The Midrash in Toras Kohanim states that the word “Tzav” was an example of ‘ziruz,’ urging the Kohanim to action. Whether such urging and exhortation was necessary to get them to act now and in the future, or whether it was to get the Kohanim to overcome a hesitation due to financial concerns, Moshe was directed to speak to Aharon and his sons about it.
The idea of ziruz is to build up an enthusiasm and desire on the part of the Kohanim to do the korbanos properly. They should what they have been commanded with zeal and excitement. It is perhaps for this reason that HaShem specifically included Aharon in this commandment. If the children were to be able to do the Olah or any other offerings with excitement, the best way would be to watch their father do it that way. By setting the right example, Aharon would be teaching his children how to act in a more effective way than if they were directed to do so even by Moshe Rabbeinu himself.
This is a lesson for the generations. It has not changed in millennia. Setting an example is a better teacher than all the lectures in the world.
Great emphasis is placed on the fact that the Toda, the Thanksgiving offering, is offered with bread which is chometz, leavened, unlike nearly every other korban. Not only is it permitted, but the commentaries point out that it is a focal point of the offering and that’s why they are referred to as “Thanksgiving loaves,” as opposed to the wafers which are also offered at the same time.
What makes this even more unusual is that at the end of Parshas Vayikra last week, we read that yeast was forbidden as part of any korban. The basic explanation given is that yeast represents the Yetzer Hara, the Evil Inclination, which causes people to become arrogant, puffed up with nothing, like the bread which is full of air holes, and such a thing is an abomination to Hashem. How then can a person bring a Toda which contains chometz?
The answer is that the fear of becoming arrogant is when a person can believe that his successes are of his own doing. A person who brings a korban Toda is not going to fall into this trap. The word Toda can mean thanks, but it can also mean ho’daah, admission. One who is saved from disaster and must bring a Thanks-offering is admitting that he could not help himself, and it was Hashem Who saved him.
When we recognize that we are not the source of our greatness, but rather it is Hashem to Whom all the credit belongs, we will not become arrogant. At that point, there is even a greater reason to bring leaven into the mixture.
When one bakes a loaf of bread and the yeast makes it rise, he knows that without this agent the bread would have remained flat and lifeless. By bringing a korban Toda, an offering for giving thanks, made of leaven, we are reminded that we exist not because of ourselves, but because there is another force, HaKadosh Baruch Hu, behind our growth and successes.
By focusing on this concept precisely when we are celebrating our salvation, we are ingraining in our psyches the idea that there is an external force behind our victories, and that is Hashem. By focusing on all that Hashem does for us and articulating just how involved He is in every aspect of our lives, we will become even more grateful and even more humble.
“And the flesh of the sacrifice of his thanksgiving peace-offerings; on the day of his offering, it shall be eaten.” (7:15)
QUESTION:
Usually an offering of lesser sanctity (kadashim kalim) such as the karban shelamim — peace offering — may be eaten for two days and one night; Why is the karban todah — thanksgiving peace-offering — limited to only one day and the succeeding night?
ANSWER:
The Imrei Emes of Gur explains: A thanksgiving peace-offering is brought in recognition of a miracle that was done by Hashem on behalf of the individual. Miracles happen daily and continuously, as we say in the Amidah, “and for your miracles which are with us daily.” Limiting the time when the karban todah may be eaten teaches us that each day one should be aware of and appreciate the new miracles Hashem constantly performs on his behalf.
