Turning Our Hearts Today (Parshat Tzav and Shabbat Hagadol)

I apologize if you tried to read this prior to now. I didn't realize that there was something weird with the formattin. I'm pretty sure I fixed it. ________________________________
This week’s parashah/portion is Tzav (Leviticus 6:1 - 8:36). In this Torah portion, God continues to describe the different laws of sacrifices that began with last week’s portion..

This Shabbat is also known as Shabbat Hagadol, or the Great Shabbat, and it is the Shabbat immediately prior to Passover. There are many theories as to why it bears this particular name. According to one tradition, it comes from a verse in the Haftarah (prophetic portion) read in synagogue this Shabbat. The Haftarah comes from the prophet Malachi and foretells the messianic era, which will be heralded by the coming of Elijah, the prophet.

During the Passover seder we welcome Elijah symbolically to our seder table and pray for the time when he will announce the coming of the Messianic Era, a time of peace and harmony in our world. When the coming of Elijah is mentioned in the Haftarah, Malachi (3:23 - 24) says: “Now I am sending to you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the Eternal comes; the great and awesome day. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the hearts of children to their parents.”

In the beginning of the parashah we read that on the sacrificial altar in the Tabernacle: “A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out. (Leviticus 6:4, 6). The rabbis have long asked about the nature of this “perpetual fire.” In his commentary Sefat Emet, the 19th century Hasidic Rabbi Yehudah Leib Alter of Ger, wrote: “In the soul of every Jew there lies a hidden point that is aflame with love of God, a fire that cannot be put out.” But the human longing to worship the Creator must be renewed each day, as we read: “The priest shall burn wood upon it each morning, each morning.” 

In her commentary on this, Rabbi Gilah Langer writes, “The fire is always there, and yet the struggle must take place each day to overcome that which might smother it–that which distracts us, or distances us, or turns us away from love and worship, from offering service with the fullness of our hearts.”

I couldn’t help but relate this to our current situation. The Sefat Emet’s commentary basically says that we all have a burning desire to worship God, but we need to work each day to keep it lit. The essence of Langner’s commentary reminds us that there are so many competing forces in our lives that can easily drown the flame within and turn us away from offering our hearts and souls to God.

One way we offer our hearts and souls to God is by making God’s world a better place. Prayer and spiritual practice should lead us to serve family members, friends, our communities, and our world. However, there is so much in our world that competes with this desire to make God’s world a better place. 

At times like this, when we can’t interact with the world, it is easy to allow these other desires to cause us to forget the true essential desire. We can allow our longing for social interactions, our longing to go to a restaurant or movie, our longing to go back to the “normal way of life” to drown out any burning desire we might have to help others and our world. Under normal circumstances, it may be difficult to keep our inner flames burning in order to praise God by serving others. Now, it’s that much harder.

This is ironic, as one might think it would be easier to do, because we can’t go out. However, in truth, it’s easier to get distracted by the thoughts mentioned above, or simply to get lost in binge watching series and movies when we are in isolation. 

So what are we to do? How do we make sure that this Shabbat is a Shabbat Hagadol, a great Shabbat? How do we keep our inner fires lit? And how do we make sure that each day after is also a great day? How do we make sure that we are present and able to truly rejoice in this day and each day after?

We cannot rely on any external force to achieve this goal. Rather, we need to rely on ourselves and each other. In looking at the Haftarah, Malachi reminds us that Elijah will herald this “great and awesome day.” But what is that day for us? 

Is it the day we end our isolation and go back to “normal life?” Perhaps. Is it the day when we achieve world peace? Maybe. However, what Malachi says is that it is the day when parents and children turn their hearts to each other. It is the day when those who have been estranged reconcile themselves to each other. It is the day when those whose attention has been drawn to extraneous concerns, hobbies, and trivial pursuits realize that what makes this and every day great are the connections we have with those that we love. 

These connections can be there when we are isolated and in our homes, just as they can be absent even when we are constantly surrounded by people. That is because the connection that comes from turning our hearts to others does not rely on our  physical proximity. It relies on our spiritual proximity to one another.

At the end of last week’s commentary I cautioned that we cannot allow ourselves to turn physical isolation (a term I prefer to social isolation) into spiritual isolation. In a sense, this is just an extension of that. 

We must work harder than usual to keep our inner fires burning and to serve God, which means serving our loved ones, our community, and our world. For turning our hearts towards each other is not the result of keeping the fires burning. Rather, turning our hearts to one another is the fuel we need to keep the fires burning in the first place! As we enter this Shabbat, and each day after, and as we prepare to celebrate Passover, let us remember that simple fact. 

We must make the effort to turn our hearts to each other in order to keep us strong. Elijah may not be coming to proclaim that the great day is about to arrive. However, when we open not only our door, but our hearts, to him on Passover if he does happen to arrive, we know that he will be pleased. For he will know that we don’t need divine intervention to reach that great and awesome day, for we’ve done the work ourselves and so, for us, the day is already here.

Shabbat Shalom.