Does צו really have צ״ו verses?

Let’s kick off the Happy Leiner blog by linking to a post from another blog that explains why the Masoretic note at the end of Parashat Tzav says there are 96 verses (the gematria of צו) even though there are 97 verses. It’s really worth reading! I’ll just add a slightly chasidish idea. In the third pasuk of the third aliyah, we are told that a korban shelamim must be brought with chametz. In regular years, Tzav is read on Shabbat Hagadol. We want so much to eradicate our chametz before Pesach that we don’t count this verse that mandates the use of chametz when Pesach is just around the corner.