Tzav (parsha)

Tzav, Tsav, Zav, Sav, or Ṣaw ( — Hebrew for "command," the sixth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 25th weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the second in the Book of Leviticus. The parashah teaches how the priests performed the sacrifices and describes the ordination of Aaron and his sons. The parashah constitutes . The parashah is made up of 5,096 Hebrew letters, 1,353 Hebrew words, 97 verses, and 170 lines in a Torah scroll (, '' Sefer Torah''). Jews read it the 24th or 25th Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in the second half of March or the first half of April.

Readings

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , '' aliyot''.

First reading — Leviticus 6:1–11

In the first reading (, ''aliyah''), God told Moses to command Aaron and the priests about the rituals of the sacrifices (, ''karbanot'').

In verse 6:2 "...''it is that which goeth up on its firewood upon the altar all night unto the morning''," the letter in the word is small.

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. The priests were to keep the fire burning, every morning feeding it wood.

The meal offering (, ''minchah'') 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.

Second reading — Leviticus 6:12–7:10

In the second reading (, ''aliyah''), 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.

The sin offering (, ''chatat'') 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. If the sin offering was cooked in an earthen vessel, that vessel was to be broken afterward. A copper vessel could be rinsed with water and reused. 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.

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.

The priest who offered a burnt offering kept the skin. 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.

Third reading — Leviticus 7:11–38

In the third reading (, ''aliyah''), 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. All the meat of the peace offering had to be eaten on the day that it was offered. 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.

Meat that touched anything unclean could not be eaten; it had to be burned. And only a person who was unclean could not eat meat from peace offerings, at pain of exile. One could eat no fat or blood, at pain of exile.

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.

Fourth reading — Leviticus 8:1–13

In the fourth reading (, ''aliyah''), God instructed Moses to assemble the whole community at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting for the priests' ordination. Moses brought Aaron and his sons forward, washed them, and dressed Aaron in his vestments. Moses anointed and consecrated the Tabernacle and all that was in it, and then anointed and consecrated Aaron and his sons.

Fifth reading — Leviticus 8:14–21

In the fifth reading (, ''aliyah''), 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. 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. 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. Moses dashed the blood against the altar and burned all of the ram on the altar.

Sixth reading — Leviticus 8:22–29

In the sixth reading (, ''aliyah''), 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. 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. 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. Moses raised the breast before God and then took it as his portion.

Seventh reading — Leviticus 8:30–36

In the seventh reading (, ''aliyah''), Moses sprinkled oil and blood on Aaron and his sons and their vestments. 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.

Readings according to the triennial cycle

Jews who read the Torah according to the triennial cycle of Torah reading read the parashah according to the following schedule:

In inner-Biblical interpretation

This parashah and the preceding one ( Vayikra) have parallels or are discussed in these Biblical sources:

Leviticus chapters 1–7

In Psalm God clarifies the purpose of sacrifices. God states that correct sacrifice was not the taking of a bull out of the sacrificer's house, nor the taking of a goat out of the sacrificer's fold, to convey to God, for every animal was already God's possession. The sacrificer was not to think of the sacrifice as food for God, for God neither hungers nor eats. Rather, the worshiper was to offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call upon God in times of trouble, and thus God would deliver the worshiper and the worshiper would honor God.

And enumerates four occasions on which a thank-offering (, ''zivchei todah''), as described in (referring to a , ''zevach todah'') would be appropriate: (1) passage through the desert, (2) release from prison, (3) recovery from serious disease, and (4) surviving a storm at sea.

The Hebrew Bible

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