Parshas Tzav - Elevation through Shelamim

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Purim. Being that it is the Friday following Purim, I hope you will all forgive the brevity of today’s piece, as well as the fact that it is off-the-cuff and, perhaps, not as exact as it should be.

 This week’s parasha, Parshas Tzav, continues Sefer Vayikra’s focus on the many types of sacrifices and the particular details of how they are to be offered. As with most of the sefer, great emphasis is put on the actions of the Kohanim. It is, therefore, interesting to note, toward the end of perek 7, the mention of one sacrifice in which the one who offers the sacrifice shadows the kohanim.

 “…He who offers a peace-offering to Hashem, he [himself] shall bring his offering to Hashem from his peace offering. His own hands shall bring it, Hashem’s offering by fire: the fat with the breast shall he bring, that the breast may be waved for a wave offering before Hashem” (Vayikra 7:29-30).

 The peace offering, in Hebrew referred to as the zevach hashelamim, is rooted in Shalom, peace. Tradition teaches us that one of the aspects of the greatness of Aaron Hakohain was that he always sought out peace between others. Perhaps in this correlation of words, we find an important lesson about how significant peace is, about how peace can elevate a person.

 Rav Hirsh (cited in the Stone Chumash) related the waving of the breast to an acknowledgement of Hashem’s omnipresence. Waving the offering right, left, up and down, and forward and back, like the lulav and estrog of Sukkos, acknowledges that Hashem’s presence is everywhere. This looks at the term shelamim (a plural form) from its other definition, as a term for wholeness.

 When one acknowledges that Hashem is everywhere and part of everything, one sees the completeness of the world. When one can see the completeness of the world, one can be at peace with both himself and others. This ability to see the world from a place of completeness and peace, to see ways to bring it all together, elevates a person toward the greatness of Aaron and thus one is able to partake in the service of the offering as a shadow of the kohanim.

 Lessons on the importance of bringing peace and completeness abound, and, given that today is Shushan Purim, it seems apropos to note that this is one theme underlying the Purim story. When Am Yisrael was seen as a scattered nation, we were weak and at the mercy of a great enemy. When Mordechai and Esther brought Klal Yisrael back together, and together in a way that brought our focus back to Hashem, we were able to turn the world upside down.

 As we move forward, in a world that often seems topsy turvy, let us look to find ways to see completeness and, even more so, seek out paths that bring peace. In this way, we will bring the focus of ourselves and, imertz Hashem, the world, back to the ultimate source of all that is good.

 

This Dvar Torah is dedicated to continued besoros tovas/refuah shelaima for Rivka bas Golda.