Sefer Vayikra opens with God calling Moshe from the Mishkan (Vayikra 1:1), and telling him to speak to the Children of Israel (1:2) about the offerings to be brought there. The second parsha, Tzav, also teaches about the offerings, but these details are directed towards the Kohanim (6:2), not the nation as a whole.

There’s another possible difference as well. Whereas Parshas Vayikra was taught in the Mishkan, Parshas Tzav seems to have been taught on Mt. Sinai (7:37/38), which means it was taught before the Mishkan was constructed (since God’s communication with Moshe shifted to the Mishkan after it was built and operational). The end of Parshas Tzav (8:1-36) was certainly taught before Parshas Vayikra (see Rashi on 8:2), as it describes what to do during the seven days of training, leading up to the Mishkan becoming operational. It therefore makes sense for the chronological switch (from what happened after the Mishkan was already operational to what happened before it became operational) to occur at the beginning of Parshas Tzav. And since the Kohanim were taught how to bring the offerings during those seven days (the שבעת ימי המילים), these instructions had to be shared before the Mishkan was fully operational (which was on the “eighth day”). Nevertheless, there are reasons to question whether the first part of Parshas Tzav was really taught before Parshas Vayikra.

First of all, the details in Parshas Tzav are presented as if the Kohanim were already familiar with the offerings. The format, “this is how [this offering] was brought” (e.g. זאת תורת העולה), indicates that the Kohanim had already been taught about each offering, with further details being shared now. Additionally, the שלמים is referenced (6:5) even though it wasn’t mentioned until later in the parsha (7:11), indicating that the Kohanim were already aware of this type of offering. This works if Parshas Vayikra was taught before Parshas Tzav (as the offerings were taught there), but since Parshas Vayikra was taught in the Mishkan and Parashas Tzav was taught at Sinai, Parashas Tzav must have been taught before Parshas Vayikra. What’s going on?

R’ Akiva’s opinion (Zevachim 115b) is that the details of all the mitzvos were taught at Sinai and repeated in the Mishkan, so the details shared in Parshas Vayikra and Parshas Tzav were taught in both places. Therefore, even though Parshas Vayikra was taught in the Mishkan, the details taught there had already been taught at Sinai, and that previous teaching is what’s being referred to in Parshas Tzav. According to R’ Yishmael, who says only the general concepts were taught at Sinai, with the details first taught in the Mishkan, the details taught in Parshas Vayikra—which were obviously taught in the Mishkan—had to have also been taught earlier, at Sinai, so that Moshe could teach them to the Kohanim during the seven days of training (before the Mishkan was built). The question we are left with is why Parshas Tzav presents the details as they were taught at Sinai rather than continuing from where Parshas Vayikra left off, with Moshe being taught them in the Mishkan (since both were taught in both places).

There’s a well-known discussion regarding when the Mishkan was first commanded. Some (e.g. the Baalei Tosfos, Ibn Ezra and Ramban) say Parshas Terumah wasn’t just written in the Torah earlier than the narrative of the golden calf, but was also taught to Moshe before the nation sinned. Others (e.g. Seforno and the way most understand Rashi) say Moshe was only commanded to build the Mishkan after the Golden Calf, despite it being written in the Torah earlier. However, even according to those who say it was commanded before the sin, not everything was the same afterwards. The text of the Luchos given before the sin was different from the text of the Luchos given after the sin (compare Shemos 20:2-14 with Devarim 5:6-18; see Nesivos/Nachalas Yaakov and Beis HaLevi). And it wasn’t just the words that were different; whereas God Himself carved out the first set of Luchos (Shemos 32:16), Moshe carved out the second set (34:1). Because the first born participated in the Sin of the Golden Calf while the Tribe of Levi did not, the Leviim replaced the first born in the Temple service (see Rashi on Bamidbar 3:12). The pillars of the Mishkan’s doorway were originally supposed to be completely coated in gold (Shemos 26:37), but when they were made, only their tops were coated with gold, with the rest decorated with gold (36:38). Some suggest that the golden altar wasn’t commanded with the rest of the Mishkan’s vessels in Parshas Terumah, but commanded at the end of Parshas Tetzaveh instead, because it wasn’t part of the original plan, added only after the sin of the Golden Calf.

Some offerings were affected too. Ramban (Vayikra 9:2) says the special offerings brought on the “eighth day” only became necessary because of the sin of the Golden Calf. But what about the offerings brought after the Mishkan was fully operational? Were they offered the same way they would have been had there been no Golden Calf, or was there an adjustment in how they were brought? If the change in the way the nation related to God after the sin manifested itself in the representation of the covenant (i.e. the differences between the two sets of Luchos), in the structure within which God dwelled amongst them (i.e. the pillars of the Mishkan’s doorway), and in the representatives of the nation in the service (i.e. the Leviim replacing the first born), did it also manifest itself in the service itself (besides the daily incense offering)? This might be what the Torah is addressing by telling us that these offerings were commanded on Mt. Sinai.

The details taught in the first part of Parshas Tzav were taught both on Mt. Sinai and in the Mishkan, but by pointing out that they were taught on Mt. Sinai, the Torah is telling us that despite other changes that occurred after the sin, the offerings themselves were brought the same way they would have been had there been no golden calf. “These are the laws that God commanded Moshe on Mt. Sinai” (Vayikra 7:38), before the sin of the Golden Calf. Despite other changes, the offerings, and the details of how they were brought, were exactly the same.

Rabbi Dov Kramer wrote a weekly dvar Torah from 5764-5776. He discussed the changes in the pillars of the Mishkan’s doorway for Vayakhel/Pekudei 5772. He discussed the possibility that the golden altar was first commanded after the Sin of the Golden Calf for Tetzaveh 5776. Both pieces are available at RabbiDMK.Wordpress.com.