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Tetzaveh

March 03, 2023

Not to be confused with Tzav (parsha) or Mitzvah.

Tetzaveh, Tetsaveh, T'tzaveh, or T'tzavveh (תְּצַוֶּה‎—Hebrew for "[you] shall command," the second word and first distinctive word in the parashah) is the 20th weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה‎, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the eighth in the Book of Exodus. The parashah reports God's commands to bring olive oil for the lamp (מְנוֹרָה‎, Menorah), make sacred garments for the priests, conduct an ordination ceremony, and make an incense altar.

The High Priest (illustration from a Bible card published 1907 by the Providence Lithograph Company)

It constitutes Exodus 27:20–30:10. The parashah is made up of 5,430 Hebrew letters, 1,412 Hebrew words, 101 verses, and 179 lines in a Torah Scroll (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה‎, Sefer Torah).[1] Jews read it the 20th Sabbath after Simchat Torah, in February or March.[2]

Readings

 
The High Priest (illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible)

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or עליות‎, aliyot.[3]

 
The High Priest's Breast Plate (illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible)

First reading—Exodus 27:20–28:12

In the first reading, God instructed the Israelites to bring Moses clear olive oil, so that Aaron and his descendants as High Priest could kindle lamps regularly in the Tabernacle.[4] God instructed Moses to make sacral vestments for Aaron: a breastpiece (חֹשֶׁן‎, Ḥoshen), the Ephod (אֵפוֹד‎), a robe, a gold frontlet inscribed "holy to the Lord," a fringed tunic, a headdress, a sash, and linen breeches.[5]

Second reading—Exodus 28:13–30

In the second reading, God detailed the instructions for the breastpiece.[6] God instructed Moses to place Urim and Thummim inside the breastpiece of decision.[7]

Third reading—Exodus 28:31–43

In the third reading, God detailed the instructions for the robe, frontlet, fringed tunic, headdress, sash, and breeches.[8] God instructed Moses to place pomegranates and gold bells around the robe's hem, to make a sound when the High Priest entered and exited the sanctuary, so that he would not die.[9]

Fourth reading—Exodus 29:1–18

In the fourth reading, God laid out an ordination ceremony for priests involving the sacrifice of a young bull, two rams, unleavened bread, unleavened cakes with oil mixed in, and unleavened wafers spread with oil.[10] God instructed Moses to lead the bull to the front of the Tabernacle, let Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the bull's head, slaughter the bull at the entrance of the Tent, and put some of the bull's blood on the horns of the altar.[11] God instructed Moses to let Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the first ram and slaughter it, sprinkle its blood, and dissect it.[12]

Fifth reading—Exodus 29:19–37

In the fifth reading, God instructed Moses to take one of the rams, let Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the ram's head, slaughter the ram, and put some of its blood and on the ridge of Aaron's right ear and on the ridges of his sons' right ears, and on the thumbs of their right hands, and on the big toes of their right feet.[13]

Sixth reading—Exodus 29:38–46

In the sixth reading, God promised to meet and speak with Moses and the Israelites there, to abide among the Israelites, and be their God.[14]

Seventh reading—Exodus 30:1–10

In the seventh reading, God instructed Moses to make an incense altar of acacia wood overlaid with gold—sometimes called the Golden Altar.[15]

Readings according to the triennial cycle

Jews who read the Torah according to the triennial cycle of Torah reading read the parashah according to the following schedule:[16]

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
2020, 2023, 2026 . . . 2021, 2024, 2027 . . . 2022, 2025, 2028 . . .
Reading 27:20–28:30 28:31–29:18 29:19–30:10
1 27:20–28:5 28:31–35 29:19–21
2 28:6–9 28:36–38 29:22–25
3 28:10–12 28:39–43 29:26–30
4 28:13–17 29:1–4 29:31–34
5 28:18–21 29:5–9 29:35–37
6 28:22–25 29:10–14 29:38–46
7 28:26–30 29:15–18 30:1–10
Maftir 28:28–30 29:15–18 30:8–10

In inner-Biblical interpretation

The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:[17]

Exodus chapters 25–39

This is the pattern of instruction and construction of the Tabernacle and its furnishings:

 
The Tabernacle
Item Instruction Construction
Order Verses Order Verses
Contributions 1 Exodus 25:1–9 2 Exodus 35:4–29
Ark 2 Exodus 25:10–22 5 Exodus 37:1–9
Table 3 Exodus 25:23–30 6 Exodus 37:10–16
Menorah 4 Exodus 25:31–40 7 Exodus 37:17–24
Tabernacle 5 Exodus 26:1–37 4 Exodus 36:8–38
Altar of Sacrifice 6 Exodus 27:1–8 11 Exodus 38:1–7
Tabernacle Court 7 Exodus 27:9–19 13 Exodus 38:9–20
Lamp 8 Exodus 27:20–21 16 Numbers 8:1–4
Priestly Garments 9 Exodus 28:1–43 14 Exodus 39:1–31
Ordination Ritual 10 Exodus 29:1–46 15 Leviticus 8:1–9:24
Altar of Incense 11 Exodus 30:1–10 8 Exodus 37:25–28
Laver 12 Exodus 30:17–21 12 Exodus 38:8
Anointing Oil 13 Exodus 30:22–33 9 Exodus 37:29
Incense 14 Exodus 30:34–38 10 Exodus 37:29
Craftspeople 15 Exodus 31:1–11 3 Exodus 35:30–36:7
The Sabbath 16 Exodus 31:12–17 1 Exodus 35:1–3

The Priestly story of the Tabernacle in Exodus 25–27 echoes the Priestly story of creation in Genesis 1:1–2:3.[18] As the creation story unfolds in seven days,[19] the instructions about the Tabernacle unfold in seven speeches.[20] In both creation and Tabernacle accounts, the text notes the completion of the task.[21] In both creation and Tabernacle, the work done is seen to be good.[22] In both creation and Tabernacle, when the work is finished, God takes an action in acknowledgement.[23] In both creation and Tabernacle, when the work is finished, a blessing is invoked.[24] And in both creation and Tabernacle, God declares something "holy."[25]

Martin Buber and others noted that the language used to describe the building of the Tabernacle parallels that used in the story of creation.[26] Jeffrey Tigay noted[27] that the lampstand held seven candles,[28] Aaron wore seven sacral vestments,[29] the account of the building of the Tabernacle alludes to the creation account,[30] and the Tabernacle was completed on New Year's Day.[31] And Carol Meyers noted that Exodus 25:1–9 and 35:4–29 list seven kinds of substances—metals, yarn, skins, wood, oil, spices, and gemstones—signifying the totality of supplies.[32]

Exodus chapter 27

Leviticus 24:1–4 echoes and expands on the command of Exodus 27:20 about the care of the Menorah.

Exodus chapter 28

The priestly garments of Exodus 28:2–43 are echoed in Psalm 132:9, where the Psalmist exhorts, “Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness,” and in Psalm 132:16, where God promises, “Her priests also will I clothe with salvation.”[33] Franz Delitzsch interpreted this to mean that the priests would be characterized by conduct that accorded with God's will, and that the priests would not merely bring about salvation instrumentally, but personally possess it and proclaim it in their whole outward appearance.[34]

The Hebrew Bible refers to the Urim and Thummim in Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8; Numbers 27:21; Deuteronomy 33:8; 1 Samuel 14:41 ("Thammim") and 28:6; Ezra 2:63; and Nehemiah 7:65; and may refer to them in references to "sacred utensils" in Numbers 31:6 and the Ephod in 1 Samuel 14:3 and 19; 23:6 and 9; and 30:7–8; and Hosea 3:4.

Exodus chapter 29

The Torah mentions the combination of ear, thumb, and toe in three places. In Exodus 29:20, God instructed Moses how to initiate the priests, telling him to kill a ram, take some of its blood, and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and his sons, on the thumb of their right hand, and on the great toe of their right foot, and dash the remaining blood against the altar round about. And then Leviticus 8:23–24 reports that Moses followed God's instructions to initiate Aaron and his sons. Then, Leviticus 14:14, 17, 25, and 28 set forth a similar procedure for the cleansing of a person with skin disease (צָּרַעַת‎, tzara'at). In Leviticus 14:14, God instructed the priest on the day of the person's cleansing to take some of the blood of a guilt-offering and put it upon the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed. And then in Leviticus 14:17, God instructed the priest to put oil on the tip of the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the great toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed, on top of the blood of the guilt-offering. And finally, in Leviticus 14:25 and 28, God instructed the priest to repeat the procedure on the eighth day to complete the person's cleansing.

Exodus chapter 30

In its description of the altar, Exodus 30:10 foreshadows the purpose of Yom Kippur summarized in Leviticus 16:6, 16, and 30–34 and echoed in Leviticus 23:27–28 in the listing of the Festivals.

In early nonrabbinic interpretation

 
The High Priest wearing his breastplate (illustration circa 1861–1880 from The History of Costume by Braun and Schneider)

The parashah is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources:[35]

Exodus chapter 28

Ben Sira wrote of the splendor of the High Priest's garments in Exodus 28, saying “How glorious he was . . . as he came out of the House of the curtain. Like the morning star among the clouds, like the full moon at the festal season; like the sun shining on the Temple of the Most High, like the rainbow gleaming in splendid clouds.”[36]

Josephus interpreted the linen vestment of Exodus 28:5 to signify the earth, as flax grows out of the earth. Josephus interpreted the Ephod of the four colors gold, blue, purple, and scarlet[37] to signify that God made the universe of four elements, with the gold interwoven to show the splendor by which all things are enlightened. Josephus saw the stones on the High Priest's shoulders in Exodus 28:9–12 to represent the sun and the moon. He interpreted the breastplate of Exodus 28:15–22 to resemble the earth, having the middle place of the world, and the girdle that encompassed the High Priest to signify the ocean, which encircled the world. He interpreted the 12 stones of the Ephod in Exodus 28:17–21 to represent the months or the signs of the Zodiac. He interpreted the golden bells and pomegranates that Exodus 28:33–35 says hung on the fringes of the High Priest's garments to signify thunder and lightning, respectively. And Josephus saw the blue on the headdress of Exodus 28:37 to represent heaven, "for how otherwise could the name of God be inscribed upon it?"[38]

Josephus reported that the Urim and Thumin stopped shining 200 years before his day, as God had become displeased with the transgressions of God’s law.[39]

Exodus chapter 29

Philo taught that the command of Exodus 29:20 to apply ram's blood to the priests' right ear, right thumb, and right great toe signified that the perfect person must be pure in every word, every action, and the entirety of life. For the ear symbolized the hearing with which people judge one's words, the hand symbolized action, and the foot symbolized the way in which a person walks in life. And since each of these is an extremity of the right side of the body, Philo imagined that Exodus 29:20 teaches that one should labor to attain improvement in everything with dexterity and felicity, as an archer aims at a target.[40]

In classical rabbinic interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these rabbinic sources from the era of the Mishnah and the Talmud:[41]

Exodus chapter 27

A Midrash taught that God considers studying the sanctuary’s structure as equivalent to rebuilding it.[42]

It was taught in a Baraita that Rabbi Josiah taught that the expression "they shall take for you" (וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ‎, v'yikhu eileicha) in Exodus 27:20 was a command for Moses to take from communal funds, in contrast to the expression "make for yourself" (עֲשֵׂה לְךָ‎, aseih lecha) in Numbers 10:2, which was a command for Moses to take from his own funds.[43]

 
Menorah from the Arch of Titus (illustration from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia)

The Mishnah posited that one could have inferred that meal-offerings would require the purest olive oil, for if the Menorah, whose oil was not eaten, required pure olive oil, how much more so should meal-offerings, whose oil was eaten. But Exodus 27:20 states, "pure olive oil beaten for the light," but not "pure olive oil beaten for meal-offerings," to make clear that such purity was required only for the Menorah and not for meal-offerings.[44] The Mishnah taught that there were three harvests of olives, and each crop gave three kinds of oil (for a total of nine types of oil). The first crop of olives was picked from the top of the tree; they were pounded and put into a basket (Rabbi Judah said around the inside of the basket) to yield the first oil. The olives were then pressed beneath a beam (Rabbi Judah said with stones) to yield the second oil. The olives were then ground and pressed again to yield the third oil. Only the first oil was fit for the Menorah, while the second and third were for meal-offerings. The second crop is when the olives at roof-level were picked from the tree; they were pounded and put into the basket (Rabbi Judah said around the inside of the basket) to yield the first oil (of the second crop). The olives were then pressed with the beam (Rabbi Judah said with stones) to yield the second oil (of the second crop). The olives were then ground and pressed again to yield the third oil. Once again, with the second crop, only the first oil was fit for the Menorah, while the second and third were for meal-offerings. The third crop was when the last olives of the tree were packed in a vat until they became overripe. These olives were then taken up and dried on the roof and then pounded and put into the basket (Rabbi Judah said around the inside of the basket) to yield the first oil. The olives were next pressed with the beam (Rabbi Judah said with stones) to yield the second oil. And then they were ground and pressed again to yield the third oil. Once again, with the third crop, only the first oil was fit for the Menorah, while the second and third were for meal-offerings.[45]

 
The Golden Lamp-Bearer (illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible)

The Mishnah taught that there was a stone in front of the Menorah with three steps on which the priest stood to trim the lights. The priest left the oil jar on the second step.[46]

A Midrash taught that the lights of the Tabernacle Menorah were replicas of the heavenly lights. The Midrash taught that everything God created in heaven has a replica on earth. Thus Daniel 2:22 reports, "And the light dwells with [God]" in heaven. While below on earth, Exodus 27:20 directs, "That they bring to you pure olive-oil beaten for the light." (Thus, since all that is above is also below, God dwells on earth just as God dwells in heaven.) What is more, the Midrash taught that God holds the things below dearer than those above, for God left the things in heaven to descend to dwell among those below, as Exodus 25:8 reports, "And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them."[47]

Citing Exodus 27:20, the Gemara taught that seeing olive oil in a dream portends seeing the light of Torah.[48]

A Midrash expounded on Exodus 27:20 to explain why Israel was, in the words of Jeremiah 11:16, like "a leafy olive tree." The Midrash taught that just as the olive is beaten, ground, tied up with ropes, and then at last it yields its oil, so the nations beat, imprisoned, bound, and surrounded Israel, and when at last Israel repents of its sins, God answers it. The Midrash offered a second explanation: Just as all liquids commingle one with the other, but oil refuses to do so, so Israel keeps itself distinct, as it is commanded in Deuteronomy 7:3. The Midrash offered a third explanation: Just as oil floats to the top even after it has been mixed with every kind of liquid, so Israel, as long as it performs the will of God, will be set on high by God, as it says in Deuteronomy 28:1. The Midrash offered a fourth explanation: Just as oil gives forth light, so did the Temple in Jerusalem give light to the whole world, as it says in Isaiah 60:3.[49]

 
The golden lampstand (1984 illustration by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing)

A Midrash taught that God instructed Moses to cause a lamp to burn in the Tabernacle not because God needed the light, but so that the Israelites might be able to give light to God as God gave light to the Israelites. The Midrash likened this to the case of a man who could see, walking along with a blind man. The seeing man offered to guide the blind man. When they came home, the seeing man asked the blind man to kindle a lamp for him and illumine his path, so that the blind man would no longer be obliged to the seeing man for having accompanied the blind man on the way. The seeing man of the story is God, for 2 Chronicles 16:9 and Zechariah 4:10 say, "For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth." And the blind man is Israel, as Isaiah 59:10 says, "We grope for the wall like the blind, yea, as they that have no eyes do we grope; we stumble at noon-day as in the twilight" (and the Israelites stumbled in the matter of the Golden Calf at midday). God illumined the way for the Israelites (after they stumbled with the Calf) and led them, as Exodus 13:21 says, "And the Lord went before them by day." And then when the Israelites were about to construct the Tabernacle, God called to Moses and asked him in Exodus 27:20, "that they bring to you pure olive oil."[50]

 
The Golden Candlestick (illustration from the 1911 Illustrated History of the Bible by John Kitto)

Another Midrash taught that the words of the Torah give light to those who study them, but those who do not occupy themselves with the Torah stumble. The Midrash compared this to those who stand in the dark; as soon as they start walking, they stumble, fall, and knock their face on the ground—all because they have no lamp in their hand. It is the same with those who have no Torah; they strike against sin, stumble, and die. The Midrash further taught that those who study the Torah give forth light wherever they may be. Quoting Psalm 119:105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path," and Proverbs 20:27, "The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord," the Midrash taught that God offers people to let God's lamp (the Torah) be in their hand and their lamp (their souls) be in God's hand. The lamp of God is the Torah, as Proverbs 6:23 says, "For the commandment is a lamp, and the teaching is light." The commandment is "a lamp" because those who perform a commandment kindle a light before God and revive their souls, as Proverbs 20:27 says, "The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord."[51]

A Baraita taught that they used the High Priest's worn-out trousers to make the wicks of the Temple Menorah and the worn-out trousers of ordinary priests for candelabra outside the Temple. Reading the words "to cause a lamp to burn continually" in Exodus 27:20, Rabbi Samuel bar Isaac deduced that the unusual word לְהַעֲלֹת‎, lehaalot, literally "to cause to ascend," meant that the wick had to allow the flame to ascend by itself. And thus the Rabbis concluded that no material other than flax—as in the fine linen of the High Priest's clothing—would allow the flame to ascend by itself.[52] Similarly, Rami bar Hama deduced from the use of word לְהַעֲלֹת‎, lehaalot, in Exodus 27:20 that the Menorah flame had to ascend by itself, and not through other means (such as adjustment by the priests). Thus Rami bar Hama taught that the wicks and oil that the Sages taught one could not light on the Sabbath, one could also not light in the Temple.[53] The Gemara challenged Rami bar Hama, however, citing a Mishnah[54] that taught that the worn-out breeches and girdles of priests were torn and used to kindle the lights for the celebration of the Water-Drawing. The Gemara posited that perhaps that celebration was different. The Gemara countered with the teaching of Rabbah bar Masnah, who taught that worn-out priestly garments were torn and made into wicks for the Temple. And the Gemara clarified that the linen garments were meant.[53]

 
The Menorah (illustration from the 1901 A Brief Sketch of the Jewish Tabernacle by Philip Y. Pendleton)

A Baraita taught that Exodus 27:21, “Aaron and his sons shall set it in order, to burn from evening to morning,” means that God instructed them to provide the Menorah with the requisite amount of oil so that it could burn from evening to morning.[55] And the Sages calculated that a half-log of oil (roughly 5 ounces) would burn from evening to morning. The Gemara reported that some said that they calculated this by reducing the original quantity of oil, first filling each lamp with a large quantity of oil and on finding in the morning that there was still oil in the lamp, gradually reducing the quantity until they arrived at a half-log. Others said that they calculated it by increasing it, first filling the lamp with a small quantity of oil and the next evening increasing the quantity of oil until they arrived at the standard of the half-log. Those who said that they calculated it by increasing the quantity of oil said that the Torah has consideration for the Israelites' resources and to calculate by using the larger quantity of oil in the first instance wasted the oil that was still in the lamp in the morning. And those who said that they calculated it by reducing it said that there was no stinting in the place of wealth, the Sanctuary.[56]

The Baraita reported that another interpretation held that Exodus 27:21 taught that no other service was valid from evening to morning apart from kindling the Menorah. For Exodus 27:21 says: “Aaron and his sons shall set it in order, to burn from evening to morning,” and this implies that “it”—and no other thing—shall be from evening to morning.[55] Thus, the Gemara concluded that nothing may come after the kindling of the lights, and consequently the slaughtering of the Passover offering must happen before. And the Gemara likened the burning of incense to the kindling of the Menorah, holding that just as no service could follow lighting the Menorah, so no service could follow burning the incense.[57] And because the Gemara likened the burning of incense to the kindling of the Menorah, it also concluded that just as at the time of the Menorah lighting there was a burning of incense, similarly, at the time of the cleaning of the Menorah there was also a burning of incense.[58]

