Alumnus Dvar Torah Tzav Rabbi Seth Nadel
Parshas Tzav: Moshe’s Music
Music has the power to moves us; to make us feel something; something so visceral. Ever since I was young, I was fascinated by the sounds of the Synagogue: The nuschaos, the melodies of the prayers, changing with every occasion; every holiday. Shabbos, Yom Tov, Yamim Noraim, each had their unique sounds. The call of the shofar. The trop, or ta’amei hamikra that the Torah, Haftorah, and Megillos are chanted to. I fell in love with these sounds.
While preparing for my bar-mitzvah, I came across one of the most unique ta’am hamikra: the shalsheles. The shalsheles, literally chain, is the longest of all the trop, and only appears four times in our Torah. My bar-mitzvah teacher didn’t even teach it to me. “It’s not in your parsha, don’t worry about it, kid,” he said. This made me even more curious. On the playground my peers would show off who could sing their longest shalsheles (we were good kids back then). What was so special about this shalsheles?
The shalsheles appears in the Torah four times: First on the word “vayismahmah- and still he lingered,” describing Lot’s unwillingness to leave his wealth behind while Sodom was being destroyed (Bereishis 19:16). Then the shalsheles appears in the prayer of Eliezer (ibid 24:12). Eliezer prays for help in finding a wife for Yitzchak, but our Sages teach that this was actually a test for Eliezer. Eliezer wanted to take Yitzchak as a son-in-law. The shalsheles expresses his struggle to be loyal to Avraham, and fulfill his master’s wishes. The shalsheles next appears in the story of Yosef (ibid 39:8). In describing Yosef’s refusal to be seduced by the wife of Potiphar, the Torah tells us, “vayimain- and he refused.” This word is sung to the shalsheles. This long, wavering melody hints at the fact that Yosef was struggling to overcome his passions. (see Sota 36b).
The final time the shalsheles appears in the Torah is in our parsha, Parshas Tzav. It is in the context of the seven days of the dedication of the mishkan, from the 23rd of Adar until Rosh Chodesh Nissan. Moshe, demonstrates the role of Kohen Gadol, high priest, and offers up korbanos, showing Aharon and his sons how the service is performed. The word “vayishchat- he [Moshe] slaughtered it” is read to a shalsheles. Why?
The melodies that we chant the Torah to are significant. Besides for punctuating the verses, they help to express the underlying narrative. The notes of the shalsheles go up and down the musical scale. The shalsheles, physically, is represented by a symbol that zig zags. It waivers like Lot: debating whether or not to leave his wealth behind. It goes back and forth like Eliezer and Yosef: struggling with a moral dilemma.
The question is: what does the shalsheles mean in the context of Moshe and the korban he slaughters in our parsha?
Perhaps Moshe is also feeling some tension. Perhaps he is struggling with something too, as expressed by the trop. This ram is the last animal he will offer in the mishkan. Moshe will, of course, return to lead his people. But he will no longer be able to perform the service in G-d’s holy temple. That will be the role of Aharon and his sons. The shalsheles expresses Moshe’s emotion.
On the Seder Night, we celebrate freedom, but are we really free men? Can we really say that we are free without being able to serve G-d in His holy temple? The Seder is full of symbolism. Some of the symbols express exile and slavery; some redemption and freedom. Some symbols express both. The mixed symbolism of the Seder teaches that the freedom we feel is mixed with a little bitterness: The sadness at not being able to offer a korban pesach in Jerusalem. The text of the Haggadah expresses the long Exile we are in, sometimes explicitly; often just hinting at it. Like Moshe, we struggle. We feel the pain of not being able to serve G-d in his holy temple. These emotions need to be part of our experience on layl Seder.
Our sages teach that in Nisan we were redeemed and in Nisan we shall be redeemed. May we see redemption speedily in our days, amein!
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