The main focus of “Tetzaveh” (Exodus 27:20-30:10) is the garments worn by the priests (Cohanim).

Last year we discussed how not only were the priests distinguished by this ritual clothing, but also by how their society treated them:

He becomes the High Priest because his fellows accept him as their chief, and his brother priests raise him up and respect him, even giving him their money if needed to help him be at his exalted level.  So, in one sense, the High Priest is a self made man who has already attained a high level of piety, humility, and dedication to Divine service.  But in another sense, he can only become great through the cooperation of his fellow men.

There is a profound wisdom here.  You can achieve a lot on your own, but you cannot achieve everything.  You need a group of men with you.  Men function better in a pack, both cooperating and competing, so each can develop as an individual and in turn strengthen the group.  You need challenges and comradery that only like minded men can provide.  You do what you can on your own, but know that you must seek out a group, a tribe, to further improve yourself.

 

And this is what you shall offer upon the altar: lambs in their first year, two a day, continually. 29:38

The one lamb you shall offer up in the morning and the other lamb you shall offer up in the afternoon. 29:39 (This also appears in Deut 28:4).

Today the Talmud compares the laws of the Paschal lamb to the sin offering (hatat).  If a hatat ages out it cannot be used anymore for any purpose.  However, an animal designated for Passover that turns one year old (likely because it was missing on the day of Passover) can be repurposed as a peace offering (shelamim).

This hints to us that if you focus on mistakes you made earlier in life, this time and energy is lost forever. The hatat animal that aged out cannot be used for any offering.  Don’t dwell on your failures.

Instead,  devote your energy to personal growth.  The Paschal lamb brings a profound connection between man and God, and celebrates freedom from slavery, but even when the animal designated for this is too old, it can be a peace offering.  Even if you missed some opportunities in your earlier years, you have at least become used to emphasizing your own development and improving your personality.

The Talmud examines the differences between the Paschal lamb that the Jewish people offered in Egypt and the Paschal lamb offered in all later generations.  Famously in Egypt the Jews were told to apply blood from the Passover offering to their doorposts, so God would “pass over” their houses while smiting the firstborn Egyptians.  In later generations, the blood would be instead applied to the altar, and the parts not allowed to be eaten (such as kidneys and certain fats) were also burned on top of the altar.  Our sages wonder what happened to those parts:

Rabbi Zeira asked: With regard to the altar portions of the Paschal lamb that the Jewish people sacrificed in Egypt on the first Passover, where did they burn them? (The Torah never says that they constructed an altar for this purpose.) Abaye said to him:  Who will tell us that they did not roast and eat them?  And furthermore, Rav Yosef taught that there were three parts of the door upon which the blood was sprinkled that took the place of three altars there in Egypt. The blood was applied upon the lintel and upon the two doorposts; but there was nothing else to burn the parts on.

Later sources explain that the Jews themselves were allowed to eat these sacrificial parts that year, because their bodies had the equivalent sanctity of an altar.  When all your actions and intentions are for Heaven, you become an altar.  There is Egypt the Jews dedicated themselves to becoming God’s nation, and their very bodies became holy like an altar.

Of course, while this is an amazing accomplishment, such a high level is not sustainable in the long run.  After that time we needed an altar for the blood and sacrificial parts, and we consumed the meat of the Paschal lambs.

The wisdom here is that we can sometimes purify our hearts, minds, and souls and become more holy than we are now.  However, we should not fool ourselves into thinking that this makes us perfect or infallible.  We are still human and will naturally make mistakes, and need to remain humble in order to have motivation to continue to strive for success.

Today the Talmud compares the requirements of the first Passover with Pesah Sheni.  The Mishnah rules: the first Pesaḥ requires the singing of hallel as it is eaten and the second does not require hallel as it is eaten.  However, they are the same in that the Paschal lambs sacrificed on both the first and second Pesaḥ require hallel as they are prepared, i.e., as they are slaughtered,

The Gemara explains why the second Pesah needs song, the first suggestion is “You shall have a song as in the night when a Festival is sanctified” (Isaiah 30:29).  Or it is obvious: Is it possible that the Jewish people are slaughtering their Paschal lambs or taking their lulavim on Sukkot and not reciting hallel? 