Exodus chapter 28

In Exodus 28:1, God chose Aaron and his sons to minister to God in the priest's office. Hillel taught that Aaron loved peace and pursued peace, and loved his fellow creatures and brought them closer to the Torah.[59] Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai taught that because Aaron was, in the words of Exodus 4:14, “glad in his heart” over the success of Moses, in the words of Exodus 28:30, “the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim . . . shall be upon Aaron's heart.”[60]

 
Aaron had them bring all their gold to him. (1984 illustration by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing)

Interpreting God's command in Exodus 28:1, the Sages told that when Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he saw Aaron beating the Golden Calf into shape with a hammer. Aaron really intended to delay the people until Moses came down, but Moses thought that Aaron was participating in the sin and was incensed with him. So God told Moses that God knew that Aaron's intentions were good. The Midrash compared it to a prince who became mentally unstable and started digging to undermine his father's house. His tutor told him not to weary himself but to let him dig. When the king saw it, he said that he knew the tutor's intentions were good, and declared that the tutor would rule over the palace. Similarly, when the Israelites told Aaron in Exodus 32:1, “Make us a god,” Aaron replied in Exodus 32:1, “Break off the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them to me.” And Aaron told them that since he was a priest, they should let him make it and sacrifice to it, all with the intention of delaying them until Moses could come down. So God told Aaron that God knew Aaron's intention, and that only Aaron would have sovereignty over the sacrifices that the Israelites would bring. Hence in Exodus 28:1, God told Moses, “And bring near Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that they may minister to Me in the priest's office.” The Midrash told that God told this to Moses several months later in the Tabernacle itself when Moses was about to consecrate Aaron to his office. Rabbi Levi compared it to the friend of a king who was a member of the imperial cabinet and a judge. When the king was about to appoint a palace governor, he told his friend that he intended to appoint the friend's brother. So God made Moses superintendent of the palace, as Numbers 7:7 reports, “My servant Moses is . . . is trusted in all My house,” and God made Moses a judge, as Exodus 18:13 reports, “Moses sat to judge the people.” And when God was about to appoint a High Priest, God notified Moses that it would be his brother Aaron.[61]

 
High Priest in Robes and Breastplate (the chain censer is anachronistic)

The Mishnah summarized the priestly garments described in Exodus 28, saying that "the High Priest performs the service in eight garments, and the common priest in four: in tunic, drawers, miter, and girdle. The High Priest adds to those the breastplate, the apron, the robe, and the frontlet. And the High Priest wore these eight garments when he inquired of the Urim and Thummim.[62]

Rabbi Joḥanan called his garments "my honor." Rabbi Aha bar Abba said in Rabbi Joḥanan's name that Leviticus 6:4, "And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments," teaches that a change of garments is an act of honor in the Torah. And the School of Rabbi Ishmael taught that the Torah teaches us manners: In the garments in which one cooked a dish for one's master, one should not pour a cup of wine for one's master. Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said in Rabbi Joḥanan's name that it is a disgrace for a scholar to go out into the marketplace with patched shoes. The Gemara objected that Rabbi Aha bar Hanina went out that way; Rabbi Aha son of Rav Nachman clarified that the prohibition is of patches upon patches. Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba also said in Rabbi Joḥanan's name that any scholar who has a grease stain on a garment is worthy of death, for Wisdom says in Proverbs 8:36, "All they that hate me (מְשַׂנְאַי‎, mesanne'ai) love (merit) death," and we should read not מְשַׂנְאַי‎, mesanne'ai, but משׂניאי‎, masni'ai (that make me hated, that is, despised). Thus a scholar who has no pride in personal appearance brings contempt upon learning. Ravina taught that this was stated about a thick patch (or others say, a bloodstain). The Gemara harmonized the two opinions by teaching that one referred to an outer garment, the other to an undergarment. Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba also said in Rabbi Joḥanan's name that in Isaiah 20:3, "As my servant Isaiah walked naked and barefoot," "naked" means in worn-out garments, and "barefoot" means in patched shoes.[63]

 
Hillel (sculpture at the Knesset Menorah, Jerusalem)

The Babylonian Talmud related a story of how the description of the High Priest's garments in Exodus 28:4 led a non-Jew to convert to Judaism. The non-Jew asked Shammai to convert him to Judaism on condition that Shammai appoint him High Priest. Shammai pushed him away with a builder's ruler. The non-Jew then went to Hillel, who converted him. The convert then read Torah, and when he came to the injunction of Numbers 1:51, 3:10, and 18:7 that "the common man who draws near shall be put to death," he asked Hillel to whom the injunction applied. Hillel answered that it applied even to David, King of Israel, who had not been a priest. Thereupon the convert reasoned a fortiori that if the injunction applied to all (non-priestly) Israelites, whom in Exodus 4:22 God had called "my firstborn," how much more so would the injunction apply to a mere convert, who came among the Israelites with just his staff and bag. Then the convert returned to Shammai, quoted the injunction, and remarked on how absurd it had been for him to ask Shammai to appoint him High Priest. And he came before Hillel and blessed him for bringing him under the wings of the Divine Presence.[64]

Rav Naḥman in the name of Rabbi Mana noted that the words of Exodus 28:5, "They shall receive gold, blue, and purple and scarlet stuff, and fine twined linen," refer to the recipients in the plural (implying no fewer than two), and reasoned that the verse thus supported the Mishnah's injunction[65] not to appoint fewer than two people to a public position of supervision in property matters.[66]

 
Priests of the Tabernacle (illustration from the 1897 Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us by Charles Foster)

Rabbi Hama bar Hanina interpreted the words "the plaited (שְּׂרָד‎, serad) garments for ministering in the holy place" in Exodus 35:19 to teach that but for the priestly garments described in Exodus 28 (and the atonement achieved by the garments or the priests who wore them), no remnant (שָׂרִיד‎, sarid) of the Jews would have survived.[67] Similarly, citing Mishnah Yoma 7:5,[62] Rabbi Simon taught that even as the sacrifices had an atoning power, so too did the priestly garments. Rabbi Simon explained that the priests' tunic atoned for those who wore a mixture of wool and linen (שַׁעַטְנֵז‎, shaatnez, prohibited by Deuteronomy 22:11), as Genesis 37:3 says, "And he made him a coat (tunic) of many colors" (and the Jerusalem Talmud explained that Joseph's coat was similar to one made of the forbidden mixture). The breeches atoned for unchastity, as Exodus 28:42 says, "And you shall make them linen breeches to cover the flesh of their nakedness." The miter atoned for arrogance, as Exodus 29:6 says, "And you shall set the miter on his head." Some said that the girdle atoned for the crooked in heart, and others said for thieves. Rabbi Levi said that the girdle was 32 cubits long (about 48 feet), and that the priest wound it towards the front and towards the back, and this was the ground for saying that it was to atone for the crooked in heart (as the numerical value of the Hebrew word for heart is 32). The one who said that the girdle atoned for thieves argued that since the girdle was hollow, it resembled thieves, who do their work in secret, hiding their stolen goods in hollows and caves. The breastplate atoned for those who pervert justice, as Exodus 28:30 says, "And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment." The Ephod atoned for idol-worshippers, as Hosea 3:4 says, "and without Ephod or teraphim." Rabbi Simon taught in the name of Rabbi Nathan that the robe atoned for two sins, unintentional manslaughter (for which the Torah provided cities of refuge) and evil speech.[68]

 
David with the Head of Goliath (painting circa 1606–1607 by Caravaggio)

The robe atoned for evil speech by the bells on its fringe, as Exodus 28:34–35 says, "A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the skirts of the robe round about. And it shall be upon Aaron to minister, and the sound thereof shall be heard." Exodus 28:34–35 thus implies that this sound made atonement for the sound of evil speech. There is not strictly atonement for one who unintentionally slays a human being, but the Torah provides a means of atonement by the death of the High Priest, as Numbers 35:28 says, "after the death of the High Priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession." Some said that the forehead-plate atoned for the shameless, while others said for blasphemers. Those who said that it atoned for the shameless deduced it from the similar use of the word "forehead" in Exodus 28:38, which says of the forehead-plate, "And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead," and Jeremiah 3:3, which says, "You had a harlot's forehead, you refused to be ashamed." Those who said that the forehead-plate atoned for blasphemers deduced it from the similar use of the word "forehead" in Exodus 28:38 and 1 Samuel 17:48, which says of Goliath, "And the stone sank into his forehead."[69]

A Baraita interpreted the term "his fitted linen garment" (מִדּוֹ‎, mido) in Leviticus 6:3 to teach that the each priestly garment in Exodus 28 had to be fitted to the particular priest, and had to be neither too short nor too long.[70]

The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that the robe (מְעִיל‎, me'il) mentioned in Exodus 28:4 was entirely of turquoise (תְּכֵלֶת‎, techelet), as Exodus 39:22 says, "And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of turquoise." They made its hems of turquoise, purple, and crimson wool, twisted together and formed into the shape of pomegranates whose mouths were not yet opened (as overripe pomegranates open slightly) and in the shape of the cones of the helmets on children's heads. Seventy-two bells containing 72 clappers were hung on the robe, 36 on each side (front and behind). Rabbi Dosa (or others say, Judah the Prince) said in the name of Rabbi Judah that there were 36 bells in all, 18 on each side.[71]

 
The Breastplate of the High Priest (illustration from the 1905–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia)

Rabbi Eleazar deduced from the words "that the breastplate not be loosed from the Ephod" in Exodus 28:28 that one who removed the breastplate from the apron received the punishment of lashes. Rav Aha bar Jacob objected that perhaps Exodus 28:28 meant merely to instruct the Israelites to fasten the breast-plate securely so that it would "not be loosed." But the Gemara noted that Exodus 28:28 does not say merely, "so that it not be loosed."[72]

The Mishnah taught that the High Priest inquired of the Urim and Thummim noted in Exodus 28:30 only for the king, for the court, or for one whom the community needed.[62]

A Baraita explained why the Urim and Thummim noted in Exodus 28:30 were called by those names: The term "Urim" is like the Hebrew word for "lights," and thus it was called "Urim" because it enlightened. The term "Thummim" is like the Hebrew word tam meaning "to be complete," and thus it was called "Thummim" because its predictions were fulfilled. The Gemara discussed how they used the Urim and Thummim: Rabbi Joḥanan said that the letters of the stones in the breastplate stood out to spell out the answer. Resh Lakish said that the letters joined each other to spell words. But the Gemara noted that the Hebrew letter צ‎, tsade, was missing from the list of the 12 tribes of Israel. Rabbi Samuel bar Isaac said that the stones of the breastplate also contained the names of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But the Gemara noted that the Hebrew letter ט‎, teth, was also missing. Rav Aha bar Jacob said that they also contained the words: "The tribes of Jeshurun." The Gemara taught that although the decree of a prophet could be revoked, the decree of the Urim and Thummim could not be revoked, as Numbers 27:21 says, "By the judgment of the Urim."[73]

 
The High Priest wearing his Breastplate (1984 illustration by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing)

The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that when Israel sinned in the matter of the devoted things, as reported in Joshua 7:11, Joshua looked at the 12 stones corresponding to the 12 tribes that were upon the High Priest's breastplate. For every tribe that had sinned, the light of its stone became dim, and Joshua saw that the light of the stone for the tribe of Judah had become dim. So Joshua knew that the tribe of Judah had transgressed in the matter of the devoted things. Similarly, the Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that Saul saw the Philistines turning against Israel, and he knew that Israel had sinned in the matter of the ban. Saul looked at the 12 stones, and for each tribe that had followed the law, its stone (on the High Priest's breastplate) shined with its light, and for each tribe that had transgressed, the light of its stone was dim. So Saul knew that the tribe of Benjamin had trespassed in the matter of the ban.[74]

The Mishnah reported that with the death of the former prophets, the Urim and Thummim ceased.[75] In this connection, the Gemara reported differing views of who the former prophets were. Rav Huna said they were David, Samuel, and Solomon. Rav Nachman said that during the days of David, they were sometimes successful and sometimes not (getting an answer from the Urim and Thummim), for Zadok consulted it and succeeded, while Abiathar consulted it and was not successful, as 2 Samuel 15:24 reports, "And Abiathar went up." (He retired from the priesthood because the Urim and Thummim gave him no reply.) Rabbah bar Samuel asked whether the report of 2 Chronicles 26:5, "And he (King Uzziah of Judah) set himself to seek God all the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the vision of God," did not refer to the Urim and Thummim. But the Gemara answered that Uzziah did so through Zechariah's prophecy. A Baraita told that when the first Temple was destroyed, the Urim and Thummim ceased, and explained Ezra 2:63 (reporting events after the Jews returned from the Babylonian Captivity), "And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim," as a reference to the remote future, as when one speaks of the time of the Messiah. Rav Nachman concluded that the term "former prophets" referred to a period before Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, who were latter prophets.[76] And the Jerusalem Talmud taught that the "former prophets" referred to Samuel and David, and thus the Urim and Thummim did not function in the period of the First Temple, either.[77]

 
blue tekhelet thread on a set of tzitzit

Rabbi Hanina ben Gamaliel interpreted the words "completely blue (תְּכֵלֶת‎, tekhelet)" in Exodus 28:31 to teach that blue dye used to test the dye is unfit for further use to dye the blue, tekhelet strand of a tzitzit, interpreting the word "completely" to mean "full strength." But Rabbi Joḥanan ben Dahabai taught that even the second dyeing using the same dye is valid, reading the words "and scarlet" (וּשְׁנִי תוֹלַעַת‎, ushni tolalat) in Leviticus 14:4 to mean "a second [dying] of red wool."[78]

The Gemara reported that some interpreted the words "woven work" in Exodus 28:32 to teach that all priestly garments were made entirely by weaving, without needlework. But Abaye interpreted a saying of Resh Lakish and a Baraita to teach that the sleeves of the priestly garments were woven separately and then attached to the garment using needlework, and the sleeves reached down to the priest's wrist.[79]

 
Priest, High Priest, and Levite (illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible)

Rehava said in the name of Rav Judah that one who tore a priestly garment was liable to punishment with lashes, for Exodus 28:32 says "that it be not rent." Rav Aha bar Jacob objected that perhaps Exodus 28:32 meant to instruct that the Israelites make a hem so that the garment would not tear. But the Gemara noted that Exodus 28:32 does not say merely, "lest it be torn."[72]

A Baraita taught that the golden head-plate of Exodus 28:36–38 was two fingerbreadths wide and stretched around the High Priest's forehead from ear to ear. The Baraita taught that two lines were written on it, with the four-letter name of God יהוה‎ on the top line and "holy to" (קֹדֶשׁ לַ‎, kodesh la) on the bottom line. But Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Jose said that he saw it in Rome (where it was taken after the destruction of the Temple) and "holy to the Lord" (קֹדֶשׁ לַיהוה‎) was written in one line.[80]

Rabbi (Judah the Prince) taught that there was no difference between the tunic, belt, turban, and breeches of the High Priest and those of the common priest in Exodus 28:40–43, except in the belt. Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Simeon taught that there was not even any distinction in the belt. Ravin reported that all agree that on Yom Kippur, the High Priest's belt was made of fine linen (as stated in Leviticus 16:4), and during the rest of the year a belt made of both wool and linen (shatnez) (as stated in Exodus 39:29). The difference concerned only the common priest's belt, both on the Day of Atonement and during the rest of the year. Concerning that, Rabbi said it was made of both wool and linen, and Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Simeon said it was made of fine linen.[81]

A Baraita taught that the priests' breeches of Exodus 28:42 were like the knee breeches of horsemen, reaching upwards to the hips and downwards to the thighs. They had laces but had no padding in either back or front (and thus fit loosely).[82]

Exodus chapter 29

A Midrash taught that when God so pleased, God called for atonement for the Golden Calf through a male agent, as in Exodus 29:1, with regard to the investiture of the Priests, “Take one young bullock (פַּר‎, par),” and when God so pleased, God called for that atonement through a female agent, as in Numbers 19:2, “That they bring you a red heifer (פָרָה‎, parah), faultless, wherein is no blemish . . . .”[83]

 
Fitting a Priest's Garments (1984 illustration by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing)

A Baraita taught that a priest who performed sacrifices without the proper priestly garments was liable to death at the hands of Heaven.[84] Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Joḥanan (or some say Rabbi Eleazar son of Rabbi Simeon) that the Baraita's teaching was derived from Exodus 29:9, which says: "And you shall gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and bind turbans on them; and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute." Thus, the Gemara reasoned, when wearing their proper priestly garments, priests were invested with their priesthood; but when they were not wearing their proper priestly garments, they lacked their priesthood and were considered like non-priests, who were liable to death if they performed the priestly service.[85]

A Midrash asked: As Exodus 29:9 reported that there already were 70 elders of Israel, why in Numbers 11:16, did God direct Moses to gather 70 elders of Israel? The Midrash deduced that when in Numbers 11:1, the people murmured, speaking evil, and God sent fire to devour part of the camp, all those earlier 70 elders had been burned up. The Midrash continued that the earlier 70 elders were consumed like Nadab and Abihu, because they too acted frivolously when (as reported in Exodus 24:11) they beheld God and inappropriately ate and drank. The Midrash taught that Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders deserved to die then, but because God so loved giving the Torah, God did not wish to create disturb that time.[86]

 
Priests Offering at the Altar (1984 illustration by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing)

The Mishnah explained how the priests carried out the rites of the wave-offering described in Exodus 29:27: On the east side of the altar, the priest placed the two loaves on the two lambs and put his two hands beneath them and waved them forward and backward and upward and downward.[87]

The Sages interpreted the words of Exodus 29:27, "which is waved, and which is heaved up," to teach that the priest moved an offering forward and backward, upward and downward. As Exodus 29:27 thus compares "heaving" to "waving," the Midrash deduced that in every case where the priest waved, he also heaved.[88]

Rabbi Joḥanan deduced from the reference of Exodus 29:29 to "the holy garments of Aaron" that Numbers 31:6 refers to the priestly garments containing the Urim and Thummim when it reports that "Moses sent . . . Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy vessels." But the Midrash concluded that Numbers 31:6 refers to the Ark of the Covenant, to which Numbers 7:9 refers when it says, "the service of the holy things."[89]

A Baraita noted a difference in wording between Exodus 29:30, regarding the investiture of the High Priest, and Leviticus 16:32, regarding the qualifications for performing the Yom Kippur service. Exodus 29:29–30 says, "The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to be consecrated in them. Seven days shall the son that is priest in his stead put them on." This text demonstrated that a priest who had put on the required larger number of garments and who had been anointed on each of the seven days was permitted to serve as High Priest. Leviticus 16:32, however, says, "And the priest who shall be anointed and who shall be consecrated to be priest in his father's stead shall make the atonement." The Baraita interpreted the words, "Who shall be anointed and who shall be consecrated," to mean one who had been anointed and consecrated in whatever way (as long as he had been consecrated, even if some detail of the ceremony had been omitted). The Baraita thus concluded that if the priest had put on the larger number of garments for only one day and had been anointed on each of the seven days, or if he had been anointed for only one day and had put on the larger number of garments for seven days, he would also be permitted to perform the Yom Kippur service. Noting that Exodus 29:30 indicated that the larger number of garments was necessary in the first instance for the seven days, the Gemara asked what Scriptural text supported the proposition that anointment on each of the seven days was in the first instance required. The Gemara answered that one could infer that from the fact that a special statement of the Torah was necessary to exclude it. Or, in the alternative, one could infer that from Exodus 29:29, which says, "And the holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to be consecrated in them." As Exodus 29:29 puts the anointing and the donning of the larger number of garments on the same level, therefore, just as the donning of the larger number of garments was required for seven days, so was the anointing obligatory for seven days.[90]

