In Tetzaveh, the role of the priests in the service of the Tabernacle takes centre stage. For once the limelight is no longer turned on Moses, but on his brother Aaron, the High Priest. We read about the tasks of the priesthood, their robes of office and their consecration, as well as further details about the Tabernacle itself.
The Summary This is an abridged version of the essay The Aesthetic in Judaism, written by Rabbi Sacks in 2012. In Tetzaveh, the Torah is very specific and emphatic about the clothes to be worn by the Kohen and the Kohen Gadol. But why? In general, Judaism is sceptical about appearances. Shaul, Israel’s first king, looked the part. He was…
The Parsha in a Nutshell In Tetzaveh, the role of the priests in the service of the Tabernacle takes centre stage. For once the limelight is no longer turned on Moshe, but on his brother Aharon, the High Priest. We read about the tasks of the priesthood, their robes of office and their consecration, as well as further details about…
Tetzaveh is, as is well known, the parsha in which for once Moses take second place. In fact, he is not mentioned by name at all, and all the focus is on his brother, Aaron, and on the role he came to occupy and personify, that of High Priest, the Kohen Gadol. There are many conjectures as to why this…
With parshat Tetzaveh, something new enters Judaism: Torat Kohanim, the world and mindset of the Priest. Rapidly it becomes a central dimension of Judaism. It dominates the next book of the Torah, Vayikra. Until now, though, priests in the Torah have had a marginal presence. This week’s parsha marks the first time we encounter the idea of a hereditary elite within…
The Summary This summary is adapted from this week’s main Covenant & Conversation essay by Rabbi Sacks. Tetzaveh is the parsha in which Moshe is not mentioned by name at all. Instead the focus is on his brother Aharon, and on the role he came to occupy and personify: that of High Priest, the Kohen Gadol. There are many reasons…
Beethoven rose each morning at dawn and made himself coffee. He was fastidious about this: each cup had to be made with exactly sixty beans, which he counted out each time. He would then sit at his desk and compose until 2:00 p.m. or 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon. Subsequently he would go for a long walk, taking with him…
…to Aaron. That is why he is missing from the sedra of Tetzaveh which is dedicated to the role of the Kohen. All three explanations focus on an absence. However, perhaps the simplest explanation is that Tetzaveh is dedicated to a presence, one that had a decisive influence on Judaism and Jewish history. Judaism is unusual in that it recognises…
…office and their relationship to the group as a whole. The prime example of the routinisation of charisma is contained in Tetzaveh, in the process through which Moses invests priestly authority in Aaron and his sons. The bigdei kehunah, the “priestly vestments” are its visible symbol. The cohanim are – by virtue of birth and descent, not personal qualities –…
The painting above is shown with kind permission from the artist Yoram Raanan: www.yoramraanan.com www.facebook.com/RaananArt Tetzaveh is the only sedra from the beginning of Exodus to the end of Deuteronomy, that does not contain the word “Moses”. For once Moses, the hero, the leader, the liberator, the lawgiver, is offstage. Instead our focus is on his elder brother Aaron who, elsewhere,…