Tetsavveh (Exodus 27:20-30:10) and Haftarah (Ezekiel 43:10-27): The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary
24
Tetsavveh (Exodus 27:20-30:10) and Haftarah (Ezekiel 43:10-27): The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary
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Overview
The complete set of weekly portions is available in Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin’s book The JPS B’nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary (JPS, 2017).
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780827615762 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | The Jewish Publication Society |
| Publication date: | 08/01/2018 |
| Series: | JPS Study Bible |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 24 |
| File size: | 1 MB |
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Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
The Torah
Tetsavveh: Exodus 27:20–30:10
In the last Torah portion we read about what the Tabernacle was supposed to look like; now let's focus on who is supposed to work in it. Those would be the kohanim (priests) — the people in charge of carrying out the rituals, which were mostly sacrifices. Tetsavveh contains detailed descriptions of the special clothing that the High Priest was to wear, and how the priests were to have been inducted into their sacred service to the Jewish people. The portion concludes with a description of the altar for burning incense.
Interesting fact: this is the only Torah portion in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy that does not mention Moses. This factoid led commentators to imagine that the reading of this Torah portion always coincides with Moses's yahrzeit (the anniversary of his death) — as if the absence of Moses in the portion served as an advance announcement of his death.
Summary
• The Israelites are to bring beaten olive oil that will be used to kindle the ner tamid (the eternal light) in the Tabernacle. (27:20–21)
• Moses has to bring his brother, Aaron, toward him for induction into the priesthood. The garments that Aaron and his sons are to wear convey dignity and honor. (28:1–3)
• These special garments include the ephod (a long vest), with a breast piece that was used to determine God's will, a headdress, and a sash. Aaron is to wear bells on the hem of his sacred garment. Both Aaron and his sons are to wear linen breeches — trousers — when they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar. The idea of holy garments survives in the clothing that Catholic priests wear, as well as in what Mormons wear. (28:6–42)
• There are extensive and distinct procedures that have to be followed in order to consecrate the priests. These procedures include sacrificial offerings. (29:1–44)
• There are explicit instructions for the construction of an incense altar. The Israelites need incense so that they will not be overcome by the unpleasant odors of animal sacrifice. (30:1–10)
The Big Ideas
• Judaism relies on continuity from generation to generation. Just as there was a ner tamid in the ancient Tabernacle and in the ancient Temples, there is a ner tamid in every contemporary synagogue. This demonstrates the continuity of Jewish tradition across thousands of years.
• Judaism has always recognized different models of religious leadership. Moses and Aaron represent that diversity. Moses is the prophet and Aaron is the priest. The prophetic role is to be in direct communication with God; the priestly role is to make sure that the rituals are correctly observed. Often these roles are in conflict, just like Moses was sometimes in conflict with Aaron.
• Jewish ritual grows and changes, but it always keeps pieces of the past. The priestly garments have never disappeared. They appear, in slightly different form, as the "clothing" that is found on Torah scrolls. Even the Torah crowns and the bells that adorn them remind us of the garments of the priests.
• Priests can't just jump into doing important work; there needs to be an official welcome ceremony. The Torah requires that the priests be ushered into their sacred work with appropriate rituals in order to make them, and the Israelites, aware of the presence of God in their midst.
• Judaism is not only God centered; it is also people centered. The practical purpose of the incense in the Tabernacle was to make sure that the odor of the sacrifices did not offend the Israelites. Jewish ritual must always be concerned with the feelings of the people who are involved in it.
Divrei Torah
God's "Dress Code"
You probably don't like dress codes that much. Most people don't. But what about uniforms? That's the subject of much of this Torah portion — the special clothing that Aaron and his sons must wear in connection with their priestly duties. The Torah states that the kohanim had to wear their special clothing "lest they die." Maybe just their priestly roles would have died — at least for the time being. You may have heard the expression, "Clothing makes the man." The Talmud says something similar with regard to the priests: "When they are wearing their appointed garments, they are priests; when they are not wearing their garments, they are not priests."
There are no more Jewish priests, and the garments that the priests wore are now found only on the Torah scroll. Rabbis and cantors have taken the place of the priests (leading prayers, not sacrifices!). But it is interesting that rabbis and cantors are among the few clergy in the world who don't have to wear special clothing. Some will wear robes or a tallit, but these are customs rather than requirements.
