Tetzave Answers

Tetzave 5716
Alef.

These three verses stand alone from the rest of the chapter in the sense that they describe what will occur after the construction, fabrication and dedication are completed, i.e., that HaShem will Appear, Sanctify everything, and Fulfill the purpose of the entire process of the Exodus, namely that He will Dwell in the midst of the Jewish people.¹

Beit.

1. a. Sefer HaChinuch: If man is ready to devote time to preparing his own food several times each day, he should do the same vis-à-vis what he wished to offer to HaShem. (In that manner, it will not appear that he is interested only in himself.)

    b. Abrabanel: The sacrifices are expressions of appreciation for what HaShem has Done on behalf of the individual. (It would appear that he works backwards to an extent, i.e., since there are two Korbanot each day, there must therefore be two major things for which we have to express our appreciation. It then becomes the challenge to specifically identify what those two things are. By virtue of Abrabanel himself offering two separate hypotheses for explaining the two Tamid offerings each day, suggests that the symbolic approach, while evocative, is terribly lacking in rigor.

2. a. First answer: The two Kindnesses are: 1) the receiving of the Tora, and 2) the Exodus from Egypt. The ancillary offerings to the animal, i.e., meal offering—Manna; oil libation—the honor we received upon leaving Egypt and receiving the Tora; wine libation—the joy that we experienced on those occasions.

  Second answer: 3) Life that we “receive” each day, and 4)  life that we faithfully and securely entrust again to God at the end of the day. Meal offering, oil libation and wine libation—the sustenance that we receive from God.  

Gimel.

1.  “לשכני” (so that I may Dwell) is a reference to God’s “Inhabiting” the Mishkan.

2.  The relationship between the Exodus and the building of the Mishkan is a cause-and-effect relationship. In order for the Mishkan to be built, which will fulfill My Need to Dwell among the people, first the Exodus from Egypt must take place.

3.  שמות פרק ג

(יב) ויאמר כי אהיה עמך וזה לך האות כי אנכי שלחתיך בהוציאך את העם ממצרים תעבדון את האלקים על ההר הזה:

Ibn Ezra interprets the promise that was made at the burning bush, i.e., that the people would worship God on this mountain, related not to the receiving of the Tora, which is the standard interpretation, but rather the building of the Tabernacle which was first constructed while the people were encamped close to Sinai.

4.  A similar idea lies at the heart of the Song of the Sea, i.e., the entire process was intended to bring the people to the land of Israel where a Temple could be constructed, thereby allowing HaShem to Rule:

שמות פרק טו

(טז) תפל עליהם אימתה ופחד בגדל זרועך ידמו כאבן עד יעבר עמך יקוק עד יעבר עם זו קנית:

(יז) תבאמו ותטעמו בהר נחלתך מכון לשבתך פעלת יקוק מקדש ה' כוננו ידיך:

(יח) יקוק ימלך לעלם ועד:

Daled.

While it may be true that God is Governing the entire world, who is aware of this? When the statement is made in Zecharia,

זכריה פרק יד

(ט) והיה יקוק למלך על כל הארץ ביום ההוא יהיה יקוק אחד ושמו אחד:

it is not to say that HaShem is not One and His Name One until that time; rather people who presently are unaware of the fact, will at that time come to know it. Similarly with regard to what 29:46 adds to 29:45, it will not only be empirically true that HaShem will be the God of the Jews, but they will be acutely aware of this fact, recognize and understand its implications. Similarly in Shemot 6:7, what is being added is the assertion that God’s Role in the Exodus will be clearly recognizable by the Jewish people. And finally, with respect to the statement in Avot 3:14, it is the fact that the excessive Love that HaShem has for the Jews will be known to them, that should inspire them to higher and higher levels of spiritual observance and commitment.