Bs”d
PARSHAS
TETZAVEH
STRIVING FOR
A PURE HEART AND PURE SOUL
The nation
of Israel was born out of a desire to serve the Creator through their deeds in
unity by giving of the Terumah (Donation) “for
the Sake of Hashem, everyone as his
heart inspired him.” This unity gave rise to true nationhood, the ability
to unselfishly work together for a noble and higher cause in service as a holy
nation.
Exodus 25:2
Speak to Bnei Yisrael and have them take
for me a Terumah offering. From every man who’s heart impels him to generosity shall you take my Terumah offering.
It is from these donations that the Mishkan was built. When we come together in
unity and for holy causes we may be creating a dwelling place for Hashem.
Aharon was embarrassed
for his part in the sin of the golden calf he felt responsible for the burden
of the nations’ sin’s which made him a most appropriate high priest, his care
and suffering made him special. He was unselfish
and totally willing to forgo honour we saw this when G-D appears to Moses after
the burning bush incident, when Moses was selected to redeem Israel from Egypt,
Aharon was pleased for him there was no coveting he had a good eye, and heart he wanted
only the best for those around him! He always persued peace.
The purpose
of the service within the Mishkan was the nation connecting, repenting and
drawing closer through the pure high priest who was representing the nation,
his heart thoughts and deeds
needed to be Kodesh Kodeshim (holy of holies).
Offerings Service
The Korban
offerings purified the nation, the Kuzari discusses their function and purpose
and how the different parts and organs atoned for deficiencies in the
nation. The Liver the kidneys remove
toxins.
Notice the
blood of the Ram was placed on the priest’s right ear lobe – perhaps an
indication of a desire to listen; on the right toe – perhaps an indication to
stride towards good deeds; and on the right thumb – perhaps an indication of an
intention to do good deeds. Exodus 29 v20.
The sedra begins
with a command for the Israelites :
Exodus 27:20
You shall command Bnei Yisrael and have them bring you clear Olive Oil, CRUSHED
for lighting.
The Kuzari Rabbi
Prince Yehuda Ha Levi Ztl, teaches us the Menorah wick symbolises a man’s heart.
The Wicks of
the Menorah represented the Heart, the Olive oil –the passion the fire of the
heart for the sake of G-d Almighty.
The Breast plate worn by Aharon over his heart
Exodus 28 v9 was to be worn as a constant remembrance of G-d.
The Oil used
for lighting the wicks represented the purest of olive oil the first extract, it
comes from a crushed olive (Crushed represents a humbled heart).
Aharon would
bring the flame to the base of the Menorah wick but the flame needed to raise and alight itself.
The Kuzari
mentioned when our hearts turned away from G-d and each other the temple was
destroyed!
In reading Orach Tzaddikim (the path of the righteous) in the section
dealing with the gate to repentance I learnt that the beneath the throne of
Glory (Kise ha Kavod) right beneath it are the prayers of humble broken hearts
of regret these plea’s for Teshuva (returning), these powerful prayers penetrate and pierce the heavens up
to the highest spheres of heavenly bodies.
When our
passion thoughts of the heart are rooted in sin, that removes us from the world
of holiness and connection to the Cause of all Causes we become more physical
and animalistic and less spiritual.
I have
obtained permission from Ohr Somayach to bring you some insights from their web
pages
http://ohr.edu/1518 Exodus:
"And you shall take pure pressed olive oil for illumination" (27:20)
The Jewish People are like the olive: Just as the olive only yields its oil after it has been crushed and squeezed, so the Jewish People reveal their true stature only after suffering oppression.
And just as oil cannot mix with any other liquid, but rather floats above it, so too the Jewish People never vanish into the melting pot. And most remarkably, despite being persecuted and subjected to the most severe ordeals, the Jewish People always rise above their oppressors and remain distinct from them.
The colours
of the Ephod : Gold; Blue; Red and Purple, purple is a combination of Blue and
Red, some claim that this is a symbol of the physical world connecting to the
Etheral world.
