Parshat Tzav relates to the korbanot explained at Mount Sinai before the construction of the Mishkan, as is explicit in the text (Vayikra 7:37-38). That is, Parshat Tzav chronologically precedes Parshat Vayikra, which was said from the Ohel Mo’ed after the Mishkan had been erected.
Moreover, the inclusion of the korban milu’im (inauguration), whose proper place is in Parshat Tetzave, among the offerings that Moshe was commanded about at Sinai (“This is the law of the burnt offering, the meal offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the inauguration offering, and the peace offering”) clearly indicates that what we have here is a direct continuation of Parshat Tetzave, and that the two sections were originally given as one.
Parshat Tzav, therefore, takes place earlier in time than Parshat Vayikra, yet it was written after in the Torah.
This raises three questions:
1. What is the reason for the reversal in the order of the parshiot?
2. Why do both of them deal with the subject of korbanot?
3. What is the difference in their content?
As we have previously explained, there are sections of the Torah that are presented from the perspective of Moshe, which emphasizes the spontaneous devotion of faithful Israelites to Divine revelation and the desire for a connection with the Creator without the need for commandments; and sections from the perspective of Aharon that’s more focused on cleansing the people from transgressions.
The Torah of Moses precedes the Torah of Aharon.
In Parshat Vayikra, the Creator addresses Moshe: “And He called to Moses” (Vayikra 1:1). It opens with voluntary korbanot, “When any of you brings an offering” (1:2), which a person brings even when he isn’t guilty of any transgression.
Parshat Tzav, by contrast, is “Aharonic” in that it is directed towards those who might sin and therefore require cleansing and explicit commandments for serving HaShem. It opens with an address to Aaron and in the language of a command: “Command Aharon and his sons” (6:2), as a call to the kohanim to perform even the service of the korban ola with diligence, despite deriving no personal benefit from it (and even incurring a loss).
In the list of korbanot featured in Parshat Vayikra, the shlamim is mentioned after the ola and the minḥa, as that list goes according to Moshe’s approach and is intended for the righteous. Of the righteous it is said that they bring an ola, a minḥa, a shlamim, and only at the end of the section is it stated that one who sins must bring a ḥatat or an asham.
But this is not the initial expectation for the average person. One must work and grow to become the type of person Moshe’s approach addresses.
Parshat Tzav, by contrast, speaks to the ordinary person that has not yet done this work, who we assume can fall and transgress. Therefore, the ḥatat and the asham are mentioned before the shlamim in this section.
The ola and the minḥa, which appear at the beginning of the list, are brought in order to draw close to HaShem. Yet even a sinner may bring them, since he derives no physical benefit from them, and therefore he is trusted that his intention is for the sake of Heaven.
This is not the case with the shlamim, where a person becomes a partner with the Creator in the consumption of the offering. If one wishes to partake at “HaShem’s table” through the shlamim, he must first be sure to remove the stain of sin from himself by bringing korbanot that would atone for his transgressions. Only then could he rise to the level of the righteous, who bring the shlamim and partake of them, and whose very eating becomes a mitzvah.
Translation by Sharona eshet-Kohen