Rabbi Eliezer interpreted the words, "And there I will meet with the children of Israel; and [the Tabernacle] shall be sanctified by My glory," in Exodus 29:43 to mean that God would in the future meet the Israelites and be sanctified among them. The Midrash reports that this occurred on the eighth day of the consecration of the Tabernacle, as reported in Leviticus 9:1. And as Leviticus 9:24 reports, "when all the people saw, they shouted, and fell on their faces."[91]

 
The Two Priests Are Destroyed (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)

The Mekhilta interpreted the words, "And there I will meet with the children of Israel; and it shall be sanctified by My glory," in Exodus 29:43 to be the words to which Moses referred in Leviticus 10:3, when he said, "This is it what the Lord spoke, saying: 'Through them who are near to Me I will be sanctified.'"[92]

The Gemara interpreted the report in Exodus 29:43 that the Tabernacle "shall be sanctified by My glory" to refer to the death of Nadab and Abihu. The Gemara taught that one should read not "My glory" (bi-khevodi) but "My honored ones" (bi-khevuday). The Gemara thus taught that God told Moses in Exodus 29:43 that God would sanctify the Tabernacle through the death of Nadab and Abihu, but Moses did not comprehend God's meaning until Nadab and Abihu died in Leviticus 10:2. When Aaron's sons died, Moses told Aaron in Leviticus 10:3 that Aaron's sons died only that God's glory might be sanctified through them. When Aaron thus perceived that his sons were God's honored ones, Aaron was silent, as Leviticus 10:3 reports, "And Aaron held his peace," and Aaron was rewarded for his silence.[93]

Joshua ben Levi interpreted the words of Exodus 29:46, "And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, Who brought them out of the land of Egypt in order that I may dwell among them," to teach that the Israelites came out of Egypt only because God foresaw that they would later build God a Tabernacle.[94]

 
The Inner Altar (1984 illustration by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing)

Exodus chapter 30

 
The Outer Altar (1984 illustration by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing)

Rabbi Jose argued that the dimensions of the inner altar in Exodus 30:2 helped to interpret the size of the outer altar. Rabbi Judah maintained that the outer altar was wider than Rabbi Jose thought it was, whereas Rabbi Jose maintained that the outer altar was taller than Rabbi Judah thought it was. Rabbi Jose said that one should read literally the words of Exodus 27:1, "five cubits long, and five cubits broad." But Rabbi Judah noted that Exodus 27:1 uses the word "square" (רָבוּעַ‎, ravua), just as Ezekiel 43:16 uses the word "square" (רָבוּעַ‎, ravua). Rabbi Judah argued that just as in Ezekiel 43:16, the dimension was measured from the center (so that the dimension described only one quadrant of the total), so the dimensions of Exodus 27:1 should be measured from the center (and thus, according to Rabbi Judah, the altar was 10 cubits on each side.) The Gemara explained that we know that this is how to understand Ezekiel 43:16 because Ezekiel 43:16 says, "And the hearth shall be 12 cubits long by 12 cubits broad, square," and Ezekiel 43:16 continues, "to the four sides thereof," teaching that the measurement was taken from the middle (interpreting "to" as intimating that from a particular point, there were 12 cubits in all directions, hence from the center). Rabbi Jose, however, reasoned that a common use of the word "square" applied to the height of the altar. Rabbi Judah said that one should read literally the words of Exodus 27:1, "And the height thereof shall be three cubits." But Rabbi Jose noted that Exodus 27:1 uses the word "square" (רָבוּעַ‎, ravua), just as Exodus 30:2 uses the word "square" (רָבוּעַ‎, ravua, referring to the inner altar). Rabbi Jose argued that just as in Exodus 30:2 the altar's height was twice its length, so too in Exodus 27:1, the height was to be read as twice its length (and thus the altar was 10 cubits high). Rabbi Judah questioned Rabbi Jose's conclusion, for if priests stood on the altar to perform the service 10 cubits above the ground, the people would see them from outside the courtyard. Rabbi Jose replied to Rabbi Judah that Numbers 4:26 states, "And the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the Tabernacle and by the altar round about," teaching that just as the Tabernacle was 10 cubits high, so was the altar 10 cubits high; and Exodus 38:14 says, "The hangings for the one side were fifteen cubits" (teaching that the walls of the courtyard were 15 cubits high). The Gemara explained that according to Rabbi Jose's reading, the words of Exodus 27:18, "And the height five cubits," meant from the upper edge of the altar to the top of the hangings. And according to Rabbi Jose, the words of Exodus 27:1, "and the height thereof shall be three cubits," meant that there were three cubits from the edge of the terrace (on the side of the altar) to the top of the altar. Rabbi Judah, however, granted that the priest could be seen outside the Tabernacle, but argued that the sacrifice in his hands could not be seen.[95]

The Mishnah taught that the incense offering of Exodus 30:7 was not subject to the penalty associated with eating invalidated offerings.[96]

In medieval Jewish interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these medieval Jewish sources:[97]

Exodus chapter 28

 
Nachmanides

Interpreting Exodus 28:2, "And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for splendor and for beauty," Nachmanides taught that the High Priest's garments corresponded to the garments that monarchs wore when the Torah was given. Thus, Nachmanides taught that the "tunic of checker work" in Exodus 28:4 was a royal garment, like the one worn by David's daughter Tamar in 2 Samuel 13:18, "Now she had a garment of many colors upon her; for with such robes were the king's daughters that were virgins appareled." The miter in Exodus 28:4 was known among monarchs, as Ezekiel 21:31 notes with reference to the fall of the kingdom of Judah, "The miter shall be removed, and the crown taken off." Nachmanides taught that the ephod and the breastplate were also royal garments, and the plate that the High Priest wore around the forehead was like a monarch's crown. Finally, Nachmanides noted that the High Priest's garments were made of (in the words of Exodus 28:5) "gold," "blue-purple," and "red-purple," which were all symbolic of royalty.[98]

 
Maimonides

Maimonides taught that God selected priests for service in the Tabernacle in Exodus 28:41 and instituted the practice of sacrifices generally as transitional steps to wean the Israelites off of the worship of the times and move them toward prayer as the primary means of worship. Maimonides noted that in nature, God created animals that develop gradually. For example, when a mammal is born, it is extremely tender, and cannot eat dry food, so God provided breasts that yield milk to feed the young animal, until it can eat dry food. Similarly, Maimonides taught, God instituted many laws as temporary measures, as it would have been impossible for the Israelites suddenly to discontinue everything to which they had become accustomed. So God sent Moses to make the Israelites (in the words of Exodus 19:6) "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." But the general custom of worship in those days was sacrificing animals in temples that contained idols. So God did not command the Israelites to give up those manners of service, but allowed them to continue. God transferred to God's service what had formerly served as a worship of idols, and commanded the Israelites to serve God in the same manner—namely, to build to a Sanctuary (Exodus 25:8), to erect the altar to God's name (Exodus 20:21), to offer sacrifices to God (Leviticus 1:2), to bow down to God, and to burn incense before God. God forbade doing any of these things to any other being and selected priests for the service in the temple in Exodus 28:41: "And they shall minister to me in the priest's office." By this Divine plan, God blotted out the traces of idolatry, and established the great principle of the Existence and Unity of God. But the sacrificial service, Maimonides taught, was not the primary object of God's commandments about sacrifice; rather, supplications, prayers, and similar kinds of worship are nearer to the primary object. Thus God limited sacrifice to only one temple (see Deuteronomy 12:26) and the priesthood to only the members of a particular family. These restrictions, Maimonides taught, served to limit sacrificial worship, and kept it within such bounds that God did not feel it necessary to abolish sacrificial service altogether. But in the Divine plan, prayer and supplication can be offered everywhere and by every person, as can be the wearing of tzitzit (Numbers 15:38) and tefillin (Exodus 13:9, 16) and similar kinds of service.[99]

In modern interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these modern sources:

 
Plaut

Exodus chapter 27

Gunther Plaut reported that after the Romans destroyed the Temple, Jews sought to honor the commandment in Exodus 27:20–21 to light the Menorah by keeping a separate light, a ner tamid, in the synagogue. Originally Jews set the ner tamid opposite the ark on the synagogue's western wall, but then moved it to a niche by the side of the ark and later to a lamp suspended above the ark. Plaut reported that the ner tamid has come to symbolize God's presence, a spiritual light emanating as if from the Temple.[100]

Exodus chapter 28

Noting that Exodus 28:1 first introduces Aaron and his family as “priests” without further defining the term, Plaut concluded that either the institution was already well known at the time (as the Egyptians and Midianites had priests) or that the story was retrojected back from a later time that had long known priests and their job. Scholars found the priestly garments unrealistic, complex, and extravagant, hardly befitting a wilderness setting. Plaut concluded, however, that while the text likely contains embellishments from later times, there is little reason to doubt that it also reports traditions going back to Israel's earliest days.[101]

 
Cassuto

Reading in Exodus 28:2 the instruction to make holy garments for Aaron and his sons “for glory and for beauty,” Umberto Cassuto explained that these were clothes that would indicate the degree of holiness in keeping with his high office.[102] Nahum Sarna wrote that God ordained special attire for Aaron and his sons as insignia of office, so that the occupants of the sacred office could be distinguishable from the laity just as sacred space could be differentiated from profane space.[103] Reading “for glory and for beauty” in Exodus 28:2, Richard Elliott Friedman argued that beauty is inspiring and valuable, and that religion is not the enemy of the senses.[104]

Sarna noted that Exodus 28 makes no mention of footwear, as the priests officiated barefoot.[105] Carol Meyers inferred that the priests wore no shoes on holy ground, noting that in Exodus 3:5, God told Moses to take off his shoes, for the place on which he stood was holy ground.[106]

Plaut reported that the priestly garments enumerated in Exodus 28:2–43 are the direct antecedents of those used today in the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches, whose priests—and especially bishops—wear similar robes when officiating. In the synagogue, the Torah scroll is similarly embellished and dressed in an embroidered mantle and crowned by pomegranates and bells.[101]

Noting that amid the description of the “glorious” priestly garments in Exodus 28:2–43 is the warning in Exodus 28:35 that Aaron might die, Walter Brueggemann wondered whether the text intends to convey the irony that one so well appointed was under threat of death. And Brueggemann noted that Exodus 25–31 proceeds to Exodus 32 (which he admitted came from a different textual tradition), and wondered whether the text means to convey that Aaron was seduced by his glorious adornment to act as he did in the incident of the Golden Calf. Brueggemann concluded that the affirmation and devastating critique of Aaron live close together in the text, teaching that the affirmation, the temptation, and the critique are inherent in the priesthood and the handler of holy things.[107]

Nili Fox wrote that it is no accident that the violet-blue wool cord that Numbers 15:37–40 required be attached to the fringes is identical to the cord that hangs from the priest's headdress in Exodus 28:37. Fox argued that the tzitzit on the Israelites' garments identified them as being holy to God and symbolically connected them to the priests. Thereby, the Israelites pledged their loyalty to God as well as to the priests who oversaw the laws.[108]

Reading God's command in Exodus 28:41 for Moses to anoint Aaron and his sons, Plaut reported that anointing was a common procedure in antiquity to induct priests or kings into office. Anointing oil symbolized wellbeing, and its daily use (especially in later Rome) was emblematic of the good life. The pouring of oil on the head signified having been favored by or set apart for the deity. Israelites chiefly used olive oil for ointments, Babylonians also used sesame oil and animal fats, and Egyptians used almond oil and animal fats.[109]

Exodus chapter 29

Everett Fox noted that “glory” (כְּבוֹד‎, kevod) and “stubbornness” (כָּבֵד לֵב‎, kaved lev) are leading words throughout the book of Exodus that give it a sense of unity.[110] Similarly, William Propp identified the root kvd—connoting heaviness, glory, wealth, and firmness—as a recurring theme in Exodus: Moses suffered from a heavy mouth in Exodus 4:10 and heavy arms in Exodus 17:12; Pharaoh had firmness of heart in Exodus 7:14; 8:11, 28; 9:7, 34; and 10:1; Pharaoh made Israel's labor heavy in Exodus 5:9; God in response sent heavy plagues in Exodus 8:20; 9:3, 18, 24; and 10:14, so that God might be glorified over Pharaoh in Exodus 14:4, 17, and 18; and the book culminates with the descent of God's fiery Glory, described as a “heavy cloud,” first upon Sinai and later upon the Tabernacle in Exodus 19:16; 24:16–17; 29:43; 33:18, 22; and 40:34–38.[111]

 
a ner tamid (נֵר תָּמִיד‎), or sanctuary lamp, hanging over the ark in a synagogue, in remembrance of the command in Exodus 27:20–21

Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are 4 positive and 3 negative commandments in the parashah:[112]

  • To light the Menorah every day[113]
  • The Kohanim must wear their priestly garments during service.[114]
  • The breastpiece must not be loosened from the Ephod.[115]
  • Not to tear the priestly garments[116]
  • The Kohanim must eat the sacrificial meat.[117]
  • To burn incense every day[118]
  • Not to burn anything on the incense altar besides incense[119]

In the liturgy

The tamid sacrifice that Exodus 29:38–39 called for the priests to offer at twilight presaged the afternoon prayer service, called "Mincha" or "offering" in Hebrew.[120]

 
Ezekiel (1510 fresco by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel)

Haftarah

Generally

The haftarah for the parashah is Ezekiel 43:10–27.

Connection to the Parashah

Both the parashah and the haftarah in Ezekiel describe God's holy sacrificial altar and its consecration, the parashah in the Tabernacle in the wilderness,[121] and the haftarah in Ezekiel's conception of a future Temple.[122] Both the parashah and the haftarah describe plans conveyed by a mighty prophet, Moses in the parashah and Ezekiel in the haftarah.

 
The Death of Agag (illustration by Gustave Doré from the 1865 La Sainte Bible)

On Shabbat Zachor

When Parashat Tetzaveh coincides with Shabbat Zachor (the special Sabbath immediately preceding Purim), as it does in 2023, 2025, 2026, 2028, 2029, 2031, 2032, 2034, 2036, 2037, 2039, 2040, 2042, 2044, 2045, 2047, and 2050,[123] the haftarah is:

Connection to the Special Sabbath

On Shabbat Zachor, the Sabbath just before Purim, Jews read Deuteronomy 25:17–19, which instructs Jews: "Remember (זָכוֹר‎, zachor) what Amalek did" in attacking the Israelites.[124] The haftarah for Shabbat Zachor, 1 Samuel 15:2–34 or 1–34, describes Saul's encounter with Amalek and Saul's and Samuel's treatment of the Amalekite king Agag. Purim, in turn, commemorates the story of Esther (said to be a descendant of Saul in some rabbinic literature) and the Jewish people's victory over Haman's plan to kill the Jews, told in the book of Esther.[125] Esther 3:1 identifies Haman as an Agagite, and thus a descendant of Amalek. Numbers 24:7 identifies the Agagites with the Amalekites. Alternatively, a Midrash tells the story that between King Agag's capture by Saul and his killing by Samuel, Agag fathered a child, from whom Haman in like turn descended.[126]

