All fired up about Tzav

Parashat Tzav explains more about korbanot and describes the inauguration process for Aharon and his sons. More sacrifices! Yay! But I realized that although I am not riveted by this topic, I don't know if the girls understand it at all.

"What are korbanot?" I asked.
"Sacrifices," Cohava translated.
"Animals or flour or something you give to Hashem as a present," Gabi clarified.
"Exactly! How do you give them to Hashem?"
"You need the Mishkan or Beit Hamikdash," Cohava explained.
"And then you put them on the mizbeyach," Gabi added.
"And then what?"
"They shecht (slaughter) the animal," Gabi remarked.
"Then Aaron and the Kohanim make sure Hashem gets it," Cohava said. Suddenly I realized they might think that the Kohanim are like UPS for Hashem, delivering Amazon packages of Korbanot.

"Last week, we said that the korbanot produced a pleasing smell for Hashem. If I got some meat and slaughtered it and left it outside, would it smell nice?" They just stared at me, as the wheels turned.
"It would smell gross!" Gabi finally concluded.
"When I make meat for Shabbat it doesn't smell gross [that is a fact, not a question]. Why?"
"You cook it," Cohava stated the obvious.
"But the Kohanim didn't have an oven," Gabi interjected. 
"Very true. So if there is no oven, what was hot on the mizbeyach?"
"Fire!" Gabi cheered.
"That's right! Like a BBQ. Do you think the fires always burned the same?"
"Uh, no? Different things burn differently," Cohava replied.
"Like our leaves," Gabi added. It took me a minute to realize that she was referring to when we did this.
"Right, today we will see how fire can burn differently because of something near it."

Burning citrus oil.

I got a few different citrus fruits and peeled them. The girls ate the fruit. After warnings about fire safety, I lit our havdalah candle. Then I bent slices of peel with the colored part towards the flame. 

When the oils are excreted, the flame jumps. 

Different fruits reacted differently. 

 The girls each had a turn, but it was tricky for them to master. They enjoyed watching the flame and eating the fruit (daring each other to eat more limes). 

Here is a video of it, although, it is hard to see the flame jump. You will have to try it yourself.

(I thought we wouldn't have time for a project this week because we are busy getting ready for Purim. I also forgot that the Maftir is Zachor. The irony of forgetting the special section about remembering what the Amalakites did is not lost on me. Next year we will do something for Shabbat Zachor about remembering. I am writing it here so I don't forget. hee hee)