Consider what Catholic priests wear. The Torah's descriptions of Aaron's clothing directly influenced priests' clothing. Some Protestant denominations require their ministers to wear special clothing too, like white collars, when they are performing their pastoral duties. The white robes that some rabbis and cantors wear on the Days of Awe symbolize spiritual purity. But the black robes that some might wear on the Sabbath actually derive from academic robes that professors used to wear, and that faculty and students still wear during graduation exercises. Perhaps rabbis and cantors originally started to wear black robes to emphasize the role of the rabbi as a teacher. Or, maybe the black robes come from the judicial robes that judges wear — to show that rabbis must act with solemn judgment.
We wear uniforms in our own lives. Some schools require uniforms. Sports teams require uniforms. Cheerleading squads require them. Camps have special T-shirts and sweatshirts. The clothing that we wear signifies the crowd that we hang out with, the social class that we inhabit, our tastes in clothing, and even how much money we have. The labels we wear label us as well. And the clothing we wear — and the way we wear it — makes statements about our values and our identity, how we view our bodies and our sexuality.
As Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell writes: "Clothing makes a statement. Are the items you wear mass-produced, or made by hand? Are the laborers who make the garments paid a fair wage? Are you intentionally advertising a company, a brand, a designer, an attitude? Are you declaring your connection to a school, a camp, a community, a philosophy? Are you showing off your prosperity or proclaiming your modesty?"
Clothing matters. Maybe even more than we have ever thought.
A Division of Labor
Have you ever noticed that in most synagogues there is a division of labor? Rabbis lead, teach, and counsel. Cantors sing. Jewish educators organize educational programs. Executive directors manage the synagogue. Custodians keep the synagogue clean. While there are many overlaps between these roles (cantors teach and some rabbis sing, for instance), that is the typical system.
The Torah also imagines a sacred division of labor — between the priest and the prophet. Aaron is the first High Priest of the Israelites, and Moses, of course, is the prophet. A midrash says that Moses actually would have wanted to become the High Priest, but God told him to appoint someone else. You can imagine how disappointed Moses was. "God said to him: 'Go and appoint Me a High Priest.' Moses replied: 'Lord of the Universe! From which tribe shall I appoint him?' God replied: 'From the tribe of Levi.' Moses was glad, saying, 'At least he will be from my tribe!'"
The priests were in charge of the rituals of the Jewish people, making sure that the sacrifices were done correctly. The prophets, however, were God's spokespeople, communicating God's will and always emphasizing justice and ethics.
But the differences in their roles go much deeper. The priests had to be from the family of Aaron. It was a hereditary position, like royalty. But prophets did not come from special families. In fact, we barely know the name of Moses's father, and his sons are not important at all. Priests have special clothing. Prophets can wear anything. Priests have to be separate from the people. Prophets live among the people.
But the contrasts are even deeper than that, and those contrasts actually define and shape Judaism. The priest's job was to get the rituals right. Those rituals had to be done correctly, and never change. This was to ensure that life would be stable and constant. The ancient priest would have resonated with the modern cliché: "What is, is." He wants things to stay the same.
But the prophet has a bigger vision. She or he doesn't really care that much about getting the rituals right. Their job is to remind people that rituals are worthless unless they are accompanied by acts of justice. They want to change society for the better.
In the words of the Zionist thinker Ahad Ha'Am: "A certain moral idea fills his [the prophet's] whole being. ... His whole life is spent in fighting for this ideal with all his strength. ... His gaze is fixed always on what ought to be in accordance with his own convictions."
Judaism needs both the priest and the prophet, because Judaism requires both stability and change. But, in the Torah, which role comes first? Moses becomes a prophet before Aaron becomes the priest.
Yes, ritual is important — but justice and ethics comes first.
Connections
• What uniforms (in all senses of the word) do you wear? How are they significant?
• Our Torah portion contains references to almost all the senses. How do you use your senses in your observance and appreciation of Judaism?
• How would you define a modern-day prophet? Who are some of them?
• Which Jewish role — the priest, who does the rituals, or the prophet, who teaches about righteousness — do you believe to be the most important? Why is this?
