Tzav Shabbos Hagodol 5775:            Open House

By Rabbi Joshua (communally known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

Among the sacrifices mentioned in Parshas Tzav is the korbon todah, the sacrifice of thanksgiving to God for a miracle performed on one’s behalf.  This offering is a form of the korbon shelamim, the peace offering, and consists of, in addition to the animal sacrifice, forty loaves, ten each of four kinds, as described in the Torah. Thirty of these loaves were made of unleavened flour, and ten out of leavened flour.  One loaf of each kind was given to the kohein, and the rest was eaten by the owner and his guests. Interestingly, although the time limit given for eating the standard type of korbon shelamim is two days and one night, the korbon todah had to be eaten in one day and one night. This would seem to be counterintuitive, given the larger size of this korbon. Why, then, was there such a time limit?

The Netziv, in his Ha’amek Davar, explains that since the todah is brought for the purpose of thanking God for performing a miracle, the greater the amount of people before whom He is praised, the better. This is in accord with the verse, recited as part of Hallel, “I shall bring a sacrifice of praise to You and call out in the name of God.”  The large size of the korbon and the limited amount of time given to eat it will necessitate the invitation of many people to partake of the thanksgiving dinner, thus increasing the number of people before whom God is praised.

Rav Avraham Mordechai of Gur, in his Imrei Emes, gives a somewhat different, but related, explanation. He says that God performs miracles for us each day, as we articulate in the Shemoneh Esrei in the prayer of hoda’ah (Modim), or thanksgiving, in which we thank God for His daily miracles. When someone brings a todah sacrifice, to give thanks for a specific miracle, he needs to be aware that we are constantly benefiting from God’s miracles, and the miracle we acknowledge today may well be followed by another miracle tomorrow.  Each day, then, deserves its own acknowledgement, and, therefore, the korbon todah brought on a given day should be consumed on that day. 

Both approaches to the limited time given for the consumption of the korbon todah have relevance to the upcoming holiday of Pesach, which is usually preceded by Parshas Tzav. The Netziv has pointed out that the korbon Pesach, which is a korbon shelamim, is similar to the korbon todah in that the time of its consumption is limited, ending during the night, and it must be eaten in a group, thereby increasing the praise of God that is expressed. A number of commentators on the Haggadah liken the three matzos used to the three categories of unleavened bread included in the korbon todah, so that the Seder can be seen as an expanded version of the bringing and eating of the korbon todah. The expansive praise of God that we engage in at the Seder, relating the process of redemption and the choosing of the Jewish people mirrors the praise of God given when the korbon todah is brought.  In addition, the requirement for each person to view himself as if he had personally been redeemed from Egypt, moves him to be aware of God’s daily miracles, both on his own behalf, and on behalf of the Jewish people collectively.

A joyous Pesach to all from the land of Netvort.