8 (iv) Adonai said to Moshe, ² “Take Aharon and his sons with him, the garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams and the basket of matzah; ³ and assemble the entire community at the entrance to the tent of meeting.” ⁴ Moshe did as Adonai ordered him, and the community was assembled at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ⁵ Moshe said to the community, “This is what Adonai has ordered to be done.”

⁶ Moshe brought Aharon and his sons, washed them with water, ⁷ put the tunic on him, wrapped the sash around him, clothed him with the robe, put the ritual vest on him, wrapped around him the decorated belt and fastened the vest to him with it. ⁸ He put the breastplate on him, and on the breastplate he put the urim and tumim. ⁹ He set the turban on his head, and on the front of the turban he affixed the gold plate, the holy ornament, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

¹⁰ Then Moshe took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, thus consecrating them. ¹¹ He sprinkled some on the altar seven times, anointing the altar with all its utensils and the basin with its base, to consecrate them. ¹² He poured some of the anointing oil on Aharon’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him. ¹³ Moshe brought Aharon’s sons, clothed them with tunics, wrapped sashes on them and put headgear on them, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

(v) ¹⁴ Then the young bull for the sin offering was brought, and Aharon and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull for the sin offering. ¹⁵ After it had been slaughtered, Moshe took the blood and put it on the horns of the altar all the way around with his finger, thus purifying the altar. The remaining blood he poured out at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it. ¹⁶ Moshe took all the fat on the inner organs, the covering of the liver, the two kidneys and their fat, and made it go up in smoke on the altar. ¹⁷ But the bull, its hide, its flesh and its dung were taken outside the camp and burned up completely, as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

¹⁸ Next, the ram for the burnt offering was presented. Aharon and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram; ¹⁹ and after it had been slaughtered, Moshe splashed the blood on all sides of the altar. ²⁰ When the ram had been cut in pieces, Moshe made the head, the pieces and the fat go up in smoke. ²¹ When the inner organs and the lower parts of the legs had been washed with water, Moshe made the entire ram go up in smoke on the altar; it was a burnt offering giving a fragrant aroma, an offering made by fire to Adonai — as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

(vi) ²² Then the other ram was presented, the ram of consecration; Aharon and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. ²³ After it had been slaughtered, Moshe took some of its blood and put it on the tip of Aharon’s right ear, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot. ²⁴ Next Aharon’s sons were brought, and Moshe put some of the blood on the tips of their right ears, on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet; then Moshe splashed the blood on all sides of the altar. ²⁵ He took the fat, the fat tail, all the fat covering the inner organs, the covering of the liver, the two kidneys with their fat, and the right thigh. ²⁶ From the basket of matzah that was before Adonai he took one piece of matzah, one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer, and placed them on the fat and on the right thigh. ²⁷ Then he put it all in Aharon’s hands and in the hands of his sons and waved them as a wave offering before Adonai. ²⁸ Moshe took them out of their hands and made them go up in smoke on the altar on top of the burnt offering; they were a consecration offering giving a fragrant aroma; an offering made by fire to Adonai. ²⁹ Moshe took the breast and waved it as a wave offering before Adonai; it was Moshe’s portion of the ram of consecration — as Adonai had ordered Moshe.

(vii) ³⁰ Moshe took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aharon and his clothing, and on his sons with him and their clothing, and consecrated Aharon and his clothing together with his sons and their clothing.

³¹ Moshe said to Aharon and his sons, “Boil the meat at the door of the tent of meeting; and eat it there with the bread that is in the basket of consecration, as I ordered when I said that Aharon and his sons are to eat it. ³² Whatever is left over of the meat and bread you are to burn up completely. (Maftir) ³³ You are not to go out from the entrance to the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your consecration are over; since Adonai will be consecrating you for seven days. ³⁴ He ordered done what has been done today, in order to make atonement for you. ³⁵ You are to remain at the entrance to the tent of meeting day and night for seven days, thereby obeying what Adonai ordered done, so that you may not die. For this is what I was ordered.” ³⁶ Aharon and his sons did all the things which Adonai ordered through Moshe.

Haftarah Tzav: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 7:21–8:3; 9:22(23)–23(24)

Suggested readings for Parashah Tzav from the B’rit Hadashah: Mark 12:28–34; Romans 12:1–2; 1 Corinthians 10:14–23

Parashah 26: Sh’mini (Eighth) 9:1–11:47

9 On the eighth day, Moshe called Aharon, his sons and the leaders of Isra’el, ² and said to Aharon, “Take a male calf for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without defect, and offer them before Adonai. ³ Then tell the people of Isra’el, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering and a calf and a lamb, both a year old and without defect, for a burnt offering, ⁴ and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before Adonai; also a grain offering mixed with olive oil — because today Adonai is going to appear to you.’” ⁵ They brought what Moshe had ordered before the tent of meeting, and the whole community approached and stood before Adonai.