Notes

  1. ^ . Akhlah Inc. Archived from the original on February 21, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
  2. ^ "Parashat Tetzaveh". Hebcal. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  3. ^ See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Shemos/Exodus (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2008), pages 201–24.
  4. ^ Exodus 27:20–21.
  5. ^ Exodus 28.
  6. ^ Exodus 28:13–30.
  7. ^ Exodus 28:30.
  8. ^ Exodus 28:31–43.
  9. ^ Exodus 33–35.
  10. ^ Exodus 29.
  11. ^ Exodus 29:10–12.
  12. ^ Exodus 29:15–18
  13. ^ Exodus 29:19–20.
  14. ^ Exodus 29:42–45.
  15. ^ Exodus 30.
  16. ^ See, e.g., Richard Eisenberg, "A Complete Triennial Cycle for Reading the Torah," in Proceedings of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement: 1986–1990 (New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2001), pages 383–418.
  17. ^ For more on inner-Biblical interpretation, see, e.g., Benjamin D. Sommer, “Inner-biblical Interpretation,” in Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, editors, The Jewish Study Bible, 2nd edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014), pages 1835–41.
  18. ^ See generally Jon D. Levenson, "Cosmos and Microcosm," in Creation and the Persistence of Evil: The Jewish Drama of Divine Omnipotence (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988), pages 78–99; see also Jeffrey H. Tigay, "Exodus," in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler, editors, Jewish Study Bible, 2nd edition, page 157.
  19. ^ (1) Genesis 1:1–5; (2) 1:6–8; (3) 1:9–13; (4) 1:14–19; (5) 1:20–23; (6) 1:24–31; (7) Genesis 2:1–3.
  20. ^ (1) Exodus 25:1–30:10; (2) 30:11–16; (3) 30:17–21; (4) 30:22–33; (5) 30:34–37; (6) 31:1–11; (7) 31:12–17.
  21. ^ Genesis 2:1; Exodus 39:32.
  22. ^ Genesis 1:31; Exodus 39:43.
  23. ^ Genesis 2:2; Exodus 40:33–34.
  24. ^ Genesis 2:3; Exodus 39:43.
  25. ^ Genesis 2:3; Exodus 40:9–11.
  26. ^ See generally Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden, Teaching Torah: A Treasury of Insights and Activities (Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 1997), page 157.
  27. ^ Jeffrey H. Tigay, “Exodus,” in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler, editors, Jewish Study Bible, 2nd edition, page 157.
  28. ^ Exodus 25:37.
  29. ^ Exodus 28:1–39.
  30. ^ Compare Exodus 39:32 to Genesis 2:1–3; Exodus 39:43 to Genesis 1:31; and Exodus 40:33 to Genesis 2:2.
  31. ^ Exodus 40:17.
  32. ^ Carol Meyers, “Exodus,” in Michael D. Coogan, Marc Z. Brettler, Carol A. Newsom, and Pheme Perkins, editors, The New Oxford Annotated Bible: New Revised Standard Version With The Apocrypha: An Ecumenical Study Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, revised 4th edition 2010), page 117.
  33. ^ Note the similar language of 2 Chronicles 6:41–42 and Isaiah 61:10. See Walter Brueggemann, "The Book of Exodus," in Leander E. Keck, editor, The New Interpreter's Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994), volume 1, page 909.
  34. ^ Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, translated by Francis Bolton (Edinburgh: T & T Clarke, 1866–1891), reprinted as C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, volume 5, Psalms, by F. Delitzsch (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 2006), pages 786–87.
  35. ^ For more on early nonrabbinic interpretation, see, e.g., Esther Eshel, “Early Nonrabbinic Interpretation,” in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler, editors, Jewish Study Bible, 2nd edition, pages 1841–59.
  36. ^ Sirach 50:5–7.
  37. ^ Exodus 28:6
  38. ^ Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews book 3, chapter 7, paragraph 7 (circa 93–94), in, e.g., William Whiston, translator, The Works of Josephus (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987), pages 90–91.
  39. ^ Josephus, Antiquities book 3, chapter 8, paragraph 9, in, e.g., William Whiston, translator, Works of Josephus, page 93.
  40. ^ Philo. On the Life of Moses, book 2, chapter 29, paragraphs 150–51 (Alexandria, Egypt, early 1st century CE), in, e.g., Charles Duke Yonge, translator, The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993), page 504.
  41. ^ For more on classical rabbinic interpretation, see, e.g., Yaakov Elman, “Classical Rabbinic Interpretation,” in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler, editors, Jewish Study Bible, 2nd edition, pages 1859–78.
  42. ^ Midrash Tanḥuma, Tzav 14, in, e.g., The Metsudah Midrash Tanchuma, translated and annotated by Avrohom Davis, edited by Yaakov Y.H. Pupko (Monsey, New York: Eastern Book Press, 2006), volume 5 (Vayikra), pages 124–25.
  43. ^ Babylonian Talmud Yoma 3b (Sasanian Empire, 6th century), in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Yoma: Volume 1, elucidated by Abba Zvi Naiman, Michoel Weiner, Yosef Widroff, Moshe Zev Einhorn, Israel Schneider, and Zev Meisels, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1998), volume 13, page 3b.
  44. ^ Mishnah Menachot 8:5 (Land of Israel, circa 200 CE), in, e.g., Jacob Neusner, translator, The Mishnah: A New Translation (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988), page 750; Babylonian Talmud Menachot 86a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Menachos: Volume 3, elucidated by Yosef Davis, Eliezer Herzka, Abba Zvi Naiman, Zev Meisels, Noson Boruch Herzka, and Avrohom Neuberger, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2003), volume 60, page 86a4. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2003.
  45. ^ Mishnah Menachot 8:4, in, e.g., Jacob Neusner, translator, Mishnah, page 749; Babylonian Talmud Menachot 86a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Menachos: Volume 3, elucidated by Yosef Davis et al., volume 60, pages 86a1–3.
  46. ^ Mishnah Tamid 3:9, in, e.g., Jacob Neusner, translator, Mishnah, page 867.
  47. ^ Exodus Rabbah 33:4 (10th century), in, e.g., Simon M. Lehrman, translator, Midrash Rabbah: Exodus (London: Soncino Press, 1939), volume 3, pages 416–18.
  48. ^ Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 57a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Berachos: Volume 2, elucidated by Yosef Widroff, Mendy Wachsman, Israel Schneider, and Zev Meisels, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997), volume 2, page 57a3.
  49. ^ Exodus Rabbah 36:1, in, e.g., Simon Lehrman, translator, Midrash Rabbah: Exodus, volume 3, pages 436–38.
  50. ^ Exodus Rabbah 36:2, in, e.g., Simon Lehrman, translator, Midrash Rabbah: Exodus, volume 3, pages 438–39.
  51. ^ Exodus Rabbah 36:3, in, e.g., Simon Lehrman, translator, Midrash Rabbah: Exodus, volume 3, pages 439–40.
  52. ^ Jerusalem Talmud Sukkah 29b (Tiberias, Land of Israel, circa 400 CE), in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi: Tractate Succah, elucidated by Mendy Wachsman, Mordechai Smilowitz, Avrohom Neuberger, Zvi Naiman, Gershon Hoffman, David Azar, Yehuda Jaffa, Menachem Goldberger, edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2008), volume 22, page 29b.
  53. ^ a b Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 21a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Shabbos: Volume 2, elucidated by Eliyahu Baruch Shulman, Shlomo Fox-Ashrei, Yosef Asher Weiss, and Abba Zvi Naiman, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1996), volume 4, page 21a.
  54. ^ Mishnah Sukkah 5:3, in, e.g., Jacob Neusner, translator, Mishnah, page 289; Jerusalem Talmud Sukkah 29a, in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi: Tractate Succah, elucidated by Mendy Wachsman et al., volume 22, page 29a; Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 51a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Succah, Volume 2, elucidated by Eliezer Herzka, Noson Dovid Rabinowitch, Dovid Kamenetsky, and Michoel Weiner, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1998), volume 16, page 51a.
  55. ^ a b Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 59a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Pesachim: Volume 2, elucidated by Avrohom Neuberger, Nasanel Kasnett, Abba Zvi Naiman, Zev Meisels, Dovid Kamenetsky, and Eliezer Herzka, edited by Hersh Goldwurm (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997), volume 10, page 59a; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 15a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Yoma: Volume 1, elucidated by Abba Zvi Naiman et al., volume 13, page 15a; Babylonian Talmud Menachot 89a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Menachos: Volume 3, elucidated by Yosef Davis et al., volume 60, page 89a4.
  56. ^ Babylonian Talmud Menachot 89a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Menachos: Volume 3, elucidated by Yosef Davis et al., volume 60, page 89a4.
  57. ^ Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 59a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Pesachim: Volume 2, elucidated by Avrohom Neuberger et al., volume 10, page 59a.
  58. ^ Babylonian Talmud Yoma 15a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Yoma: Volume 1, elucidated by Abba Zvi Naiman et al., volume 13, page 15a.
  59. ^ Mishnah Avot 1:12, in, e.g., Jacob Neusner, translator, Mishnah, page 674.
  60. ^ Midrash Tanḥuma, Shemot 27 (6th–7th centuries), in, e.g., Metsudah Midrash Tanchuma, translated and annotated by Avraham Davis, edited by Yaakov Y.H. Pupko (Monsey, New York: Eastern Book Press, 2006), volume 3 (Shemos 1), pages 91–92.
  61. ^ Exodus Rabbah 37:2, in, e.g., Simon Lehrman, translator, Midrash Rabbah: Exodus, pages 444–45.
  62. ^ a b c Mishnah Yoma 7:5, in, e.g., Jacob Neusner, translator, Mishnah, page 277; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 71b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Yoma: Volume 2, elucidated by Eliezer Herzka, Zev Meisels, Abba Zvi Naiman, Dovid Kamenetsky, and Mendy Wachsman, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1998), volume 14, page 71b.
  63. ^ Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 113b–14a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Shabbos: Volume 3, elucidated by Yosef Asher Weiss, Michoel Weiner, Asher Dicker, Abba Zvi Naiman, Yosef Davis, and Israel Schneider, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1996), volume 5, pages 113b–14a.
  64. ^ Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 31a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Shabbos: Volume 1, elucidated by Asher Dicker, Nasanel Kasnett, and David Fohrman, volume 3, page 31a.
  65. ^ In Mishnah Shekalim 5:2, in, e.g., Jacob Neusner, translator, Mishnah, page 259.
  66. ^ Jerusalem Talmud Shekalim 38b (5:2), in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi: Tractate Shekalim, elucidated by Zev Meisels, Michoel Weiner, Feivel Wahl, Dovid Nachfolger, Asher Dicker, Menachem Goldberger, Yosef Davis, Avrohom Neuberger, Hillel Danziger, and Eli Herzka, edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Mordechai Marcus, and Yisroel Simcha Schorr (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2020), volume 20, page 38b2; Babylonian Talmud Shekalim 14b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Shekalim, elucidated by Michoel Weiner, Zev Meisels, Feivel Wahl, Dovid Nachfolger, Asher Dicker, Menachem Goldberger, Yosef Davis, Avrohom Neuberger, Hillel Danziger, and Eliezer Herzka, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2005), volume 12, page 14b2.
  67. ^ Babylonian Talmud Yoma 72a–b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Yoma: Volume 2, elucidated by Eliezer Herzka et al., volume 14, pages 72a–b.
  68. ^ Leviticus Rabbah 10:6. Land of Israel, 5th century, in, e.g., Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, translators, Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus (London: Soncino Press, 1939), volume 4, pages 129–30.
  69. ^ Leviticus Rabbah 10:6, in, e.g., Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, translators, Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus, volume 4, page 130.
  70. ^ Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 35a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Zevachim: Volume 1, elucidated by Abba Zvi Naiman, Israel Schneider, and Michoel Weiner, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995), volume 55, page 35a.
  71. ^ Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 88b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Zevachim: Volume 2, elucidated by Moshe Einhorn, Henoch Moshe Levin, Michoel Weiner, Shlomo Fox-Ashrei, and Abba Zvi Naiman, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995), volume 56, page 88b1.
  72. ^ a b Babylonian Talmud Yoma 72a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Yoma: Volume 2, elucidated by Eliezer Herzka et al., volume 14, page 72a.
  73. ^ Babylonian Talmud Yoma 73b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Yoma: Volume 2, elucidated by Eliezer Herzka et al., volume 14, page 73b.
  74. ^ Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 38. Early 9th century, in, e.g., Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer. Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander, pages 295, 297–98. London, 1916. Reprinted New York: Hermon Press, 1970.
  75. ^ Mishnah Sotah 9:12, in, e.g., Jacob Neusner, translator, Mishnah, page 464; Babylonian Talmud Sotah 48a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Sotah: Volume 2, elucidated by Eliezer Herzka, Moshe Zev Einhorn, Michoel Weiner, Dovid Kamenetsky, and Reuvein Dowek, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2000), volume 33b, page 48a3.
  76. ^ Babylonian Talmud Sotah 48b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Sotah: Volume 2, elucidated by Eliezer Herzka et al., volume 33b, pages 48b1–2.
  77. ^ Jerusalem Talmud Sotah 24b, in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi, elucidated by Avrohom Neuberger, Yehuda Jaffa, Mendy Wachsman, Shlomo Silberman, Mordechai Stareshefsky, Gershon Hoffman, edited by Chaim Malinowitz and Yisroel Simcha Schorr (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2017), volume 36, page 24b.
  78. ^ Babylonian Talmud Menachot 42b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Menachos: Volume 2, elucidated by Eliezer Herzka, Michoel Weiner, Avrohom Neuberger, Dovid Arye Kaufman, and Asher Septimus, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002), volume 59, page 42b.
  79. ^ Babylonian Talmud Yoma 72b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Yoma: Volume 2, elucidated by Eliezer Herzka et al., volume 14, page 72b.
  80. ^ Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 63b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Shabbos: Volume 2, elucidated by Eliyahu Baruch Shulman et al., volume 4, page 63b.
  81. ^ Babylonian Talmud Yoma 12b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Yoma: Volume 1, elucidated by Abba Zvi Naiman et al., volume 13, page 12b.
  82. ^ Babylonian Talmud Niddah 13b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Niddah: Volume 1, elucidated by Hillel Danziger, Moshe Zev Einhorn, and Michoel Weiner, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz, (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1996), volume 71, page 13b.
  83. ^ Exodus Rabbah 38:3, in, e.g., Simon Lehrman, translator, Midrash Rabbah: Exodus, volume 3, page 448.
  84. ^ Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 83a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Sanhedrin: Volume 2, elucidated by Michoel Weiner and Asher Dicker, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1994), volume 48, page 83a.
  85. ^ Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 83b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Sanhedrin: Volume 2, elucidated by Michoel Weiner and Asher Dicker, volume 48, page 83b.
  86. ^ Midrash Tanḥuma, Beha'aloscha 16, in, e.g., Metsudah Midrash Tanchuma, Translated and annotated by Avraham Davis, edited by Yaakov Y.H. Pupko, volume 6 (Bamidbar 1), pages 252–53.
  87. ^ Mishnah Menachot 5:6, in, e.g., Jacob Neusner, translator, Mishnah, page 743; Babylonian Talmud Menachot 61a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Menachos: Volume 2, elucidated by Eliezer Herzka et al., volume 59, page 61a.
  88. ^ Numbers Rabbah 9:38 (12th century), in, e.g., Judah J. Slotki, translator, Midrash Rabbah: Numbers (London: Soncino Press, 1939), volume 5, pages 313–14; see also Numbers Rabbah 10:23, in, e.g., Judah Slotki, translator, Midrash Rabbah: Numbers, volume 5, page 403.
  89. ^ Numbers Rabbah 22:4, in, e.g., Judah Slotki, translator, Midrash Rabbah: Numbers, volume 6, pages 855–56.
  90. ^ Babylonian Talmud Yoma 5a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Yoma: Volume 1, elucidated by Abba Zvi Naiman et al., volume 13, page 5a2.
  91. ^ Numbers Rabbah 14:21, in, e.g., Judah Slotki, translator, Midrash Rabbah: Numbers, volume 6, page 636.
  92. ^ Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael, Pisha, chapter 12 (Land of Israel, late 4th century), in, e.g., Jacob Z. Lauterbach, translator, Mekhilta According to Rabbi Ishmael (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1933, reissued 2004), volume 1, page 63.
  93. ^ Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 115b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Zevachim: Volume 3, elucidated by Israel Schneider, Yosef Widroff, Mendy Wachsman, Dovid Katz, Zev Meisels, and Feivel Wahl, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1996), volume 57, page 115b.
  94. ^ Numbers Rabbah 3:6, in, e.g., Judah Slotki, translator, Midrash Rabbah: Numbers, volume 5, page 78; see also Numbers Rabbah 12:6, in, e.g., Judah Slotki, translator, Midrash Rabbah: Numbers, volume 5, page 467.
  95. ^ Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 59b–60a, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Zevachim: Volume 2, elucidated by Moshe Einhorn et al., volume 56, pages 59b1–60a1.
  96. ^ Mishnah Zevachim 4:3, in, e.g., Jacob Neusner, translator, Mishnah, page 705; Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 42b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Zevachim: Volume 2, elucidated by Moshe Einhorn et al., volume 56, page 42b.
  97. ^ For more on medieval Jewish interpretation, see, e.g., Barry D. Walfish, “Medieval Jewish Interpretation,” in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler, editors, Jewish Study Bible, 2nd edition, pages 1891–1915.
  98. ^ Ramban, Exodus 28:2 (Jerusalem, circa 1270), in, e.g., Charles B. Chavel, translator, Ramban (Nachmanides): Commentary on the Torah: Exodus (New York: Shilo Publishing House, 1973), volume 2, pages 475–76.
  99. ^ Maimonides, The Guide for the Perplexed, part 3, chapter 32 (Cairo, Egypt, 1190), in, e.g., Moses Maimonides, The Guide for the Perplexed, translated by Michael Friedländer (New York: Dover Publications, 1956), pages 322–27.
  100. ^ W. Gunther Plaut, The Torah: A Modern Commentary: Revised Edition, revised edition edited by David E.S. Stern (New York: Union for Reform Judaism, 2006), page 573.
  101. ^ a b Gunther Plaut, The Torah: A Modern Commentary, revised edition, page 561.
  102. ^ Umberto Cassuto, A Commentary on the Book of Exodus, translated by Israel Abrahams (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, Hebrew University, 1967), page 371.
  103. ^ Nahum M. Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1991), page 176.
  104. ^ Richard Elliott Friedman, Commentary on the Torah (New York: Harper San Francisco, 2001), page 266.
  105. ^ Nahum M. Sarna. The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation, page 177.
  106. ^ Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea L. Weiss, editors, The Torah: A Women's Commentary (New York: Women of Reform Judaism/URJ Press, 2008), page 477.
  107. ^ Walter Brueggemann, “The Book of Exodus,” in Leander Keck, editor, New Interpreter's Bible, volume 1, page 908.
  108. ^ Nili S. Fox, “Numbers,” in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler, editors, Jewish Study Bible, 2nd edition, page 300.
  109. ^ Gunther Plaut, The Torah: A Modern Commentary, revised edition, page 567.
  110. ^ Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1995), page 245.
  111. ^ William H.C. Propp, Exodus 1–18: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary (New York: Anchor Bible, 1998), volume 2, page 36.
  112. ^ See, e.g., Maimonides, The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides, translated by Charles B. Chavel (London: Soncino Press, 1967), volume 1, pages 34–35, 37, 42–43, 101–02; volume 2, pages 81, 85–86; Charles Wengrov, translator, Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education (Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers, 1991), volume 1, pages 377–95.
  113. ^ Exodus 27:21.
  114. ^ Exodus 28:2.
  115. ^ Exodus 28:28.
  116. ^ Exodus 28:32.
  117. ^ Exodus 29:33.
  118. ^ Exodus 30:7.
  119. ^ Exodus 30:9.
  120. ^ Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 26b, in, e.g., Talmud Bavli: Tractate Berachos: Volume 1, elucidated by Gedaliah Zlotowitz, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz (Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997), volume 1, page 26b; Reuven Hammer, Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals (New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2003), page 1.
  121. ^ Exodus 27:1–8; 29:36–37.
  122. ^ Ezekiel 43:13–17.
  123. ^ Fred Reiss, The Standard Guide to the Jewish and Civil Calendars: A Parallel Jewish and Civil Calendar from 1899 to 2050 with Parashiyyot and Haftarot and Candle-Lighting Times for Selected Cities (West Orange, New Jersey: Behrman House, 1986).
  124. ^ Deuteronomy 25:17.
  125. ^ Esther 1:1–10:3.
  126. ^ Seder Eliyahu Rabbah, chapter 20 (10th century), in, e.g., William G. Braude and Israel J. Kapstein, translators, Tanna Debe Eliyyahu: The Lore of the School of Elijah (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1981); Targum Sheni to Esther 4:13.

Further reading

The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

Biblical

  • Exodus 39:1–31 (making the priests' vestments).
  • Leviticus 6:3 (priest wearing linen); 16:4–33 (high priest wearing linen).
  • Deuteronomy 22:11 (combining wool and linen).
  • 1 Samuel 2:18 (priest wearing linen); 22:18 (priests wearing linen).
  • 2 Samuel 6:14 (David wearing linen in worship).
  • Ezekiel 10:76 (holy man clad in linen); 44:17–18 (priests wearing linen).
  • Daniel 10:5 (holy man clad in linen); 12:6–7 (holy man clad in linen).
  • Psalms 29:2 (holiness of God); 77:21 (Moses and Aaron); 93:5 (holiness of God); 99:6 (Moses and Aaron); 106:16 (Moses and Aaron); 115:10,12 (house of Aaron); 118:3 (house of Aaron); 133:2 (anointing Aaron).
 
Philo
  • 1 Chronicles 15:27 (David and Levites wearing linen in worship).
  • 2 Chronicles 5:12 (Levites wearing linen in worship).

Early nonrabbinic

  • Philo. Allegorical Interpretation book 1 26:81; book 3 40:118; On the Migration of Abraham 18:103; On the Life of Moses 2:29:150–51; The Special Laws 1:51:276. Alexandria, Egypt, early 1st Century CE. In, e.g., The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by Charles Duke Yonge, 34, 63, 263, 504, 560. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993.
  • Josephus. The Wars of the Jews, 5:5:7. Circa 75 CE. In, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William Whiston, 708. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987.
  • Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 3:6:1–3:10:1. Circa 93–94. In, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William Whiston, 85–95. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987.

Classical rabbinic

  • Mishnah: Yoma 7:5; Sukkah 5:3; Sotah 9:12; Zevachim 4:3; Menachot 5:6, 8:4–5; Keritot 1:1; Tamid 3:9, 7:1; Kinnim 3:6. Land of Israel, circa 200 CE. In, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, pages 277, 289, 464, 705, 743, 749–50, 867, 871, 889. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988.
  • Tosefta: Sotah 7:17; Menachot 6:11, 7:6, 9:16. Land of Israel, circa 250 CE. In, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 1, page 865; volume 2, pages 1430–31, 1435, 1448. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002.
  • Jerusalem Talmud: Challah 20a; Shabbat 20b; Pesachim 35a, 57a, 62a; Shekalim 38b; Yoma 3a, 5a, 6b, 8b, 14a–15a, 16a, 20a–b, 21b, 36a–b, 49b–50a; Sukkah 29b; Megillah 17a; Chagigah 1b, 14b, 28a; Sotah 24b, 34b; Shevuot 6b; Horayot 14b. Tiberias, Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. In, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volumes 11, 13, 18–22, 26–27, 37, 46, 49. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2008–2020.
  • Midrash Tanḥuma Tetzaveh. 5th–10th centuries. In, e.g., The Metsudah Midrash Tanchuma: Shemos II. Translated and annotated by Avrohom Davis; edited by Yaakov Y.H. Pupko, volume 4 (Shemos volume 2), pages 145–205. Monsey, New York: Eastern Book Press, 2004.
 
