Tetzaveh and Purim: “Seemingly” Contradictory Ideas
Parsha Tetzaveh and Purim appear to represent contradictory ideas at first glance. Tetzaveh represents commandments while Purim is all about voluntary acceptance of the oral law and rabbinic traditions. How can this be reconciled? If in fact it can be reconciled, then what are the other connections between Tetzaveh and Purim?
It's true that the Megillah accentuates the fact that the Jews reaccepted the Torah voluntarily, however the act of acceptance retroactively took place at Har Sinai with the mountain being held over the Jews heads. On Purim, the original act became one that can be considered done out of free-will in retrospect. This being the case, the Jews' reacceptance was based on a tzivui, a forced command, thus reconciling Purim with the verbiage of Tetzaveh.
When looking at Tetzaveh one might also think that it should be read during Chanukah. There's a discussion of the menorah, begadim, the dedication of the Mishkan (and a re-dedication took place on Chanukah) and the ketoret, the quintessential avodah of the Mishkan. The answer might lie in the begadim. The Ramban notes that the begadim of the kohanim made them royal and we know Mordechai wore the lavush of the king.
How can clothes play such an important role in who a person is? In the empirical, one can argue that perhaps the guf is the garment of the neshama (acting as its outerwear), but that really doesn't pass muster based on Original Sin. After Original Sin, G-d did a great chesed and clothed man (after they temporarily covered themselves) after they were shamed. If the guf covers the neshama though, why were extra clothes needed? It must be that the begadim ornate the guf and neshama because the guf and neshama are so intertwined as each needs the other to achieve greatness in this world. Therefore, kohanic clothing and Mordechai's levush were both royal and representative of importance.
Tetzaveh is more manifest to Purim than Chanukah because the second Beis Hamikdash was rebuilt just three years after Purim, thus explaining the connection to the dedicating of it in Tetzaveh. The menorah was really about the giving of the oil and not the lighting (and the lighting mentioned at the end of the parsha was incidental to the ketoret) and the ketoret was also a key avoda of the Mishkan and the Beis Hamikdash, which was imminently built after Purim.
One can ask, why costumes are worn on Purim? After all, we explained clothing is a significant and symbolic covering for the body and soul. On a holiday celebrating a great military victory and restoration of order for the whole Jewish nation, we should only adorn ourselves in noble outerwear. Perhaps the answer is Purim has a special mitzvah of having wine and getting inebriated. Wine goes to the depth of a person and reveals what he's really about. Therefore, garments are secondary in importance since the inner being is really revealed through the wine.
At the end of the day, our voluntary acceptance was accepted based on a tzivui, the themes of Tetzaveh closely mimic that of Purim and not Chanukah and begadim clothe the body and soul of man and can speak to his regality, but when wine, the secretive soul food, is drunk, outer clothing plays less of a role.