The Priestly Calling and Light Against Darkness

Moses Was Not Mentioned — A Unique Fact

There is one curious and unique fact about Parashat Tetzaveh that most people miss entirely. Moses is not mentioned in this portion of the Torah. This is unusual, because the very opening statement implies Moses — "you command." Who is the "you" in this context? It is Moses. Some of the rabbinical commentators say that God was angry with Moses for a short season, because Moses disagreed with Him after the sin of the golden calf and did not allow God to destroy the whole nation. So, his name is not mentioned. Of course, this is only speculation and not a very convincing one! In the whole parasha, when God speaks to Moses, He just uses "and you" — a very impersonal use of the word.

The Anointing of the Ear, the Thumb, and the Toe

Let's start by mentioning the ordination of Aaron and his sons for the priesthood, which is an interesting process that most believers ignore in the ordination of leaders and elders.  They were anointed with oil AND blood, the blood of a sacrifice, on their ears, hands and feet.

Why is the ordination of those who are going to serve God and the people connected to the ear, the hand, and the foot of the servants of God?

The ear has to be anointed, because if the servant of God does not hear God and receive His direction to pass on to the people — if he does not have an ear that hears and obeys God — he cannot really serve God or faithfully serve the people. The anointing of the right thumb — without anointed hands that are doing the will of God with dedication, purity, and honesty, under the Lord's authority, every service is going to be impure and unacceptable to the Lord. The right foot of the priest has to be also anointed so that he can walk in God's will and lead the people that follow with the leading and direction of the Lord, and not with his own agenda and his own ambition.

And that's why the anointing was not only on their head like it's done today in some Christian circles, it was done on the ear, on the thumb, and on the toe on their right side. To demonstrate to them and to the public that observed this anointing that these people are consecrated to do the will of God as God has prescribed it.

Why the Purest Oil for the Menorah?

The best way to chase the darkness away is with light. The Torah Portion of Tetzaveh starts with lighting the candelabra in the tabernacle of meeting with pure oil — oil that will produce light and that is also pure.

There are only two places in the whole Bible where there is such an emphatic command that Moses himself has to go to the priests and command them in regards to what kind of olive oil they need to use for the lighting of the candelabra with the seven candles. The custom was to use cheaper olive oil for light. Now God sends Moses to tell these priests that they must use "extra virgin cold pressed, first pressing olive oil" — the most precious and expensive olive oil. For lighting, it is not really necessary to use this fine oil. For this very reason God sends Moses himself to command the priests. For such a simple command it would have been natural for Moses to send one of his helpers to pass this command on to the priests. However, what God wanted here was for the chief himself, Moses, to go and make this command and demand from the priests.

Here comes my 21st Century Israeli attitude. What difference does it make if I buy olive oil, cold-pressed virgin oil, for burning in my menorah? Why should I pay at least double to buy olive oil for burning and not buy sunflower oil that is about a quarter of the price? The most shocking argument that I have heard from some good intellectual pastors who have graduated from some of the best universities in the USA is this: "God can understand us, and He knows the world that we are living in, and therefore these old commands are not so important and relevant to our modern lifestyle." The reason that we think in these very utilitarian patterns is because we have lost some of the fear of the Lord and we look at our faith as a casual cultural accommodation for our families and for the community. God wants the best and purest because it holds deep symbolic and prophetic meaning/ revelation.

The Rabbis' Answer

For the rabbis, the light in the Tabernacle and in the Temple was not only a casual physical light. It held deep significance for them as they made a connection with Isaiah 60:19,20:

The connection made by the rabbis is that the day will come in history in which God Himself — the true revelation of light — will be our everlasting light. The rabbis in the midrash ask this question from God:

Light Is Our Greatest Weapon

There is no end to the darkness and hate and envy and evil inclination that is planted in human hearts. And there is no end to the invention of killing machines and reasons for killing and hating others who are like us, created in the image and in the form of God.

We, the Jews and the Christians who believe the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation, must take the path that God has commanded us. The path where our most important weapon is not our guns and our airplanes and tanks and submarines — that are needed for our defense — but the light that we can light to dispel the darkness. The light that Parashat Tetzaveh commands us to light with pure oil, is a light that is pure and fed with the purity of sincere hearts and clear consciences.

The only way that Yeshua, our Lord and Savior, instructed us to fight evil is by doing good. The only way to destroy hate is by love. The attitude of hate and antisemitism is actually going to be the most effective tool of the devil to destroy the different reincarnations of Haman's hate of Jews. In the end, hate is a tool that always turns against those who brandish it and try to use it against others. The tree that Haman built in his garden to hang Mordechai and the Jews, and the tools that he devised against the Jews of Persia, in the end were the very tools that were used to delete Haman the Agagite and his whole family. The hanging tree that was designed for Mordechai the Jew was decorated like a Christmas Tree with the bodies of Haman and his 10 sons.

Each one of us and each one of you, around the world, can be a mirror reflecting the light of Yeshua in the world, but especially in the Middle East — the home of Amalek and the final battleground of Satan. The victory is ours in the end! We know this from God's Word.

The Full Chain of Light — From Isaiah to John

Here is the chain of light texts that connect the light of the menorah that God commanded for the Tabernacle to the eternal light of Yeshua:

The Torah and the prophets and the New Testament are all connected, because these texts are a product of the same Holy Spirit. It is all connected, and it is all pointing toward the same point — the redemption of humanity and the whole Earth. Yeshua is the eternal light, equal to the Father, who is also the eternal light, and we, His disciples, are commanded to be the light, and Israel as a nation is commanded to be the light for all the nations. Yeshua is that light of Israel that has brought the divine eternal light and spread it to all the nations. If you have received the eternal light of God, live in the light and share that light with all.