When the ancient Jews were involved in publicly performing a Divine command together, this invoked profound pride, joy, and energy.  They would certainly want to sing together in celebration, even before eating the offerings.

For modern men, find the things in life that you take pride in, and celebrate them.  This gives you energy and motivation to accomplish more.  Even when you are not “eating” the results yet, take pleasure in the journey and the struggle.  A body builder takes pride in the result but also in the hard work and effort he puts in each day.

The Talmud continues teaching about Pesah Sheni, the makeup Passover.  A man who was too distant from the Temple on Passover is eligible for the makeup.

On the topic of distances, the Talmud mentions that Nebuchadnezzar wanted to ascend to heaven (Isaiah 14:14).  A heavenly voice answered him that even in an entire human lifetime one could not reach even the first layer of Heaven, and explains that there are seven layers of heaven.  Instead Nebuchadnezzar would be banished to Hell (Isaiah 14:15).

There is no quick fix to getting your life on track.  You have to keep trying and there is always more ground to cover.  It takes a lifetime of consistent work to rise to higher spiritual levels, but in an instant you can fall to hell.

The Ben Yehoyada comments that this is also the implication of the Gemara stating that the entire earth is 1/60 of the size of hell, like a mere pot cover to it.  There are a lot of dangers to your spiritual level.

On a similar vein, Rabbi Eliezer teaches that a man is.considered on the road for Numbers 9:13 even if he is just outside the threshold of the Temple.  Once he is at the Temple, he could simply step in and become a partner in to offer the Passover.

Sometimes in life we are just one step away, literally or figuratively, from animportant goal.

We have just begun learning about the second Passover, Pesah Sheni, held a month later.  The Talmud brings a debate about a non Jew who converts or a boy who reaches adulthood (age 13) between Passover and Pesah Sheni.  Since this new man was not obligated to bring the original offering, is he required to bring one now?

This issue is debated by our sages; one opinion is that Pesah Sheni is an independent holiday and certainly they should take part.  Another option is that the Sheni is merely a makeup for the missed chance of the original, since they were not eligible then they are not eligible now.

A make up chance is only meaningful when you had a first chance.  Some men beat themselves up for missing a chance, but they were not ready yet to take that opportunity at the time.  Instead of pining over what you missed out on, realize that it may not have worked for you at that time.  Now that you are working on yourself and on the lookout to explore you possibilities, keep your eyes open for brand new chances.

The Talmud discusses the case of a non Jew who converted the eve of Passover.  One opinion is that he should immerse in a ritual bath and eat the Passover offering, the other is that the Rabbis decreed him ritually contaminated and he needs to wait until the second Passover.  He is not actually contaminated, because even if he had just gone to a funeral before the conversion he was not impure since he was not Jewish yet.  Only as a stringency he is required to wait, since the next year he may again go to a funeral shortly before Passover and assume he is still pure.  The convert is only like a new person once, this status does not carry over to next year.

When you get inspiration that brings energy into your life, realize that this new outlook will not last.  By next year you will likely forget what gives you immense vitality today.  So when you have it, use that energy productively and accomplish something.

Today the Talmud examines cases where a man may not be able to make it for Passover, due to being ill, elderly, jailed or searching the rubble of a collapsed building for victims trapped inside.  If a man was over a dead body during the search, he is ritually impure and cannot eat from offerings, and will need to wait until the second Passover.

The Gemara explains that when the rubble was circular and a victim was found underneath, then the man who was digging is certainly considered impure, even if he never touched the body itself, since he was certainly overhead.  Take a step back and consider, this collapse took place just before Passover, and now men are risking becoming impure and missing the holiday for the chance that someone was buried alive and can be rescued.  In Jewish law we even desecrate the holy Sabbath for the chance that someone can be rescued, even if it is likely that everyone inside perished instantly.

