The Torah of Character: Tzav 5784 Harmonious Passion

Abstract

With this framework in mind, we can explore how the constant flame on the altar symbolizes harmonious, rather than obsessive passion. As mentioned, harmonious passion is not inspired by external or public validation. The continuous burning required the altar to be tended to at night as well, when the Temple was officially closed. As Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz notes, while sometimes this ceremony took place with great pomp and circumstance, it also entailed “hours upon hours of Temple service done entirely in private” (Talks on the Parsha). Passion cannot exclusively be in response to the validation of others. It must be nurtured even in the still of the night and in the silence of solitude