⁶ Moshe said, “This is what Adonai has ordered you to do, so that the glory of Adonai will appear to you.” ⁷ Moshe told Aharon, “Approach the altar, offer your sin offering and burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself and the people. Then present the offering of the people and make atonement for them, as Adonai ordered.” ⁸ So Aharon approached the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin offering which was for himself. ⁹ The sons of Aharon presented the blood to him; and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar; then he poured out the blood at the base of the altar. ¹⁰ But the fat, the kidneys and the covering of the liver of the sin offering he made go up in smoke on the altar, as Adonai had ordered Moshe. ¹¹ The meat and the skin were burned up completely outside the camp.

¹² Next he slaughtered the burnt offering; Aharon’s sons brought him the blood, and he splashed it against all sides of the altar. ¹³ They brought him the burnt offering, piece by piece, and the head; and he made them go up in smoke on the altar. ¹⁴ He washed the inner organs and the lower parts of the legs and made them go up in smoke on top of the burnt offering on the altar.

¹⁵ Then the people’s offering was presented. He took the goat of the sin offering which was for the people, slaughtered it and offered it for sin, like the earlier sin offering. ¹⁶ The burnt offering was presented, and he offered it in the prescribed manner. (ii) ¹⁷ The grain offering was presented; he took a handful of it and made it go up in smoke on the altar, in addition to the morning’s burnt offering. ¹⁸ He slaughtered the ox and the ram, the people’s sacrifice as peace offerings; Aharon’s sons brought him the blood, which he splashed against all sides of the altar, ¹⁹ and the fat of the ox and of the ram — the fat tail, the fat which covers the inner organs, the kidneys and the covering of the liver. ²⁰ They put the fat on the breasts, and he made the fat go up in smoke on the altar. ²¹ The breasts and right thigh Aharon waved as a wave offering before Adonai, as Moshe had ordered.

²² Aharon raised his hands toward the people, blessed them and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering and the peace offerings. ²³ Moshe and Aharon entered the tent of meeting, came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of Adonai appeared to all the people! (iii) ²⁴ Fire came forth from the presence of Adonai, consuming the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.

10 But Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aharon, each took his censer, put fire in it, laid incense on it, and offered unauthorized fire before Adonai, something he had not ordered them to do. ² At this, fire came forth from the presence of Adonai and consumed them, so that they died in the presence of Adonai. ³ Moshe said to Aharon, “This is what Adonai said:

Aharon kept silent.

⁴ Moshe called Misha’el and Eltzafan, sons of ‘Uzi’el Aharon’s uncle, and told them, “Come here, and carry your cousins away from in front of the sanctuary to a place outside the camp.” ⁵ They approached and carried them in their tunics out of the camp, as Moshe had said.

⁶ Then Moshe told Aharon and his sons El‘azar and Itamar, “Don’t unbind your hair or tear your clothes in mourning, so that you won’t die and so that Adonai won’t be angry with the entire community. Rather, let your kinsmen — the whole house of Isra’el — mourn, because of the destruction Adonai brought about with his fire. ⁷ Moreover, don’t leave the entrance to the tent of meeting, or you will die, because Adonai’s anointing oil is on you.”

⁸ Adonai said to Aharon, ⁹ “Don’t drink any wine or other intoxicating liquor, neither you nor your sons with you, when you enter the tent of meeting, so that you will not die. This is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations, ¹⁰ so that you will distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean; ¹¹ and so that you will teach the people of Isra’el all the laws Adonai has told them through Moshe.”

(iv) ¹² Moshe said to Aharon and to El‘azar and Itamar, his remaining sons, “Take the grain offering left from the offerings for Adonai made by fire, and eat it without leaven next to the altar, because it is especially holy. ¹³ Eat it in a holy place, because it is your and your sons’ share of the offerings for Adonai made by fire; for this is what I have been ordered. ¹⁴ The breast that was waved and the thigh that was raised you are to eat in a clean place — you, your sons and your daughters with you; for these are given as your and your children’s share of the sacrifices of the peace offerings presented by the people of Isra’el. ¹⁵ They are to bring the raised thigh and the waved breast, along with the offerings of fat made by fire, and wave it as a wave offering before Adonai; then it will belong to you and your descendants with you as your perpetual share, as Adonai has ordered.”

(v) ¹⁶ Then Moshe carefully investigated what had happened to the goat of the sin offering and discovered that it had been burned up. He became angry with El‘azar and Itamar, the remaining sons of Aharon, and asked, ¹⁷ “Why didn’t you eat the sin offering in the area of the sanctuary, since it is especially holy? He gave it to you to take away the guilt of the community, to make atonement for them before Adonai. ¹⁸ Look! Its blood wasn’t brought into the sanctuary! You should have eaten it there in the sanctuary, as I ordered.” ¹⁹ Aharon answered Moshe, “Even though they offered their sin offering and burnt offering today, things like these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would it have pleased Adonai?” ²⁰ On hearing this reply, Moshe was satisfied.