לזכות רפואה שלימה אחינו כל בית ישראל הנתונים בצרה ובשביה
Parshat Tetzaveh continues the Torah’s narrative of the materials and components needed to create the Mishkan, with this Parshah focusing particularly on the creating of the Kohanim’s garments. The Possuk states two purposes for the garments; Shemot 28’ 2’-3’ states:
“...Make sacred garments for your brother, Aharon, for honor and splendor.
Speak to all who are wise in heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, and have them make Aharon’s garments, to sanctify him to serve Me [as kohein]..."
Thus, the commentary Gan Ravah points out, while the simple intent of the Kohein’s vestments was to inspire glory and splendor, the garments also were designed to fulfill a specific, spiritual ideal as well. With the Mishkan representing the re-creation of the physical universe according to many sources, every step involved was of literal cataclysmic significance, in addition to the simple physical and external processes.
Perhaps this is the reason, 800 years later, during the time of Purim, King Achashverosh attempted to display his grandeur by parading the vestments of the Kohein Gadol at his party in Shushan [see Tractate Megillah]. He understood, that aside from the external glorious nature of the clothing worn by Aharon, the spiritual and metaphysical power that was built into the fabric of these garments was awesome, and his parading of these articles of clothing was an attempt to show his domination over the nation that had created, as per Hashem’s commands, these vestments. Of course, as Megillat Esther explains, Achashverosh and especially his evil advisor, Haman, were entirely defeated and humiliated.
There is, however, another extremely unique facet to the Parshah of Tetzaveh; after Moshe is introduced in Parshat Shemot, Parshat Tetzaveh is the first and only Parshah that does not contain Moshe’s name at all. As multiple commentaries point out [see Rokeach, Parshat Tetzaveh, for example], the Pesukim seem to go out of their way to avoid using Moshe’s name-the first Possuk of the Parshah, for example, states [Shemot 27’ 20’]:
“...And You shall command the B’nei Yisrael and have them bring you clear olive oil, [made from olives that were] crushed for lighting, to keep the lamp burning constantly…"
The Parshah does not introduce the command with the typical “and G-d commanded Moshe saying…"; it simply states “and you shall command…". Rokeach [ad. Loc.] offers, that because Moshe had initially resisted being the leader of the Jews at the burning bush, he had lost the right to be a Kohein, and therefore his name is not mentioned in this week’s Parshah, which deals extensively with the laws of the Kohanim.
However, Chid’’a, in his commentary Chomat Anach, quotes numerous sources that discuss a classic and mysterious discrepancy. Many Midrashim write that there are, in total, 53 Parshiyot in the Torah; this is quite difficult, as a simple count of the Parshiyot will yield 54 in total! What accounts for this extra Parshah? Chid"a writes, that in reality, Tetzaveh and the prior Parshah, Terumah, can be considered one unit [in many respects, they are fundamentally dealing with the same concepts]. Thus, the Midrashim write that there are 53 Parshiyot, even while Terumah and Tetzaveh are read on separate weeks. Chid"a notes, that this is the reason why Parshat Tetzaveh begins “AND you shall command etc."; the word “AND" is designed specifically to imply connection to the prior week’s Parshah. Chid’’a adds, that based on this perspective, in actuality, Moshe’s name is not missing from the Parshah of Tetzaveh at all, because it is mentioned in Parshat Terumah, and the two are really one unit!
It is worth noting that there is a deep and powerful lesson behind the number of 54, specifically as it relates to Purim. The Kabbalisitic commentary of the Megaleh Amukos [in his first lecture on Purim], written about 450 years ago, in the name of the holy Arizal, writes that there are 54 times that the name of Haman appears in the Megillah; in addition, Haman’s ten sons have 54 total letters in their names, and there are 54 words in the Torah’s account of the story of Amaleik in the end of Parshat Beshalach. To counteract the evil energy of Haman and Amaleik, the names of Mordechai and Esther appear 54 times in the Megillah as well, and there are 54 words in the first paragraph of Shema, recited twice daily. It seems, that Parshat Tetzaveh, representing the elusive 54rth Parshah of the Torah, as per the perspective of the Chid’’a, also contains, in many ways, allusions to the essence of how to defeat Amaleik.
Clearly, the simplest antidote to counteract the evil of Amaleik is the proper recital of the first chapter of Shema; this paragraph’s 54 words declare our commitment to the oneness and eternal unity of Hashem; Amaleik and its minions, through physical and spiritual machinations, always seeks to disrupt and sever that connection. Parshat Tetzaveh ends with the commandment to build a small, golden altar, where the daily incense offering could be brought. This altar, according to Keli Yakar, represents the dedication of the pure and unsullied Jewish Neshamah, the part of the soul where even sin cannot touch. It is this kernel that we dedicate to Hashem when we recite the Shema, and thereby seek to completely eradicate the influence of Amaleik.
