“…This is the Torah of the elevation offering: It is the elevation offering…” (Vayikra 6:2)

I saw a fantastic question about the opening verse of this week’s parsha. The Torah tells us, “zos toras ha’olah” – these are the laws of the olah offering – and it goes on to teach us about the terumas hadeshen – clearing off from the altar the ash from yesterday’s offerings. In addition, the Halachic details of the Korban olah were already said last week in parshas Vayikra! What could possibly be the meaning of calling the removal of the ashes, “The Torah of the Olah”?

Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Dunner (1913-2007) explains that many things have a “main” part and “secondary” part. How important is the secondary part? For example, Terumas Hadeshen was done every morning but even without it, the offerings would be kosher. So how important was it?

As an analogy, how important is it to wrap a gift? We once explained in this column that though it is really the thought that counts, nevertheless spending time and effort to find the “right” gift is still important. And as important as that is, packaging the gift shows that the giver is putting his all into trying to please the recipient.

The Olah offering is an offering that one gives which is totally selfless because it is almost always given as a voluntary gift and it is also completely burnt, leaving nothing for the person who offers it. This is a beautiful statement of one’s love for Hashem. Yet if it is done in a shoddy fashion, perhaps it would be better off not to give it at all? The giving of the olah needs an impeccable presentation because the point is that we are trying to show that we are doing our best to please Hashem. Rabbi Dunner draws an analogy to prayer: There are many parts of prayer which are integral, and there are some parts which are not even mandatory. The question arises: How important are these non-mandatory parts? I am not talking about a situation in which one would have to skip certain sections in order to pray tefillah b’tzibur. I am talking about something simpler: How important is it to say those non-mandatory prayers with proper concentration? Rabbi Dunner suggests that these prayers are similar to the trumas hadeshen which precedes the olah, in order to beautify it.

With Pesach in front of us, I find myself feeling that I am in the sandwich generation. Those of the generation preceding me were always asking “What can I do to improve my Pesach cleaning to make it more thorough and mehadrin?” Nowadays I get the question, “Can I get away with just doing this bit of cleaning and fulfill my obligation, or am I forced to do more?” Here too, the question should not be whether we can get credit for what was done, but rather, did we present the package properly?

One of the things that I believe is important to do in preparing for the Pesach seder is to make sure that one will be in the proper mood, so as not to get upset on seder night. Some people refrain from putting out their finest china and crystal (though the Maharil encourages one to do so), thereby avoiding the test of getting upset at their children or a clumsy guest who could ruin the aura of the night. Others avoid problems by sleeping on the afternoon before the seder, in order to be able to function properly at the seder. And for most of us, it means preparing divrei torah with which to engage our family group. This would be a fulfillment of the words of Rabban Gamliel who said, “Anyone who has not said these three things on Pesach has not fulfilled his obligation, and these are them: Pesach, Matzah, and Maror”. That is the minimum. But what would the Seder be like without Ma Nishtanah!?!?

May we be blessed that all our efforts not only fulfill all of the requirements, but also the trimmings that are meant to enhance our Seder.

Wishing you all a successful Pesach preparation!