The Priestly garments:
I
think an important lesson in this week's Parsha is the refinement of the clothing
worn by the High Priest, this is the second time in the Torah where G-D
commands that in order to come close to him, purity is required in Exodus the
first in Yitro ch20 v23 “Do not go up to MY alter with steps so your nakedness
not be revealed on it” and again now in our Sedra V42 where it states “make
for them Linen pants to cover their nakedness, reaching from their
waists to their thighs”
The Body BeautifulHttp://ohr.edu/4637
“You shall make vestments of sanctity for Aaron your brother, for glory and splendor.” (Exodus28:2)
“The body is the most natural thing in the world. If you’ve got a nice body, why not show it off? These religious prudes think the body is dirty. They’re ashamed of it. They’re always trying to make the world dreary and gray with their black uniforms.”
Why are religious people so scrupulous about covering their bodies?
Imagine you have a priceless diamond.
Would you take it out into the street in your hand? I don’t think so. You’d put in plush lined jewel case. Our body is a precious possession. It is the abode of the soul in this world. To honor it we keep it away from the eyes of the world, wrapping it in the plush lining of clothing.
The more holy something is, the more it requires covering.
The holiest place on earth was the kodesh kadoshim, the Holy-of-Holies in the Beit HaMikdash (HolyTemple). It was also the most covered place in the world. It was sequestered in the very center of the Temple. Only once a year, on Yom Kippur, would the Kohen Gadol enter there.
The body is not only a miraculous piece of work, but it is also one of the holiest things in this world.
Fine. So why didn’t Adam and Eve wear clothes?
One of the enduring icons of the last millennium is Neil Armstrong’s portrait of Buzz Aldrin standing on the Moon. You could tell it was Aldrin because he had his name neatly embroidered on his spacesuit. However, no one actually thought that this bulbous white bi-ped was Aldrin. It was perfectly clear to everyone that when the suit said ‘Aldrin’, it meant that Aldrin was inside the suit.
Before Adam and Eve sinned, it was perfectly clear that the function of the human body was to be a ‘spacesuit’ for the soul to exist in this world. For just as a human being can exist in the vacuum of space for but a few short moments before his blood boils from the lack of pressure, so too the soul needs a body to perform its work in this lower world.
Before the first Man and Woman ate from the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil it was not possible to think that the body was the essence of the person. It was clear that the body was just a way to exist in this world. However, when Adam and Chava ate from the fruit, this changed.
The name of the tree of whose fruit they ate was the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. In the Torah, knowledge always connotes “connection”. When Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they caused a connection, a mixing of good and evil.
Good is the essence and purpose of this world: “And G-d saw that it was good.” The possibility of Evil exists only as a space to allow freedom of choice. Evil is not the essence of this world. When Adam and Chava ate from the tree they caused a “knowledge”, a mixing, of Good and Evil. They made it possible to mistake Evil for Good — to mistake non-essence for essence. Thus it became possible for man to confuse, to mix up the essence of a person — his soul — with his ‘spacesuit’ — the body.
In order to de-emphasize the body and re-emphasize that the essence of the human being is his soul, G-d made garments for Man so that the body’s importance should not be over-emphasized.
However, there’s one place where the body needs no covering — the face. The Hebrew word for face is panim, which is spelled identically with another Hebrew word, “p’nim” — which means “inside”. The face is the one place in the body where you can see the soul bursting through skin and tissue. The face needs no covering, for the soul shines through it as it always did.
- Sources: Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch,
Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner, Rabbi Yaakov Hillel, Rabbi Zev Leff, Rabbi
Mordechai Perlman
I heard from The Chief rabbi
Dr Warren Goldstein that when the soul leaves the body, the face and body loses
its holy shine, it is due to removal of the heavenly soul as it returns to Hashem
while the body returns to dust.
Good Shabbos and a joyous
Purim – may you all connect to this incredibly spiritual day!
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