Talmud
  • Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 26b, 57a; Shabbat 12a, 21a, 31a, 63b, 113b–14a; Eruvin 4a; Pesachim 16b, 24a, 59a–b, 72b, 77a, 92a; Yoma 5a–b, 7a–b, 14a–b, 15a, 31b, 33a–b, 45b, 52b, 57b, 58b, 61a, 68b, 71b–72b; Sukkah 5a, 37b, 49b; Taanit 11b; Megillah 12a–b, 29b; Chagigah 26b; Yevamot 40a, 60b, 68b, 87a, 90a; Nedarim 10b; Nazir 47b; Sotah 9b, 36a, 38a, 48a–b; Gittin 20a–b; Bava Batra 8b, 106b; Sanhedrin 12b, 34b, 61b, 83a–b, 106a; Makkot 13a, 17a, 18a–b; Shevuot 8b, 9b–10b, 14a; Avodah Zarah 10b, 23b, 39a; Zevachim 12b, 17b, 19a, 22b–23a, 24b, 26a, 28b, 44b, 45b, 59b, 83b, 87a, 88a–b, 95a, 97b, 112b, 115b, 119b; Menachot 6a, 11a, 12b, 14b, 25a, 29a, 36b, 42b, 49a, 50a–51a, 61a, 73a, 83a, 86a–b, 89a, 98b; Chullin 7a, 138a; Arakhin 3b–4a, 16a; Keritot 5a; Meilah 11b, 17b; Niddah 13b. Sasanian Empire, 6th Century. In, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 volumes. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006.
 
Bede

Medieval

  • Bede. Of the Tabernacle and Its Vessels, and of the Priestly Vestments. Monkwearmouth, England, 720s. In Bede: On the Tabernacle. Translated with notes and introduction by Arthur G. Holder. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1994.
  • Exodus Rabbah 36:1–38:9. 10th Century. In, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Exodus. Translated by Simon M. Lehrman, volume 3, pages 436–57. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
 
Rashi
  • Saadia Gaon. The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, 2:11; 3:10. Baghdad, Babylonia, 933. Translated by Samuel Rosenblatt, 125, 177. New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1948.
  • Rashi. Commentary. Exodus 27–30. Troyes, France, late 11th Century. In, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi's Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 2:375–421. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1994.
  • Rashbam. Commentary on the Torah. Troyes, early 12th century. In, e.g., Rashbam's Commentary on Exodus: An Annotated Translation. Edited and translated by Martin I. Lockshin, pages 351–84. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997.
  • Abraham ibn Ezra. Commentary on the Torah. France, 1153. In, e.g., Ibn Ezra's Commentary on the Pentateuch: Exodus (Shemot). Translated and annotated by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver, volume 2, pages 583–628. New York: Menorah Publishing Company, 1996.
 
Maimonides
  • Maimonides. Guide for the Perplexed, part 1, chapter 25; part 3, chapters 4, 32, 45, 46, 47. Cairo, Egypt, 1190. In, e.g., Moses Maimonides. The Guide for the Perplexed. Translated by Michael Friedländer, pages 34, 257, 323, 357, 362, 369. New York: Dover Publications, 1956.
  • Hezekiah ben Manoah. Hizkuni. France, circa 1240. In, e.g., Chizkiyahu ben Manoach. Chizkuni: Torah Commentary. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 2, pages 595–610. Jerusalem: Ktav Publishers, 2013.
  • Nachmanides. Commentary on the Torah. Jerusalem, circa 1270. In, e.g., Ramban (Nachmanides): Commentary on the Torah. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, volume 2, pages 471–509. New York: Shilo Publishing House, 1973.
 
The Zohar
  • Zohar 2:179b–187b. Spain, late 13th Century. In, e.g., The Zohar. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 volumes. London: Soncino Press, 1934.
  • Bahya ben Asher. Commentary on the Torah. Spain, early 14th century. In, e.g., Midrash Rabbeinu Bachya: Torah Commentary by Rabbi Bachya ben Asher. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 4, pages 1276–310. Jerusalem: Lambda Publishers, 2003.
  • Jacob ben Asher (Baal Ha-Turim). Commentary on the Torah. Early 14th century. In, e.g., Baal Haturim Chumash: Shemos/Exodus. Translated by Eliyahu Touger; edited and annotated by Avie Gold, volume 2, pages 845–79. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2000.
  • Isaac ben Moses Arama. Akedat Yizhak (The Binding of Isaac). Late 15th century. In, e.g., Yitzchak Arama. Akeydat Yitzchak: Commentary of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama on the Torah. Translated and condensed by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 471–83. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2001.

Modern

  • Isaac Abravanel. Commentary on the Torah. Italy, between 1492 and 1509. In, e.g., Abarbanel: Selected Commentaries on the Torah: Volume 2: Shemos/Exodus. Translated and annotated by Israel Lazar, pages 329–68. Brooklyn: CreateSpace, 2015.
  • Abraham Saba. Ẓeror ha-Mor (Bundle of Myrrh). Fez, Morocco, circa 1500. In, e.g., Tzror Hamor: Torah Commentary by Rabbi Avraham Sabba. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 3, pages 1123–46. Jerusalem, Lambda Publishers, 2008.
  • Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno. Commentary on the Torah. Venice, 1567. In, e.g., Sforno: Commentary on the Torah. Translation and explanatory notes by Raphael Pelcovitz, pages 432–43. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997.
  • Moshe Alshich. Commentary on the Torah. Safed, circa 1593. In, e.g., Moshe Alshich. Midrash of Rabbi Moshe Alshich on the Torah. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 2, pages 551–62. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2000.
  • Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz. Kli Yakar. Lublin, 1602. In, e.g., Kli Yakar: Shemos. Translated by Elihu Levine, volume 2, pages 225–72. Southfield, Michigan: Targum Press/Feldheim Publishers, 2007.
 
Hobbes
  • Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. Commentaries on the Torah. Cracow, Poland, mid 17th century. Compiled as Chanukat HaTorah. Edited by Chanoch Henoch Erzohn. Piotrkow, Poland, 1900. In Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. Chanukas HaTorah: Mystical Insights of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel on Chumash. Translated by Avraham Peretz Friedman, pages 189–90. Southfield, Michigan: Targum Press/Feldheim Publishers, 2004.
  • Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, 3:34, 40, 42. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, pages 431, 503–04, 572, 585. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982.
 
Saul Levi Morteira
  • Saul Levi Morteira. “Eulogy for David Masiah.” Budapest, 1652. “Guarded Him as the Pupil of His Eye.” Amsterdam, 1645. In Marc Saperstein. Exile in Amsterdam: Saul Levi Morteira’s Sermons to a Congregation of “New Jews,” pages 527–35. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 2005.
  • Edward Taylor. "18. Meditation. Heb. 13.10. Wee Have an Altar." In Preliminary Meditations: First Series. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Early 18th Century. In Harold Bloom. American Religious Poems, 21–22. New York: Library of America, 2006.
  • Chaim ibn Attar. Ohr ha-Chaim. Venice, 1742. In Chayim ben Attar. Or Hachayim: Commentary on the Torah. Translated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 2, pages 788–814. Brooklyn: Lambda Publishers, 1999.
 
Hirsch
 
Luzzatto
  • Samuel David Luzzatto (Shadal). Commentary on the Torah. Padua, 1871. In, e.g., Samuel David Luzzatto. Torah Commentary. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 3, pages 858–66. New York: Lambda Publishers, 2012.
  • Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter. Sefat Emet. Góra Kalwaria (Ger), Poland, before 1906. Excerpted in The Language of Truth: The Torah Commentary of Sefat Emet. Translated and interpreted by Arthur Green, pages 123–27. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998. Reprinted 2012.
  • Alexander Alan Steinbach. Sabbath Queen: Fifty-four Bible Talks to the Young Based on Each Portion of the Pentateuch, pages 61–64. New York: Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1936.
  • Benno Jacob. The Second Book of the Bible: Exodus. London, 1940. Translated by Walter Jacob, pages 809–28. Hoboken, New Jersey: Ktav Publishing House, 1992.
 
Mann
 
Meyers
  • Moshe Greenberg. "Urim and Thummim." In Encyclopaedia Judaica, volume 16, pages 8–9. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing House, 1972.
  • Carol L. Meyers. The Tabernacle Menorah. Missoula, Montana: Scholars Press, 1976.
  • Elie Munk. The Call of the Torah: An Anthology of Interpretation and Commentary on the Five Books of Moses. Translated by E.S. Mazer, volume 2, pages 392–425. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. Originally published as La Voix de la Thora. Paris: Fondation Samuel et Odette Levy, 1981.
  • Victor (Avigdor) Hurowitz. “The Priestly Account of Building the Tabernacle.” Journal of the American Oriental Society, volume 105 (number 1) (January–March 1985): pages 21–30.
  • Ranon Katzoff. “Suffragium in Exodus Rabbah 37.2.” Classical Philology, volume 81 (number 3) (July 1986): pages 235–40.
  • Pinchas H. Peli. Torah Today: A Renewed Encounter with Scripture, pages 85–89. Washington, D.C.: B'nai B'rith Books, 1987.
  • Nahman Avigad. “The Inscribed Pomegranate from the ‘House of the Lord.’” Biblical Archaeologist, volume 53 (number 3) (September 1990): pages 157–66.
  • Mark S. Smith. The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel, pages 10. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990. (Exodus 26–40).
  • Harvey J. Fields. A Torah Commentary for Our Times: Volume II: Exodus and Leviticus, pages 69–76. New York: UAHC Press, 1991.
  • Nahum M. Sarna. The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation, pages 175–95. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1991.
  • Nehama Leibowitz. New Studies in Shemot (Exodus), volume 2, pages 508–34. Jerusalem: Haomanim Press, 1993. Reprinted as New Studies in the Weekly Parasha. Lambda Publishers, 2010.
  • Walter Brueggemann. “The Book of Exodus.” In The New Interpreter's Bible. Edited by Leander E. Keck, volume 1, pages 902–17. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994.
  • Judith S. Antonelli. "The Tabernacle." In In the Image of God: A Feminist Commentary on the Torah, pages 203–12. Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson, 1995.
  • Ellen Frankel. The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman’s Commentary on the Torah, pages 133–35. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1996.
  • W. Gunther Plaut. The Haftarah Commentary, pages 195–202. New York: UAHC Press, 1996.
  • Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden. Teaching Torah: A Treasury of Insights and Activities, pages 134–39. Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 1997.
  • Cornelis Van Dam. The Urim and Thummin: A Means of Revelation in Ancient Israel. Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1997.
 
Steinsaltz
  • Adin Steinsaltz. Simple Words: Thinking About What Really Matters in Life, 156. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1999.
  • Exodus to Deuteronomy: A Feminist Companion to the Bible (Second Series). Edited by Athalya Brenner, pages 34, 38. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.
  • Sara Paasche-Orlow. "Finding Our Home in the Temple and the Temple in Our Homes." In The Women's Torah Commentary: New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions. Edited by Elyse Goldstein, pages 160–63. Woodstock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2000.
  • Martin R. Hauge. The Descent from the Mountain: Narrative Patterns in Exodus 19–40. Sheffield: Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Press, 2001.
  • Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg. The Particulars of Rapture: Reflections on Exodus, pages 351–97. New York: Doubleday, 2001.
  • Lainie Blum Cogan and Judy Weiss. Teaching Haftarah: Background, Insights, and Strategies, pages 481–88. Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 2002.
  • Michael Fishbane. The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot, pages 123–28. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002.
  • Alan Lew. This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared: The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation, 53–55. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 2003.
  • Robert Alter. The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary, pages 471–86. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004.
  • Jeffrey H. Tigay. "Exodus." In The Jewish Study Bible. Edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler, pages 171–79. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
  • Professors on the Parashah: Studies on the Weekly Torah Reading Edited by Leib Moscovitz, pages 142–44. Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2005.
  • W. Gunther Plaut. The Torah: A Modern Commentary: Revised Edition. Revised edition edited by David E.S. Stern, pages 561–79. New York: Union for Reform Judaism, 2006.
  • William H.C. Propp. Exodus 19–40, 2A:310–538. New York: Anchor Bible, 2006.
 
kugel
  • Suzanne A. Brody. "Aaron's Adornments." In Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems, 82. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007.
  • James L. Kugel. How To Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now, pages 358. New York: Free Press, 2007.
  • Kenton L. Sparks. “‘Enūma Elish’ and Priestly Mimesis: Elite Emulation in Nascent Judaism.” Journal of Biblical Literature, volume 126 (2007): 637–42. (“Priestly Mimesis in the Tabernacle Narrative (Exodus 25–40)”).
  • The Mishkan: The Tabernacle: Its Structure, Its Vessels, and the Kohen's Vestments. Brooklyn: Artscroll, 2008.
  • The Torah: A Women's Commentary. Edited by Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea L. Weiss, pages 473–94. New York: Women of Reform Judaism/URJ Press, 2008.
  • Marla Brettschneider. “When the Fabulous Is Holy: Parashat Tetzaveh (Exodus 27:20–30:10).” In Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. Edited by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer; foreword by Judith Plaskow, pages 106–08. New York: New York University Press, 2009.
  • Thomas B. Dozeman. Commentary on Exodus, pages 633–63. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009.
  • Reuven Hammer. Entering Torah: Prefaces to the Weekly Torah Portion, pages 119–24. New York: Gefen Publishing House, 2009.
  • Rebecca G.S. Idestrom. “Echoes of the Book of Exodus in Ezekiel.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, volume 33 (number 4) (June 2009): pages 489–510. (Motifs from Exodus found in Ezekiel, including the call narrative, divine encounters, captivity, signs, plagues, judgment, redemption, tabernacle/temple, are considered.).
 
Sacks
 
Herzfeld
  • Shmuel Herzfeld. "hah: The Source of Spirituality." In Fifty-Four Pick Up: Fifteen-Minute Inspirational Torah Lessons, pages 117–22. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House, 2012.
  • Torah MiEtzion: New Readings in Tanach: Shemot. Edited by Ezra Bick and Yaakov Beasley, pages 377–410. Jerusalem: Maggid Books, 2012.
  • Michael B. Hundley. Gods in Dwellings: Temples and Divine Presence in the Ancient Near East. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2013.
  • Jonathan Sacks. Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible, pages 99–104. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2015.
  • Jonathan Sacks. Essays on Ethics: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible, pages 123–29. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2016.
  • Shai Held. The Heart of Torah, Volume 1: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion: Genesis and Exodus, pages 194–202. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017.
  • Steven Levy and Sarah Levy. The JPS Rashi Discussion Torah Commentary, pages 62–64. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017.

External links

 

Texts

  • Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translation
  • Hear the parashah chanted 2011-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
  • Hear the parashah read in Hebrew

Commentaries

  • Academy for Jewish Religion, California
  • Academy for Jewish Religion, New York
  • Aish.com
  • Aleph Beta Academy
  • American Jewish University—Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies
  • Anshe Emes Synagogue, Los Angeles
  • Ascent of Safed
  • Bar-Ilan University
  • Chabad.org
  • eparsha.com
  • G-dcast
  • Jewish Theological Seminary
  • Kabbala Online
  • Miriam Aflalo 2012-04-06 at the Wayback Machine
  • MyJewishLearning.com
  • Ohr Sameach
  • Orthodox Union
  • OzTorah, Torah from Australia
  • Pardes from Jerusalem
  • Patheos
  • Professor James L. Kugel
  • Rabbi Dov Linzer
  • Rabbi Fabian Werbin
  • Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
  • Rabbi Shimon.com
  • Rabbi Stan Levin
  • Reconstructionist Judaism 2017-12-27 at the Wayback Machine
  • Sephardic Institute 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine
  • Shiur.com
  • Tanach Study Center
  • Teach613.org, Torah Education at Cherry Hill
  • TheTorah.com
  • Torah from Dixie
  • Torah.org
  • TorahVort.com
  • Union for Reform Judaism
  • What's Bothering Rashi?
  • Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
  • Yeshiva University

