Musar su Levitico 6:78

היא העולה על מוקדה . Our sages (Vayikra Rabbah 7,6) say that anyone who brags or boasts will be judged by fire. This statement is rooted in our verse here, i.e. if someone is עולה, he will find himself on the מוקדה, on the site where things are apt to be burned.

להרים הדשן מעל המזבח . Rabbi Menachem Habavli writes that the reason for this procedure is that after a sinner has received his punishment and his flesh has been turned to דשן, ash, through the penalty of "fire," having been applied to him, the subject is closed and one must not remind the sinner of it by saying to him: "remember your former deeds." There is an allusion here that after the soul has received its punishment in the mythical river Dinur (Daniel 7,10), it is entitled to be respected again because it is after all a princess, i.e. descended directly from G–d. Any penitent sinner deserves to be honored. The meaning of והרים את הדשן then is that "he is to be raised from the ashes." When the verse continues ושמו אצל המזבח, this means that he is to be re-instated near the holy site, the altar.

זה קרבן אהרן ובניו וגו' ביום המשח אותו . The commandment that the High Priest must offer a daily מנחה offering, part to be offered in the morning and part in the evening, is derived from 6,13: זה קרבן אהרון ביום המשח אותו על מחבת בשמן תעשה. "This is the sacrifice of Aaron…on the day he was anointed….lt shall be prepared with oil on a griddle." This commandment is to ensure that the High Priest prays for the whole community all of whom depend upon him to obtain forgiveness from G–d. The High Priest must concentrate on being the instrument of forgiveness for his people to secure atonement for them and to establish harmony between them and their Maker. In order to be able to secure forgiveness for others, he must first of all secure forgiveness for his own sins. This is why he personally has to bring two such sacrifices daily. We derive this idea from the words והזה הטהור על הטמא, that "only a person who himself is ritually pure can perform the rite of sprinkling blood on the ritually impure" to help him regain ritual purity (Numbers 19,19). The purpose of the קרבן חביתים is to obtain forgiveness for "hidden" sins, sins one is unaware of. The Hebrew word for this is חבוי, hence the sacrifice has to be prepared on a griddle, i.e. מחבת. Thus far Rabbi Menachem HaBavli.

Let us get back to the main subject. The Holy Temple and Jerusalem are the root of sanctity on earth. This is the real reason that the priests are not allowed to consume the בכורים before they have been deposited in the precincts of the Holy Temple. Inasmuch as the בכורים, the first ripe fruit of the year's various crops, are called ראשית, this teaches that great sanctity attaches to them, as we have explained on another occasion. This is why they have to be transported to a sacred place, and why people who are sanctified for their G–d, i.e. the priests, have to consume them inside Jerusalem. The mystical dimension of why similar rules apply to the consumption of קדשים קלים, sacrificial meat of a subordinate degree of sanctity, as well as to the consumption of the second tithes of the grain, oil, and grape harvests is that these represent the basic elements of our food supply. The remains of the sacrificial meat may not be eaten until their blood has been sprinkled on the altar because the blood represents the life of these respective animals. After this "life" has been dedicated to the altar, the body of the animal may be enjoyed. Remember that, just as the service, i.e. the sacrificial animal belongs to G–d as a gift, so does the person performing the service since the main purpose of sacrificial service is to bring oneself close to G–d, i.e. to make a present of oneself to G–d. We have explained the concept of אדם כי יקריב מכם, that man sacrifices himself, many times. The total offering, עולה, is in a class by itself; all of the animal (except the skin) is burned on the altar; this is because it is meant to atone for sinful thoughts as opposed to sinful deeds. When the Torah (Leviticus 6,2) describes it as מוקדה על המזבח כל הלילה, "remaining on the site where it is burned all night long," this is an allusion to sinful thoughts which occupy a person while he lies in bed. The קדשים קלים, on the other hand, allude to the שלימות הגוף, the perfection of one's body.

לא תכבה . The reason that the Torah legislates that the fire on the altar should be kept going, never to go out (6,5), is to ensure that whenever our perennial accusers seek to be paid off by the life of some Jew or Jews there be an alternate fire handy to satisfy their demand to burn someone. The fire, in other words, acts as a "bribe" to Satan, much like the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement. Nowadays, when we have no altar, man's table fulfills the function of the altar. If we sit down to eat without at least saying some word of Torah during our meal, we may not have succeeded in extinguishing the fire of purgatory by keeping the fire on the substitute altar going. Inasmuch as תורה is a term used in connection with every category of sacrifice, all the destructive waters in the universe do not have the power to extinguish the flame of Torah, the flame of love.

לא תאפה חמץ . The prohibition to bake the part of the מנחה set aside for consumption by the priests as leavened dough which is derived from 6,9 is rooted in the above mentioned principle of אין קטיגור נעשה סניגור, that the advocate for the prosecution cannot also act as counsel for the defense. The offering which symbolized the sin must be totally burned without it being allowed an opportunity to develop mildew, etc., which could be the case while the dough rises before being baked. Hence the Torah insists that all of the dough be baked only as Matzah i.e. unleavened bread or cake. Traditionally we equate Chametz with the accuser. Thus far Rabbi Menachem Habavli.

Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai was sitting engaged in Torah study when an old man (i.e., the prophet Eliyahu) stood behind the wall and called to him: “Rabbi! Rabbi! Holy light! Arise and kindle the lamp. That is, the mitzvah lamp of the holy Shechinah (i.e., draw down an outpouring of illumination to the Shechinah, which is called the “mitzvah lamp”). For concerning it was it written, ‘Let a continual fire burn upon the altar, let it not be extinguished’ (Vayikra 6:6). And it is also written, ‘To kindle a continual lamp’ (Shemos 27:20). The Shechinah is certainly called the “lamp of Hashem.” It is the source of Adam HaRishon’s light, that is, his soul. Arise and kindle it!” So Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai stood on his feet (out of deference to the Shechinah) and then sat for a moment and said, “Master of All the Worlds, You are the ruler over kings and the revealer of secrets. Let it be Your will to arrange the words in my mouth in fulfillment of the verse, “And I will be with your mouth” (Shemos 4:12), so that I will not come before You in shame (after my death).”

At the beginning of Parashas Tzav it is stated, “Command Aharon and his sons, saying, ‘This is the law of the burnt offering, this is the burnt offering upon the fire’” (Vayikra 6:2). Rashi comments, “The word ‘command’ signifies nothing other than the urging of zeal, as Rabbi Shimon observed, ‘It is especially necessary for Scripture to urge zeal in a place where there is financial loss.’”