CHAPTER 2The Haftarah
Tetsavveh: Ezekiel 43:10–27
In order to be a Jew, you need a good imagination. And that is precisely what the prophet Ezekiel has. This week's Torah portion ends with a description of the incense altar that will be used in the ancient Tabernacle (mishkan). Generations later, the prophet Ezekiel has accompanied his people into exile in Babylonia, and he imagines aloud what the someday-to-be-rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem will look like.
But before he tells them about that grand plan, he must get them to repent of the sins that forced them to go into exile in the first place. Ezekiel mixes hope and responsibility.
The Vision Thing
The prophet Ezekiel, writing from exile in Babylonia, has a vision of how the rebuilt Temple will look, focusing on the altar. This makes sense because the altar, where sacrifices will be offered, is certainly a central place in the Temple. But he makes something very clear: he will only tell the exiled Judeans about the Temple's design after they have acknowledged their sins. Because Ezekiel, like the other prophets, believed that it was those sins that got them into Babylon in the first place. The siddur (prayer book) agrees with this, reminding Jewish worshipers: "Because of our sins, we were exiled from our land."
If sins could result in exile from the land, sins could also lead to the destruction of Judea and the First Temple in Jerusalem. Which sins were responsible for these? Take your pick. The Mishnah says, "It was because of idol worship, prohibited sexual relations, bloodshed, and neglect of the agricultural sabbatical year." We can understand the first three. Idolatry means worshiping other gods. Prohibited sexual relations destroy the fabric of the family. Bloodshed is, well, bloodshed — destroying the very image of God within every human being. But the Mishnah goes one step further: neglecting the sabbatical year of the land, refusing to let the land lie fallow for one year in seven — disrespecting the Land of Israel and, with it, the earth itself.
But wait. There's more. It's written in the Talmud, "Jerusalem was destroyed only because they desecrated the Sabbath," ... "only because they neglected reading the Shema, morning and evening," ... "only because they neglected the education of school children." These are religious failings, though we might also think that the punishment — destruction and exile — doesn't fit the crime. And here is another: "Jerusalem was destroyed only because the small and the great were made equal." This means that there was no longer any authority in the land. We're no longer talking about religious issues now; we are talking about what happens in a society that falls into anarchy.
But if there is to be a real reason for exile, this quote from the Talmud might be it. "Because there was baseless hatred." Simply put: the Jews hated each other for no particular reason, and could not get along — and, for that reason, destruction resulted. To which Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, the first chief rabbi of prestate Israel, replies: "There is no such thing as 'baseless love.' Why baseless? This other person is a Jew, and I am obligated to honor him. There is only 'baseless hatred' — but 'baseless love'? No!" Hatred without cause will tear apart a society, and this internal weakness will make it vulnerable. The obligation to love our fellow human, on the other hand, confers a strong and caring society that is much more cohesive and strong, able to withstand external challenges.
Here is another Talmudic teaching, in the form of a legend about the destruction of Judea and the First Temple: "When the First Temple was about to be destroyed, bands of young priests took the keys of the Temple and mounted the roof of the Temple and exclaimed: 'Master of the Universe, we did a bad job guarding the Temple. We are returning the keys to you.' They then threw the keys up toward heaven. And the figure of a hand emerged, and took the keys from them."
Perhaps God still has the keys to the ancient Temple. Perhaps it is time for modern Jews to ask God: "Can we have the keys back? We are ready to practice Judaism even better than our ancestors did. We are ready to let go of hate and let love prevail." Wouldn't that be a wonderful vision?
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Tetsavveh (Exodus 27:20-30:10) and Haftarah (Ezekiel 43:10-27): The JPS B'nai Mitzvah Torah Commentary"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Rabbi Jeffrey K. Salkin.
Excerpted by permission of UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Introduction,
What Is Torah?,
And What Else? The Haftarah,
Your Mission — To Teach Torah to the Congregation,
How Do I Write a Devar Torah?,
How To Keep It from Being Boring (and You from Being Bored),
The Very Last Thing You Need to Know at This Point,
The Torah: Tetsavveh: Exodus 27:20–30:10,
Summary,
The Big Ideas,
Divrei Torah,
God's "Dress Code",
A Division of Labor,
Connections,
The Haftarah: Tetsavveh: Ezekiel 43:10–27,
The Vision Thing,