When commanding the making of the High Priest’s garments, the Torah states their purpose as being ‘for honour and glory’. They are both to reflect his exalted status and add to its lustre. These garments thus on the one hand reflect the inner person but on the other add a lustre that may not necessarily exist without them. It is instructive to note, therefore, that these garments are dispensed with on Yom Kippur. Even though on every other day of the year they are essential for the High Priest’s service, on Yom Kippur he wears simple white linen garments. When he goes into the Holy of Holies on this day, he is stripped of any outward pretensions he may carry and faces G-d as he is. There are times when even added lustre ‘for the glory of G-d’ gets in the way of a true service of the Divine. This is an important lesson for all of us. We all, in one way or another, put on a show for the world. Few of us show all of our true feelings or personality the whole time. If we did we probably couldn’t live together in harmony. Yet there are times when it is necessary to dispense with outward appearances and get to the heart of whom we are. Certain relationships and situations demand that we reveal our true selves, without costume or makeup. Yom Kippur is the most obvious example of such a time. Another, less obvious day, is Purim. In fact it would seem that the opposite is true. On Purim we dress up to hide our personalities. Indeed, even G-d hides Himself on Purim, his name not even being mentioned in the Megillah. Yet Purim is compared to Yom Kippur, indeed is in some ways greater, Yom Kippur being Ki-Purim: a day ‘like’ Purim. It appears that on Purim we are also required to reveal our true selves. We do this, however, without, like on Yom Kippur, having to shed our outer pretensions. Rather we see through them. On Purim the Jewish people reached a height of assimilation, when even the heroes of the story were named after idols. Yet when the crunch came, their true nature was revealed. Purim teaches us to see beyond outward appearances and appreciate the true nature of things. We learn that we can be true to ourselves, even if we are sometimes forced to put on an outward show. These are important lessons of this season for our time.
ALIYAH BY ALIYAH SYNOPSIS
Rishon |
The command to light the Menorah. Aaron’s clothes: the Epod. |
Sheni |
Aaron’s clothes: the Breastplate. |
|
Shelishi |
Aaron’s clothes: the Robe, the plate and the Mitre. The four garments of a regular Priest. |
|
Revi’i |
The ceremony of induction to the priesthood. |
|
Chamishi |
Induction continued. |
|
Shishi |
The daily offering. |
|
Shevi’i |
The altar of incense. |
| Maftir |
Remember what Amalek did to you. |
|
Haftorah |
I Samuel: 15;1-34: Saul’s war against the Amalekites. |
Sidra Statistics
Parshat Tetzaveh
· has 111 verses ;
· is the 8th in Exodus, 20th in the Torah
· 8th longest in Exodus, 27th longest in the Torah
· has 4 pos + 3 neg = 7 mitzvot.
