Aharon and the mitzvah of deed

צו את אהרן כו'.

"Command (tzav) Aharon, etc." (Vayikra 6:2).

The parsha opens with the word tzav, "command," addressed to Aharon regarding the korbanos.

כל לשון צו בקרבנות כי זה עיקר בחי' המצות בעובדא.

Every expression of tzav is found in connection with korbanos, for this is the essential aspect of the mitzvos as deed (in action).

The language of "command" attaches to the korbanos because they represent the mitzvos fulfilled through concrete action, not merely words.

וזה מדת אהרן הכהן העובד במקדש.

And this is the quality of Aharon HaKohen, who performs the avodah in the Mikdash.

Aharon embodies the mitzvah-of-deed, for he is the one who actually serves with his hands in the Bais Hamikdash.

דאיתא פולחנא דבעי למיפלח קמי קוב"ה במילולא ובעובדא.

For it is stated that the service one must perform before HaKadosh Baruch Hu is "in word and in deed" (b'milula u'va'uvada).

Serving Hashem requires both dimensions: speech (Torah and tefillah) and action (mitzvos performed).

ומשה רבינו ע"ה הוא תורה אור ואהרן הוא נר מצוה.

And Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom, is "Torah ohr" (Torah is light), while Aharon is "ner mitzvah" (the mitzvah is a lamp) (Mishlei 6:23).

Moshe corresponds to the light of Torah — the dimension of word and teaching; Aharon corresponds to the lamp of the mitzvah — the dimension of deed.

ואיתא משה שושבינא דמלכא שהוריד התורה לבנ"י להורות דרך ה'.

And it is stated that Moshe is "the King's attendant" (shushvina d'malka), who brought down the Torah to Bnei Yisrael to teach the way of Hashem.

Moshe is the groomsman of the King, conveying Hashem's Torah down to the people to guide them.

ואהרן שושבינא דמטרוניתא הוא החלק שיש לבנ"י במעשיהם ולכן נשתתף אהרן במצוה ראשונה דהחדש הזה לכם.

And Aharon is "the Queen's attendant" (shushvina d'matronisa) — this is the portion that Bnei Yisrael have in their own deeds; therefore Aharon was a partner in the first mitzvah, "This month shall be for you [the first of months]" (Shemos 12:2).

Aharon is the groomsman of the Queen (Knesses Yisrael), representing the people's active contribution from below; this is why he shares in the very first mitzvah given to the nation.

וע"פ רוב קורין פ' צו בשבת הגדול שהוא שורש המצות וגדול כחן של מצות בעשי' שע"י המצות מתברר הנפש והגוף.

And for the most part, Parshas Tzav is read on Shabbos HaGadol, which is the root of the mitzvos, and great is the power of the mitzvos in action, for through the mitzvos the nefesh and the body are clarified.

Parshas Tzav usually falls on Shabbos HaGadol, the source-point of mitzvos; the great strength of mitzvos done in deed is that they refine both soul and body.

ולכן אמרו חז"ל בודקין החמץ לאור הנר שיכול להכניסו לחורין ולסדקין.

Therefore Chazal said that one searches for chametz by the light of a candle (ner), since it can be brought into the holes and crevices.

The candle of bedikas chametz reaches into the smallest cracks — a hint that the "lamp of the mitzvah" penetrates the hidden corners that Torah-light alone might not reach.

לאור הנר הוא בחי' אהרן.

"By the light of the candle" is the aspect of Aharon.

The ner used to search out chametz corresponds to Aharon, "ner mitzvah" — the power of deed that roots out hidden flaws.

וגם רמז לדבר כי י"ב נשיאים הקריבו בניסן. ובי"ג חנוכת אהרן בהעלותך.

And there is also a hint to this: the twelve nesi'im (tribal princes) brought their offerings in Nissan [on the first twelve days], and on the thirteenth was the inauguration of Aharon, in Parshas Beha'aloscha.

After the twelve princes' offerings (days 1-12 of Nissan), Aharon's kindling of the menorah follows on the thirteenth — placing Aharon's "lamp" right beside this calendar.

ובאור לי"ד בודקין החמץ לאור הנר כמ"ש במ"א כי מדאורייתא בביטול בעלמא סגי הוא בחי' מרע"ה שהיצה"ר בטל ממנו כמ"ש בעצרת שניתן בו תורה אית בי' ביטול יצה"ר.

And on the eve of the fourteenth, one searches for chametz by candlelight, as I have explained elsewhere: that by Torah law mere bitul (nullification) suffices — this is the aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu, from whom the yetzer hara was nullified, as stated regarding Shavuos, on which the Torah was given, that it contains the nullification of the yetzer hara.

On the level of Moshe / Torah-light, simply nullifying the chametz (the yetzer hara) is enough, for Torah itself cancels the evil inclination, as at Mattan Torah.

אבל בכח אור הנר בודקין.

But [on the level of Aharon] one searches by the power of the candle's light.

The everyday person, who is not on Moshe's level, must actively search and remove the chametz by the lamp of the mitzvah — active deed, not nullification alone.

והוא כמ"ש מה ה' אלקיך שואל מעמך דייקא ליראה ולאהבה והוא שורש המצות עשה ול"ת שעל ידיהן באים ליראה ואהבה בשלימות.

And this is as it is written, "What does Hashem your God ask of you" — precisely — "but to fear and to love" (Devarim 10:12); and this is the root of the positive and negative mitzvos, through which one comes to yiras Shomayim and ahavah in their completeness.

The deeds of the mitzvos — the mitzvos asei and lo sa'asei — are the very means by which a person attains complete fear and love of Hashem.

אבל לגבי משה הוא מילתא זוטרתא כמ"ש חז"ל:

But in relation to Moshe, this is "a small matter" (milsa zutarta), as Chazal said.

For one on Moshe's exalted level, attaining yiras Shomayim is "a small thing"; for everyone else it requires the active avodah of the mitzvos, the way of Aharon.

Summary: The word tzav and the korbanos express the mitzvah-as-deed, embodied by Aharon ("ner mitzvah," attendant of the Queen, representing the people's active service), as distinct from Moshe ("Torah ohr," attendant of the King). Read on Shabbos HaGadol, the root of mitzvos, the piece teaches that the power of action refines soul and body. By the level of Moshe / Torah, mere nullification (bitul) of the yetzer hara suffices; but the ordinary person must actively "search by candlelight" — through the deeds of the mitzvos — to reach complete yiras Shomayim and ahavas Hashem.