Parashat Tetzaveh
27th February 2026
Week of 22 -28 February 2026
Torah portion : Ex 27 :20-30 :10 ; Haftarah : I Sam 15:2-34
We learn from today’s Parashah (תצוה) that there is a pedagogical evolution towards holiness. We moved from Parashat Mishpatim, about the organization of the people: their structure for the proper functioning of the community; we continued with Parashat Terumah, from last week, which dealt with offerings to God, remembering that the gift offered to God was for what had been received by God’s grace. Today we have Tetzaveh, to order, to command, to say what to do. If we are not attentive, we can get lost in the details and in the value that humans can attribute to each element presented. This Parashah deals with the human structure of spiritual service.
I would like to draw attention to the fact that in this Parashah the name of Moses is not mentioned; however, God addresses him as “You,” in the second person. It is a direct conversation between two close friends. This teaches us that the absence of Moses’ name makes him much more present and underlines his value, but he is removed from the center; God is the center. We learn that the instructions God gives to Moses are linked to sacred service: the oil, the priestly garments, the daily sacrifices, the worship, but everything is centered on the figure of the priest who mediates between the people and God. Things are in the function of the great act of being before God. The exterior influences the interior. The manner of clothing informs who we are and what we want to communicate. The priests’ garments and the adornments of sacred objects serve to communicate with God and should reflect who we are before our God.
Bringing pure oil to light the Menorah, which remains perpetually lit, teaches about the permanent divine presence with His people. On the other hand, it symbolizes Israel as a light to the world, therefore Israel’s relationship with God must be permanent.
We have the detail of the Breastplate as the Priest’s vestment, with 12 stones representing the tribes of Israel. This emphasizes the seriousness of the priestly function: he is at the service of the people, he is not justified by himself, he is at the service of the people who serve God through his function. The Talmud (TB Zevachim 88b) teaches that each garment of the Cohen Gadol atoned for a specific type of moral failing of the people, therefore the clothes were not decorative, they were spiritual instruments of collective reparation: The breastplate repairs judicial errors, the Ephod repairs idolatry, the cloak repairs defamation of another, the Tzitz repairs arrogance.
Therefore, the attention we must pay when reading the Word of God, which is written in human language, is to seek its meaning in depth, not to be content with the superficial understanding of human language, because God, by using human language to communicate with us, imbues it with a deeper meaning that challenges us to seek it.
To help us learn from the living tradition of Israel, I present a short excerpt from the Midrash Rabbah on this Parashah, and we perceive a profound connection between the scriptural texts established by the Masters:
“And you shall command (תצוה) the children of Israel that they bring to you pure oil crushed for the light, to raise an everlasting flame”. It is written, The Lord called thy name a leafy olive tree, fair with goodly fruit (Jer. 11:16). Was the olive the only tree after which Israel were called? Have they not also been called after every kind of handsome and noble tree? That they were compared to a vine and fig-tree we gather from ‘Thou didst pluck up a vine out of Egypt’ (Ps 80: 9), and from ‘I saw your fathers as the first-ripe in the fig-tree at her first season’ (Hos. 9: 10). That they are like the palm, from ‘This thy stature is like to a palm-tree’ (S.S. 7: 8). […] For this reason, does it say, ‘a leafy olive tree, fair with goodly fruit’ (Jer. 11:16);for just as oil gives forth light, so did the Temple give light to the whole world, as it says, ‘And nations shall walk at thy light’ (Is 60: 3). Our forefathers were accordingly called ‘A leafy olive tree’ because they gave light to all with their faith. It was on this account that God said to Moses: ‘That they bring unto thee pure olive oil beaten for the light’ (Ex 27: 20).
We learn from the tradition of the Sages of Israel that all descriptions of ornaments, clothing, utensils, etc., detailed in their richness and beauty, should converge on obedience to the Word of God in order to serve Him. On the other hand, it teaches about Israel’s particular place, showing its responsibility to God and to humanity to be a light to the world, and like the oil in the menorah in the temple, to be illuminating in a permanent way.
This week’s Parasha Commentary was prepared by
Elio Passeto, NDS,Jerusalem–Israel, Director
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