Parashat Tzav – Sixth Aliyah

Here we reach the climax of the priestly inauguration: they offer the second ram, the “ram of ordination.”

Aaron and his sons lay their hands on the ram’s head, and Moses slaughters it. Moses takes some of the blood and places it on three right-side points on Aaron: the ridge of his right ear, the thumb of his right hand, the big toe of his right foot. Then the same for Aaron’s sons. The rest of the blood he dashes around the altar.

Moses takes from the ram the fat, the fat tail, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and the right thigh. From the basket of matzot he takes: one matzah cake, one oil-bread cake, and one wafer - and places them on the fat and on the right thigh. He places everything on the palms of Aaron and his sons, and they wave them as a “wave offering” before God. Moses takes them back and burns them on the altar “upon the burnt offering” - this is called “ordination,” a pleasing aroma. Finally Moses takes the breast and waves it - and it becomes his “portion.”

Blood on ear-hand-foot: the path of priesthood

The ear - what you take in (hearing, listening, obedience). The hand - what you actually do (precise action, service). The foot - where you go (direction, boundaries, walking in holiness). All on the right side - the side of strength, initiative, action.

“Ordination” - filling the hands

The ceremony of placing the portions on their palms and waving them is literally a “filling of hands”: the priest doesn’t just receive a title, he receives tangible responsibility. The work passes into his own hands.

Waving: holding and returning

The wave offering is a presentation before God and then a return - as if saying: this is not mine, it was given to me to return it properly. This is a healthy model for any power a person holds: you received? Present it, direct it, return it to its purpose.

Bread together with fat and thigh

The fatty portions and the thigh represent the animal’s vitality and power, while the bread is human food. Their union in a single act says: the priesthood connects the material and the spiritual - it doesn’t flee from the material but sanctifies it in the right order.

Why Moses receives the breast

Moses is the acting priest here, and therefore he has a “portion” from the ram. This recalls a principle: even the person who installs others into a role needs a defined share - so that the service doesn’t turn into unregulated taking, but a clean role with boundaries.