Rabbi Wolf's Blog

Many people love to help plan the party. Everyone loves to attend the party. But how many people stay to help clean up after the party?

This week’s Torah portion Tzav teaches us about how to value holy service.

There were many daily tasks performed by the kohanim in the Temple. Lighting the menorah, slaughtering the animals, burning them on the alter, offering the incense, pouring wine libations, preparing the showbread, and so on. A team of kohanim was selected to fulfill each task.

And then a kohen was selected to perform another task each morning – to remove the ashes from the altar and to clean up.

Herein lies something unique about living the holy life:

In worldly matters, there is a big difference between the various tasks needed to create an event. A party-planner professional is hired to setup. Professionals are hired to cater and entertain. And then a cleaning crew is hired to clean up. One can imagine the difference in the compensation they each receive. There’s a clear hierarchy of ‘importance’, ‘skill’ and ‘value’. At a concert, the singer receives the big bucks for a one-hour performance, whilst the cleaning crew receives much less for hours of exhausting work.

But when it comes to worshipping G-d, everything is equally important. Any task that is necessary is an important task. Whether it’s a task that requires a lot of training and stands in the spotlight, or a simpler task behind the scenes.

It takes a village to create a village, and it takes a community to create a community.

What inspires me most is when people offer to help with the more menial tasks. It doesn’t bring them a lot of fame, and it often goes unnoticed, but helping with the smaller details is just as necessary and important as everything else.

A highly spiritual and sensitive person appreciates the value of even the small tasks.

So the next time you want to do something holy, think small. Don’t seek the stand in the spotlight and perform something grandiose. Look around and search for a small but necessary task – your input will make all the difference!