Observation on Omission
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
The text of Parshat Tetzaveh contains an anomaly our commentators discuss at length: It is the only Parshah from Sefer Shemot until the end of the written Torah that does not contain Moshe's name. Given the central role Moshe Rabbenu plays in our history, and especially in all aspects of life in the generation redeemed from Egypt, this omission is glaring. Moshe's role was certainly central in supervising the construction of the Mishkan/Tabernacle, yet, in this parshah, devoted to the instructions for preparing Aharon and his sons for their service, Moshe's name nowhere appears. To further complicate the text, the Parshah somehow connects Tetzaveh with the preceding Parsha, Terumah, "Ve'atah tezaveh.../And you shall command..." How are the two parshiot connected?
We begin with a very straightforward answer to our first question. As this parshah is devoted to the vestments of Aharon and the kohanim as they perform their service, notes Vayomer Yehudah, Moshe was happy for Aharon's special status as Aharon had been happy for Moshe's appointment as the one to lead Bnei Yisroel out of Mitzrayim. Therefore, Moshe wanted to dedicate a full parshah to Aharon without mention of his own name. Further, adds Rabbi Mordechai Miller, the priesthood was so much a part of Aharon that he passed it on to his sons whereas Moshe, who could perform the service, could not pass it on to his sons. [Fairly recently, scientists have discovered the "priestly gene" passed on paternally in kohanim. CKS]
The best known reason for the omission of Moshe's name is that Moshe himself was the source for this omission, writes the Baal Haturim. When Hashem wanted to destroy Bnei Yisroel for the sin of the golden calf and start a new nation with Moshe, Moshe "stopped the bullet." In essence, Moshe said, "Hashem, you'll have to go through me first if you want to kill them. Erase me from the Book as well." Although the condition was not met, and Hashem did not destroy Bnei Yisroel, the curse of a tzadik nevertheless is dangerous. It has been set out there. It is sharp and it cuts, even inadvertently.
In this vein, Rabbi Frand cites Rav Ovadiah Yosef as explaining that indeed the curse was fulfilled. One can parse Moshe's exact words, "Erase me mi'sifre-cha/from your twentieth Book." Indeed, Parshat Tetzaveh is the twentieth parshah of the Torah, and Moshe's name does not appear in it. In either case, we see how careful one must be with his words.
Rav Zeichick, however, asks, how could this be the reward for Moshe's self sacrifice, his willingness to die for his people? In fact, writes Vayomer Yehudah, Moshe's name barely appears in the first four parshiot that discuss building the Mishkan. Instead of the usual, "And Hashem spoke to Moshe,,,." the Torah says, "And you will make/fashion/ do..." without using Moshe's name. He suggests that this is so because, although Mishkan Ha'eidut literally means the Mishkan bore witness that Hashem forgave Bnei Yisroel for the sin of the golden calf, that forgiveness was incomplete, and the taint of the sin carried forth throughout our history. Hashem originally wanted His Presence to rest throughout Bnei Yisroel, everywhere. After the sin, Hashem modified his plan; His Presence would now be contracted to be contained within the Mishkan, and subsequently in the Beit Hamikdosh.
The Ohr Doniel, Rabbi Ochion, takes a completely different approach to our question. Rabbi Ochion, citing the Admo"r of Kalif, suggests that omitting Moshe's name was actually a testimony to Moshe's greatness. The omission would make people ask, as we did, why his name was omitted, precipitating a discussion about Moshe's greatness and his self sacrifice for his people. Moshe's humility in hiding his name would be the impetus to bringing him honor.
Let us now move on to our second question, How does the first topic discussed in Tetzaveh, that Bnei Yisroel take pure olive oil to be used as a permanent light outside the partition, near the Tablets of Testimony. The Shvilei Pinchas cites the Chasam Sofer in suggesting an esoteric and profound connection between the last word of the previous parshah, Terumah, and our current parshah. Parshat Terumah ends with the word nechoshet/copper. If we set aside the translation and just look at the word, we will note that the word consists of two names, Noach and Shet. The Chatam Sofer suggests that we have a progression of reincarnation from Noach to Shet(s), and continuing to Moshe Rabbenu. The idea is further developed with the first command in this parshah, "They will take... shemen zayit zoch/pure olive oil..," shemen again being an acronym for Shet, Moshe, and Noach. It was through Moshe that these earlier souls were totally purified as the refined and pure oil used in the Menorah.
We are all descended from Shes. After Cain killed Hevel, Cain was also destined to die, and all his descendants actually died in the flood. The only survivors of the flood were Noach and his family, descendants of Shes, born years after that first murder. But Shes and Noach were the progenitors of the physical world, writes Rabbi Bick in Chayei Moshe. It would be Moshe who would ignite the spiritual soul of humanity with the Torah. That is why all the copper utensils were situated in the outer courtyard, while the menorah was, representing Moshe, was in the inner chamber; Shes and Noach represented this world, the antechamber to the true, eternal world to come, adds Rabbi Druck. in Dorash Mordechai.
Rabbi Druck goes back even further in our cycle of reincarnation. Although Cain killed Hevel and was exiled, he lived a life of relative ease, for the entire world was like Gan Eden and needed little care. But Hevel also needed a place on earth. According to Rabbi Druck Hevel himself was reincarnated into his brother Shes. If we now add the initials of all these individuals together, we form NeShaMaH, the perfected soul that would build a spiritual world through the Mishkan.
