TETZAVEH

Power of Concealment

The portion of Tetzaveh is the only portion in the Torah which includes Moses, but never mentions his name. We learn from this that when something is concealed, it can be revealed in even greater amounts. Following the incident of the Golden Calf - when the Israelites made an idol while Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, Moses pleads with G-d for Him to forgive their collective sin. Moses tells G-d to "blot me out of the book you have written" as a way to atone for the sins of those that created the idol. The commentators suggest that as a result of this request to G-d, it is this portion in which Moses was removed from the Torah. Despite the fact that his name is not mentioned however, the portion describes G-d's direction to Moses on how to bring Aaron closer to G-d as the high priest - carrying out divine service on earth for the benefit of the people. The detailed description provided to Moses regarding the priestly vestments and sacrifices is an important step for the revelation of Light and G-d's presence in the physical realm. Even though his name is not mentioned, his role and importance is significant. This shows us how less is more and, by his name being concealed, Moses and his actions are actually revealed at a higher level.

Secret of the Priest’s Clothing

The portion describes in detail the attributes of the priest's clothing. The Kabbalists considered that each vestment was a tool to cleanse different forms of negativity: the Vest (Ephod) cleansed any form of idol worshiping; the Breastplate (Choshen) cleansed judgment; the Tunic cleansed evil speech and gossip; the Forehead Plate (Tzitz) removed audacity and bravado; the Turban (Mitre) cleansed ego, the Robe of the high Priest cleansed negativity from murder and character assassination; and the Girdle / Belt cleansed negative thoughts. We can access and connect to these tools to cleanse negative traits by reading the portion of Tetzaveh. The breastplate, considered to be a highly technical vestment, had 12 stones engraved with the names of each of the 12 tribes and a pocket to hold the Urim and Tumim (translated as "Lights and Perfections"). The Zohar states that the Urim contained the 42-letter name of G-d and the Tumim contained the 72 Names of G-d. These mystical tools and holy names were referred to or looked upon when the high priest sought answers on behalf of the people. The key thing is to know that these tools are available to each of us today. Here is a link to an interactive chart of the 72 Names of G-d: http://www.thehealinggift.com/chart/ . The 42-Name of G-d can be accessed by reciting the powerful Ana Bekoach prayer found in most daily prayer books. Thanks to the revelation of these powerful tools to the masses in recent years, we can connect to higher levels of consciousness today without the necessity of the high priest making the connection on our behalf.

We typically read Parsha Tetzaveh right before Purim on a special Shabbat called being Shabbat Zachor where we read about the requirement to always remember Amalek. This year however, we get the benefit of two months of Adar (Adar I and Adar II) so we will make that connection next month in Adar II.