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Last week the Torah gave a detailed account of the structure of the Temple. This week, the Torah portion of Tetzaveh further discusses different elements relating to the Temple and its service. Primarily, the parshah describes the garments of the high priest (also including the garments of the ordinary priests) and the inauguration ritual for the Temple.

If one were to read throughout the entire parshah, one can’t help but notice that Moshe’s name is absent! From the moment Moshe stepped onto the scene at the beginning of the book of Exodus until the very last Torah portion, which depicts his death, Moshe’s name is mentioned in every single Torah portion. What makes this week different that his name be omitted!?

The sages have offered many answers to this question; let us choose the simplest one. As stated above, our parshah focuses on the high priest and his service within the temple. The high priest was none other than Aaron, Moshe’s older brother. One may suggest that Moshe’s name is deliberately taken out of the picture in order to accord honour to his brother. It was Aaron’s “time to shine” and Moshe didn’t want to ruin it in anyway, to the extent that he wanted his name removed from the Torah for the special occasion.

It is interesting to note that the holiday of Purim almost always falls out during this time of the year, and is usually celebrated around the time of the parshah of Tetzaveh. The holiday contains many interesting laws and customs, one of which is the public reading of the Megillat Esther (the book of Esther), which recounts the entire story of the miracle of Purim. But as one examines the text thoroughly, a big question arises; in all ten chapters of the book, God’s name is not mentioned even once! From all the holy scripture and texts, this is the only book that leaves out God’s name. Why?

Not only that, but from what we discussed above, doesn’t this kind of question sound familiar? Is it a coincidence that the only Torah portion lacking Moshe’s name always coincides with the holiday involving the only book missing God’s name!?

As we mentioned above, Moshe’s name is removed from the Torah because it was Aaron’s “time to shine”. If we apply this same answer to the question of why God’s name is left out from the Megillah, we can not only solve the problem but also understand a very important concept that the holiday of Purim entails:

The hiding of God’s name represented God, so to speak, stepping back and giving over the stage to someone else. That someone else is the Jewish people.

Let’s understand this idea.

Without a doubt, every particle in our universe exists by the will of God alone, and if he were to “step down” from His throne for just one moment, the world would cease to be. But God didn’t create the world so that He can, metaphorically speaking, have puppets to play around with. The purpose of the creation of man was to establish a partnership between him and God in this world, where mans duty was to upkeep the world and make it a better place, as it says:

“… God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden, to work it and guard it” [Genesis: 2: 15]

But throughout the generations man continued to sin, thereby choosing to abandon that partnership with God. Until the time of Abraham, the founder of our nation, the partnership between man and God was put on hold. Abraham was the first to truly recognize God’s omnipotence and man’s duty in this world; to follow in the ways of God, his partner, and bring recognition of God to the world. Because the rest of mankind had failed in their obligation to carry out God’s plan, God limited this partnership by offering it to Abraham alone and his future descendants, who are now the Jewish people. This partnership was sealed years later at Mount Sinai where the Jews accepted the Torah and all that it contains. Until today the Jewish people, through their observance and fulfillment of God’s will, carry the world on their shoulders.

In the time that the story of Purim took place, the Jews faced a terrible threat of annihilation by the evil Haman. The entire Jewish nation was seriously on the brink of death and destruction, but we were saved. However, there were no open miracles that aided in our rescue; everything that transpired throughout the whole story was done by human action, without explicit divine intervention. The actions of Queen Esther and the great Mordechai were primarily the cause of our salvation.

The month of Adar, which Purim falls on, is the last of the months in the Jewish calendar (*see footnote*), and is therefore a time for introspection and making resolutions. Purim, along with all its customs, is meant for us to examine our lives and find out our true path in life, to ask ourselves if our actions are living up to God’s standards.

We must recognize that our deeds contain unimaginable power in, and that through following the Torah and Gods commandments, we’re actually partaking in and establishing God’s divine plan in this world.

So, when God steps back and offers us our “time to shine”, may we find the courage to step right in and make the right choice.

Good Shabbos,

Happy Purim,

NZL

*People seem to think that Rosh Hashannah is the Jewish New year, whereas January 1st is the non-Jewish New Year. This is completely false. Rosh Hashannah is in fact the real new year for all of creation; it is the day that the world was brought into existence. Therefore, the festival of Rosh Hashannah applies to Jews and non-Jews alike. It was in month of Nissan that the Jews left Egypt and ultimately became a nation; therefore Nissan (when we celebrate Passover) is the first of the Jewish months. Accordingly, the month of Adar (in which we celebrate Purim) is the last of the Jewish months.