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!? (more…)
One Line or Two?
One of the most impressive of the special vestments worn by the High Priest was the tzitz, a pure gold plate placed across the forehead. Engraved on the tzitz was the phrase, “Holy to God”.
According to Talmudic tradition, these words were split into two lines. God’s name appeared on the top line, and underneath was written “Holy to”. In contradiction to this tradition, however, Rabbi Eliezer testified that he had seen the tzitz among the plundered Temple articles in Rome - and the engraving was made on a single line [Shabbat 63b].
Why should the phrase “Holy to God” be split into two lines? And if that was the way the inscription was supposed to be engraved, why did the actual tzitz used in the Temple bear the entire phrase on one line?
