluten proteins found in חֲמֵשֶׁת מִינֵי דָּגָן. The name for this genetic condition is Celiac. According to statistics published by the Celiac organizations, the largest ethnic group per capita to suffer from Celiac are - Jews. This is not incidental, it is planned. While many consider Celiacs unfortunate and handicapped, I believe the opposite is true. Celiacs are more spiritually elevated individuals than the rest of us. HKB"H programmed them with a genetic aversion to the sin of Adam and Chava. Think about it, someone with Celiac never eats chametz! It is almost like a kind of Nezirut, but from chametz instead of wine and we know that Nezirim are more spiritually elevated. Yes, it makes everyday life more difficult for Celiacs (especially finding gluten-free matzot for Pesach) but that is because the rest of the world is designed for a lower-level spiritual existence, less attuned to the absolute, Divine אֱמֶת.
Pesach is all about gratitude. Pesach is the only chag we are collectively obligated to bring a Korban Toda. Am Yisrael following the Exodus matched all four categories of people listed in the Gemara (ברכות נד, ע"ב) who are obligated to bring a Korban Toda. We were יוֹרְדֵי יָם when we crossed over the Red Sea. We were הוֹלְכֵי מִדְבָּרוֹת when we travelled in the desert for forty years. We were חוֹלֶה וְנִתְרַפֵּא when we reached Har Sinai after HKB"H gave us the Mann and the water from the Well of Miriam to cure all our ailments and handicaps incurred during our עֲבוֹדַת פָּרֶךְ in Egypt. We were חָבוּשׁ בְּבֵית הָאֲסוּרִים וְיָצָא, set free from slavery after 210 years.
Every Pesach we bring a Korban Toda. We drink four cups of wine, corresponding to the four categories of people who have to bring the Toda. We bring all four breads of the Korban Toda, the three matzot loaves during the Pesach Seder and the chametz loaves (Shtei HaLechem) on Shavuot (which is in fact the Atzeret of Pesach, like Shmini Atzeret after Sukkot - see shiur on Vayikra 2026). This is the answer to the first question the young son asks in מָה נִשְׁתַּנָּה. He is asking - שֶׁבְּכָל הַלֵּילוֹת, during the rest of the year, we bring the Korban Toda with a combination of חָמֵץ וּמַצָּה, i.e. three types of מַצָּה together with a חָמֵץ bread. The young son, looks round the table and all he can see are the three matzot! So, he asks – הַלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה כֻּלּוֹ מַצָּה, where is the chametz bread of the Toda? This is not the question of a toddler, but of a talmid chacham. If the father is also a talmid chacham, his answer will be – "Wait for Shavuot, Atzeret and then you will see the chametz loaves".
The central theme of the Pesach Seder is gratitude and giving thanks.
לְפִיכָךְ אֲנַחְנוּ חַיָּבִין לְהוֹדוֹת, לְהַלֵּל, לְשַׁבֵּחַ, לְפָאֵר, לְרוֹמֵם, לְהַדֵּר, לְבָרֵךְ, לְעַלֵּה, וּלְקַלֵּס, לְמִי שֶׁעָשָׂה לַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ וְלָנוּ אֶת כָּל הַנִּסִּים הָאֵלּוּ, הוֹצִיאָנוּ מֵעַבְדוּת לְחֵרוּת, מִיָּגוֹן לְשִׂמְחָה, וּמֵאֵבֶל לְיוֹם טוֹב, וּמֵאֲפֵלָה לְאוֹר גָּדוֹל, וּמִשִּׁעְבּוּד לִגְאֻלָּה. וְנֹאמַר לְפָנָיו הַלְלוּיָ-הּ.
It is all about reversing the sin of ingratitude with the first צַו in history, וַיְצַו in Gan Eden.
Ask an American to repeat the Declaration of Independence, signed just under 300 years ago, and most (if they are upstanding citizens and not illegal immigrants) can – they start having it drummed into their heads from kindergarten. However, ask them what the "founding fathers" ate for dinner the night before the Declaration of Independence was signed, and even seasoned history professors, with a string of PhD's after their names will not be able to tell you.