March 03, 2023
tetzaveh, confused, with, tzav, parsha, mitzvah, tetsaveh, tzaveh, tzavveh, hebrew, shall, command, second, word, first, distinctive, word, parashah, 20th, weekly, torah, portion, parashah, annual, jewish, cycle, torah, reading, eighth, book, exodus, parashah,. Not to be confused with Tzav parsha or Mitzvah Tetzaveh Tetsaveh T tzaveh or T tzavveh ת צ ו ה Hebrew for you shall command the second word and first distinctive word in the parashah is the 20th weekly Torah portion פ ר ש ה parashah in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the eighth in the Book of Exodus The parashah reports God s commands to bring olive oil for the lamp מ נו ר ה Menorah make sacred garments for the priests conduct an ordination ceremony and make an incense altar The High Priest illustration from a Bible card published 1907 by the Providence Lithograph Company It constitutes Exodus 27 20 30 10 The parashah is made up of 5 430 Hebrew letters 1 412 Hebrew words 101 verses and 179 lines in a Torah Scroll ס פ ר ת ו ר ה Sefer Torah 1 Jews read it the 20th Sabbath after Simchat Torah in February or March 2 Contents 1 Readings 1 1 First reading Exodus 27 20 28 12 1 2 Second reading Exodus 28 13 30 1 3 Third reading Exodus 28 31 43 1 4 Fourth reading Exodus 29 1 18 1 5 Fifth reading Exodus 29 19 37 1 6 Sixth reading Exodus 29 38 46 1 7 Seventh reading Exodus 30 1 10 1 8 Readings according to the triennial cycle 2 In inner Biblical interpretation 2 1 Exodus chapters 25 39 2 2 Exodus chapter 27 2 3 Exodus chapter 28 2 4 Exodus chapter 29 2 5 Exodus chapter 30 3 In early nonrabbinic interpretation 3 1 Exodus chapter 28 3 2 Exodus chapter 29 4 In classical rabbinic interpretation 4 1 Exodus chapter 27 4 2 Exodus chapter 28 4 3 Exodus chapter 29 4 4 Exodus chapter 30 5 In medieval Jewish interpretation 5 1 Exodus chapter 28 6 In modern interpretation 6 1 Exodus chapter 27 6 2 Exodus chapter 28 6 3 Exodus chapter 29 7 Commandments 8 In the liturgy 9 Haftarah 9 1 Generally 9 1 1 Connection to the Parashah 9 2 On Shabbat Zachor 9 2 1 Connection to the Special Sabbath 10 Notes 11 Further reading 11 1 Biblical 11 2 Early nonrabbinic 11 3 Classical rabbinic 11 4 Medieval 11 5 Modern 12 External links 12 1 Texts 12 2 CommentariesReadings Edit The High Priest illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible In traditional Sabbath Torah reading the parashah is divided into seven readings or עליות aliyot 3 The High Priest s Breast Plate illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible First reading Exodus 27 20 28 12 Edit In the first reading God instructed the Israelites to bring Moses clear olive oil so that Aaron and his descendants as High Priest could kindle lamps regularly in the Tabernacle 4 God instructed Moses to make sacral vestments for Aaron a breastpiece ח ש ן Ḥoshen the Ephod א פו ד a robe a gold frontlet inscribed holy to the Lord a fringed tunic a headdress a sash and linen breeches 5 Second reading Exodus 28 13 30 Edit In the second reading God detailed the instructions for the breastpiece 6 God instructed Moses to place Urim and Thummim inside the breastpiece of decision 7 Third reading Exodus 28 31 43 Edit In the third reading God detailed the instructions for the robe frontlet fringed tunic headdress sash and breeches 8 God instructed Moses to place pomegranates and gold bells around the robe s hem to make a sound when the High Priest entered and exited the sanctuary so that he would not die 9 Fourth reading Exodus 29 1 18 Edit In the fourth reading God laid out an ordination ceremony for priests involving the sacrifice of a young bull two rams unleavened bread unleavened cakes with oil mixed in and unleavened wafers spread with oil 10 God instructed Moses to lead the bull to the front of the Tabernacle let Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the bull s head slaughter the bull at the entrance of the Tent and put some of the bull s blood on the horns of the altar 11 God instructed Moses to let Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the first ram and slaughter it sprinkle its blood and dissect it 12 Fifth reading Exodus 29 19 37 Edit In the fifth reading God instructed Moses to take one of the rams let Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the ram s head slaughter the ram and put some of its blood and on the ridge of Aaron s right ear and on the ridges of his sons right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet 13 Sixth reading Exodus 29 38 46 Edit In the sixth reading God promised to meet and speak with Moses and the Israelites there to abide among the Israelites and be their God 14 Seventh reading Exodus 30 1 10 Edit In the seventh reading God instructed Moses to make an incense altar of acacia wood overlaid with gold sometimes called the Golden Altar 15 Readings according to the triennial cycle Edit Jews who read the Torah according to the triennial cycle of Torah reading read the parashah according to the following schedule 16 Year 1 Year 2 Year 32020 2023 2026 2021 2024 2027 2022 2025 2028 Reading 27 20 28 30 28 31 29 18 29 19 30 101 27 20 28 5 28 31 35 29 19 212 28 6 9 28 36 38 29 22 253 28 10 12 28 39 43 29 26 304 28 13 17 29 1 4 29 31 345 28 18 21 29 5 9 29 35 376 28 22 25 29 10 14 29 38 467 28 26 30 29 15 18 30 1 10Maftir 28 28 30 29 15 18 30 8 10In inner Biblical interpretation EditThe parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources 17 Exodus chapters 25 39 Edit This is the pattern of instruction and construction of the Tabernacle and its furnishings The Tabernacle Item Instruction ConstructionOrder Verses Order VersesContributions 1 Exodus 25 1 9 2 Exodus 35 4 29Ark 2 Exodus 25 10 22 5 Exodus 37 1 9Table 3 Exodus 25 23 30 6 Exodus 37 10 16Menorah 4 Exodus 25 31 40 7 Exodus 37 17 24Tabernacle 5 Exodus 26 1 37 4 Exodus 36 8 38Altar of Sacrifice 6 Exodus 27 1 8 11 Exodus 38 1 7Tabernacle Court 7 Exodus 27 9 19 13 Exodus 38 9 20Lamp 8 Exodus 27 20 21 16 Numbers 8 1 4Priestly Garments 9 Exodus 28 1 43 14 Exodus 39 1 31Ordination Ritual 10 Exodus 29 1 46 15 Leviticus 8 1 9 24Altar of Incense 11 Exodus 30 1 10 8 Exodus 37 25 28Laver 12 Exodus 30 17 21 12 Exodus 38 8Anointing Oil 13 Exodus 30 22 33 9 Exodus 37 29Incense 14 Exodus 30 34 38 10 Exodus 37 29Craftspeople 15 Exodus 31 1 11 3 Exodus 35 30 36 7The Sabbath 16 Exodus 31 12 17 1 Exodus 35 1 3The Priestly story of the Tabernacle in Exodus 25 27 echoes the Priestly story of creation in Genesis 1 1 2 3 18 As the creation story unfolds in seven days 19 the instructions about the Tabernacle unfold in seven speeches 20 In both creation and Tabernacle accounts the text notes the completion of the task 21 In both creation and Tabernacle the work done is seen to be good 22 In both creation and Tabernacle when the work is finished God takes an action in acknowledgement 23 In both creation and Tabernacle when the work is finished a blessing is invoked 24 And in both creation and Tabernacle God declares something holy 25 Martin Buber and others noted that the language used to describe the building of the Tabernacle parallels that used in the story of creation 26 Jeffrey Tigay noted 27 that the lampstand held seven candles 28 Aaron wore seven sacral vestments 29 the account of the building of the Tabernacle alludes to the creation account 30 and the Tabernacle was completed on New Year s Day 31 And Carol Meyers noted that Exodus 25 1 9 and 35 4 29 list seven kinds of substances metals yarn skins wood oil spices and gemstones signifying the totality of supplies 32 Exodus chapter 27 Edit Leviticus 24 1 4 echoes and expands on the command of Exodus 27 20 about the care of the Menorah Exodus chapter 28 Edit The priestly garments of Exodus 28 2 43 are echoed in Psalm 132 9 where the Psalmist exhorts Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness and in Psalm 132 16 where God promises Her priests also will I clothe with salvation 33 Franz Delitzsch interpreted this to mean that the priests would be characterized by conduct that accorded with God s will and that the priests would not merely bring about salvation instrumentally but personally possess it and proclaim it in their whole outward appearance 34 The Hebrew Bible refers to the Urim and Thummim in Exodus 28 30 Leviticus 8 8 Numbers 27 21 Deuteronomy 33 8 1 Samuel 14 41 Thammim and 28 6 Ezra 2 63 and Nehemiah 7 65 and may refer to them in references to sacred utensils in Numbers 31 6 and the Ephod in 1 Samuel 14 3 and 19 23 6 and 9 and 30 7 8 and Hosea 3 4 Exodus chapter 29 Edit The Torah mentions the combination of ear thumb and toe in three places In Exodus 29 20 God instructed Moses how to initiate the priests telling him to kill a ram take some of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and his sons on the thumb of their right hand and on the great toe of their right foot and dash the remaining blood against the altar round about And then Leviticus 8 23 24 reports that Moses followed God s instructions to initiate Aaron and his sons Then Leviticus 14 14 17 25 and 28 set forth a similar procedure for the cleansing of a person with skin disease צ ר ע ת tzara at In Leviticus 14 14 God instructed the priest on the day of the person s cleansing to take some of the blood of a guilt offering and put it upon the tip of the right ear the thumb of the right hand and the great toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed And then in Leviticus 14 17 God instructed the priest to put oil on the tip of the right ear the thumb of the right hand and the great toe of the right foot of the one to be cleansed on top of the blood of the guilt offering And finally in Leviticus 14 25 and 28 God instructed the priest to repeat the procedure on the eighth day to complete the person s cleansing Exodus chapter 30 Edit In its description of the altar Exodus 30 10 foreshadows the purpose of Yom Kippur summarized in Leviticus 16 6 16 and 30 34 and echoed in Leviticus 23 27 28 in the listing of the Festivals In early nonrabbinic interpretation Edit The High Priest wearing his breastplate illustration circa 1861 1880 from The History of Costume by Braun and Schneider The parashah is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources 35 Exodus chapter 28 Edit Ben Sira wrote of the splendor of the High Priest s garments in Exodus 28 saying How glorious he was as he came out of the House of the curtain Like the morning star among the clouds like the full moon at the festal season like the sun shining on the Temple of the Most High like the rainbow gleaming in splendid clouds 36 Josephus interpreted the linen vestment of Exodus 28 5 to signify the earth as flax grows out of the earth Josephus interpreted the Ephod of the four colors gold blue purple and scarlet 37 to signify that God made the universe of four elements with the gold interwoven to show the splendor by which all things are enlightened Josephus saw the stones on the High Priest s shoulders in Exodus 28 9 12 to represent the sun and the moon He interpreted the breastplate of Exodus 28 15 22 to resemble the earth having the middle place of the world and the girdle that encompassed the High Priest to signify the ocean which encircled the world He interpreted the 12 stones of the Ephod in Exodus 28 17 21 to represent the months or the signs of the Zodiac He interpreted the golden bells and pomegranates that Exodus 28 33 35 says hung on the fringes of the High Priest s garments to signify thunder and lightning respectively And Josephus saw the blue on the headdress of Exodus 28 37 to represent heaven for how otherwise could the name of God be inscribed upon it 38 Josephus reported that the Urim and Thumin stopped shining 200 years before his day as God had become displeased with the transgressions of God s law 39 Exodus chapter 29 Edit Philo taught that the command of Exodus 29 20 to apply ram s blood to the priests right ear right thumb and right great toe signified that the perfect person must be pure in every word every action and the entirety of life For the ear symbolized the hearing with which people judge one s words the hand symbolized action and the foot symbolized the way in which a person walks in life And since each of these is an extremity of the right side of the body Philo imagined that Exodus 29 20 teaches that one should labor to attain improvement in everything with dexterity and felicity as an archer aims at a target 40 In classical rabbinic interpretation EditThe parashah is discussed in these rabbinic sources from the era of the Mishnah and the Talmud 41 Exodus chapter 27 Edit A Midrash taught that God considers studying the sanctuary s structure as equivalent to rebuilding it 42 It was taught in a Baraita that Rabbi Josiah taught that the expression they shall take for you ו י ק חו א ל יך v yikhu eileicha in Exodus 27 20 was a command for Moses to take from communal funds in contrast to the expression make for yourself ע ש ה ל ך aseih lecha in Numbers 10 2 which was a command for Moses to take from his own funds 43 Menorah from the Arch of Titus illustration from the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia The Mishnah posited that one could have inferred that meal offerings would require the purest olive oil for if the Menorah whose oil was not eaten required pure olive oil how much more so should meal offerings whose oil was eaten But Exodus 27 20 states pure olive oil beaten for the light but not pure olive oil beaten for meal offerings to make clear that such purity was required only for the Menorah and not for meal offerings 44 The Mishnah taught that there were three harvests of olives and each crop gave three kinds of oil for a total of nine types of oil The first crop of olives was picked from the top of the tree they were pounded and put into a basket Rabbi Judah said around the inside of the basket to yield the first oil The olives were then pressed beneath a beam Rabbi Judah said with stones to yield the second oil The olives were then ground and pressed again to yield the third oil Only the first oil was fit for the Menorah while the second and third were for meal offerings The second crop is when the olives at roof level were picked from the tree they were pounded and put into the basket Rabbi Judah said around the inside of the basket to yield the first oil of the second crop The olives were then pressed with the beam Rabbi Judah said with stones to yield the second oil of the second crop The olives were then ground and pressed again to yield the third oil Once again with the second crop only the first oil was fit for the Menorah while the second and third were for meal offerings The third crop was when the last olives of the tree were packed in a vat until they became overripe These olives were then taken up and dried on the roof and then pounded and put into the basket Rabbi Judah said around the inside of the basket to yield the first oil The olives were next pressed with the beam Rabbi Judah said with stones to yield the second oil And then they were ground and pressed again to yield the third oil Once again with the third crop only the first oil was fit for the Menorah while the second and third were for meal offerings 45 The Golden Lamp Bearer illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible The Mishnah taught that there was a stone in front of the Menorah with three steps on which the priest stood to trim the lights The priest left the oil jar on the second step 46 A Midrash taught that the lights of the Tabernacle Menorah were replicas of the heavenly lights The Midrash taught that everything God created in heaven has a replica on earth Thus Daniel 2 22 reports And the light dwells with God in heaven While below on earth Exodus 27 20 directs That they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light Thus since all that is above is also below God dwells on earth just as God dwells in heaven What is more the Midrash taught that God holds the things below dearer than those above for God left the things in heaven to descend to dwell among those below as Exodus 25 8 reports And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them 47 Citing Exodus 27 20 the Gemara taught that seeing olive oil in a dream portends seeing the light of Torah 48 A Midrash expounded on Exodus 27 20 to explain why Israel was in the words of Jeremiah 11 16 like a leafy olive tree The Midrash taught that just as the olive is beaten ground tied up with ropes and then at last it yields its oil so the nations beat imprisoned bound and surrounded Israel and when at last Israel repents of its sins God answers it The Midrash offered a second explanation Just as all liquids commingle one with the other but oil refuses to do so so Israel keeps itself distinct as it is commanded in Deuteronomy 7 3 The Midrash offered a third explanation Just as oil floats to the top even after it has been mixed with every kind of liquid so Israel as long as it performs the will of God will be set on high by God as it says in Deuteronomy 28 1 The Midrash offered a fourth explanation Just as oil gives forth light so did the Temple in Jerusalem give light to the whole world as it says in Isaiah 60 3 49 The golden lampstand 1984 illustration by Jim Padgett courtesy of Distant Shores Media Sweet Publishing A Midrash taught that God instructed Moses to cause a lamp to burn in the Tabernacle not because God needed the light but so that the Israelites might be able to give light to God as God gave light to the Israelites The Midrash likened this to the case of a man who could see walking along with a blind man The seeing man offered to guide the blind man When they came home the seeing man asked the blind man to kindle a lamp for him and illumine his path so that the blind man would no longer be obliged to the seeing man for having accompanied the blind man on the way The seeing man of the story is God for 2 Chronicles 16 9 and Zechariah 4 10 say For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth And the blind man is Israel as Isaiah 59 10 says We grope for the wall like the blind yea as they that have no eyes do we grope we stumble at noon day as in the twilight and the Israelites stumbled in the matter of the Golden Calf at midday God illumined the way for the Israelites after they stumbled with the Calf and led them as Exodus 13 21 says And the Lord went before them by day And then when the Israelites were about to construct the Tabernacle God called to Moses and asked him in Exodus 27 20 that they bring to you pure olive oil 50 The Golden Candlestick illustration from the 1911 Illustrated History of the Bible by John Kitto Another Midrash taught that the words of the Torah give light to those who study them but those who do not occupy themselves with the Torah stumble The Midrash compared this to those who stand in the dark as soon as they start walking they stumble fall and knock their face on the ground all because they have no lamp in their hand It is the same with those who have no Torah they strike against sin stumble and die The Midrash further taught that those who study the Torah give forth light wherever they may be Quoting Psalm 119 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path and Proverbs 20 27 The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord the Midrash taught that God offers people to let God s lamp the Torah be in their hand and their lamp their souls be in God s hand The lamp of God is the Torah as Proverbs 6 23 says For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light The commandment is a lamp because those who perform a commandment kindle a light before God and revive their souls as Proverbs 20 27 says The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord 51 A Baraita taught that they used the High Priest s worn out trousers to make the wicks of the Temple Menorah and the worn out trousers of ordinary priests for candelabra outside the Temple Reading the words to cause a lamp to burn continually in Exodus 27 20 Rabbi Samuel bar Isaac deduced that the unusual word ל ה ע ל ת lehaalot literally to cause to ascend meant that the wick had to allow the flame to ascend by itself And thus the Rabbis concluded that no material other than flax as in the fine linen of the High Priest s clothing would allow the flame to ascend by itself 52 Similarly Rami bar Hama deduced from the use of word ל ה ע ל ת lehaalot in Exodus 27 20 that the Menorah flame had to ascend by itself and not through other means such as adjustment by the priests Thus Rami bar Hama taught that the wicks and oil that the Sages taught one could not light on the Sabbath one could also not light in the Temple 53 The Gemara challenged Rami bar Hama however citing a Mishnah 54 that taught that the worn out breeches and girdles of priests were torn and used to kindle the lights for the celebration of the Water Drawing The Gemara posited that perhaps that celebration was different The Gemara countered with the teaching of Rabbah bar Masnah who taught that worn out priestly garments were torn and made into wicks for the Temple And the Gemara clarified that the linen garments were meant 53 The Menorah illustration from the 1901 A Brief Sketch of the Jewish Tabernacle by Philip Y Pendleton A Baraita taught that Exodus 27 21 Aaron and his sons shall set it in order to burn from evening to morning means that God instructed them to provide the Menorah with the requisite amount of oil so that it could burn from evening to morning 55 And the Sages calculated that a half log of oil roughly 5 ounces would burn from evening to morning The Gemara reported that some said that they calculated this by reducing the original quantity of oil first filling each lamp with a large quantity of oil and on finding in the morning that there was still oil in the lamp gradually reducing the quantity until they arrived at a half log Others said that they calculated it by increasing it first filling the lamp with a small quantity of oil and the next evening increasing the quantity of oil until they arrived at the standard of the half log Those who said that they calculated it by increasing the quantity of oil said that the Torah has consideration for the Israelites resources and to calculate by using the larger quantity of oil in the first instance wasted the oil that was still in the lamp in the morning And those who said that they calculated it by reducing it said that there was no stinting in the place of wealth the Sanctuary 56 The Baraita reported that another interpretation held that Exodus 27 21 taught that no other service was valid from evening to morning apart from kindling the Menorah For Exodus 27 21 says Aaron and his sons shall set it in order to burn from evening to morning and this implies that it and no other thing shall be from evening to morning 55 Thus the Gemara concluded that nothing may come after the kindling of the lights and consequently the slaughtering of the Passover offering must happen before And the Gemara likened the burning of incense to the kindling of the Menorah holding that just as no service could follow lighting the Menorah so no service could follow burning the incense 57 And because the Gemara likened the burning of incense to the kindling of the Menorah it also concluded that just as at the time of the Menorah lighting there was a burning of incense similarly at the time of the cleaning of the Menorah there was also a burning of incense 58 Exodus chapter 28 Edit In Exodus 28 1 God chose Aaron and his sons to minister to God in the priest s office Hillel taught that Aaron loved peace and pursued peace and loved his fellow creatures and brought them closer to the Torah 59 Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai taught that because Aaron was in the words of Exodus 4 14 glad in his heart over the success of Moses in the words of Exodus 28 30 the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim shall be upon Aaron s heart 60 Aaron had them bring all their gold to him 1984 illustration by Jim Padgett courtesy of Distant Shores Media Sweet Publishing Interpreting God s command in Exodus 28 1 the Sages told that when Moses came down from Mount Sinai he saw Aaron beating the Golden Calf into shape with a hammer Aaron really intended to delay the people until Moses came down but Moses thought that Aaron was participating in the sin and was incensed with him So God told Moses that God knew that Aaron s intentions were good The Midrash compared it to a prince who became mentally unstable and started digging to undermine his father s house His tutor told him not to weary himself but to let him dig When the king saw it he said that he knew the tutor s