PARASHAT TSAV

28^th March 2026        HABBAT HADADOL               10^th Nisan 5786

Shabbat HaGadol is the Shabbat that falls before Pesach/Passover

PARASHAT TSAV  by Herschel

Leviticus 6:1-8:36; Ezekiel 36:16-38, John 11:47-56

We now come to the 2^nd parasha in the book of Leviticus called Tsav which means ‘command’. Our parashah repeats the instructions concerning the five korbanot or sacrifices mentioned in Parashat Vayikra, but now from the perspective of how the priests were to carry out their duties. Then, in verse 5, we read that the fire on the altar was never to be extinguished. It had to burn day and night.

Lev 6:1-6

Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: "Command (tsav) Aaron and his sons, saying: This is the Torah of the burnt offering. The burnt offering should remain on the hearth atop the altar all night until the morning, while the fire of the altar is kept burning on it. The fire on the altar is to be kept burning on it—it must not go out. Each morning the kohen is to burn wood on it, laying the burnt offering in order upon it, and burning up as smoke the fat of the fellowship offerings. Fire is to be kept burning on the altar continually—it must not go out.

This instruction is repeated three times in six verses and therefore, it merits closer attention and study. The initial fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices and from that moment onward, the task of the priests was to keep the fire stoked and fed, so that it never died out.

Now, the midrash in VaYikra Rabbah 7:5, notes that the Altar burnt continuously for about 116 years. In all that time, the thin copper layer never melted and the wooden structure was never consumed by the fire.

The altar in the Tabernacle was, of course, used for offering the morning, afternoon and evening sacrifice prescribed in Torah, but what about the time between sacrifices? The priests were not offering up sacrifices every hour of every day. And, what about on the Shabbat? To do any normative work was forbidden and yet, the fire had to be stoked, excess ashes removed and new wood added in order to keep it functioning. Nevertheless, the Torah implies that the fire must be kept burning constantly, day and night, regardless of whether or not there was a sacrifice to burn. 

The Jerusalem Talmud (Yoma 4:6) explains that special pains were taken to ensure that under no circumstances would this fire go out, not even for one moment:

“Constantly” — even on Shabbat; “constantly” — even under conditions of ritual impurity; “it shall never go out” — also not during the journeys [through the desert, when the altar was covered with a cloth of purple wool]. What did they do with the fire during the journeys? They placed over it a copper bowl called a Pesachtor, This fire was the focus of many miracles.”  The fire on the altar burns continuously and is never extinguished. Although the priests were commanded to add two pieces of wood to the fire twice daily, the fire on the mizbeiach remained burning miraculously, lit by a heavenly fire.

The Sages (Ethics of the Fathers 5:5) list this as one of ten miracles experienced each day in the Beit Hamikdash. The continual flame serves as a reminder of Hashem’s constant presence among the People of Israel.

Pirkei Avot 5:5

Ten wonders were wrought for our ancestors in the Temple:

[1]      no woman miscarried from the odour of the sacred flesh;

[2]     the sacred flesh never became putrid;

[3]     no fly was ever seen in the slaughterhouse;

[4]     no emission occurred to the high priest on the Day of Atonement;

[5]     the rains did not extinguish the fire of the woodpile; 

[6]    the wind did not prevail against the column of smoke; 

[7]     no defect was found in the omer, or in the two loaves, or in the

showbread;

[8]    the people stood pressed together, yet bowed down and had room

enough;

[9]    never did a serpent or a scorpion harm anyone in Jerusalem;

[10]  no man said to his fellow: the place is too congested for me to lodge

        overnight in Jerusalem.

The explanation in the Israel Bible continues:

While there is no longer a Temple nor an Altar, God’s everlasting presence is signified today by hanging an eternal light above the ark in every synagogue, a reminder of the eternal flame (the ner tamid that is before the Ark which contains the Torah Scrolls in every Synagogue) first mentioned in this verse. The source for this is the Talmud (Eruvin 63a). 

Then, we come to the crux of the instruction to keep the fire burning contuously:

Talmud (Eruvin 63a)

“Although a fire descended from heaven upon the altar, it is a mitzvah 

(commandment) to add to it a humanly produced fire.”

Hassidut teaches that this is a rule that applies to all areas of life: the gifts of life are bestowed upon us from Above, yet it is G‑d’s desire that we add to them the product of our own initiative. This is a remarkable insight! HaShem has decreed and yet, He invites our participation.

We are instructed to be willing to labour with God in the outworking of our sanctification. As I have often said, we are not idle spectators on the sidelines. It is a cooperative endeavour.

