Tetzaveh

Tetzaveh

You Shall Command

Sh'mot "Names" (Exodus) 27:20-30:10

This Parsha starts with G-d telling Moshe to tell the people to bring fine oil for the Menorah, the lamp from the previous parsha. G-d specifies here that tending to this lamp and keeping it burning will be a duty of the priests.

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"You shall command..."

"Then bring...Aaron your brother and his son... to serve Me as priests."

Having mentioned the priests in relation to the eternal lamp, G-d now focuses on the priests. Speaking in great detail about how their uniforms should look and the significance of each piece. Then instructing Moshe in a detailed and meaningful ceremony to consecrate the priests and start them in their new duties.

A vest made of two pieces with gold accents and joined at the shoulders with engraved stones set in gold settings.

The Ephod

Worn over the ephod and attached to it at the shoulders. Made of gold and set with 12 stones, each engraved with the name of one of the 12 tribes. Also containing the Urim and Thummim

​​The Breastpiece

​Underneath everything, was a robe of blue, with gold bells and pomegranites on its reinforced hem.

The Ehpod Robe

​The Checkered Coat

A coat of checkered colors made of linen held closed with and embroidered sash .

​The Turban

Matched to the checkered coat and held on with a band boasting a gold plate engraved with the words "Holy to the Lord".

​High Priest Garments

​The ordinary priests, Aaron's sons, wore coats, sashes, and caps as well as linen undergarments, which the High Priest also wore.

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​The Priest's Garments

​First Moshe offered a bull as a sin offering, pouring its blood out at the base of the alter.

Sin Offering

Then he offered a ram as a burnt offering, splashing its blood against the sides of the alter.

​​Burnt Offering

​The blood of this ram was dabbed on the right, ears, thumbs, and toes. Then mixed with oil and sprinkled over them.

Food Offering

The ram of ordination was divided up serving as a wave offering and also as the first holy food that Aaron and his sons partook of.

​​Ram of Ordination

​Consecration of the Priests

​G-d described to Moshe the ceremony to annoint the priests so that they could serve in the holy tabernacle. First Moshe had them dress in their priestly garments and sprinkled them with annointing oil. Then Moshe made several sacrifices.

Now that the priests' ordination has been outlined, G-d mentions another duty of the priests'. Keeping incense burning on the incense altar for which He gives Moshe specific assembly instructions.

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Altar of Incense

The Eternal Flame

This Parsha begins and ends with items that are to be kept continually burning. Aaron and his sons are supposed to attend to both the lamp and the incense altar in the morning and evening to see that they are burning always.

Both are these items, also, require special fuel. The lamp needs the purest of beaten olive oil while the altar requires incense that cannot be used for anything else.

Holy

The Hebrew word for holy, "Kadosh" literally means set apart, as in set apart for G-d's service. The Priestly garments are holy, they are only worn in G-d's service.

The Menorah and the Incense Altar are also holy. The special incense and pure oil are set apart for G-d's service and are therefore holy. And in the ordination ceremony, the priests are sprinkled with blood and oil to signify that they, too, are being set apart for G-d. Becoming holy in this way, they can now partake of the holy food of the sacrifices and the show-bread.

Holy of Holies

The Mishkan, literally dwelling place, is holy. Inside the Mishkan is the Holy of Holies which is even holier than the Mishkan, while the interior of the Mishkan is holier than its courtyard. Similarly, the people of Israel are a people sat apart for G-d, a holy people, yet the Levites are holier among the people and the priests are holier among the Levites. The land of Israel is a holy land and within the holy land Jerusalem is a holy city.

Levels of Holiness

There are different levels of holiness, but basic holiness is all about something being set apart for G-d. When we set apart a day, or several days at a time, to draw closer to G-d, we get holy days, or the biblical holidays. So when we set apart time in our days to pray or study in order to draw closer to G-d, we are making this time holy. Perhaps not on the same level of holiness as the Mishkan or the commanded festivals, but it is now ascended to a basic level of holiness.

A Holy People

If you set apart your life so that you spend it serving G-d, your life becomes holy. Not perhaps on the same level as a priest's life was holy, but again, a basic level of holiness that imbues every action of yours with a Godly purpose. This is exactly what it means to be a holy people; to be a nation of holy people who seek to set each of their actions apart and do them in G-d's service. Everything you do can be made holy by the way and the reason for which you do it.

Everything, Everyday

"From evening to morning... a statute forever..."

Just as the priests tended to the holy items every day, to keep the flames of the Menorah and the incense burning continually, dedication is required when attending to the holiness of our lives. If we are to bring the Messiah's Holy Kingdom, we need to make the world holy. We need to be constantly and purposefully setting our actions apart, basing our reasons and judgments on G-d's Torah; making everything we do holy and thus spreading His eternal light to the world.

"​To the the Quiz!"

Multiple Select

What is the hebrew word for holy and what does it literally translate to?

• Kadosh

• Lechiam

• Set Apart

• For G-d

Multiple Choice

The consecration of the priests required what animals for sacrifice?

• 2 bulls, 3 rams

• 1 bull, 2 rams

• 1 bull, 3 rams

• 3 bulls

• 4 rams

Multiple Select

Which of these were part of the high priest's ensemble?

• An overcoat

• a breastplate

• a vest

• a robe

• a turban

Draw

circle the engraved pieces of the high priest's outfit.

Fill in the Blanks

Multiple Choice

Mishkan means?

• Tabernacle

• Holy Place

• Dwelling Place

• Temple

• Holy Tabernacle

Fill in the Blanks

Multiple Select

Which of these are everyday actions that could be made holy?

• Exersizing

• Folding Laundry

• Studying

• Washing Dishes

Open Ended

Choose an everyday action and explain how one could set it apart for G-d and make it holy.

Poll

Do you think the High priest was hot under all those clothes?

• Yeah, they lived in the desert.

• Probably no more than usual.

• Nah, G-d probably kept him miraculously cool.

• Maybe, but I doubt it bothered him.

Shabat Shalom!