Parashat Tetzaveh, Exodus 27 Ner Tamid Priests Ordination

Parasha Tetzaveh Exodus 27 Ner tamid Priests Ordin Shalom! This video is about Parshah tetzaveh. Now the word “tetzaveh” is based on the root word tzavah like command, like mitzvah and this is the word command. What is the big command at this week’s Torah portion? Last week, the portion before in Truma, we shift attention away from the 10 commandments, away from all the mitzvoth an Parshah Mitzvah and God says “build me this mishkan”, the portable tabernacle. Well today, you need somebody to run it, and who is that? That is the Kohanim. So Aaron, Moses’ brother, becomes the first high priest, the Kohen Gadol, and then his sons and generations become Kohanim. Now, how do we know who is a Kohanim today? Well, by family tradition, by your father telling you. And I have a separate video on Kohanim and priests. We still have Kohanim today in Judaism but they do not play much of a significant role. There were few ritual roles but basically, their job of running the cult has been taking over by rabbis and cantors and other professionals. So in this week’s Torah portion, first we have the mitzvah to take clear olive oil and to light the lamp regularly. Now what lamp was it? If you go to a synagogue today and look above the arc, there is always an object called the Ner Tamid. There is a light that is on that is a reminiscent of that. Many scholars believe that actually what they were referring to was the middle candle of the seven candle candelabra, the Menorah that was at the top. But we do have the tradition here of Ner Tamid, of the eternally lit light from this passage. Then God commenced Moses to prepare certain clothing for the priests, sacred vestments and what were they? Well, a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a gold frontlet inscribed Holy to the Lord, a French tunic, a head dress, a sash, linen breeches. God instructs Moses to place pomegranates and gold bells around the robe’s hem to make a sound when the high priest entered and exited the sanctuary. Now today, we do not dress any of our staff or our clergy and any of these garments. Rather, we put them on the Torah. So if you seen a dressed up Torah, as you can see in my video, I am having an alia. You can see that it has got either crown or rimonim, there are bells on it on the top of the two handles. And then on the dress of the Torah, it looks like a dress and then it usually has a silver breastplate and sometimes they even have the 12 stones of Israel, the 12 tribes like the breastplate with a sash on it. So, a lot of the clothing here has been transferred to that. Other religious traditions and their clergy in Christianity may wear this in their priesthood but we have put it on our Torahs. Then God has an ordination ceremony for the priests involving a sacrifice. And then, in Exodus chapter 29 verse 42, God promises to meet and speak with Israel and Moses there in this place and to abide among the Israelites to be their God. This is based on a phrase from last week’s Torah portion where God says, “build me the Mishkan and I will dwell among you”. Then God tells Moses to make an incense offering. We have understandings of—for example on Exodus chapter 20, there is a phrase in the words of Jeremiah in chapter 11 verse 16 that Israel is like a leafy olive tree. So why is Israel like an olive? The nations have come, beaten up, prison-bound and surrounded Israel, and yet they get the sweet light juice out of it. That is one explanation. Another explanation is just as the oil gives forth away, so did the temple will give away to the whole world, as it says in Isaiah chapter 60 verse 3, that is from Shemot Rabba. So Israel’s job is to give light to the nations as we have. So those are the most salient points. There are seven mitzvoth according to my Parshah, four positive and three negative. Most of them do not apply really today because the temple has been destroyed for the last 2,000 years in Jerusalem. One mitzvah is to light them in our everyday and we have the eternal light. The others have to do with the Kohanim. What are these? These are particular garments, the breastplate, and the other garments. The Kohanim, they eat this special sacrificial meal, etc. And also, there is an important liturgical note. We call the afternoon service everyday—and we do everyday of Judaism—the Mincha. And the regular sacrifice described on Exodus 29 verses 38 to 39 to offer twilight which presides the afternoon prayer services called the “mincha” or offering in Hebrew, and that is where we got the word. So those are some of the main points in Parshah Tetzaveh, this important period in Jewish history where the Kohanim were the main ritual cultic leaders of the Judaism at this formative stage in our history.