Tetzaveh 5784
By Daniel Shaw
Shabbat Shalom
I should begin by thanking Steven and Neil for organising this series of speakers from amongst our members as we await with excitement the arrival of Rabbi Michael and Tracey
I would also like to thank Steven personally for allocating this particular weeks slot for me to speak. When I did however, begin looking at this weeks parasha I must admit to 1 or 2 doubts as to how grateful I really should be !
So Lets look at the subject matter – this weeks sedrah has 101 pesukim which go into serious and in some cases excruciating detail describing, the special garments worn by the Cohanim and the Cohen Gadol, priests and the high priest, a full and detailed Simcha plan for the 7-day inauguration of the Mishcan with the portion concludes with a description of one of the vessels of the Incense Altar.
So in short at 1st reading we have a set of tailoring instructions which we no longer use, plans for the opening ceremony of the portable Temple which we no longer have and the design spec’ of an incense burner which we also don’t have. No Plagues, No splitting of Seas, No Dramas, not even a good old Broegus in there
Thanks Steven!
However our beloved Torah always merits and requires a closer look to reveal its meaning.
Firstly we should consider that at this point the Children of Israel are beginning the transition from a group of people who in modern day terms we would describe as refugees or asylum seekers into a Nation. AND that Nation if it is to succeed and prosper needs the structures and institutions of a State.
Prior to being enslaved in Egypt we were in Patriarchal times, we were a single family not a people. And as a single family the story throughout Bereishit is punctuated with often violent sibling rivalry. Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers it goes on and on.
During Bereishit there were no processes, no institutions and not too much in the way of rules – we just had individual people. Avraham Avinu, Isaac, Ishmael, Jacob/Esau , the 12 sons of Jacob – these characters dominate the narrative and boy do they struggle with each other for their birth right and for their inheritance.
Now it would be possible at this juncture to simply continue with the same process as we had Bereishit with Moses as the leader. After all we refer to Moses as Moshe Rabennu ‘Moses our teacher’, indeed we frequently learn we that we will have no greater teacher than Moses. Look at all the wonders and miracles that have come from his hand. Who could be better suited not only as leader but as the single source of law, of power and of authority?
However Hashem says no. We’ve already seen in parshat Yitro how judges have been appointed within a hierarchy which devolves power and responsibility away from Moses even though he sits at the top of the same hierarchy.
Now there’s 1 aspect of Tetzvah which is highly unusual – it is the only Parsha from the beginning of Shemot to the end of Devarim that does not contain the name Moses. Although Moses is as key player he’s referred to as you as a pronoun! Aaron, Moshe’s elder brother however is mentioned everywhere and of course its in this Sedrah that Aaron and not Moses is installed as the 1st High priest, the Cohen Gadol with a ruling that his direct descendants will serve as Cohanim throughout the generations, a line that continues to this day.
Notice that this installation of Aaron is a huge transfer of power and authority away from Moses to his elder brother Aaron. But in stark contrast to Bereishit where brother would have fought brother for power, the transfer looks to take place seamlessly. Rashi does comment that Moshe does indeed struggle with Aaron’s installation but when he prays to Hashem he is told that Hashem similarly struggled with giving over the TORAH to the Children of Israel people but he got through it and so should Moshe.
Surely what we are witnessing in Tetzaveh is the separation of powers within the embryonic Nation of Israel. The unique and surprising absence of Moshe’s name in stark contrast to that of Aaron who is centre stage, the extensive details around the uniforms of the priests and the 7 day inauguration ceremony of the Mishcan are all about establishing and embedding the institution of the Priesthood and with it a separation of power between the leader and the Priesthood.
Chief Rabbi Sacks Z”L goes further and comments that Judaism recognises 2 forms of religious leadership the Navi and the Cohen, the Prophet and the Priest. And whilst the Prophets were figures that captured the imagination and lived dramatic lives that are the stuff of Movie Epics, the priests were quieter figures. Whilst the priests were dynastic, wore a uniform and had much of their role prescribed, Prophets ‘emerged’ Joshua succeeded Moshe not his sons, definitely had no uniform and each prophet had their own distinct style and unique story.
If we look at these different types and institutions of leadership it seems to me that Hashem is telling us that for a Nation to prosper its vital have a separation of powers between vibrant if often competing institutions. That lesson was just as true in the dessert as it is today. We can see the damage, the dangers and the problems that occur when leaders in our own times grab too much power for themselves and in the process degrade the institutions of their Nation.
Let’s all recognise the importance and the wisdom of Hashems message in todays Sedrah . Its as powerful in today’s world as it was for the Children of Israel in the dessert.
Shabbat Shalom