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Orchard of Delights Tzav 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 11 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Cyan
reflected in the prayer we recite every morning: “In His goodness He ££The Thanksgiving Offering
£The Thanksgiving OfferingThe Thanksgiving Offering
renews daily, perpetually the work of creation.” By serving God we
assist Him in this endeavor.
One of the peace offerings described in Tzav is the thanksgiving
offering. The Talmudic Sages explain that four types of individuals
were required to bring this offering: (1) One who had travelled
££Creation, Israel, and Humility through a desert or gone on any other potentially dangerous journey;
£Creation, Israel, and HumilityCreation, Israel, and Humility
(2) One who was freed after a dangerous imprisonment; (3) One who
survived a serious illness; and (4) One who journeyed across the sea
On the Torah’s first verse, Rashi makes the following comment: (Berachot 54b). Today, instead of an offering, these individuals recite 11
“Rabbi Yitzhak said: ‘The Torah should have started with ‘this a blessing in public when the Torah is read. Intriguingly, the Sages
month will be for you the first of the months,’ because this was the taught that in Messianic times when sin will be “uprooted from the
first mitzvah commanded to Israel.” In essence Rabbi Yitzchak seems earth” there will be no need for sin or guilt offerings but thanksgiving
to be stating that the Torah should not have begun with the creation offerings will still be brought, as the need and desire to thank God
story, but with the story of the Jewish people as they received their will still be as relevant as ever.
first mitzvah and, in so doing, “officially” became a nation. Since Every aspect of Jewish life is permeated by the impulse to give
the purpose of the Torah is to give instruction (the word “Torah” thanks to God and acknowledge His goodness and kindness. The
stems from the Hebrew root meaning “to instruct”), Rabbi Yitzchak very first words a Jew recites in the morning are contained in the
is proposing that it should have started with the first mitzvah given Modeh Ani prayer: “Grateful am I before You O living and eternal
to the Jewish people and not the account of creation. Rashi explains King, for You have returned my soul within me with compassion;
that the Torah did in fact begin with the creation account in order to great is Your faithfulness.” This opening declaration of thanks sets
teach the nations of the world that God has the right to give the Land the tone for the entire day.
of Israel to whatever nation he wishes. The same God who created
heaven and earth decided to take the Land of Israel from its former The daily prayers contain a plethora of thanksgiving prayers
inhabitants and give it to the Jewish people in perpetuity. Thus the and acknowledgments of God’s kindness. One of the most exalted
Torah ultimately begins with the account of creation so that no one expressions of thanksgiving, Psalm 100, is recited every morning
can claim that the children of Israel stole the Land. (as discussed earlier in our remarks on this portion). This Psalm
manages to express the intense love and awe-inspiring praise and
Rashi’s explanation solves the apparent dichotomy between the thanksgiving that welled up in King David’s heart for his beloved
Torah’s beginning with the universal creation story and continuing Creator:
with the particular story of the Jewish people. Furthermore, in light
of the Talmudic opinion that the world was not actually created A Psalm of thanksgiving, call out to God, all the earth. Serve
until Rosh Chodesh Nisan, both the universal act of creation and the God with gladness, come before Him with joyous song. Know
particular birth of the Jewish people occurred on the very same day. that God, He is God; He made us and we are His, His people
This confluence profoundly alludes to a very deep truth: Israel’s birth and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
as a nation is intrinsically connected to the creation of the world. His courts with praise; give thanks to Him, bless His name. For
This understanding is explicitly voiced by the Midrash which reports
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