Parashas Tetzaveh
Parashas Zachor
11 Adar 5769

March 7, 2009
Daf Yomi: Bava Kama 69

Guest Author:
Rabbi Chaim Frazer

Associate, Young Israel Council of Rabbis

 

 

We are all familiar with the very first Rashi in Chumash, where Rabbi Yitzchak asks: If the Torah is primarily a compendium of mitzvot, why does it begin from Sefer Bereishit instead of the first mitzvah, the declaration of Rosh Chodesh?

 

Several answers have been given.  Rashi explains that we should have confidence in our rightful inheritance of Eretz Yisrael. If the nations of the world claim we are thieves, we can answer that HaShem gave it to us. The Ramban adds that Sefer Bereishit and the first few chapters of Shemot set the entire emotional and spiritual framework for a people dedicated to Divine Service. Belief in creation and G-d’s active role in the world is the root of faith. Nachshoni explains that for those who came out of Egypt the Exodus was an even greater miracle than the original Creation.  The story of creation serves as a counterbalance to make clear that this liberation was not just political but spiritual as well.

 

 

Based on a close analysis of Parashat Tetzaveh, however, we can suggest another answer. Following Ma’amad Har Sinai (and perhaps the Egel), the Mishkan provides a setting in which the primordial sins in Gan Eden can be reversed. What were those sins?  First, Adam and Eve disobeyed G-d by eating from the tree of knowledge.  Then, they tried to evade responsibility.  Finally, Kayin let his envy and hatred lead to murder, extinguishing the human being’s stature as the bearer of G-d’s image.

 

The reversal begins with a question prior to Ma’amad Har Sinai (Shemot 17:7):  “HaYesh HaShem b'kirbeinu im ayin”?  Is the L-rd in our midst (literally “in our nearness”) or not?  Though the process by which Am Yisrael reached that question was not to their credit (they wrangled and quarreled with HaShem), the question itself is central not only to their preparation for Ma’amad Har Sinai, but to

the entire sweep of future Jewish history.

 

Is HaShem in our midst; is He near us?

 

Immediately, in terms of Ma’amad Har Sinai, HaShem urgently wants us to blend two strands together:  obedience to mitzvot and the formation of a relationship. HaShem wants to give us mitzvot and be koret brit with us. 

 

As we look back to Parashat Bereishit, we see that Ma’amad Har Sinai made a “tikkun” for those earlier sins.  Everything that happened on Har Sinai, the whole process of the giving of the Torah, was the antithesis of the rebellious nature that the first sins represent. The preparation for the event itself consisted of not just a single command, but multiple ones.  Here there was no transgression, everything was done just as commanded, and we accepted the obligations of mitzvot without even a single complaint.

 

More importantly, the human being’s relationship with G-d was restored.  We were koret brit with each other.  A brit is not simply an agreement, but rather a complete and irrevocable commitment-even if one party should transgress, the contract is still binding.  Korbanot, or sacrifices, are vehicles for drawing ourselves closer to G-d (recall “b’kirbeinu”). Karbanot seal that bonding.

 

Ma’amad Har Sinai was not just a foundational event in our history. It was the most intense transcendence since Gan Eden, so much so that the people could not bear G-d's direct presence for more than the first two Dibrot.  This presents an obvious question:  How could the Divine Presence be “in our midst” or “in our nearness” in a regular, normal way? For that we need the Mishkan, a structure with a corps of officiants which memorializes Ma’amad Har Sinai, re-creating its tikkunim for Gan Eden, and points us to a path which will bring Final Redemption.

 

The last five Parshiot of Shemot focus on bringing G-d's Presence into our midst.  Terumah and Tetzaveh detail how to build the mishkan and its utensils, where to place those utensils, and how to cloth the Kohanim (both the regular ones and the Kohen Gadol). Ki Tisa deals with a truly horrific sin, the Egel, but also tells how we began to recover from it. Vayakhel and Pekudei relate the actual building process. Either logically (Rashi) or chronologically (Ramban), Tetzaveh precedes Ki Tisa. The construction and clothing details run smoothly, almost boringly so.  But the repetition in Pekudei follows the Egel, and we find a phrase repeated after even the tiniest step, “asher tzivah HaShem et Moshe”, as the L-rd commanded Moshe.

 

Total obedience, with absolutely no deviation-as should have happened in Gan Eden and as did happen at Ma’amad Har Sinai.  In our Parashah, Tetzaveh, before the Egel, we have no need to mention this, but it lurks in the background until Pekudei.

 

Korbanot obviously were the major focus of the Mishkan's daily activities.  And these korbanot served as a means of bringing people closer to G-d (especially olot and chatot) and to each other (especially shelamim, todot, and the Korban Pesach); a marked reversal of the korbanot of Kayin and Hevel, which led to hatred and murder.

 

Our Parashah's details about the priestly garments instruct us further.  All priests wear belts of shatness when bringing korbanot, demonstrating that drawing close to G-d also requires overcoming the jealousy which led Kayin to murder Hevel.  But the Kohen Gadol wears a shatness belt all the time. His capacity to draw people close to G-d lies not in his function, but his being.

 

The procedures for bringing the korbanot were extremely precise.  Even unintentionally, a Kohen could easily invalidate a korban.  But the Kohen Gadol, if wearing the tzitz, could re-validate it just by his presence.  Again, the Kohen Gadol, fully vested, in his person represents a bond with G-d so deep that he is authorized to waive usual requirements.

 

Confirming his special status is the halachic status of the ketoret.  Regarding the korbanot, they cannot be brought without an altar.  Not so the ketoret.  The Kohen Gadol can bring it as long as he brings it at the proper place, even if the Golden Altar is missing.  Why?  Because the ketoret expresses his total commitment to G-d, and that needs no altar, even the Golden Altar, as a utensil.

 

That same commitment beckons us every morning when we recite Parashat Ketoret immediately following Parashat HaTamid, and dedicate ourselves to becoming the very best of a Nation of Priests.

 

Shabbat Shalom.