Hagaon
Rav Drash V'iyun
zt”l on Parshat Tzav
The Travelling Fire
"The fire should burn
on the altar constantly; it should never be extinguished." (Vayikra 6:6)
The Yerushalmi in Yoma (4:6) comments from the extra, "it should never be
extinguished," we learn that even while the Mishkan is being transported
the fire should stay lit.
When a person is at home in familiar surroundings he has a natural protection
against straying from appropriate behavior. Regular home life and the positive
influence of a healthy environment are a good insurance against improper
action.
However, when travelling to places where people do not recognize him, coupled
with the natural strain that goes with being on the road, it is much easier
to drop from the kind of behavioral standards that a person usually keeps.
There is a verse in Tehillim (128) that reads, "Happy is the man that fears
G-d, going in His path ("haholeikh bidrakhav")." [We translated it "His
path", referring to G-d's path.] This can also be read as referring to a
man's own path, when he is travelling. Happy is a man who remains G-d-fearing
even when travelling in strange places. A person whose fear of G-d is not
contingent on external conditions and a familiar environment is truly G-d-fearing.
This is what the Torah is hinting at here. Just as "The fire should burn
on the altar" - on the altar of a person's heart, burning with the love
and fear of Hashem - so also "should the fire not be extinguished" - even
when "being transported" - even when travelling in strange places a person
should equally burn with love and fear of Hashem.
A Jew should glow inside even when he finds himself in cold places.
from
Classic Divrei Torah on Parshat Shavua
Print Version of http://www.darchenoam.org/articles/web/parsha/ar_tzav.htm
Copyright 2003 Darche
Noam Institutions
