Cover the blood

The first parashah This week's is Acharei Mot (after the death [of Aaron's two sons]). Most of the parashah It deals with the duties of the High Priest on Yom Kippur and the details of forbidden relations. However, in between these two parts, the Torah gives a little-known mitzvah: covering the blood.

The mitzvah consists of, when a person slaughters (shjitaIf a wild animal (such as a deer) or a bird (such as a chicken) is slaughtered, the blood that flows from the animal must be covered with earth after its throat has been cut. This precept applies only to wild animals.jaiot) already birds and does not apply to animals that are going to be offered (mukdashim)), only to common animals (julin).

The covering must be done in a manner respectful of the mitzvah, such as covering it with the hand or the knife, but it cannot be done with the foot, for example, because that would be disrespectful. In fact, the disrespect would not be toward the blood or the mitzvah of covering it, but toward the One who commanded the mitzvah, that is, God. Furthermore, our sages learn from this precept the general idea of the respect that should be shown to every mitzvah.

Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (1194-1270), known as Nachmanides, explains that the Torah prescribes the blood of domestic animals for atonement on behalf of humans, while wild animals and most birds are not part of the offerings; therefore, their blood, once shed, must be covered. In other words, the blood of animals is for the altar in the Temple, and when it is not offered (because it is a common animal or because it is not possible to offer that animal), it must be covered.

We have explained many times that each commandment has a practical aspect that is sometimes applied (as in the case of covering blood, which is still done today) and sometimes not (as in the case of offerings), and a spiritual aspect, which is always valid, regardless of whether the mitzvah can be performed today or not. In the case of covering blood, there must be a spiritual aspect from which we can learn a lesson.

Blood represents a person's vitality and energy, and its purpose is to be used in the service of God. That is, all matters directly related to the service of God should be performed with visible, open enthusiasm and energy. This is not the case with worldly matters, which should be performed with "covered" enthusiasm and energy, as if reluctantly, as the precept commands, covering the blood of animals. common, but not so with the offered.

Now, the precept of covering the blood stems from the fact that common domestic animals, when slaughtered, did not require their blood to be covered. According to this, what is holy and dedicated to God must have its "blood" (its vitality and desire) revealed, while what is worldly is hidden. Why, then, should the blood of domestic animals not be covered? common?

The Torah is teaching us a further step: there is a level at which a person's mundane and common affairs become holy, simply because the motivation and purpose behind them is service to God. For example, eating to gain strength for Torah study, sleeping to renew energy for God's service, and so on. In this case, the energy and vitality with which worldly acts are performed must be "revealed," since it is not energy invested in worldliness, but rather energy that transforms the mundane into the holy.