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✡︎ Shalom and Good Shabbos, Friends ✡︎
Parshas Tzav: The Divine Principle of Continuity
Parshas Tzav reveals the physical and spiritual integration needed to keep our inner fire burning for a holy way of life, a life that begins at conception and lasts until natural death.
In this week's Torah portion, Tzav, Vayikra(Leviticus) 6:1–8:36, God commands the Israelites to keep the fire on the alter burning continuously. It should never be extinguished. This fire constantly consumes the animal sacrifices that atone for sin and guilt, as well as the peace and gratitude sacrifices and parts of meal offerings brought to the holy priests.
Sacrifice the Right to Choose
The commandment of continuous ritual sacrifice in the physical plain as described in our portion represents a commandment to continuously purify our soul from worldly influences, and to cultivate gratitude and reverence for God. Sacrificing our selfish ambitions, our secular sophistication, and our 'right to choose' keeps us in covenant with our Creator.
The physical and spiritual integration needed to keep our inner fire burning for a holy way of life depends upon being conceived and born into this world. Ensoulment at conception provides this accommodation. The right to life protects it.
Speaking of continuity, the human soul exists before and after conception, as noted in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
The soul's uninterrupted flow from heavenly to earthly abode at conception and back again upon natural death depends on safe passage from the womb. In this context, child sacrifice, i.e. abortion homicide, represents profound disobedience to the Divine principle of continuity,
Jeremiah 22:3 tells the people to safeguard the orphan. This includes babies in the womb whose parents reject them. This is what Adonai says: “Do what is right and just; rescue the wronged from their oppressors; do nothing wrong or violent to the stranger, orphan or widow; don’t shed innocent blood in this place.”
A Bleak Future Ahead
The Haftarah portion this week is Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) 7:21-28 and 9:22-23. The prophet relates God’s message to the Jews to focus less on sacrificial offerings and focus more on living according to His commandments. Jeremiah’s counsel goes unheeded. In verses 7:30-34, he intensifies his warnings against child sacrifice in Judah.
For the sons of Judah have done what is evil in My eyes, says the Lord; they placed their abominations in the house upon which My name is called, to pollute it.
And they have built the high places of Topheth which are in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, to burn their sons and daughters with fire, which I did not ordain, neither did it enter My mind.
Therefore, behold days are coming, says the Lord, that it shall no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of the son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, and they shall bury in Topheth for lack of room.
And the carcasses of this people shall be for food for the fowl of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth, and no one will frighten them.
And I will stop from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the sound of mirth and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall be desolate.
Our trajectory looks bleak, especially in light of news this past week that Leonid Radvinsky, the Jewish billionaire owner of the porn site OnlyFans, died this week. His bio shames the nation of Israel. He harmed the world and all of humanity as he transformed the adult content industry and pushed porn on young women. See the story below.
It is undeniable that the pornography industry and the abortion industry work together to keep women working in the sex trades and to kill unwanted babies conceived from sexual addiction. Businesses that exploit women and kill children ought not be tolerated by Jews, nor should we accept donations of dirty money for our causes and projects.
A bright future for Judaism rests on a God given right to life from conception. Defending and enabling abortion homicide at the personal, business, and national levels must be sacrificed - or a bleak future awaits us, indeed.
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