ON THE PARSHA
          Parshas Tetzaveh

          by Dovid Lipman, Israel
          Year 2, No. 19 (Terumah missed)


Introduction

This parsha, which establishes the nature and
system of the priesthood, has five parts:
       1) The Purest Oil
       2) Priests with Priestly Clothes
       3) The Initiation Described
       4) Permanent Presence
       5) Golden Altar

1. The Purest Oil -- 27:20 [Beg.] to 27:21 [end, Chap. 27]

Only the purest oil is valid for use in the Menorah, which is to be lit by the Kohanim, a special branch of the Jewish people, consisting of Aharon and his descendants.

   The World of the Supernatural

   (27:20) "...purified for giving light..." Why is this mentioned here? It seems to parallel the choice of the Kohanim, who are the "purest part" of Israel, the subject which follows. But that implies the non-Kohanim are like the leftover, unused oil. Is a non-Kohain superfluous or worthless? So Rashi tells us that the leftover oil is valid to mix into the Minchah offering; it's also useful for the Service. Still, those who teach the people (giving light), the Kohanim (see Malachi 2:7), must be
totally pure.

2. Priests with Priestly Clothes -- Chap. 28

Moshe is told to delegate artisans to produce clothes, described afterwards, for the Kohanim, and then to initiate the Kohanim. The clothes include a hat (plus a golden headband for Aharon), pants, a robe, and a belt. (Aharon would also wear a sleeveless cloak, and around it a special apron to which was fastened the breastplate, adorned with precious stones.

   A Time to Laugh

   (28:31) "Make the cloak under the apron of pure blue thread." Since the cloak was pure T'cheiles, perhaps this helped Korach later to execute his rebellion, who all wore "a tallis of only
T'cheiles". All Korach had to do to get such talleisim was to take used or mismeasured Priestly cloaks, and slit down the sides from under the sleeve holes. It would then be permitted for non-Kohanim to wear them, because they would be talleisim, not cloaks, and the change would remove their sanctified status. But then, since the two purposes of Korach were (a) to challenge Moshe by wearing these without tztitzis, against halacha, and (b) to protest the Kehuna, perhaps Korach would not have been so concerned with this point.

3. The Initiation Described -- 29:1 to 29:31

For 7 days, Moshe was to act as Kohain and bring offerings for Aharon and his sons, to initiate them into permanent Kehuna. They were annointed with the Annointing Oil, first before the sacrifices were brought, and then during the process of the special Initiation Ram. The altar was also initiated then.

   Worthy of Note

   (29:36) "...annoint the altar..." From Rashi (though the commentators are extremely critical of his comment), it seems the pasuk is talking about the outer alter, where most sacrifices were brought. But a bull for a Chatas always had its blood sprinkled on the inner altar, so perhaps that's intended, especially considering that the inner altar is described here. Then again, the immediate next thing is the daily offering, which was offered on the outer altar.

4. Permanent Presence -- 29:32 to 29:46 [end, Chap. 29]

The daily offering of a sheep in the morning and another in the evening is described, and the concept of Hashem's presence is explained, for since He's served constantly in the Mishkan, He dwells there permanently, as opposed to in people, even prophets, who can only sustain the spiritual level needed to be a point of Revelation for a short time (see Breishis 17:22).

   From the Gemara

   (29:40) "...flour mixed with oil..." [The oil mentioned in the first section] Menachos 103b - Mixing was not fundamental for the validity of the Mincha, but if mixing was impossible, the Mincha was nevertheless invalid (a widely-used gemara principle).

5. Golden Altar -- 30:1 to 30:10 [End]

The golden altar, inside the Mishkan building, designed like the other gold-plated utensils with carrying rods in rings, was two Amos tall, and an Amah square in area. Incense was offered on it twice daily, maybe as an "internal" key to Permanent Presence.

   Do You Remember? - from the files of On the Parsha

   1. Why is the golden altar described in Tetzaveh? (Ramban)
   2. What do we learn from the Kohain NOT wearing the cloak
      on Yom Kippur? (R' Chananel on Yoma 52a)
   3. The Menorah is generally the last service of the evening,
      and the first the next day. How do we know? (Yoma 15a)
   4. If the menorah was last, how do we read 30:8? (Ibid.)