This week, we read Parshat Tzav.

Hashem instructs Moshe to command Aaron and his sons regarding their duties and rights as kohanim who offer the korbanot (animal and meal offerings) in the Mishkan.

The fire on the altar must be kept burning at all times. In it are burned the wholly consumed ascending offering; veins of fat from the peace, sin and guilt offerings; and the “handful” separated from the meal offering.

The kohanim eat the meat of the sin and guilt offerings, and the remainder of the meal offering. The peace offering is eaten by the one who brought it, except for specified portions given to the kohen. The holy meat of the offerings must be eaten by ritually pure persons, in their designated holy place and within their specified time.

Aaron and his sons remain within the Mishkan compound for seven days, during which Moshe initiates them into the priesthood.

On Sunday, the eleventh of Nisan, is the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s 124th birthday. On such an auspicious day, it is customary to increase in learning Torah, prayer, and charity. It is also an appropriate time to write to the Rebbe and ask for all the things one may need, whether physical or spiritual.

The Rebbe is the one who has guided the Jewish people since he assumed leadership in 1951. Since then, he sent thousands of emissaries worldwide to bring Jews closer to their roots and inspire the next generation.

A person who owns a large quantity of chametz which he is reluctant to dispose of, because doing so may cause him considerable financial loss, may sell his chametz to a non-Jew.

After writing a bill of sale, one may leave the chametz in his home without transgressing the prohibitions of not seeing or having chametz, since the chametz no longer belongs to him.

However, it must be set aside in a special place which is rented to the non-Jew who has purchased it, so that the chametz becomes the property of the non-Jew until after Passover.

The place where this sold chametz is stored should be inaccessible, so that neither he nor the members of his family take anything from there through force of habit. The bill of sale for the chametz states that he is selling his chametz to the non-Jew for a specific price. The non-Jewish purchaser then gives him a down payment either money or something with intrinsic value, to acquire ownership of the chametz. Contact your local Rabbi for information about selling your Chametz or do so online at chabad.org.

At the end of exile, new challenges arise as the “birthpangs” of Moshiach. However, that means that Hashem is giving us (along with the challenges) new strengths to overcome them. Oftentimes, we receive these powers before the challenge even arises. Hashem never gives one more than they can handle, so if exile feels tough, it means we have the strength to pull through.

It was the afternoon before Passover, and Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was wandering through the streets of the Jewish quarter seeking out local smugglers. From one he quietly asked for a quote on contraband tobacco, from another he inquired about the availability of smuggled brocades and embroideries. No matter the merchandise he sought, everything was available for the right price.

However, when he started asking his newfound acquaintances to supply him with some bread or whiskey, those very same businessmen who had previously proved so accommodating balked. “Rabbi,” said one, “are you trying to insult me? The Seder will be starting in just a few hours, and no Jew would have even a speck of chametz left in his home or business.”

No matter the price offered, not one merchant was willing or able to come up with even a crumb of bread or a dram of alcohol. The town had converted into a chametz-free zone.

Thrilled with the results of his failed quest, the rabbi looked up to heaven and declared: “G‑d Almighty, look down with pride at Your people! The czar has border guards and tax commissioners dedicated to his commands. The police and the courts are devoted to tracking down and punishing smugglers and black marketeers, and yet anything one could possibly want is available. Contrast this with the faith and fidelity of Your Jews. It has been over 3,000 years since you commanded us to observe Passover. No police, no guards, no courts and jails enforce this edict—and yet every Jew keeps Your laws to the utmost!

“Mi k’amcha Yisrael—Who is like Your nation, Israel?!”