Ask any Jewish four-year-old kindergarten kid in Israel what our "founding fathers" ate for dinner the night before we left Egypt in the Exodus, over 3,300 years ago and they will give you the full menu.
The difference is that the Declaration of Independence for Americans was a one-time event in history and the US education system wants their citizens to know their history (Israel could learn a few things from the Americans in this regard). However, Pesach for us is not some "one-time" event that happened thousands of years ago. It is a recurring event, each year anew. בְּכָל דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת עַצְמוֹ כְאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִם. Gratitude is not some distant event, far back in our history, it is a living, breathing mindset that accompanies us every day of our lives today, 24/7 (or at least it should).
Many mistakenly think that gratitude only accompanies periods of prosperity and tranquility, but the opposite is true. More often than not in our history, even very recent history, we have forgotten to sufficiently show gratitude davka during our periods of prosperity. We have fallen into that same חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס trap that Adam HaRishon experienced in Gan Eden. Instead of expressing our gratitude, we have declined into the same כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי and וַיִּשְׁמַן יְשֻׁרוּן וַיִּבְעָט syndromes that have plagued our ancestors.
Showing gratitude requires זֵרוּז, a noodge, a צַו. Even now, in the midst of a global event of a biblical scale unprecedented since the Exodus, as we experience visible, overt, supernatural miracles on an almost hourly basis, many are still finding it hard to express gratitude. Some media channels, instead of focusing on the gratitude, are focusing on the חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס, that which is lacking and not on the incredible Divine providence.
This is the purpose of parshat Tzav, which precedes Pesach – to give us a noodge and a זֵרוּז, to shake us out of our slumber (many of us are sleep deprived from being awoken multiple times during the night with sirens). This is not the slumber I am referring to - it is the misguided perceptual "slumber" that we are living our lives, our very existence with חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס. The opposite is true.
We have such a long list of things to be grateful for that to run through them all would preclude us doing anything else.
We currently have a huge chunk of our population on צַו 8, conscripted to defend our country on multiple fronts. Yes, we are "all conscripted" in reality, running to and from the bomb shelters and (hopefully) abiding by the home front regulations. However, our reality of running downstairs to the mamad every few hours does not come close to the harsh reality of those physically conscripted down in Gaza, up in Lebanon and flying over the skies over Teheran. We owe our conscripted heroes a debt of gratitude. The gematria ofצַו 8 (104) is בְּגוּף אֶחָד. These heroes have unquestioningly dropped everything, their families, their businesses, to put their lives on the line and are serving as a model to the rest of Am Yisrael here and abroad, what it truly means to be כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בְּלֵב אֶחָד. We here in the home front, and Jews all over the world owe them our lives.
We are days away from Pesach, the festival of gratitude. Let us shake ourselves out of our ד' אַמּוֹת and try to see the bigger picture. Let us use these days before Pesach to do more than just clean our fridges and stoves, but to clean our consciousness from all the feelings of חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס and to focus on celebrating Pesach this year with a profound sense of gratitude.
As we eat our matzot made from חֲמֵשֶׁת מִינֵי דָּגָן, to atone for the sin of Adam HaRishon, let us remember that the gematria of חֲמֵשֶׁת מִינֵי דָּגָן is מִלְחֶמֶת אֱדוֹם וּפָּרַס and that just like during the Exodus Moshe told us ה' יִלָּחֵם לָכֶם וְאַתֶּם תַּחֲרִשׁוּן, we are seeing this unfold right now in front of our eyes.
Let us replace our feelings of חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס with deep feelings of gratitude and thereby merit the ultimate remedy for חֶסְרוֹן כִּיס, the gematria of which is גְּאֻלָּה שְׁלֵמָה.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Kasher ve'Sameach
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
www.machonlechemhapanim.org