We see from here that there is a value in de delaying your own growth and achievements for a while to help men who are buried. This is especially true when you have some wisdom or insight that can help them get unstuck.  Our ancient sages turned to one another for help and comfort when facing difficulties.  We should be on the lookout for men slipping through the cracks and try to reach them.  This is especially true in modern society, which often overlooks men in crisis.  Men are at much higher risk for suicide, and often you can be the one man who makes all the difference.

The Talmud examines if a man retains personal financial rights in the animal he has designated for Passover.  To wit, can he sell shares in the animal to others, registering them onto his animal which they will share for the holiday.  The Gemara compares this to a case where a man hired a prostitute, and in lieu of payment registered her onto his Paschal lamb.  According to the opinion this is a valid transaction, this proves that a man does retain financial rights in the animal.

This scenario avoids the problem of harlot’s wage, where an animal used to pay a harlot cannot become an offering. Here the animal was already designated,  the man is selling a share in the meat.

Now, you may question is why is a man who is sinner with harlots making the offering for Passover, which is one of the most important Jewish holidays.

This is not really a question.  We all have faults and we all make mistakes.  That does not destroy our ability to improve and reconnect to spirituality.  One of the worst mistakes a man can think is that once he has fallen, he cannot rise again.  As we taught regarding the sin of Baal Peor:

We also see another critical element of human psychology at play here:  When men think they are fallen they throw themselves deeper into the pit.  The Jewish men who were seduced by the Midianite girls felt that since they were already giving in to their physical urges by sinning, they might as well give in to join them in idolatry too.  After all, they were already sinners in their own eyes.

This shows the power of a negative self concept.  The idea is actually against ancient Jewish wisdom: Our sages teach that however low a man falls, he can stop and turn his life around.

A man can change his life in a moment of repentance and resolve to change.  Our sages bring stories of men steeped in hedonism and harlotry who turned their lives around in an instant of resisting temptation, even though they had given in to that temptation before.  This is a powerful idea that you can use.  No matter where you are in life now, you can change it.  The real change that matters is your perception of yourself.  You are not a sinner, you are a normal human being who has made some mistakes and has some issues to work on.  We all are, now get to work.

Our great sage the Baal Shem Tov taught: “More than the Evil inclination wants a person to sin, he wants us to feel guilty and depressed that we sinned”.  When a man becomes paralyzed with guilt from self identifying as a “sinner” he will go and sin some more.  Only when a man identifies as a man with work to do can he begin to improve.

The real question is how would the man explain it when the harlot shows up for the ritual dinner… luckily this is a hypothetical scenario.

The Talmud brings an interesting Mishnah:

A man who says to his children: I am slaughtering the Paschal lamb on behalf of whomever of you goes up first to Jerusalem, as soon as the first of the children has entered his head and the majority of his body into Jerusalem, he has acquired his portion and also acquires on behalf of his brothers their portions together with him.

The Gemara asks why this works, since before he does the act the father needs to know which specific person he is slaughtering on behalf of.  Our sages conclude that the father was not limiting his intent to one child.  He really had them all in mind, but he wants them to hurry to Jerusalem so he makes it into a race and implies winner take all.  It is often helpful for a father to make it fun and competitive for children to do what they should be doing anyway.

It is worth pointing out that these are adult children, meaning the boys are at least 13 and the girls 12.  Minors are automatically included in the father’s offering.  Even as children get older and more independent, the approval and guidance of their father still matters.

The Gemara notes: There was an incident such as this, and the daughters preceded the sons. And it turned out that the daughters demonstrated that they were enthusiastic, whereas the sons demonstrated that they were lazy.  However, all the children enjoyed the Passover offering together.  Girls can also be competitive, and especially interesting in seeking the father’s approval.