Purim 5786:
The primary enemy of the Jewish people during the Purim story is a man by the name of Haman; critically, Haman stems from the ancient enemy of the Jewish people, the nation of Amaleik. Famously, the Gemara [see Megillah 13] recounts that Haman established a lottery to determine which month to attempt his annihilation of the Jews-when the lottery fell on the month of Adar, the month in which the greatest leader of the Jews, Moshe Rabbeinu, had passed away [on the 7th of the month], Haman rejoiced and assumed that this was an auspicious sign of his guaranteed success. The Gemara notes wryly, that Haman forgot about the detail that Moshe was born during Adar as well, an omen that would portend joy for the Jews rather than tragedy.
The question must be asked, though-why did Haman associate his success with the death of Moshe specifically? The Torah commentary of the great Rishonim, the Tosafists, known as the Moshav Zekeinim [see commentary on Parshat Balak], notes that the initial letters of the word “AMALEIK/עמלק" actually spell out the names of Moshe’s ancestors, spanning back to Levi, the son of Yaakov. To clarify: the ע=עמרם, the מ=משה, the ל=לוי, and the ק=קהת. Thus, Moshe, as well as his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, are all represented in the name “Amaleik". Moshav Zekeinim notes, that this would seem to imply that Haman and his nation had some sort of specific advantages over Am Yisrael, represented by Moshe -the greatest prophet to ever live-and his immediate ancestors. Moshav Zekeinim ends off this fascinating allusion by noting that Haman failed to notice that the last letters of the names עמרם לוי קהת משה actually spells the word death\מיתה, thereby alluding to the fact that when Amaleik provokes the Jews, ultimately the ending will be their complete destruction. Moshav Zekeinim concludes, that allusion is actually the understanding of the mystical Possuk in Parshat Balak that states [Bamidbar 24’ 20]:
“...When Bil’am saw Amalek, he declared his parable, and said: “Amalek was the first among nations, and his end will be total destruction..."
The idea of the “end of Amaleik" is in reference to the above allusion, whereby the ending of the names hinted to in the word עמלק actually spell out the annihilation of Amaleik. Chasm Sofer [ad. Loc.] adds to this allusion by noting that the battle between Moshe and Haman is also represented in the Hebrew spelling of the word “משה", where, if the name משה is spelled out fully, as in מ"מ שי"ן ה"ה, the end letters can assemble the name “המן". Thus, again, the tension and cataclysmic struggle between Amaleik and the Jews is significantly associated with “Moshe".
Perhaps, the deeper understanding of the above can be found by noticing the way the Torah first describes the baby that would eventually become Moshe [classic commentaries note that the first time the Torah discusses a particular person or happening has special importance]. The Torah states [Shemot 2’2’]:
“...The woman conceived and bore a son. She saw that he was good, and she kept him hidden for three months…"
Hence, the opening adjective used to describe Moshe Rabbeinu is the fact that he was “good". In fact, there are opinions in the Gemara [see Sotah 12A] that Moshe’s birth name was “Tov" [good]. This represents the critical difference between Judaism and other religions-within Judaism, there is no possibility for absolute “evil"; everything that is done is the will of Hashem, whose fundamental way of interacting with this world is through the prism of divine beneficence-there is no “Satan" that operates outside the will of Hashem, G-d forbid. This is summarized by several pithy expressions in the Gemara, most famous of which is “Gam Zu LeTova"--"this is also for the good." Amaleik, at its core, seeks to destroy this perspective, and bring doubt to our relationship with Hashem, attempting to cause Am Yisrael to question this outlook, which, if successful, would completely uproot our unique relationship with the Creator. Thus, Moshe Rabbeinu, who was known as “Tov", was the complete antithesis of the nation of Amaleik, and therefore Haman was elated to discover that his lottery fell out during the month in which Moshe had died. It is for this reason notes Rokeach [see Rokeach at the end of Ki Teitsei], that the Parshah in which the command to remember to wipe out Amaleik does not contain the letter “ט"--for “ט" always alludes to “Tov", and Amaleik’s intention was to challenge the perspective of the divine Creator being essentially a “מטיב", upon which lies the foundation of Judaism.
Incredibly, to illustrate how Hashem is the source of ultimate beneficence, even Amaleik would end up producing the highest form of goodness that this world can offer-as the Gemara [Sanhedrin 96] writes that the descendants of Haman were of the greatest Torah scholars in Benei Brak-Thus, the story goes full circle-Amaliek’s initial battle against the Jewish perspective was rooted in the principal idea of Judaism that Hashem is only good--and his own descendants will be great producers of Torah, the most authentic form of goodness that this can be brought to this world.
This idea can be further expanded upon when noticing the Gemara in Chullin 139, which states that Haman is alluded to in the Torah in Bereishit where the snake’s words of “המן העץ וכו". Fascinatingly, the seduction of the primordial snake was designed to get Adam to sin and eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Thus, the entirety of the snakes existence and mission was to bring into this world a sense that there is a force of evil, and that not everything is גם זו לטובה!!! This directly parallels our theory here, that the mission of Amaleik is an echo of the original serpent’s ideal-to cloud the vision of Am Yisrael, and have a perspective that does not state that Hashem is pure goodness Chas Veshalom. Thus, Moshe, whose name was Tov, was the antithesis entirely of the attempts of Amaleik to influence the world against such an attitude.
Dedicated in memory of all those who have perished and sacrificed for Am Yisrael.
Have a Great Shabbat!