Our portion, Parashat Tzav, begins with an instruction. This instruction is something we will read over and over again as we journey through Leviticus:
וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר ה׳ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃
And the Lord spoke to Moses saying:
What will follow this sentence, as it appears and reappears, will be the details of sacrifices and offerings. These are absolutely essential to the Temple practice that our Tradition was centered around until the Temple was destroyed.
In the centuries that followed, our ancestors, the rabbis, maintained that passion for these rituals by including reams and reams of discussion on the details they couldn’t possibly know.
So it is noticeable when they refer to offerings and sacrifices, but in ways that are not overly rooted in the choreography around the altar or preparations.
But let’s step back for a moment. There are two offerings in the portion that I want to highlight:
צַ֤ו אֶֽת־אַהֲרֹן֙ וְאֶת־בָּנָ֣יו לֵאמֹ֔ר זֹ֥את תּוֹרַ֖ת הָעֹלָ֑ה הִ֣וא הָעֹלָ֡ה עַל֩ מוֹקְדָ֨הֿ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֤חַ כׇּל־הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ עַד־הַבֹּ֔קֶר וְאֵ֥שׁ הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ תּ֥וּקַד בּֽוֹ׃
Command Aaron and his sons thus: This is the ritual of the burnt offering: The burnt offering itself shall remain where it is burned upon the altar all night until morning, while the fire on the altar is kept going on it. (Leviticus 6:2)
And:
וּבְשַׂ֗ר זֶ֚בַח תּוֹדַ֣ת שְׁלָמָ֔יו בְּי֥וֹם קׇרְבָּנ֖וֹ יֵאָכֵ֑ל לֹֽא־יַנִּ֥יחַ מִמֶּ֖נּוּ עַד־בֹּֽקֶר׃
And the flesh of the thanksgiving sacrifice of well-being shall be eaten on the day that it is offered; none of it shall be set aside until morning. (Leviticus 7:15)
In both of these offerings, we are told that the deadline, if you will, is ad boker, until morning. What else, in Judaism, is something we can do until morning?
In the first Mishnah in Berachot, it is asked:
From when, that is, from what time, does one recite Shema in the evening? From the time when the priests enter to partake of their teruma.
This is the starting time for the Shema, when the priests would enter to eat their Terumah offering, which is in the evening, and then, we wonder, until when? Until when are we allowed to recite the Shema during the night before we’ve lost the opportunity?
Until the end of the first watch. These are the words of Rabbi Eliezer.
The Rabbis [the majority opinion] say: until midnight.
Rabban Gamliel says: until dawn.
The Mishnah continues by telling a story. Rabban Gamliel’s children were at a party. They came home late and asked their father, “we haven’t recited Shema yet, are we still allowed.” He responds affirmatively, and then Rabban Gamliel tells them that, even though he has a different answer than the majority ruling of the rabbis, his being a more lenient answer, they actually agree with him. He says:
And this it is not only with regard to this halakha, but rather, wherever the Sages say until midnight, the mitzvah may be performed until dawn.
How do we know he’s right? What proof does he have?
His proof comes from Parashat Tzav:
We know this from: The burning of fats and limbs on the altar, And, with regard to all sacrifices, that are eaten for one day, the mitzvah [to eat them] exists until dawn.
He draws from the “until morning” clause of our verses to tell us that any time the rabbis say that a “mitzvah is incumbent until midnight,” they, in fact, mean until morning. This is a pretty radical thing to say.
The Mishnah concludes by explaining that the rabbis encouraged midnight so as to protect people from accidentally transgressing. In this case, missing the recitation of the Shema at night entirely.
The Gemara says this more explicitly:
The Rabbis created a “fence” for their pronouncements with regard to the recitation of Shema in order to prevent a situation where a person comes home from the field in the evening, and says to themselves: I will go home, eat a little, drink a little, sleep a little and then I will recite Shema and pray the evening prayer. In the meantime, they are overcome by sleep and ends up sleeping all night.”
I love that image of the tired person who just wants to have a snack, maybe pop open a La Croix, and close their eyes on the couch. We’ve all been there. Later on in the text, the Rabbis encourage people to head to synagogue instead, do a little study while waiting, daven Shema and Amidah, and then head home having prayed.
So, if you’ve ever been to an evening minyan and have been waiting for your tenth, and all you want to do is get back home, just know the rabbis have been there too.
Even further, the Gemara asks if the Pesach offering falls into this category! In one baraita, a tannatic statement, it says:
The mitzvot of the recitation of the evening Shema, the recitation of hallel on the nights of Passover, as well as eating the Paschal lamb, may all be performed until dawn.
So what does this juxtaposition of Parashat Tzav, the Pesach offering, and Masechet Berachot tell us? In this unique reference to the offering details, what lessons are embedded here?
1. Do not wait to do what needs to be done.
In the case of the sacrifices and the Shema, we are encouraged to do what needs to be done. The very human desire to put off, to procrastinate, and to “eh, I’ll get to it later,” is a risk we take on.
This applies, not just to our ritual observances, but to many parts of our lives. We see this truth when investing in our relationships, in the responsibilities we have at home and in community, and in our actions of making the world a better place.
“The day is short, and the work is plentiful,” Rabbi Tarfon reminds us in Pirkei Avot.
2. We all make mistakes, but be careful.
There is a fascinating connection between the desire of the rabbis to prevent us from transgression and the referenced sacrifices themselves, which expiate us from those same types of transgressions!
Despite the tremendous airtime the rabbis give to the offerings, which are no longer something we have access to, they teach us that teshuvah is now available to us instead. We have opportunities inspired by but fundamentally more accessible than the sacrifices.
Regardless, we are flawed human beings who make mistakes. In some cases, we can avoid them. In others, we stumble into them and need to make repairs.
3. Nighttime is mysterious yet inviting.
The circumstances of both the offerings and our rabbinic texts are based on the time of day when most of us are not awake. It is dark and full of the unknown, a time when anything can happen.
It invites us to be vulnerable. At night, we are tired, and our will and discipline are at their weakest. At the same time, we are encouraged to be determined and hopeful.
Rabban Gamliel’s children were not trying to avoid their responsibilities, they were seeking opportunities to fulfill them. They had hope that they could still make time for the Shema.
And next week, as we begin Passover, so too, we will go through a journey, beginning at night, full of possibilities.
While these sacrifices are lost to us, embedded in them are secrets. Secrets to making life more meaningful and more intentional. Secrets to being vulnerable and self-aware. Secrets to creating rituals and holy moments.
May your life and your seders be full of such secrets.