Parashat Tetzaveh (Exodus 27:20-30:10)
Exodus 27 (continued)
27:20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.
Comment: Gd’s chosen people is likened by oil in many ways: (Adapted from, e.g., https://www.sefaria.org/Shemot_Rabbah.36?lang=bi)
(1) It gathers together.
(See Ezekiel 36:24 “For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.”)
(2) It does not mix with other liquids.
(See Numbers 23:9 “For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.”)
(3) It gets on top of other liquids.
(See Deuteronomy 28:13 “And the L-RD shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if …”)
(4) Here, we are also suggested about one of its purposes: it can be used “for the light”.
(See Acts 13:47 “For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.”)
Exodus 28
28:2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.
2026 Comment: “holy garments … for glory and for beauty”: Why is it important for Aaron to wear good garments?
Aaron is chosen to be the High Priest, representing the entire people of Israel in front of G-d. He needs to be dressed well, showing that the entire people wants to use their best things they have to serve G-d. Also, on these garments there are precious stones engraved with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel, which would remind the High Priest that he is representing the entire people and should have the correct mindset serving G-d. See an interesting article talking about clothes in Bible: https://aish.com/dress-for-success/
Are there some practical benefits for wearing good clothes?
When I wear better clothes, I feel that people are more polite to me. I also think of myself more highly and try to behave better. These can have subtle influences cumulatively. So for practical purposes, it may also be beneficial to wear good clothes for certain occasions, when one can afford.
28:6 And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.
Comment: It can be seen from Rashi’s interpretation of this verse that each strand of the Ephod is made of 4 different kinds of combined strings, and each combined string is made of 7 single threads: The first combined string is made of 6 linen threads and 1 gold thread, the second is made of 6 blue woolen threads and 1 gold thread, the third is made of 6 purple woolen threads and 1 gold thread, and the fourth is made of 6 scarlet woolen threads and 1 gold thread. These four combined strings are twisted into one mega-string combination, or what I called a strand earlier. [So each strand is made of a total of 4*(6+1)=28 single threads!]
28:36 And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
Comment: The gold headplate saying “Holiness to the L-rd” represents that we are different and separate from non-believers who live for themselves. We belong to the Creator and live solely for worshiping and serving Him. Whether it is doing the dishes, grading homework, or writing reports, it looks like it is being done for people. However, at the roots it is to fulfill the purpose that G-d sent us for.
Let us use gold to represent us the believers, who are holy to the L-rd. Just like gold threads are twisted into four different combinations of threads (see my comment for v.6), the Creator may put believers into different groups. For example, the combination of blue threads can represent the Blue states. The combination of red threads can repeat the Red states. The combination of purple threads can represent the states with a balance of Red and Blue. The combination of linen (white) threads can represent places where people support neither the Blue nor the Red parties. A believer of Gd, however, is a citizen of G-d’s kingdom, he really is the seventh gold thread in any combination. Whether the gold threads are located in the linen, purple, red, or blue combinations, they are in fact all united – they are all holy to the L-rd. This is because gold threads are made of the same material as the headplate that bears “Holiness to the L-rd”.
Let us all be those gold threads, no matter which political backgrounds or which “combinations” we “live” in, and let us walk in the path that is holy to the L-rd.
(Adapted from http://mijiale.mypressonline.com/2022/02/06/（出28）最宝贵的衣服-归主为圣/)
Exodus 29
29:29 And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them.
2026 Comment: “… holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons’ after him”: How durable can garments be?
The High Priest’s garments are very sophisticated to make (see vs 28:6 above, where each combined thread has a total of 28 single threads, 4 of which are gold threads). On the other hand, they are very long lasting. Aaron would use them for about 40 years, almost daily, and then pass them down to one of his sons. This teaches a practical lesson, sometimes it may be worthwhile to invest unusually much money or time, and achieve high quality and long lasting value.
29:38 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.
Comment: Some Christians think all sacrifices symbolize Jesus. However, I find it difficult to understand why here two lambs, instead of one, are offered each day. Since there is a keyword “year” in this verse, one possibility is to relate the total number of weeks in a year, 52, to the Hebrew letters that represent this number, which is BN(=52), and then relate the total number of lambs offered each week, which is 14, to the Hebrew letters that can represent this number, which is DVD(=14). This way we get BN DVD בן דוד, which is Ben David or Son of David, which is a title used for the Messiah. If so, then this Bible verse hints that following the Messiah is equivalent to performing the continual burnt offering. It is then important that on each day 2 lambs are offered instead of 1, in order to arrive at the number 14 per week in the reasoning above.
Exodus 30
30:1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
Comment: In contrast to the altar in Exodus 27, this altar is overlaid with gold (v.3), placed inside the tent (v.6), and does not accept animal sacrifices (typically) (v.9). Instead, this inner altar (typically) accepts the incense offering (v.1), which is directed towards the Gd, but its fragrance can also be smelled by the man who offers it. What does this symbolize? It seems to me that after the “killing of the old self” (as symbolized by the animal sacrifice outside of the tent), we can get closer to meet Gd, and both Gd and man enjoy their meeting together.