Weekly Message

26 March 2026

This week’s parashah, Tzav, describes the priestly task of cleaning up after the burning of the daily offerings. “The priest shall dress in plain linen garments. . .  and he shall gather up the ashes.” Rabbi David Silber notes that there was only one other occasion during the year when priests dressed in plain linen. That was on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year.

It is hard to imagine a sharper contrast than that between the special sanctity of Yom Kippur and the routine drudgery of cleaning up after the daily sacrifices. Why does the Torah connect the two?

Perhaps the Torah’s message is that cleaning up our spiritual debris is the holiest work of all. Sweeping away tired grievances, old fears, and dusty prejudices that weigh us down and keep us trapped makes new growth possible. Without that clean-up work, we lose touch with the spark of holiness inside us.

That is the principle behind our Pesah preparations. We clean for Pesah in the faith that lightening our load will enable us to re-experience the meaning of the Exodus. Clearing away the hametz in our homes and in ourselves — all physical and spiritual clutter that has passed its expiration date — will help to make us new.