Reb Jeff
  • Blog
  • About
  • Favorites
  • Resources
    • Counting of the Omer
  • Wedding Officiation
  • Contact Me
  • Temple Sinai

Tzav: God Chose You

3/24/2016

 
Picture
This week's Torah portion, Tzav, describes in great detail the sacrificial offerings that God commanded the priests to make upon the altar. The rabbis wondered about these rituals and considered whether God actually needed human beings to perform them. Could God have asked the angels to do them instead if God really needed them? Why depend on imperfect and unreliable human beings?

In a classical midrash, the rabbis ask just this question: "The Holy Blessed One said: If I wanted a sacrifice, would I not ask the angel Michael, who is always with Me, to make the offering? Yet, whom did I ask? The people of Israel." (Tanchuma Tzav)

So, why does God make this choice? Why risk it?

The great Chasidic master, Rabbi Menachem Mendl of Kotzk (1787-1859), imagines God answering the question: "If I had wanted just the deed itself, indeed, I would have commanded Michael to do it, since his acts are more pure than any human could ever perform. However, I asked human beings to do it because I do not want the deed. Rather, it is the intention and the preparations that I want. In this respect, the deeds of humanity are more pleasant to Me than the act of any angel." (Ohel Torah, Tzav)

In Jewish tradition, angels are pure beings of light who exceed human beings in every respect except for one. They have no free will. It is their very perfection that makes them incapable of doing anything that God does not wish them to do. On the other hand, we imperfect humans are capable of disappointing God by falling short (sometimes falling very far short) of what God wants from us.

Yet, it is our imperfection that God craves. God delights in the fact that, when we do what is right, we do it because we choose it. And that is why God chooses us.

God does not care about the ancient sacrificial offerings themselves. God does not care about the lighting of the candles, the food we eat or don't eat, the work we abstain from, or the performance of any ritual deed at all. The performance is not the point. The point is only that we set our intentions on something beyond ourselves and strive toward the pure holiness that is beyond our grasp.

So, the next time you think about performing any ritual and you catch yourself thinking – "Will God hate me if I don't do this the right way?" – try to reframe the question. God does not care how you do it, only that you engage in an intention toward holiness. If you can engage deeply and meaningfully in the contemplation of the exact right moment to light the candles, or the precisely correct way of reading a sacred text, good for you. Do it with delight and joy beaming from your soul.

On the other hand, if you worry that you have fallen short of what is "exact" and "precise," then comfort yourself with the knowledge that it is your inexactitude and your imprecision that God finds most delightful and wondrous about you. If it weren't for that, God just would have asked Michael to do it instead. But God did not do that. God chose you.


Other Posts on This Topic:
Bo: Pharaoh's Free Will
​
Naso: Blessing with Purpose and Intention


Comments are closed.

    Welcome

    This blog is about living a joyful Jewish life and bringing joy to synagogues and the Jewish community. Join the conversation by commenting on posts and sharing your experiences. For more on the topic, read the First Post.
    "Like" Reb Jeff on FB

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address to subscribe to Reb Jeff posts by email

    Follow Reb Jeff's Tweets

    Recent Posts

    Purim & COVID-19
    ​The Honor of Heaven
    Chasing Our Own Tails
    Drilling Under Your Seat
    Change the World
    Self-Righteousness
    Where We Came From
    What We Must Believe
    ​Is Passover 7 or 8 Days?Origin Story
    Va'eira: Leadership​

    Jeff's Favorites

    • First Post
    • Searching for How the Bible Defines Marriage 
    • The Difference between God and Religion
    • In the Beginning of What?
    • Rape, Abortion and Judaism
    • Ten Thoughts about Being a Rabbi
    • Temple Dues and Don'ts
    • A Pesach Lesson from Yoga
    • The Purpose of the Torah

    Torah Portions

    Genesis
    Bereshit
    Noach
    Lech Lecha
    Vayera
    Chayei Sarah
    Toledot
    Vayetze
    Vayishlach
    Vayeshev
    Miketz
    Vayigash
    Vayechi

    Exodus
    Shemot
    Va'eira
    Bo
    Beshalach
    Yitro
    Mishpatim
    Terumah
    Tetzaveh
    Ki Tisa
    Vayakhel
    Pekudei

    Leviticus
    Vayikra
    Tzav
    Shemini
    Tazria
    Metzora
    Acharei Mot
    Kedoshim
    Emor
    Behar
    Bechukotai

    Numbers
    Bamidbar
    Naso
    Beha'alotecha
    Shelach
    Korach
    Chukat
    Balak
    Pinchas
    Matot
    Masei

    Deuteronomy
    Devarim
    Va'etchanan
    Ekev
    Re'eh
    Shoftim
    Ki Tetze
    Ki Tavo
    Nitzavim
    Vayelech
    Ha'azinu
    Vezot Haberachah

    Holidays
    Shabbat
    Rosh Chodesh
    Pesach/Passover
    Omer Period
    Yom HaShoah
    Yom HaZikaron
    Yom Ha'atzma'ut
    Pesach Sheini
    Lag B'Omer
    Yom Yerushalayim
    Shavuot
    Fast of Tammuz
    Tisha B'Av
    Tu B'Av
    Rosh Hashanah
    Days of Awe
    Yom Kippur
    Sukkot
    Hoshanah Rabbah
    Shmini Atzeret/
    Simchat Torah
    Chanukah
    Tu BiShvat
    Adar (Joy Increases!)
    Purim

    Archives

    October 2023
    November 2022
    September 2022
    May 2022
    January 2022
    September 2021
    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    Loading
    Jewish Bloggers
    Powered By Ringsurf
    Picture