The Spiritual Consequences of Injustice

By RABBI DAVID ROSENN

Parashat Tzav (Leviticus 6:1-8:36)

When a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord by dealing deceitfully with another person regarding a deposit or a pledge, or through robbery, or by defrauding another person, or by finding something lost and lying about it...that person shall repay the principal amount and add a one-fifth penalty on top of that. This the person shall pay to the one he stole from, once he realizes his guilt...

...God spoke to Moses saying, Command Aaron and his children thus: This is the ritual of the burnt offering (olah): The burnt offering shall remain where it is burnt upon the altar all night until morning, while the fire on the altar is kept going on it...

(Leviticus 5:21-24, 6:1-2)

The rabbis of the Talmud, looking to squeeze every bit of meaning out of the Torah, often wonder why the Torah places certain subjects right next to one another. Their assumption is that two subjects in close proximity must inform one another somehow, and it is up to us to discover the ways in which they relate.

Last week's Torah portion, Vayikra, ended with instructions for a sacrifice brought to atone for an act of robbery, exploitation, or other monetary deceit. This week's potion, Tzav, begins with instructions for the burnt offering, a twice-daily sacrifice that was offered on behalf of the entire community. The following midrash attempts to explain the link between these two subjects, which follow one right after the other:

Said the Holy Blessed One: Look and see that robbery is the subject of the passage immediately preceding the ritual for the burnt offering — what sort of connection does it have to burnt offerings? [Here is a verse that explains the connection:] I the Lord loves justice, I hate robbery for a burnt offering (Isaiah 61:8).

This teaches that anyone who wants to make an offering to God must first be free of any responsibility for robbery, [otherwise, God will not accept the offering]. This is what King David said in Psalm 24: Who shall ascend the mountain of God, and who shall stand in God's holy place? One with clean hands and a pure heart.

(Tanhuma Buber, Tzav #2)

What is this midrash saying about the way that injustice affects our spiritual life as individuals? As a community?