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Disappearing Ink

03/02/2012 05:53:16 AM

Mar2

R Pesach Siegel

Disapearing Ink

 In order to understand this week’s Torah portion, Parshas Tetzave, we must do so by the light of Parshas Ki Sisa. In Parshas Ki Sisa Moshe is pleading. He is pleading for the life of the Bnei Yisroel. Hakodesh Baruch Hu renders a decision of justice over the Bnei Yisroel. He determines that they should all be put to death for the sin of worshiping the Eigel HaZahav right after Matan Torah. A new nation would be born from Moshe Rabeinu.

 Moshe responds to G-d, “If you are willing to keep these Jews as your nation despite their sins, good. But if you will destroy them, then erase my name from the Torah.” G-d answers Moshe, “The ones who have sinned, I will erase their names from the Torah.” G-d would not erase Moshe’s name from the Torah because he was not involved in the sin of the Eigel. Out of G-d’s kindness, the punishment for the Eigel was spread out throughout the generations.

 Hashem said he was not going to erase Moshe’s name from the Torah. Chazal tell us that there is one parsha that does not mention Moshe’s name even once. And that is this week’s parsha. Throughout the parsha, Moshe is referred to as “you.”  Hashem says, “You” should command the Bnei Yisroel.  There is only one parsha in the entire Torah, since the time of Moshe’s birth, that does not contain his name even once.  

 Questions

  G-d said only the one who has sinned will be removed from the Torah. Moshe Rabeinu did not sin. Why is his name removed the Torah?

 If for some reason Hashem decided to erase Moshe’s name then why does Moshe’s name appear in the Torah at all. Moshe said to erase his name from the whole Torah? 

 Why did Hashem choose this parsha specifically to erase Moshe’s name. The parsha in which this conversation with G-d took place was Ki Sisa. So why did Hashem omit his name a parsha before? 

 Background/Deeper Understanding

 This week is also Parshas Zachor. We read how Amalek attacked the Jews as they were leaving Egypt. The Torah relates how Amalek chopped off your tail, while you were weak and exhausted. What does it mean that they chopped off their tail?

 How did Amalek manage to attack the Bnei Yisroel? When the Jews left Egypt the Egyptians attacked. G-d surrounded them with an impenetrable cloud. You can’t fight someone who is encased by G-d. When Yisro came to the midbar the midrash says he tied a note to an arrow and shot it through the clouds. He could not enter because he was a gentile. If Yisro could not get in how was Amalek able to get through the cloud to fight the Jews?

 The answer is that one tribe was outside the clouds. Shevet Dan was outside the clouds because when they left Egypt they took an avodah zarah along with them. The cloud would not accept them. The whole nation was inside the clouds but Shevet Dan was outside following the cloud from behind. Amalek came and attacked Shevet Dan thereby drawing the rest of the nation out of the clouds to aid their dying brethren. Once the rest of the nation left the cover of the clouds, Amalek engaged them in war. Amalek defiled the dead bodies of their victims. They chopped off the Jew’s bris mila and threw them to shamayim.

 Amalek stands diametrically opposed to any bond between G-d and His creation. The Jewish nation represents this very bond. They threw the bris mila of Shevet Dan to shamayim to demonstrate that any bond which may have existed between Hashem and the Jewish nation has since been broken. They have idolaters among them. The have been unfaithful to their covenant. The Jews exist to create a covenant with G-d and Amalek exists to deny such a covenant with G-d. For Amalek to exist, they need to drive G-d out of creation. Any connection with G-d spells their destruction.

 In the time of the Greeks a very similar event occurred. They commanded that any Jew who owned a bull was to inscribe on its horn that the owner has no connection with the G-d of Israel. Instead of inscribing this on the horns the Jews sent away their bulls. Why specifically a bull? Because the Greeks wanted the Jews to believe that once they erred with the golden calf, their relationship with G-d was severed forever.

 The Megillah relates a dialogue that Haman had with Achashveirosh. He sought to purchase the Jews from Achashveirosh so that he could destroy them. Achashveirosh was wary of such a plan. He feared the vengeance of Hashem. Haman told him, “Yeshno am echad …. v’es dasei hamelech aynam osim.”  There is a nation. They are slumbering. They don’t keep the laws of their King. They have no connection with G-d. There is no reason to fear retribution.

 In the time of Nevuchadnezer, the entire nation bowed down to his idol. In the time of Haman, the entire nation (except one) bowed down to Haman’s idol (that he attached to his clothing).

 He said to Achashvierosh that now that they did avoda zarah they broke their connection to G-d. You can’t kill someone who is connected to G-d. But now they severed their connection. 

 This is totally consistent with Amalek’s goal in creation.

