Rabbi Heller's Blog

There really is no rest after Purim. Just as soon as we have loaded up on gifts of junk food and consumed wine without measure, we put away the Megillah, and change gears to start clearing the pantry and preparing to drink precisely four cups of wine at seder. Of course, Kroger has had the matzah out since shortly after Hanukkah! This Shabbat, Parashat Parah, is one of three out of the next four weeks where there is a special Torah reading or Haftorah to prepare us for Passover. As a result, the synagogue calendar is overcrowded. Weekly adult ed focuses on how to prepare for the holiday. Next weekend, we have a unique Artist in Residence who will show us how Jewish art can help us draw deeper meaning from our tradition, Passover in particular. As we get closer to the holiday, we have pre-festival “seders” for every age group, with beverages from scotch to rosé to chocolate milk.  

Meanwhile, the pulse of community life continues to beat. We will worry about Israel and about responding to antisemitism here at home, and send off members of our community on a solidarity mission. We will take part in a week of teen mental health awareness, which will include events at our synagogue and Weber, and a Shabbat dinner for several dozen teens at my home. Meanwhile, members of our community will walk through all of the joys and oys of the life cycle, and all of our regular activities from Backpack Buddies to daily minyan continue unabated.  And then, it’s Passover. Seems a bit exhausting! In fact, our portion this week teaches us that that is exactly how Jewish life is supposed to be. 

Parashat Tzav concludes Leviticus’ extensive account of the sacrificial order. There are sacrifices that reflect every aspect of spiritual experience, pleading and penitence, gratitude and consecration. We are told (Leviticus 6:5) that in the ancient tabernacle, and later the Temple, a fire is to burn perpetually on the altar, never to be extinguished. Even though fresh offerings would only be brought during the day, there was never a moment of true downtime. To this day, every synagogue has an eternal light in part in remembrance of this.

The commentators note that eternal flame had a powerful spiritual effect. The portion says that the fire of the altar would burn morning and night “bo.” Idiomatically, it means that the fire would burn on the altar, but it could be interpreted literally to mean that the fire within Aaron and his sons will never be extinguished. The intent of our tradition is that the flame of Jewish passion should never be extinguished. There should always be a light on, whether in the Ancient Temple, or in our synagogue today, or in our souls.

Our tradition says that there should never be a blank day on the calendar, never a wasted moment. There must always be something to excite us, engage us, inspire or enlighten us. Each of us carries a spark of spirituality. The synagogue with all its hustle and bustle ensures that even in dark times, even when we are buffeted  by harsh winds, that spark is not snuffed out, and maybe even has a chance to glow and grow.