Ashes Beside the Altar: The Korban Olah and Why Healing and Hurting Are Not Mutually Exclusive

The opening six verses of this weeks Torah portion describe the Korban Olah, the burnt offering that was placed on the Altar and burnt through the night. When the Kohen returned to the Temple in the morning, he would remove the ashes from the Altar. But interestingly, instead of disposing them immediately, he would leave them next to the Altar.

There are some amazingly deep Kabalistic teachings that frame this seemingly counterintuitive gesture, in the psycho—spiritual language of personal transformation. The offerings were typically associated with a desire to do Teshuva, to repair the damage of betrayal and abandonment, and rebuild foundational integrity—with both G-d, and Man. On a deeper level Teshuvah itself, can be understood as a journey back home, and a desire to heal oneself from the accumulated residue of unhealed childhood wounds.

Clearing the ashes off the altar, yet leaving them nearby, is meant to evoke the contradictory feelings associated with the psychic removal of toxicity. The rush of elation from the sudden capacity to breathe, alongside the sadness of loss and the sharp sting of loneliness that can linger in its wake.

The dynamics of Teshuva can often be excruciating, especially when faced with impossible choices that must be made. There is no way to build anew until new space is cleared, and yet healing is never instantaneous, and getting to a place of wholeness, can be a long and tricky process.

The deeply compassionate Torah of the “Olah” offering validates the ways we can sometimes encompass a happy personality alongside a sad soul, feel gregarious and outgoing, yet still crave solitude, and exude, and even genuinely feel confidence while still harboring uncertainty.

The Torat Olah is a gentle reminder that healing and hurting are not mutually exclusive.

Much Love!

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Yossi