The moment we come to faith in the LORD, our heavenly status is forever changed. We are now righteous in the Messiah just as if we have never sinned. But this is only the beginning of the journey of our sanctification. Rav Shaul clearly emphasizes this in his teaching. I call this ‘forensic righteousness’. It is an imputed status in the heavenly realm. Our challenge now is to walk in ‘behavioural righteousness’. And, this is where that first generation fell short and their bones lay scattered in the wilderness.

A rabbi I once had the privilege of talking to said that the first generation that were evicted or ‘thrust out’ of Egypt (Exodus 12:39), that entire generation was righteous. That is not the way Christianity in general has understood the redemption from Egypt. Bear in mind that the Israelites were delivered from the Egyptian oppression not because of any merit of their own. The Torah states that Adonai “remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Exodus 2:24). Israel was redeemed solely because HaShem remembered the covenant promises He made with the Patriarchs.

Furthermore, faith was an integral component of the entire redemptive experience.

Exodus 12:6-8

“You must watch over it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to slaughter it at twilight. ⁷ They are to take the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the crossbeam of the houses where they will eat it.”

In obedience to Adonai’s instructions, they applied the blood of the Passover lamb as instructed and the angel of death passed over their homes. Ya’akov said that faith without works is dead. The oppressed Israelites applied faith to their works. This is the basis for an imputed state of being declared righteous in the heavenly Throne Room, an imputed status that is independent of our own efforts.

The failure of the first generation of released slaves is that they failed to walk in behavioural righteousness. Rav Sha’ul (Paul) clearly alludes to this fact in his midrash found in 1 Corinthains chapter 10.

And then, let me conclude with a brief summary of the ministry of the ashes. Anyone who has ever had a barbeque (or braai) will know that if the ashes accumulate, the strength if the fire diminishes. And so, the first task of the priest every morning was to remove the accumulation of the ashes from the Altar of Burnt Offerings.

Once the officiating kohen has sanctified himself, he takes the silver shovel from its spot and walks up the ramp, ascending to the top of the altar. There, he uses the shovel to stir the coals, and into it, he collects a small amount from the ashes of the inner coals that have been thoroughly consumed by the fire. Most of the ashes remain atop the altar - the amount he is required to remove is minimal. But this action symbolically prepares the altar for a new day of Temple service.

Descending to the floor once again by way of the ramp, the kohen turns towards the north and walks towards the east side of the ramp for a distance of "about 10 amot." At that exact location, he places the coals from his shovel in a small pile on the floor, as the verse states (Lev. 6:3): "And he shall place them near the altar." This spot is known as the Place of Ashes, on the eastern side of the ramp, about 3 hand-breadths from the ramp itself, and at a distance of 10 amot from the southern wall of the altar. The crops from burnt offerings of birds (see Lev. 1:16), the ashes from the inner (incense) altar, and the ashes from the menorah were also placed in this spot.

With that, the kohen has concluded the first sacred task of the day in the Holy Temple, the service of the removal of the ashes.

Once the first kohen has removed the small amount of ashes, the other kohanim can now attend to the more general preparation of the altar:

"When they see that their colleague has descended, they run to the laver and sanctify their hands and feet. Then they take the rakes and forks, and ascend to the top of the altar" (Tamid 2, 1).

These kohanim must now gather any parts of the offerings which were not burned into ashes during the night; with the large forks (see I Sam. 2:14), they move these portions to the sides of the altar (since it is forbidden to remove any part of an offering from atop the altar).

After this has been done, the kohanim rake all the ashes into the very centre of the altar. There, a large mound of ashes called the "apple" stood, called so because of its round, domed shape. This was a very large accumulation of ashes made by the various offerings which were burned on the altar. Whenever it grew too large, these ashes were removed and taken to a location outside the city where they were buried.

Some say this was done every day. However, on the festivals, when an abundance of offerings was burned on the altar, this mound was not cleared away but was allowed to grow exceedingly large - because it was considered "becoming for the altar" that so many offerings were burned on it.

The same principle applies in our lives today! We who confess Yeshua as Messiah and Redeemer, are instructed to remove the ashes of dead works, so that the fire of the God’s Spirit can blaze unhindered in our lives.

We are encouraged to "fan into flame" the gifts of God, maintaining this fervour through prayer, reading the Word, worship, walking in obedience and maintaining fellowship with one another. The fire of the Ru’ach speaks of God's refining work in our lives while empowering us with spiritual gifts, boldness to witness, and fervour in prayer. 

We know from Revelations chapter 3 that the Father detests lukewarmness and neutrality. And so, in conclusion, may the fire of God’s Spirit consume any ashes in your life that is not of Him. Amy the fire of His Spirit remove every spiritual veil from your eyes (2 Corinthians 3:16), and may you and I walk in fullness of work of Messiah’s execution stake, I ask and pray beshem Yeshua – in Yeshua’s wonderful and all-powerful Name!