 We sing, “Shoshanas Yaakov tzahala vesamecha bir’osam yachad techeles Mordechai. All were happy when they saw Mordechai’s techeles. What was so joyous about seeing Mordechai’s techeles? Mordechai was showing the Jews that even though it looks like there is no connection to G-d on the outside, there is still an unbreakable bond to Hashem on the inside. Hashem will never give up on us and leave us. He loves us. And when our conduct threatens our relationship, he sends someone like Haman to send us running back into His protective arms. Techeles is the color of the sea. The sea is the color of the sky. The color of the sky is the color of the Kisai HaKavod – the Throne of Glory in heaven. Techeles represents the connection between this world and shamayim. We take the techeles and tie it in a knot. A knot represents the bond between this world and Hashem. When we see the knot of techeles we realize the unbreakable bond between us and G-d. This is the source of the Jew’s expression of joy.

  This week’s parsha discusses the incense offering known as the avodas haketores. The word “kitra” in Aramaic means 'knot'. The avodah of the kohanim through the offering of the ketores was the avodah that connected  the upper world to the lower world.

 Mordechai’s name is related to the word 'mori dichya' which was a spice of the ketores. Mordechai's life’s work was the avodah that connected the upper world to the lower world. He was the “knot” who preserved the bond between Hashem and his people. Esther’s second name was Hadassah. The gemorah says that tzadikim are compared to a hadas. The hadas grows in the form of a braid.  Esther's name was Hadassah because she joined Mordachai in showing the Jews that they were still braided and connected to Hashem.

 This is the constant war between Amalek and the Jews.

 Chazal tell us that the clothes that were made for the kohanim in Parshas Tetzave were made by people that G-d gave special wisdom. The wisdom that G-d gave them enabled to instill the spiritual into the physical. The clothes had a kedushah to them. The wearer underwent a transformation upon donning the garments. In what manner did this kedushah change the kohanim?

 Adam HaRishon was the first kohen. When he sinned he realized that he needed to wear clothes. Before he sinned his body was a tool for his soul. After the sin his body broke away from his soul and demanded physical desires. A bris milah is one of the ways that reconnects the body to the soul. The clothes of the Kohen is another way. When the kohen puts on his holy clothes he changes his body. The body no longer desires physical pleasures. Its sole purpose is to carry out the avodah in the Mishkan. When the kohen puts on the clothes its like the throwback to Adam HaRishon before the sin and the body is controlled by the soul. Although it looks like the body is separated from G-d when the kohen wore the clothes it counteracted the sin of the snake and reconnects the body to its maker.

 This is why Achashveirosh wore the Kohanim’s clothes at his feast. He was taking the things that we use to connect physical with spiritual and only using it for pure physical gratification.  

 Answers

 Parshas Tetzave is a parallel to Mordechai and Esther in the megillah. Even though it looked like we were disconnected externally from G-d because we worshipped idols, Mordachai and Esther showed us that internally we always have a connection to G-d. Hashem is always with us, and in a hidden manner, His name is mentioned throughout the entire megillah.

  Moshe Rabeinu represents the entire Jewish people. After the sin of the spies it says that G-d did not speak to the Jewish people including Moshe Rabinu for forty years. Although Moshe did not actually sin, because he represented the Jewish people, if they were in cheirem, he too was in cheirem.

 Which is why in Parshas Ki Sisa Moshe says to Hashem, ”if you eradicate the Jewish nation, erase my name from the Torah.” He was one with the Jewish people. This is also why when Hashem said, “I will only erase the name of those that sin,” He erased Moshe’s name in Tetzave. Because the Jewish people sinned and Moshe was one with the Jews his name had to be erased.

 However the sin of the golden calf was only external. Internally they were one with G-d. Only because of external forces were the Jews able to be coerced into doing a sin. This is why Moshe’s name didn’t appear in Parshas Tetzave externally, however it does appear internally. Just like the Hashem’s name in the Megillah. Moshe’s name can be found in every posuk.

 Moshe Rabeinu’s name is spelled – Mem, Shin, Heh. The letter Mem is spelled Mem, Mem. The letter Shin is spelled Shin, Yud, Nun. The letter Heh is spelled Heh, Aleph. Our sages tell us that the hidden letters of Moshe Rabeinu’s name (Mem, Yud, Nun, Aleph) equal the gematria of 101. There are 101 pesukim in Parshas Teztave. Thus, there is not  single posuk in the parsha that does not contribute to Moshe’s name. The pnimiyus (internalism) of Klal Yisroel is alive and well in this week’s parsha.

 It is specifically in Parshas Tetzave, the parsha of bigdei kahuna, the parsha of ketores,  that this is revealed to us.

Thu, March 28 2024 18 Adar II 5784