intentions were good and declared that the tutor would rule over the palace Similarly when the Israelites told Aaron in Exodus 32 1 Make us a god Aaron replied in Exodus 32 1 Break off the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives of your sons and of your daughters and bring them to me And Aaron told them that since he was a priest they should let him make it and sacrifice to it all with the intention of delaying them until Moses could come down So God told Aaron that God knew Aaron s intention and that only Aaron would have sovereignty over the sacrifices that the Israelites would bring Hence in Exodus 28 1 God told Moses And bring near Aaron your brother and his sons with him from among the children of Israel that they may minister to Me in the priest s office The Midrash told that God told this to Moses several months later in the Tabernacle itself when Moses was about to consecrate Aaron to his office Rabbi Levi compared it to the friend of a king who was a member of the imperial cabinet and a judge When the king was about to appoint a palace governor he told his friend that he intended to appoint the friend s brother So God made Moses superintendent of the palace as Numbers 7 7 reports My servant Moses is is trusted in all My house and God made Moses a judge as Exodus 18 13 reports Moses sat to judge the people And when God was about to appoint a High Priest God notified Moses that it would be his brother Aaron 61 High Priest in Robes and Breastplate the chain censer is anachronistic The Mishnah summarized the priestly garments described in Exodus 28 saying that the High Priest performs the service in eight garments and the common priest in four in tunic drawers miter and girdle The High Priest adds to those the breastplate the apron the robe and the frontlet And the High Priest wore these eight garments when he inquired of the Urim and Thummim 62 Rabbi Joḥanan called his garments my honor Rabbi Aha bar Abba said in Rabbi Joḥanan s name that Leviticus 6 4 And he shall put off his garments and put on other garments teaches that a change of garments is an act of honor in the Torah And the School of Rabbi Ishmael taught that the Torah teaches us manners In the garments in which one cooked a dish for one s master one should not pour a cup of wine for one s master Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said in Rabbi Joḥanan s name that it is a disgrace for a scholar to go out into the marketplace with patched shoes The Gemara objected that Rabbi Aha bar Hanina went out that way Rabbi Aha son of Rav Nachman clarified that the prohibition is of patches upon patches Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba also said in Rabbi Joḥanan s name that any scholar who has a grease stain on a garment is worthy of death for Wisdom says in Proverbs 8 36 All they that hate me מ ש נ א י mesanne ai love merit death and we should read not מ ש נ א י mesanne ai but מש ניאי masni ai that make me hated that is despised Thus a scholar who has no pride in personal appearance brings contempt upon learning Ravina taught that this was stated about a thick patch or others say a bloodstain The Gemara harmonized the two opinions by teaching that one referred to an outer garment the other to an undergarment Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba also said in Rabbi Joḥanan s name that in Isaiah 20 3 As my servant Isaiah walked naked and barefoot naked means in worn out garments and barefoot means in patched shoes 63 Hillel sculpture at the Knesset Menorah Jerusalem The Babylonian Talmud related a story of how the description of the High Priest s garments in Exodus 28 4 led a non Jew to convert to Judaism The non Jew asked Shammai to convert him to Judaism on condition that Shammai appoint him High Priest Shammai pushed him away with a builder s ruler The non Jew then went to Hillel who converted him The convert then read Torah and when he came to the injunction of Numbers 1 51 3 10 and 18 7 that the common man who draws near shall be put to death he asked Hillel to whom the injunction applied Hillel answered that it applied even to David King of Israel who had not been a priest Thereupon the convert reasoned a fortiori that if the injunction applied to all non priestly Israelites whom in Exodus 4 22 God had called my firstborn how much more so would the injunction apply to a mere convert who came among the Israelites with just his staff and bag Then the convert returned to Shammai quoted the injunction and remarked on how absurd it had been for him to ask Shammai to appoint him High Priest And he came before Hillel and blessed him for bringing him under the wings of the Divine Presence 64 Rav Naḥman in the name of Rabbi Mana noted that the words of Exodus 28 5 They shall receive gold blue and purple and scarlet stuff and fine twined linen refer to the recipients in the plural implying no fewer than two and reasoned that the verse thus supported the Mishnah s injunction 65 not to appoint fewer than two people to a public position of supervision in property matters 66 Priests of the Tabernacle illustration from the 1897 Bible Pictures and What They Teach Us by Charles Foster Rabbi Hama bar Hanina interpreted the words the plaited ש ר ד serad garments for ministering in the holy place in Exodus 35 19 to teach that but for the priestly garments described in Exodus 28 and the atonement achieved by the garments or the priests who wore them no remnant ש ר יד sarid of the Jews would have survived 67 Similarly citing Mishnah Yoma 7 5 62 Rabbi Simon taught that even as the sacrifices had an atoning power so too did the priestly garments Rabbi Simon explained that the priests tunic atoned for those who wore a mixture of wool and linen ש ע ט נ ז shaatnez prohibited by Deuteronomy 22 11 as Genesis 37 3 says And he made him a coat tunic of many colors and the Jerusalem Talmud explained that Joseph s coat was similar to one made of the forbidden mixture The breeches atoned for unchastity as Exodus 28 42 says And you shall make them linen breeches to cover the flesh of their nakedness The miter atoned for arrogance as Exodus 29 6 says And you shall set the miter on his head Some said that the girdle atoned for the crooked in heart and others said for thieves Rabbi Levi said that the girdle was 32 cubits long about 48 feet and that the priest wound it towards the front and towards the back and this was the ground for saying that it was to atone for the crooked in heart as the numerical value of the Hebrew word for heart is 32 The one who said that the girdle atoned for thieves argued that since the girdle was hollow it resembled thieves who do their work in secret hiding their stolen goods in hollows and caves The breastplate atoned for those who pervert justice as Exodus 28 30 says And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment The Ephod atoned for idol worshippers as Hosea 3 4 says and without Ephod or teraphim Rabbi Simon taught in the name of Rabbi Nathan that the robe atoned for two sins unintentional manslaughter for which the Torah provided cities of refuge and evil speech 68 David with the Head of Goliath painting circa 1606 1607 by Caravaggio The robe atoned for evil speech by the bells on its fringe as Exodus 28 34 35 says A golden bell and a pomegranate a golden bell and a pomegranate upon the skirts of the robe round about And it shall be upon Aaron to minister and the sound thereof shall be heard Exodus 28 34 35 thus implies that this sound made atonement for the sound of evil speech There is not strictly atonement for one who unintentionally slays a human being but the Torah provides a means of atonement by the death of the High Priest as Numbers 35 28 says after the death of the High Priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession Some said that the forehead plate atoned for the shameless while others said for blasphemers Those who said that it atoned for the shameless deduced it from the similar use of the word forehead in Exodus 28 38 which says of the forehead plate And it shall be upon Aaron s forehead and Jeremiah 3 3 which says You had a harlot s forehead you refused to be ashamed Those who said that the forehead plate atoned for blasphemers deduced it from the similar use of the word forehead in Exodus 28 38 and 1 Samuel 17 48 which says of Goliath And the stone sank into his forehead 69 A Baraita interpreted the term his fitted linen garment מ ד ו mido in Leviticus 6 3 to teach that the each priestly garment in Exodus 28 had to be fitted to the particular priest and had to be neither too short nor too long 70 The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that the robe מ ע יל me il mentioned in Exodus 28 4 was entirely of turquoise ת כ ל ת techelet as Exodus 39 22 says And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work all of turquoise They made its hems of turquoise purple and crimson wool twisted together and formed into the shape of pomegranates whose mouths were not yet opened as overripe pomegranates open slightly and in the shape of the cones of the helmets on children s heads Seventy two bells containing 72 clappers were hung on the robe 36 on each side front and behind Rabbi Dosa or others say Judah the Prince said in the name of Rabbi Judah that there were 36 bells in all 18 on each side 71 The Breastplate of the High Priest illustration from the 1905 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia Rabbi Eleazar deduced from the words that the breastplate not be loosed from the Ephod in Exodus 28 28 that one who removed the breastplate from the apron received the punishment of lashes Rav Aha bar Jacob objected that perhaps Exodus 28 28 meant merely to instruct the Israelites to fasten the breast plate securely so that it would not be loosed But the Gemara noted that Exodus 28 28 does not say merely so that it not be loosed 72 The Mishnah taught that the High Priest inquired of the Urim and Thummim noted in Exodus 28 30 only for the king for the court or for one whom the community needed 62 A Baraita explained why the Urim and Thummim noted in Exodus 28 30 were called by those names The term Urim is like the Hebrew word for lights and thus it was called Urim because it enlightened The term Thummim is like the Hebrew word tam meaning to be complete and thus it was called Thummim because its predictions were fulfilled The Gemara discussed how they used the Urim and Thummim Rabbi Joḥanan said that the letters of the stones in the breastplate stood out to spell out the answer Resh Lakish said that the letters joined each other to spell words But the Gemara noted that the Hebrew letter צ tsade was missing from the list of the 12 tribes of Israel Rabbi Samuel bar Isaac said that the stones of the breastplate also contained the names of Abraham Isaac and Jacob But the Gemara noted that the Hebrew letter ט teth was also missing Rav Aha bar Jacob said that they also contained the words The tribes of Jeshurun The Gemara taught that although the decree of a prophet could be revoked the decree of the Urim and Thummim could not be revoked as Numbers 27 21 says By the judgment of the Urim 73 The High Priest wearing his Breastplate 1984 illustration by Jim Padgett courtesy of Distant Shores Media Sweet Publishing The Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer taught that when Israel sinned in the matter of the devoted things as reported in Joshua 7 11 Joshua looked at the 12 stones corresponding to the 12 tribes that were upon the High Priest s breastplate For every tribe that had sinned the light of its stone became dim and Joshua saw that the light of the stone for the tribe of Judah had become dim So Joshua knew that the tribe of Judah had transgressed in the matter of the devoted things Similarly the Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer taught that Saul saw the Philistines turning against Israel and he knew that Israel had sinned in the matter of the ban Saul looked at the 12 stones and for each tribe that had followed the law its stone on the High Priest s breastplate shined with its light and for each tribe that had transgressed the light of its stone was dim So Saul knew that the tribe of Benjamin had trespassed in the matter of the ban 74 The Mishnah reported that with the death of the former prophets the Urim and Thummim ceased 75 In this connection the Gemara reported differing views of who the former prophets were Rav Huna said they were David Samuel and Solomon Rav Nachman said that during the days of David they were sometimes successful and sometimes not getting an answer from the Urim and Thummim for Zadok consulted it and succeeded while Abiathar consulted it and was not successful as 2 Samuel 15 24 reports And Abiathar went up He retired from the priesthood because the Urim and Thummim gave him no reply Rabbah bar Samuel asked whether the report of 2 Chronicles 26 5 And he King Uzziah of Judah set himself to seek God all the days of Zechariah who had understanding in the vision of God did not refer to the Urim and Thummim But the Gemara answered that Uzziah did so through Zechariah s prophecy A Baraita told that when the first Temple was destroyed the Urim and Thummim ceased and explained Ezra 2 63 reporting events after the Jews returned from the Babylonian Captivity And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim as a reference to the remote future as when one speaks of the time of the Messiah Rav Nachman concluded that the term former prophets referred to a period before Haggai Zechariah and Malachi who were latter prophets 76 And the Jerusalem Talmud taught that the former prophets referred to Samuel and David and thus the Urim and Thummim did not function in the period of the First Temple either 77 blue tekhelet thread on a set of tzitzit Rabbi Hanina ben Gamaliel interpreted the words completely blue ת כ ל ת tekhelet in Exodus 28 31 to teach that blue dye used to test the dye is unfit for further use to dye the blue tekhelet strand of a tzitzit interpreting the word completely to mean full strength But Rabbi Joḥanan ben Dahabai taught that even the second dyeing using the same dye is valid reading the words and scarlet ו ש נ י תו ל ע ת ushni tolalat in Leviticus 14 4 to mean a second dying of red wool 78 The Gemara reported that some interpreted the words woven work in Exodus 28 32 to teach that all priestly garments were made entirely by weaving without needlework But Abaye interpreted a saying of Resh Lakish and a Baraita to teach that the sleeves of the priestly garments were woven separately and then attached to the garment using needlework and the sleeves reached down to the priest s wrist 79 Priest High Priest and Levite illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible Rehava said in the name of Rav Judah that one who tore a priestly garment was liable to punishment with lashes for Exodus 28 32 says that it be not rent Rav Aha bar Jacob objected that perhaps Exodus 28 32 meant to instruct that the Israelites make a hem so that the garment would not tear But the Gemara noted that Exodus 28 32 does not say merely lest it be torn 72 A Baraita taught that the golden head plate of Exodus 28 36 38 was two fingerbreadths wide and stretched around the High Priest s forehead from ear to ear The Baraita taught that two lines were written on it with the four letter name of God יהוה on the top line and holy to ק ד ש ל kodesh la on the bottom line But Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Jose said that he saw it in Rome where it was taken after the destruction of the Temple and holy to the Lord ק ד ש ל יהוה was written in one line 80 Rabbi Judah the Prince taught that there was no difference between the tunic belt turban and breeches of the High Priest and those of the common priest in Exodus 28 40 43 except in the belt Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Simeon taught that there was not even any distinction in the belt Ravin reported that all agree that on Yom Kippur the High Priest s belt was made of fine linen as stated in Leviticus 16 4 and during the rest of the year a belt made of both wool and linen shatnez as stated in Exodus 39 29 The difference concerned only the common priest s belt both on the Day of Atonement and during the rest of the year Concerning that Rabbi said it was made of both wool and linen and Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Simeon said it was made of fine linen 81 A Baraita taught that the priests breeches of Exodus 28 42 were like the knee breeches of horsemen reaching upwards to the hips and downwards to the thighs They had laces but had no padding in either back or front and thus fit loosely 82 Exodus chapter 29 Edit A Midrash taught that when God so pleased God called for atonement for the Golden Calf through a male agent as in Exodus 29 1 with regard to the investiture of the Priests Take one young bullock פ ר par and when God so pleased God called for that atonement through a female agent as in Numbers 19 2 That they bring you a red heifer פ ר ה parah faultless wherein is no blemish 83 Fitting a Priest s Garments 1984 illustration by Jim Padgett courtesy of Distant Shores Media Sweet Publishing A Baraita taught that a priest who performed sacrifices without the proper priestly garments was liable to death at the hands of Heaven 84 Rabbi Abbahu said in the name of Rabbi Joḥanan or some say Rabbi Eleazar son of Rabbi Simeon that the Baraita s teaching was derived from Exodus 29 9 which says And you shall gird them with girdles Aaron and his sons and bind turbans on them and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute Thus the Gemara reasoned when wearing their proper priestly garments priests were invested with their priesthood but when they were not wearing their proper priestly garments they lacked their priesthood and were considered like non priests who were liable to death if they performed the priestly service 85 A Midrash asked As Exodus 29 9 reported that there already were 70 elders of Israel why in Numbers 11 16 did God direct Moses to gather 70 elders of Israel The Midrash deduced that when in Numbers 11 1 the people murmured speaking evil and God sent fire to devour part of the camp all those earlier 70 elders had been burned up The Midrash continued that the earlier 70 elders were consumed like Nadab and Abihu because they too acted frivolously when as reported in Exodus 24 11 they beheld God and inappropriately ate and drank The Midrash taught that Nadab Abihu and the 70 elders deserved to die then but because God so loved giving the Torah God did not wish to create disturb that time 86 Priests Offering at the Altar 1984 illustration by Jim Padgett courtesy of Distant Shores Media Sweet Publishing The Mishnah explained how the priests carried out the rites of the wave offering described in Exodus 29 27 On the east side of the altar the priest placed the two loaves on the two lambs and put his two hands beneath them and waved them forward and backward and upward and downward 87 The Sages interpreted the words of Exodus 29 27 which is waved and which is heaved up to teach that the priest moved an offering forward and backward upward and downward As Exodus 29 27 thus compares heaving to waving the Midrash deduced that in every case where the priest waved he also heaved 88 Rabbi Joḥanan deduced from the reference of Exodus 29 29 to the holy garments of Aaron that Numbers 31 6 refers to the priestly garments containing the Urim and Thummim when it reports that Moses sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest to the war with the holy vessels But the Midrash concluded that Numbers 31 6 refers to the Ark of the Covenant to which Numbers 7 9 refers when it says the service of the holy things 89 A Baraita noted a difference in wording between Exodus 29 30 regarding the investiture of the High Priest and Leviticus 16 32 regarding the qualifications for performing the Yom Kippur service Exodus 29 29 30 says The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him to be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them Seven days shall the son that is priest in his stead put them on This text demonstrated that a priest who had put on the required larger number of garments and who had been anointed on each of the seven days was permitted to serve as High Priest Leviticus 16 32 however says And the priest who shall be anointed and who shall be consecrated to be priest in his father s stead shall make the atonement The Baraita interpreted the words Who shall be anointed and who shall be consecrated to mean one who had been anointed and consecrated in whatever way as long as he had been consecrated even if some detail of the ceremony had been omitted The Baraita thus concluded that if the priest had put on the larger number of garments for only one day and had been anointed on each of the seven days or if he had been anointed for only one day and had put on the larger number of garments for seven days he would also be permitted to perform the Yom Kippur service Noting that Exodus 29 30 indicated that the larger number of garments was necessary in the first instance for the seven days the Gemara asked what Scriptural text supported the proposition that anointment on each of the seven days was in the first instance required The Gemara answered that one could infer that from the fact that a special statement of the Torah was necessary to exclude it Or in the alternative one could infer that from Exodus 29 29 which says And the holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him to be anointed in them and to be consecrated in them As Exodus 29 29 puts the anointing and the donning of the larger number of garments on the same level therefore just as the donning of the larger number of garments was required for seven days so was the anointing obligatory for seven days 90 Rabbi Eliezer interpreted the words And there I will meet with the children of Israel and the Tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory in Exodus 29 43 to mean that God would in the future meet the Israelites and be sanctified among them The Midrash reports that this occurred on the eighth day of the consecration of the Tabernacle as reported in Leviticus 9 1 And as Leviticus 9 24 reports when all the people saw they shouted and fell on their faces 91 The Two Priests Are Destroyed watercolor circa 1896 1902 by James Tissot The Mekhilta interpreted the words And there I will meet with the children of Israel and it shall be sanctified by My glory in Exodus 29 43 to be the words to which Moses referred in Leviticus 10 3 when he said This is it what the Lord spoke saying Through them who are near to Me I will be sanctified 92 The Gemara interpreted the report in Exodus 29 43 that the Tabernacle shall be sanctified by My glory to refer to the death of Nadab and Abihu The Gemara taught that one should read not My glory bi khevodi but My honored ones bi khevuday The Gemara thus taught that God told Moses in Exodus 29 43 that God would sanctify the Tabernacle through the death of Nadab and Abihu but Moses did not comprehend God s meaning until Nadab and Abihu died in Leviticus 10 2 When Aaron s sons died Moses told Aaron in Leviticus 10 3 that Aaron s sons died only that God s glory might be sanctified through them When Aaron thus perceived that his sons were God s honored ones Aaron was silent as Leviticus 10 3 reports And Aaron held his peace and Aaron was rewarded for his silence 93 Joshua ben Levi interpreted the words of Exodus 29 46 And they shall know that I am the Lord their God Who brought them out of the land of Egypt in order that I may dwell among them to teach that the Israelites came out of Egypt only because God foresaw that they would later build God a Tabernacle 94 The Inner Altar 1984 illustration by Jim Padgett courtesy of Distant Shores Media Sweet Publishing Exodus chapter 30 Edit The Outer Altar 1984 illustration by Jim Padgett courtesy of Distant Shores Media Sweet Publishing Rabbi Jose argued that the dimensions of the inner altar in Exodus 30 2 helped to interpret the size of the outer altar Rabbi Judah maintained that the outer altar was wider than Rabbi Jose thought it was whereas Rabbi Jose maintained that the outer altar was taller than Rabbi Judah thought it was Rabbi Jose said that one should read literally the words of Exodus 27 1 five cubits long and five cubits broad But Rabbi Judah noted that Exodus 27 1 uses the word square ר בו ע ravua just as Ezekiel 43 16 uses the word square ר בו ע ravua Rabbi Judah argued that just as in Ezekiel 43 16 the dimension was measured from the center so that the