Kids, G-d bless them. Sometimes they know exactly what buttons to push. I have an agreement with my daughter regarding the cleanliness of her room. As long as it is a pigsty, I am not going in it. As I explain to her, "while you are in that mess of a room, not only will I not enter, I will ignore your yelling out to me for whatever reason." At first her response is typical, "Fine, don't come in. It's my room!" Ah..... Parents, sometimes it is good to know that G_d has blessed us! Ten minutes don't pass before I hear my name, "DADDY, I NEED YOUR HELP,". Yep, "I need your help" can frequently be considered my last name. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to ignore her call for help. Actually, the only thing better is her brother or sister calls out to me and I happily enter their clean room. She invariably hears me go into her siblings room, and offer my help to them. Interestingly enough, her room is always picked up that night before she goes to sleep. Sometimes ignoring can prove to be a valuable parenting tool.
I would like to claim credit for perfecting the use of this tool in regards to parenting; however all credit goes to G-d and his dealings with Moshe. Ever notice how often Moshe's name is mentioned in this week's Parsha Tetzaveh? It's not. Moshe's name is never mentioned in Tetzaveh. The closest reference to God and the Torah's mentioned Moshe's name is the very beginning of the Parsha: V'Atah Tetzaveh et Bnai Yisroel - Now YOU shall command the Children of Israel.... The "you" is Moshe. The omission of Moshe's name is glaring. The fact the entire parsha focuses upon Aaron, his sons, the role of the Kohanim, and the Kohen's inauguration ritual almost seems that G-d is not only ignoring Moshe, but really wants to teach Moshe a lesson. What could Moshe have done already that warrants God's ignoring him? Why teach him this lesson now? In the Talmudic Tractate Pesachim 6b, our sages explain that the Torah was not always written in the chronological order in which the events occurred. Some of the Meforshim (commentators) explain that the laws for the construction of the Mishkan (Parshat Terumah), the laws for the Kohanim's sacred vestments (Parshat Tetzaveh) were given to Moshe by God as a response to the Eigel Zahav (the Golden Calf) and Bnai Israel's fall from holiness. When the Eigel Zahav incident initially occurred, God was furious, so much so, that he wanted to destroy Bnai Israel and told Moshe that he would be the father of a new nation(32:10). Not only does Moshe refuse G-d's offer, but according to the Midrash, Moshe explains that better his name should be erased from G-d's book, than Bnai Israel being wiped away. So G-d removed Moshe's name from this Parsha.
So why in this Parsha was Moshe's name deleted?Perhaps it is fitting that Parsha Tetzaveh is the Parsha in which Moshe's name is absent. According to the Pri Tzaddik, (Rabbi Zadok HaKohen Rabinowitz) the 19th century Chassidic Rebbe from Lublin, explains that the role of the Kohen, as manifested in the beginning of the parsha Ya'Aroch Oto Aharon u'Vanav M'Erev Ad Boker Lifnei HaShem Chukat Olam L'Dorotam M'Eit Bnai Yisroel - Aaron and his sons shall arrange it (the lighting of the Menorah) from evening until morning, before Hashem an eternal decree for their generations, from the Children of Israel. (Ex. 27:21). The role of the Kohanim was to bring 'light' to Bnai Israel, to instill light into the souls of Bnai Israel. Certainly some of us are able to see the "light" from an intellectual perspective. However seeing the "light" is much more than just the pursuit of the intellectual it is the pursuit of the emotional and the spiritual as well. In a sense Moshe is the representation of Torah Study and the Law. Aharon and his sons, serving as the Kohanim, are the manifestation of the emotional and the spiritual, two components that are vitally important to Bnai Israel's ability to connect to God. Law and learning by itself won't be enough as the Eigel Zahav will demonstrate.
Perhaps it is just our human frailties and shortcomings, but our ability to connect to G-d is much more than an intellectual pursuit. So Moshe's name is left out of a discussion in which the primary focus is all about creating an aura and light for the Kohanim so that they can transmit this emotional and spiritual light to Bnai Israel. In a sense, Moshe is ignored in order to teach him a valuable lesson. Connecting to God occurs on a variety of levels: intellectual, spiritual, and emotional.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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