The Mishkan was a mini world. The outer courtyard of this world was reflected in the copper, while the inner world was reflected through Moshe. A piece of copper here is more than just a piece of metal. We cannot understand the spiritual realities that it may contain, and we equally cannot fathom the reasons behind the details of the mitzvoth. For example, why must the boxes for the tefillin be black? Why were we forgiven when the kohanim ate? Because our minds are limited, we must submit our minds to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. Hashem is the expert doctor, mechanic, farmer, etc., and we are merely laymen who cannot understand the intricacies of how the universe functions. Thankfully, we have our Rabbis and Sages who can provide us with insights and instruction, to give us glasses to help see the Torah and the world more clearly.
However, there is a deeper connection between Noach and Moshe. We know that gilgul, reincarnation, is meant to repair a failing of the previous incarnation. This indeed is the repair that Moshe Rabbenu did for Noach, explains the Shvilei Pinchas. We are told that Noach found favor in Hashem's eyes. Noach personally was a tzadik, completely righteous. But Noach maintained his relationship cloistered in seclusion with Hakodosh Boruch Hu, never going out to try to influence the people of his generation to correct their ways. For this omission, Noach is faulted, and the Prophet therefore refers to the flood as mei Noach/the waters of Noach. Perhaps, by admonishing the people, Noach could have prevented the flood and saved the world. Nevertheless, the flood was delayed for one hundred twenty years, the number of years Moshe would live.
Noach's behavior contrasts sharply with Moshe's behavior. When Hashem told Moshe He wanted to destroy Bnei Yisroel, Moshe was willing to die with them rather than have a new nation descend from him. Moshe's response to Hashem is, "Mecheini na/Erase me." Why this specific phrase? The Shvilei Pinchas points here to another anagram, MeCheNI/Mei NoaCH, the waters of Noach. Thus Moshe repaired the lapse in Noach.
The Shvilei Pinchas, citing the Arizal, goes even further. He suggests that the people of Noach's generation were reincarnated into the babies born in Egypt. Just as the earlier generation was punished with water, so too would this generation be punished by water, by being thrown into the Nile. But through the hard labor of the enslavement, many had already refined their souls enough so that they could reach full refinement by accepting the Torah.
The connection continues and will explain why this reincarnation was introduced here. Just as the dove brought back an olive leaf, the symbol of light its oil provides, so too would Bnei Yisroel, compared to a dove, bring light to the world through lighting the menorah with pure olive oil. But the Torah gives light and is considered Torat chesed/Torah of kindness only when it is taught and passed on to others. One who studies Torah but keeps it all to himself is castigated. His purpose is to pass along this knowledge to others, for Torah is an inheritance of all Bnei Yisroel.
It is within this context that we can explain a cryptic Gemarra from Rabbi Yochanan: "Just as the olive causes the forgetting of... Torah study, so does olive oil restore... Torah Study." The Torah scholar who does not share his Torah is like a closed up olive. Sharing nothing, it will eventually shrivel. However, the Torah scholar who teaches others resembles the olive that, when pressed, shares its oil with others, and gives light. Moshe was the one who shared the Torah with others, resembling the olive oil. As such, he became the perfect rectification for Noach who kept himself cloistered from the world. Moshe rectified the flaw in Noach by using the shemen/oil, by teaching others. Moshe would complete the line from Shes to Noach to Moshe for the perfected soul.
[Rabbi Fohrman has a fascinating series on the parallels between the teiva/box/ark that saved Noach from the flood waters and the teiva/box that saved the baby Moshe as he floated in the Nile. Rabbi Fohrman also connects these to the Aron in the Mishkan, also a kind of "box". Although it is called aron instead of teivah, Rabbi Fohrman points out multiple parallels. CKS]
So is omitting Moshe's name meant negatively or positively? The Shem MiShmuel suggests that Moshe was accorded the highest accolade when his name was not mentioned. A name limits a person, sets him within certain parameters. When one goes beyond one's name, one leaves his physical limitations to reach the higher levels of pure spiritual existence. Since Moshe was able to connect to those parts of himself that transcended physical existence, his name was no longer relevant. Moshe relinquished his physical, psychological, intellectual essence that are reflected in his name to connect totally with the Ribbono shel Olam, writes the Ohr Gedalyahu. The "I" of Hakodosh Boruch Hu Ve'atah/and you merge. By omitting Moshe's name, Hashem attested to Moshe's having achieved this highest level of existence. To refer to someone as "You" in this context, puts you above any specific name. As Moda Labinah notes, this parshah is all about penimiut/the inner core. Hashem is addressing Moshe not by his name, but by his essence.
Rabbi Tauber, adapting the discussions of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, notes that this is the true meaning of our verse in Shema, "And you shall love Hashem with all your heart/desires, with all your soul/life, and with all me'odecha. While me'odecha is usually translated as your might or your wealth, the literal translation is to love Hashem with all your very-ness. Take your essence, your uniqueness and go beyond it to a newer dimension of self, beyond your names, to connect to Hashem deeply as only you can.
The ve'atah of Moshe is meant to teach us to work on our midos, to transcend the limitations of our names, of "that's who I am," to connect with Hakodosh Boruch Hu as Moshe did, writes Rabbi Yisrael Moshe Dushinsky. We are given challenges as opportunities, as olives meant to be crushed to release the pure light within each of us. What's in a name? Only the beginning of what we can become when we use it as the vehicle to transcend its limitations.