Once again it is time for our visit with the parsha (weekly Torah portion). The parsha for this week is called T’tzveh which can mean you will command and/or you will join. The parsha starts with haShem (god) talking to Moshe (Moses) and saying, “Atah t’tzveh,” or, “You will command/connect the children of Yisrael and they will take to you pure pressed olive oil for lighting the eternal candle.”
One shabbat a few years back, someone pointed out that this is a unique way for haShem to tell Moshe what to command to the people. The typical structure is, “and haShem spoke to Moshe saying…” The explanation this person gave (I don’t recall his name) was that this isn’t just to Moshe, but that haShem was talking to each and every one of us, saying that we need to remind each of the children of Yisrael to provide a pure source to keep the eternal light going. I will add to that that we are the source, and that we need to be pure in order to allow the eternal candle to continue to shine. And what is this eternal candle? Well, the only thing that I can think of that is eternal is haShem, so I understand this to be a call from haShem that we all have the responsibility to remind each other to be as pure as possible, the responsibility to be as pure as possible, and to be a source to connect to haShem’s light so it can shine through us.
This was only to be an interesting aside. Let’s get back to our summary. After this eternal candle, we read that this candle will be in the mishcan (tabernacle) and set up by Aharon and his sons, forever. We then find out that Aharon and his sons are to be assigned the task of ministering to haShem, and then we read about the special garments that Aharon and his sons will wear for honor and splendor, and that they will sanctify Aharon to priest for haShem. The seven woven items are a breastplate, an aphod, a jacket, a checkered tunic, a turban, and a belt and they are made of a mixture of wool and linen (which later we find is a banned combination) of gold, blue, red, and purple. For brevity, I will leave the details for you to read and appreciate. All I will say about it is that their are 2 stones on the straps of the aphod that have the names of the twelve tribes engraved on them, and the breastplate has 12 stones, one for each tribe. For the aphod, the purpose is so Aharon can raise up the names of the tribes before haShem on his two shoulders as a commemoration. For the breastplate, the purpose is to have the names on Aharon’s heart when he enters the mishcan as a commemoration before haShem at all times. Then, we finally hear about the 8th item, a head plate of pure gold that has engraved on it: Holy to haShem.
Next, we read that Aharon’s sons get special clothes as well, and that they should be dressed in these clothes and be anointed, initiated, and sanctified in order to priest to haShem. We then read about the initiatory ritual which again is better to read about then to have in just a quick summary. All I will say is that the ritual lasts for 7 days, and that the altar too, becomes holy from its use in this initiatory ritual that makes Aharon and his sons holy and fit to be priests to haShem, and then anything that touches the altar becomes holy.
We now read about the daily offering, which is sacrificed at the entrance to the tent of meeting where god will speak to Moshe, where god will meet the children of Yisrael, and it shall be made holy from god’s glory. And god will make holy the tent of meeting, the altar, Aharon, and his sons, and haShem will reside within the children of Yisrael and be a god (elokim in Hebrew, a name for god which translates into powers) to them, and that was the reason for taking them out of Egypt.
Next we learn the details of how to make the incense altar, where it will reside, and how to use it. And this is where the parsha ends.
Much Later on, we read in B’midbar (Numbers) 4:15, that Aharon and his sons must cover the holy vessels before the camp is moved so that the sons of Kehat can carry them. The reason given is that if the sons of Kehat touch the holy vessels, they will die. Still later, in the second book of Shmuel (Samuel) 5:6-7, we read about someone named Uzzah who grabbed the ark as it was falling off a cart, and dies.
How strange it is that something that is holy, and can make anything that touches it holy, as we see in this week’s parsha, also kills, as we see in B’midbar and Shmuel II, and in other places. Is there a way to reconcile this contradiction? I think so. But before I do, I want to share a story that I believe is in the Gemorah (a Jewish sacred text). In this story, we here of a member of the tribes who went out of his way his whole life to break every rule that god gave us. Well, one day, as an old man he started to wonder what if he was wrong? He started asking the sun, moon, stars, trees, mountains, rivers, animals, everything to intercede for him, but none would do it. So, he had no choice but to pray for mercy himself. He received an answer that he needed to spend many years changing his ways. He said no and that he wanted redemption immediately. The story ends with his prayer answered, with him dying, and one of the sages hearing a heavenly voice declaring that this man was now in heaven.
“An interesting story, but what does it have to do with us?” I hear you ask. My answer goes like this: The man became pure, even holy, instantly, and the shock to his system was so great that he died, much like if you put boiling water in a cold glass bottle, it will break. And much the same way, if a person touches one of the holy objects of the mishcan, like the altar, he becomes holy so fast that he cannot survive the transition, and so he dies. Now why can the priests, Aharon and his sons, touch the objects? Because they become gradually holy over a 7 day period – their initiatory period. Hence there is no shock to there system when handling the holy objects. This is what, in part, their 7 day initiation is: a process of purification and sanctification of holiness that changes them down to their DNA that is gradual enough that they don’t die from the shock.
Once again, we see a 7 day cycle reminding us that, like creation, the world is designed such that real, lasting, significant change requires a commitment of time as well as effort in order to be successful.
I bless everybody with the patience and the dedication to start and follow through on your path towards holiness, and your personal initiations that will raise up your level of purity and holiness so you can contribute to the light that is the eternal.
If you care to read what I wrote about this parsha last year, click here.
About the Author
Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.