page_title: Tzav
section_title: Leviticus chapter 8
hierarchical_section_title: Tzav / In classical rabbinic interpretation / Leviticus chapter 8
caption_attribution_description: العربية: 29 change me! الكتاب المقدس التوضيح من الكتاب من الفصل Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎: Біблійная ілюстрацыя да Кнігі Выхаду, разьдзел 29 Deutsch: Biblische Darstellung Buch change me! Kapitel 29 Ελληνικά: Βιβλική εικονογράφηση του βιβλίου της change me! Κεφάλαιο 29 English: Biblical illustration of Book of Exodus Chapter 29 Español: Ilustración bíblica de libro del change me!, capítulo 29 Français&#160;: Illustration biblique du livre de la Exode chapitre 29 עברית: 29 האיור המקראי של change me! פרק हिन्दी: {{{hi}}} अध्याय change me! की पुस्तक की बाइबिल चित्रण Bahasa Indonesia: Ilustrasi Alkitab dari Kitab Keluaran pasal 29 Italiano: Illustrazione biblica del libro della change me! Capitolo 29 日本語: change me!29章の本の聖書の実例 Jawa: Ilustrasi Alkitab saking Kitab Pangentasan pasal 29 한국어: change me! 29 장 장부의 성경 그림 Bahasa Melayu: Ilustrasi Alkitab dari Kitab Keluaran pasal 29 Nederlands: Bijbelse illustratie van change me! hoofdstuk 29 Português: Ilustração bíblica do Livro de change me!, capítulo 29 Русский: Библейские иллюстрации Книга Исход Глава 29 中文: 圣经change me!第29章的书籍插图
context_page_description: Tzav, Tsav, Zav, Sav, or Ṣaw is the 25th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the second in the Book of Leviticus. The parashah teaches how the priests performed the sacrifices and describes the ordination of Aaron and his sons. The parashah constitutes Leviticus 6:1–8:36. The parashah is made up of 5,096 Hebrew letters, 1,353 Hebrew words, 97 verses, and 170 lines in a Torah scroll. Jews read it the 24th or 25th Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in the second half of March or the first half of April.
context_section_description: Rabbi Samuel bar Nahman taught that Moses first incurred his fate to die in the wilderness from his conduct at the Burning Bush, for there God tried for seven days to persuade Moses to go on his errand to Egypt, as Exodus 4:10 says, “And Moses said to the Lord: ‘Oh Lord, I am not a man of words, neither yesterday, nor the day before, nor since you have spoken to your servant’” (which the Midrash interpreted to indicate seven days of conversation). And in the end, Moses told God in Exodus 4:13, “Send, I pray, by the hand of him whom You will send.” God replied that God would keep this in store for Moses. Rabbi Berekiah in Rabbi Levi's name and Rabbi Helbo give different answers on when God repaid Moses. One said that all the seven days of the consecration of the priesthood in Leviticus 8, Moses functioned as High Priest, and he came to think that the office belonged to him. But in the end, God told Moses that the job was not his, but his brother’s, as Leviticus 9:1 says, “And it came to pass on the eighth day, that Moses called Aaron.” The other taught that all the first seven days of Adar of the fortieth year, Moses beseeched God to enter the Promised Land, but in the end, God told him in Deuteronomy 3:27, “You shall not go over this Jordan.”
  Rabbi Jose noted that even though Exodus 27:18 reported that the Tabernacle's courtyard was just 100 cubits by 50 cubits (about 150 feet by 75 feet), a little space held a lot, as Leviticus 8:3 implied that the space miraculously held the entire Israelite people.
  The Tosefta deduced from the congregation's placement in Leviticus 8:4 that in a synagogue, as well, the people face toward the sanctuary.
  The Mishnah taught that the High Priest inquired of the Urim and Thummim noted in Leviticus 8:8 only for the king, for the court, or for one whom the community needed.
  A Baraita explained why the Urim and Thummim noted in Leviticus 8:8 were called by those names: The term "Urim" is like the Hebrew word for "lights," and thus it was called "Urim" because it enlightened. The term "Thummim" is like the Hebrew word tam meaning "to be complete," and thus it was called "Thummim" because its predictions were fulfilled. The Gemara discussed how they used the Urim and Thummim: Rabbi Johanan said that the letters of the stones in the breastplate stood out to spell out the answer. Resh Lakish said that the letters joined each other to spell words. But the Gemara noted that the Hebrew letter צ, tsade, was missing from the list of the 12 tribes of Israel. Rabbi Samuel bar Isaac said that the stones of the breastplate also contained the names of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But the Gemara noted that the Hebrew letter ט, teth, was also missing. Rav Aha bar Jacob said that they also contained the words: "The tribes of Jeshurun." The Gemara taught that although the decree of a prophet could be revoked, the decree of the Urim and Thummim could not be revoked, as Numbers 27:21 says, "By the judgment of the Urim."
  The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that when Israel sinned in the matter of the devoted things, as reported in Joshua 7:11, Joshua looked at the 12 stones corresponding to the 12 tribes that were upon the High Priest's breastplate. For every tribe that had sinned, the light of its stone became dim, and Joshua saw that the light of the stone for the tribe of Judah had become dim. So Joshua knew that the tribe of Judah had transgressed in the matter of the devoted things. Similarly, the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that Saul saw the Philistines turning against Israel, and he knew that Israel had sinned in the matter of the ban. Saul looked at the 12 stones, and for each tribe that had followed the law, its stone (on the High Priest's breastplate) shined with its light, and for each tribe that had transgressed, the light of its stone was dim. So Saul knew that the tribe of Benjamin had trespassed in the matter of the ban.
  The Mishnah reported that with the death of the former prophets, the Urim and Thummim ceased. In this connection, the Gemara reported differing views of who the former prophets were. R
caption: The High Priest wearing his Breastplate (1984 illustration by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing)
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