Tzav
צו
וְהָאֵשׁ עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ תּוּקַד בּוֹ לֹא תִכְבֶּה...
ויקרא ו:ה
The fire on the altar shall be kept burning, it shall not be extinguished...
Lev 6:5
The biblical priestly text is unique in the ancient Near East, in that it utilizes scribal features such as colophons, cross references, and casuistic laws (when... then...), aimed at making the text accessible to the public. This preserved Israelite priestly writing past the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple.
The deepest desire of worshipers was to have YHWH in their midst.
Impurity is transferred through physical contact. Theologically speaking, could the same be true for holiness?
Expanding upon R. David Zvi Hoffmann’s insight that Parashat Tzav (Leviticus 6-7) was originally connected directly with the laws of the ordination/miluim sacrifice in Exodus 29, with a second sacrificial unit (Leviticus 1-5) spliced in the middle.
When Torah verses appear to contradict Jewish law.
וְהָאֵשׁ עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ תּוּקַד בּוֹ לֹא תִכְבֶּה...
ויקרא ו:ה
The fire on the altar shall be kept burning, it shall not be extinguished...
Lev 6:5