Mozeson on the Parsha – Tetzaveh
I S A A C M O Z E S O N
Isaac Mozeson on the Weekly Torah Portion – Tetzaveh, Exodus 27:20-30:10
פרשת השבוע מאת יצחק מוזסון – תצוה, שמות כז:כ – ל:י
A depiction of the Cohanim (Priests) serving in the Holy Temple, with the Cohen Gadol (High Priest) in the upper left.
The opening verse of our parsha, Exodus 27:20, isn’t simply about some tribe in antiquity with the powerful ritual symbol of an eternal flame, a נר תמיד / NeR TaMeeyD (as used in the JFK memorial). The verse hints that the Children of Israel themselves, ויקחו אליך / EyLeYKHah (take for you), are to be the crushed fine lamp oil, a source of light for all time, תמיד / TaMeeyD. (The designed opposite of TM [eternity] is תם / ToaM, completion, and מיתה / MeeYTaH, death.) Exodus 27:21 reinforces this “eternal” theme as a statute, עולם לדרתם / [O]aLahM L’DoaRoaTaM, for the DuRation of the generations of the world. Something for all time is certainly for ערב עד בקר / [E]ReBH [A]hD BoaQeR (evening to morning), so this phrase seems superfluous. But here in Winter, 2024, we are once again in a Night that will end in Dawn.
Something for all time is certainly for ערב עד בקר / [E]ReBH [A]hD BoaQeR (evening to morning), so this phrase seems superfluous. But here in Winter, 2024, we are once again in a Night that will end in Dawn.
As a non-Rabbi and non-Priest (Levi, Kohen), details of the priestly garments in chapter 28 seem skippable. But they wouldn’t be here if even non-Jews, like my beloved Bnai Noah followers, were not supposed to learn from them:
KiToNeT / כתנת: a tunic to correct sins of fraternal strife, as done to brother Joseph (Gen. 37:31-32) who wore the KiToNeT PaSeeYM (tunic of many pieces).
MiCHNiSaiM / מכנסים: pants, to cover sexuality. Presidents, billionaires, even movie moguls auditioning starlets, need to keep their pants on.
MiTSNeFeT / מצנפת: a turban to contain heads from getting too big. The headband also spells out that the priests are not holy themselves, but are sacred servants of Hashem.
ABHNaiDT / אבנט: a band or sash to guard from hidden sins of the heart, like jealousy.
K[H]oSHeN / חשן: a breastplate with oracular gems. We can misread signals, making errors of guesswork. We all have sun-sign tribal gems, and must live with our innate gifts and flaws.
EPHoaD / אפוד: a padded garment, warning of material idolatry. Padding our finances for our own sake, not to spread blessings, is idolatry too.
M‘[E]YL / מעיל: a robe, it echoes מעל / Ma'[A]L, slander – a flaw to avoid on social media.
Chapter 29 ends with שכני בתוכם / SHaKHNeeY B‘ToaKHaM (I will be ensconced within them), echoing the chief passage of the Tabernacle-Temple concept from Exodus 25:8. All the sacred furniture and paraphernalia can turn anti-ritualists off. But then I see photos of my Bnai Noah heroes beaming beside a menorah or show-bread (challah) on a Shabbath table. They were brought up to eschew “works”. We believe in a Creator of Molecules who can never be confined by molecules, yet we mortals take joy in the physical symbols of the spiritual.
So, thank you Hashem, for all these non-narrative details here in mid-Exodus.
Dr. Isaac Mozeson taught at NYU, Yeshiva University and SUNY. He’s written two Hebrew-based dictionaries and seven other books, two of which, The Place I Call Home and Jerusalem Mosaic, have won national awards. He is founder of the Edenics project (edenics.org), the stated purpose of which is to “document the accuracy of the statement in Genesis 11, ‘The whole world had one language and a common speech'”.
Dr. Mozeson may be contacted at mozeson72@gmail.com.
