Parshat
Tzav, Shabbat Ha-Gadol, “The Great Sabbath”-
Why is it the Great Sabbath? In
the story of the First Passover, this Shabbat was the day, according to
the Talmud, the 10th of Nissan, when the Jews chose the lamb they
would sacrifice on Passover. And
considering that the lamb was considered a god by the Egyptians, preparing to
sacrifice it was the first real challenge to Egyptian authority that the Jews
made.
But
the other reason is that this Shabbat was the one that rabbis would always give
a sermon (can you imagine that once rabbis didn’t always give sermons – why did
people even come to shul?). The sermon
would be on the rules for getting ready for Passover.
And
what is the significance of Passover? It
is nothing short of our birthday, or maybe a little like our Bar Mitzvah, as a
people. We had been around, as a tribe,
before that, but on Passover, like the book of Leviticus from which our weekly
parshah comes, is all about, we were separated out by God, and set on the path
towards holiness, kedushah.
That
idea of holiness in Hebrew is about being set apart, called, as it were to be
different – to take on responsibilities and have a certain mission in life that
God gives us.
On
Passover we are separating out all sorts of things – dishes, food, many things,
but most important, we are separating ourselves, reminding ourselves, of our
call to be holy: קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדֹושׁ אֲנִי יְהוָה
אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
“You shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy.”
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