Tzav(Leviticus 6-8)

Taking Out the Garbage

Esteem is not measured today by what you achieve, as much as it is by how you get there. A lawyer, for the same reason, has more prestige than a janitor, regardless of the details of his work. Shouldn't it be that janitors of schools receive greater respect than lawyers of immoral causes?

Status today has a simple mathematical equation: "paycheck" divided by "time." The one who works the least hours for the greatest money seems to be the person demanding the greatest respect.

Some say that school teachers should be paid more, that they do one of the most important jobs in society. Maybe they should. But really, education doesn't have to reap financial benefits. I'm more concerned about teachers' prestige scale. Top teachers should be on the cover of 'Time' Magazine - not top athletes and actors.

In this week's parsha, we see that God commands the Kohanim (priests) to remove the ashes every morning from the Temple. This was, quite simply, "taking out God's garbage." God could have commanded anyone to take out the ashes. But this job has ultimate value in the total running of the Temple, and therefore it was given to those who are most dedicated to God's service.

In fact, the Talmud reports that the Kohanim were so anxious to take out the ashes, that a lottery system had to be introduced because there was so much arguing about who would get the job!

This enthusiasm for doing God's work is alluded to in the very name of the parsha, "Tzav," which implies alacrity.

Our lesson? Look at the job a person does - not the size of their paycheck.

Question 1: What menial tasks do you perform throughout the day? What service do you provide to others by doing these? Given the choice, are there any tasks you would continue to perform yourself, rather than assign to others?

Question 2: Do you think children are better off growing up with a maid, or without?