dimension described only one quadrant of the total so the dimensions of Exodus 27 1 should be measured from the center and thus according to Rabbi Judah the altar was 10 cubits on each side The Gemara explained that we know that this is how to understand Ezekiel 43 16 because Ezekiel 43 16 says And the hearth shall be 12 cubits long by 12 cubits broad square and Ezekiel 43 16 continues to the four sides thereof teaching that the measurement was taken from the middle interpreting to as intimating that from a particular point there were 12 cubits in all directions hence from the center Rabbi Jose however reasoned that a common use of the word square applied to the height of the altar Rabbi Judah said that one should read literally the words of Exodus 27 1 And the height thereof shall be three cubits But Rabbi Jose noted that Exodus 27 1 uses the word square ר בו ע ravua just as Exodus 30 2 uses the word square ר בו ע ravua referring to the inner altar Rabbi Jose argued that just as in Exodus 30 2 the altar s height was twice its length so too in Exodus 27 1 the height was to be read as twice its length and thus the altar was 10 cubits high Rabbi Judah questioned Rabbi Jose s conclusion for if priests stood on the altar to perform the service 10 cubits above the ground the people would see them from outside the courtyard Rabbi Jose replied to Rabbi Judah that Numbers 4 26 states And the hangings of the court and the screen for the door of the gate of the court which is by the Tabernacle and by the altar round about teaching that just as the Tabernacle was 10 cubits high so was the altar 10 cubits high and Exodus 38 14 says The hangings for the one side were fifteen cubits teaching that the walls of the courtyard were 15 cubits high The Gemara explained that according to Rabbi Jose s reading the words of Exodus 27 18 And the height five cubits meant from the upper edge of the altar to the top of the hangings And according to Rabbi Jose the words of Exodus 27 1 and the height thereof shall be three cubits meant that there were three cubits from the edge of the terrace on the side of the altar to the top of the altar Rabbi Judah however granted that the priest could be seen outside the Tabernacle but argued that the sacrifice in his hands could not be seen 95 The Mishnah taught that the incense offering of Exodus 30 7 was not subject to the penalty associated with eating invalidated offerings 96 In medieval Jewish interpretation EditThe parashah is discussed in these medieval Jewish sources 97 Exodus chapter 28 Edit Nachmanides Interpreting Exodus 28 2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother for splendor and for beauty Nachmanides taught that the High Priest s garments corresponded to the garments that monarchs wore when the Torah was given Thus Nachmanides taught that the tunic of checker work in Exodus 28 4 was a royal garment like the one worn by David s daughter Tamar in 2 Samuel 13 18 Now she had a garment of many colors upon her for with such robes were the king s daughters that were virgins appareled The miter in Exodus 28 4 was known among monarchs as Ezekiel 21 31 notes with reference to the fall of the kingdom of Judah The miter shall be removed and the crown taken off Nachmanides taught that the ephod and the breastplate were also royal garments and the plate that the High Priest wore around the forehead was like a monarch s crown Finally Nachmanides noted that the High Priest s garments were made of in the words of Exodus 28 5 gold blue purple and red purple which were all symbolic of royalty 98 Maimonides Maimonides taught that God selected priests for service in the Tabernacle in Exodus 28 41 and instituted the practice of sacrifices generally as transitional steps to wean the Israelites off of the worship of the times and move them toward prayer as the primary means of worship Maimonides noted that in nature God created animals that develop gradually For example when a mammal is born it is extremely tender and cannot eat dry food so God provided breasts that yield milk to feed the young animal until it can eat dry food Similarly Maimonides taught God instituted many laws as temporary measures as it would have been impossible for the Israelites suddenly to discontinue everything to which they had become accustomed So God sent Moses to make the Israelites in the words of Exodus 19 6 a kingdom of priests and a holy nation But the general custom of worship in those days was sacrificing animals in temples that contained idols So God did not command the Israelites to give up those manners of service but allowed them to continue God transferred to God s service what had formerly served as a worship of idols and commanded the Israelites to serve God in the same manner namely to build to a Sanctuary Exodus 25 8 to erect the altar to God s name Exodus 20 21 to offer sacrifices to God Leviticus 1 2 to bow down to God and to burn incense before God God forbade doing any of these things to any other being and selected priests for the service in the temple in Exodus 28 41 And they shall minister to me in the priest s office By this Divine plan God blotted out the traces of idolatry and established the great principle of the Existence and Unity of God But the sacrificial service Maimonides taught was not the primary object of God s commandments about sacrifice rather supplications prayers and similar kinds of worship are nearer to the primary object Thus God limited sacrifice to only one temple see Deuteronomy 12 26 and the priesthood to only the members of a particular family These restrictions Maimonides taught served to limit sacrificial worship and kept it within such bounds that God did not feel it necessary to abolish sacrificial service altogether But in the Divine plan prayer and supplication can be offered everywhere and by every person as can be the wearing of tzitzit Numbers 15 38 and tefillin Exodus 13 9 16 and similar kinds of service 99 In modern interpretation EditThe parashah is discussed in these modern sources Plaut Exodus chapter 27 Edit Gunther Plaut reported that after the Romans destroyed the Temple Jews sought to honor the commandment in Exodus 27 20 21 to light the Menorah by keeping a separate light a ner tamid in the synagogue Originally Jews set the ner tamid opposite the ark on the synagogue s western wall but then moved it to a niche by the side of the ark and later to a lamp suspended above the ark Plaut reported that the ner tamid has come to symbolize God s presence a spiritual light emanating as if from the Temple 100 Exodus chapter 28 Edit Noting that Exodus 28 1 first introduces Aaron and his family as priests without further defining the term Plaut concluded that either the institution was already well known at the time as the Egyptians and Midianites had priests or that the story was retrojected back from a later time that had long known priests and their job Scholars found the priestly garments unrealistic complex and extravagant hardly befitting a wilderness setting Plaut concluded however that while the text likely contains embellishments from later times there is little reason to doubt that it also reports traditions going back to Israel s earliest days 101 Cassuto Reading in Exodus 28 2 the instruction to make holy garments for Aaron and his sons for glory and for beauty Umberto Cassuto explained that these were clothes that would indicate the degree of holiness in keeping with his high office 102 Nahum Sarna wrote that God ordained special attire for Aaron and his sons as insignia of office so that the occupants of the sacred office could be distinguishable from the laity just as sacred space could be differentiated from profane space 103 Reading for glory and for beauty in Exodus 28 2 Richard Elliott Friedman argued that beauty is inspiring and valuable and that religion is not the enemy of the senses 104 Sarna noted that Exodus 28 makes no mention of footwear as the priests officiated barefoot 105 Carol Meyers inferred that the priests wore no shoes on holy ground noting that in Exodus 3 5 God told Moses to take off his shoes for the place on which he stood was holy ground 106 Plaut reported that the priestly garments enumerated in Exodus 28 2 43 are the direct antecedents of those used today in the Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches whose priests and especially bishops wear similar robes when officiating In the synagogue the Torah scroll is similarly embellished and dressed in an embroidered mantle and crowned by pomegranates and bells 101 Noting that amid the description of the glorious priestly garments in Exodus 28 2 43 is the warning in Exodus 28 35 that Aaron might die Walter Brueggemann wondered whether the text intends to convey the irony that one so well appointed was under threat of death And Brueggemann noted that Exodus 25 31 proceeds to Exodus 32 which he admitted came from a different textual tradition and wondered whether the text means to convey that Aaron was seduced by his glorious adornment to act as he did in the incident of the Golden Calf Brueggemann concluded that the affirmation and devastating critique of Aaron live close together in the text teaching that the affirmation the temptation and the critique are inherent in the priesthood and the handler of holy things 107 Nili Fox wrote that it is no accident that the violet blue wool cord that Numbers 15 37 40 required be attached to the fringes is identical to the cord that hangs from the priest s headdress in Exodus 28 37 Fox argued that the tzitzit on the Israelites garments identified them as being holy to God and symbolically connected them to the priests Thereby the Israelites pledged their loyalty to God as well as to the priests who oversaw the laws 108 Reading God s command in Exodus 28 41 for Moses to anoint Aaron and his sons Plaut reported that anointing was a common procedure in antiquity to induct priests or kings into office Anointing oil symbolized wellbeing and its daily use especially in later Rome was emblematic of the good life The pouring of oil on the head signified having been favored by or set apart for the deity Israelites chiefly used olive oil for ointments Babylonians also used sesame oil and animal fats and Egyptians used almond oil and animal fats 109 Exodus chapter 29 Edit Everett Fox noted that glory כ בו ד kevod and stubbornness כ ב ד ל ב kaved lev are leading words throughout the book of Exodus that give it a sense of unity 110 Similarly William Propp identified the root kvd connoting heaviness glory wealth and firmness as a recurring theme in Exodus Moses suffered from a heavy mouth in Exodus 4 10 and heavy arms in Exodus 17 12 Pharaoh had firmness of heart in Exodus 7 14 8 11 28 9 7 34 and 10 1 Pharaoh made Israel s labor heavy in Exodus 5 9 God in response sent heavy plagues in Exodus 8 20 9 3 18 24 and 10 14 so that God might be glorified over Pharaoh in Exodus 14 4 17 and 18 and the book culminates with the descent of God s fiery Glory described as a heavy cloud first upon Sinai and later upon the Tabernacle in Exodus 19 16 24 16 17 29 43 33 18 22 and 40 34 38 111 a ner tamid נ ר ת מ יד or sanctuary lamp hanging over the ark in a synagogue in remembrance of the command in Exodus 27 20 21Commandments EditAccording to Maimonides and Sefer ha Chinuch there are 4 positive and 3 negative commandments in the parashah 112 To light the Menorah every day 113 The Kohanim must wear their priestly garments during service 114 The breastpiece must not be loosened from the Ephod 115 Not to tear the priestly garments 116 The Kohanim must eat the sacrificial meat 117 To burn incense every day 118 Not to burn anything on the incense altar besides incense 119 In the liturgy EditThe tamid sacrifice that Exodus 29 38 39 called for the priests to offer at twilight presaged the afternoon prayer service called Mincha or offering in Hebrew 120 Ezekiel 1510 fresco by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel Haftarah EditGenerally Edit The haftarah for the parashah is Ezekiel 43 10 27 Connection to the Parashah Edit Both the parashah and the haftarah in Ezekiel describe God s holy sacrificial altar and its consecration the parashah in the Tabernacle in the wilderness 121 and the haftarah in Ezekiel s conception of a future Temple 122 Both the parashah and the haftarah describe plans conveyed by a mighty prophet Moses in the parashah and Ezekiel in the haftarah The Death of Agag illustration by Gustave Dore from the 1865 La Sainte Bible On Shabbat Zachor Edit When Parashat Tetzaveh coincides with Shabbat Zachor the special Sabbath immediately preceding Purim as it does in 2023 2025 2026 2028 2029 2031 2032 2034 2036 2037 2039 2040 2042 2044 2045 2047 and 2050 123 the haftarah is for Ashkenazi Jews 1 Samuel 15 2 34 for Sephardi Jews 1 Samuel 15 1 34 Connection to the Special Sabbath Edit On Shabbat Zachor the Sabbath just before Purim Jews read Deuteronomy 25 17 19 which instructs Jews Remember ז כו ר zachor what Amalek did in attacking the Israelites 124 The haftarah for Shabbat Zachor 1 Samuel 15 2 34 or 1 34 describes Saul s encounter with Amalek and Saul s and Samuel s treatment of the Amalekite king Agag Purim in turn commemorates the story of Esther said to be a descendant of Saul in some rabbinic literature and the Jewish people s victory over Haman s plan to kill the Jews told in the book of Esther 125 Esther 3 1 identifies Haman as an Agagite and thus a descendant of Amalek Numbers 24 7 identifies the Agagites with the Amalekites Alternatively a Midrash tells the story that between King Agag s capture by Saul and his killing by Samuel Agag fathered a child from whom Haman in like turn descended 126 Notes Edit Torah Stats Shemoth Akhlah Inc Archived from the original on February 21 2019 Retrieved July 6 2013 Parashat Tetzaveh Hebcal Retrieved February 5 2015 See e g Menachem Davis editor The Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash Shemos Exodus Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 2008 pages 201 24 Exodus 27 20 21 Exodus 28 Exodus 28 13 30 Exodus 28 30 Exodus 28 31 43 Exodus 33 35 Exodus 29 Exodus 29 10 12 Exodus 29 15 18 Exodus 29 19 20 Exodus 29 42 45 Exodus 30 See e g Richard Eisenberg A Complete Triennial Cycle for Reading the Torah in Proceedings of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement 1986 1990 New York Rabbinical Assembly 2001 pages 383 418 For more on inner Biblical interpretation see e g Benjamin D Sommer Inner biblical Interpretation in Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler editors The Jewish Study Bible 2nd edition New York Oxford University Press 2014 pages 1835 41 See generally Jon D Levenson Cosmos and Microcosm in Creation and the Persistence of Evil The Jewish Drama of Divine Omnipotence San Francisco Harper amp Row 1988 pages 78 99 see also Jeffrey H Tigay Exodus in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler editors Jewish Study Bible 2nd edition page 157 1 Genesis 1 1 5 2 1 6 8 3 1 9 13 4 1 14 19 5 1 20 23 6 1 24 31 7 Genesis 2 1 3 1 Exodus 25 1 30 10 2 30 11 16 3 30 17 21 4 30 22 33 5 30 34 37 6 31 1 11 7 31 12 17 Genesis 2 1 Exodus 39 32 Genesis 1 31 Exodus 39 43 Genesis 2 2 Exodus 40 33 34 Genesis 2 3 Exodus 39 43 Genesis 2 3 Exodus 40 9 11 See generally Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden Teaching Torah A Treasury of Insights and Activities Denver A R E Publishing 1997 page 157 Jeffrey H Tigay Exodus in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler editors Jewish Study Bible 2nd edition page 157 Exodus 25 37 Exodus 28 1 39 Compare Exodus 39 32 to Genesis 2 1 3 Exodus 39 43 to Genesis 1 31 and Exodus 40 33 to Genesis 2 2 Exodus 40 17 Carol Meyers Exodus in Michael D Coogan Marc Z Brettler Carol A Newsom and Pheme Perkins editors The New Oxford Annotated Bible New Revised Standard Version With The Apocrypha An Ecumenical Study Bible New York Oxford University Press revised 4th edition 2010 page 117 Note the similar language of 2 Chronicles 6 41 42 and Isaiah 61 10 See Walter Brueggemann The Book of Exodus in Leander E Keck editor The New Interpreter s Bible Nashville Abingdon Press 1994 volume 1 page 909 Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament translated by Francis Bolton Edinburgh T amp T Clarke 1866 1891 reprinted as C F Keil and F Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament volume 5 Psalms by F Delitzsch Peabody Massachusetts Hendrickson 2006 pages 786 87 For more on early nonrabbinic interpretation see e g Esther Eshel Early Nonrabbinic Interpretation in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler editors Jewish Study Bible 2nd edition pages 1841 59 Sirach 50 5 7 Exodus 28 6 Josephus Antiquities of the Jews book 3 chapter 7 paragraph 7 circa 93 94 in e g William Whiston translator The Works of Josephus Peabody Massachusetts Hendrickson Publishers 1987 pages 90 91 Josephus Antiquities book 3 chapter 8 paragraph 9 in e g William Whiston translator Works of Josephus page 93 Philo On the Life of Moses book 2 chapter 29 paragraphs 150 51 Alexandria Egypt early 1st century CE in e g Charles Duke Yonge translator The Works of Philo Complete and Unabridged New Updated Edition Peabody Massachusetts Hendrickson Publishers 1993 page 504 For more on classical rabbinic interpretation see e g Yaakov Elman Classical Rabbinic Interpretation in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler editors Jewish Study Bible 2nd edition pages 1859 78 Midrash Tanḥuma Tzav 14 in e g The Metsudah Midrash Tanchuma translated and annotated by Avrohom Davis edited by Yaakov Y H Pupko Monsey New York Eastern Book Press 2006 volume 5 Vayikra pages 124 25 Babylonian Talmud Yoma 3b Sasanian Empire 6th century in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Yoma Volume 1 elucidated by Abba Zvi Naiman Michoel Weiner Yosef Widroff Moshe Zev Einhorn Israel Schneider and Zev Meisels edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1998 volume 13 page 3b Mishnah Menachot 8 5 Land of Israel circa 200 CE in e g Jacob Neusner translator The Mishnah A New Translation New Haven Yale University Press 1988 page 750 Babylonian Talmud Menachot 86a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Menachos Volume 3 elucidated by Yosef Davis Eliezer Herzka Abba Zvi Naiman Zev Meisels Noson Boruch Herzka and Avrohom Neuberger edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 2003 volume 60 page 86a4 Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 2003 Mishnah Menachot 8 4 in e g Jacob Neusner translator Mishnah page 749 Babylonian Talmud Menachot 86a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Menachos Volume 3 elucidated by Yosef Davis et al volume 60 pages 86a1 3 Mishnah Tamid 3 9 in e g Jacob Neusner translator Mishnah page 867 Exodus Rabbah 33 4 10th century in e g Simon M Lehrman translator Midrash Rabbah Exodus London Soncino Press 1939 volume 3 pages 416 18 Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 57a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Berachos Volume 2 elucidated by Yosef Widroff Mendy Wachsman Israel Schneider and Zev Meisels edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1997 volume 2 page 57a3 Exodus Rabbah 36 1 in e g Simon Lehrman translator Midrash Rabbah Exodus volume 3 pages 436 38 Exodus Rabbah 36 2 in e g Simon Lehrman translator Midrash Rabbah Exodus volume 3 pages 438 39 Exodus Rabbah 36 3 in e g Simon Lehrman translator Midrash Rabbah Exodus volume 3 pages 439 40 Jerusalem Talmud Sukkah 29b Tiberias Land of Israel circa 400 CE in e g Talmud Yerushalmi Tractate Succah elucidated by Mendy Wachsman Mordechai Smilowitz Avrohom Neuberger Zvi Naiman Gershon Hoffman David Azar Yehuda Jaffa Menachem Goldberger edited by Chaim Malinowitz Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Mordechai Marcus Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 2008 volume 22 page 29b a b Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 21a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Shabbos Volume 2 elucidated by Eliyahu Baruch Shulman Shlomo Fox Ashrei Yosef Asher Weiss and Abba Zvi Naiman edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1996 volume 4 page 21a Mishnah Sukkah 5 3 in e g Jacob Neusner translator Mishnah page 289 Jerusalem Talmud Sukkah 29a in e g Talmud Yerushalmi Tractate Succah elucidated by Mendy Wachsman et al volume 22 page 29a Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 51a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Succah Volume 2 elucidated by Eliezer Herzka Noson Dovid Rabinowitch Dovid Kamenetsky and Michoel Weiner edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1998 volume 16 page 51a a b Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 59a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Pesachim Volume 2 elucidated by Avrohom Neuberger Nasanel Kasnett Abba Zvi Naiman Zev Meisels Dovid Kamenetsky and Eliezer Herzka edited by Hersh Goldwurm Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1997 volume 10 page 59a Babylonian Talmud Yoma 15a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Yoma Volume 1 elucidated by Abba Zvi Naiman et al volume 13 page 15a Babylonian Talmud Menachot 89a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Menachos Volume 3 elucidated by Yosef Davis et al volume 60 page 89a4 Babylonian Talmud Menachot 89a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Menachos Volume 3 elucidated by Yosef Davis et al volume 60 page 89a4 Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 59a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Pesachim Volume 2 elucidated by Avrohom Neuberger et al volume 10 page 59a Babylonian Talmud Yoma 15a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Yoma Volume 1 elucidated by Abba Zvi Naiman et al volume 13 page 15a Mishnah Avot 1 12 in e g Jacob Neusner translator Mishnah page 674 Midrash Tanḥuma Shemot 27 6th 7th centuries in e g Metsudah Midrash Tanchuma translated and annotated by Avraham Davis edited by Yaakov Y H Pupko Monsey New York Eastern Book Press 2006 volume 3 Shemos 1 pages 91 92 Exodus Rabbah 37 2 in e g Simon Lehrman translator Midrash Rabbah Exodus pages 444 45 a b c Mishnah Yoma 7 5 in e g Jacob Neusner translator Mishnah page 277 Babylonian Talmud Yoma 71b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Yoma Volume 2 elucidated by Eliezer Herzka Zev Meisels Abba Zvi Naiman Dovid Kamenetsky and Mendy Wachsman edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1998 volume 14 page 71b Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 113b 14a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Shabbos Volume 3 elucidated by Yosef Asher Weiss Michoel Weiner Asher Dicker Abba Zvi Naiman Yosef Davis and Israel Schneider edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1996 volume 5 pages 113b 14a Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 31a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Shabbos Volume 1 elucidated by Asher Dicker Nasanel Kasnett and David Fohrman volume 3 page 31a In Mishnah Shekalim 5 2 in e g Jacob Neusner translator Mishnah page 259 Jerusalem Talmud Shekalim 38b 5 2 in e g Talmud Yerushalmi Tractate Shekalim elucidated by Zev Meisels Michoel Weiner Feivel Wahl Dovid Nachfolger Asher Dicker Menachem Goldberger Yosef Davis Avrohom Neuberger Hillel Danziger and Eli Herzka edited by Chaim Malinowitz Mordechai Marcus and Yisroel Simcha Schorr Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 2020 volume 20 page 38b2 Babylonian Talmud Shekalim 14b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Shekalim elucidated by Michoel Weiner Zev Meisels Feivel Wahl Dovid Nachfolger Asher Dicker Menachem Goldberger Yosef Davis Avrohom Neuberger Hillel Danziger and Eliezer Herzka edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr Chaim Malinowitz and Mordechai Marcus Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 2005 volume 12 page 14b2 Babylonian Talmud Yoma 72a b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Yoma Volume 2 elucidated by Eliezer Herzka et al volume 14 pages 72a b Leviticus Rabbah 10 6 Land of Israel 5th century in e g Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon translators Midrash Rabbah Leviticus London Soncino Press 1939 volume 4 pages 129 30 Leviticus Rabbah 10 6 in e g Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon translators Midrash Rabbah Leviticus volume 4 page 130 Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 35a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Zevachim Volume 1 elucidated by Abba Zvi Naiman Israel Schneider and Michoel Weiner edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1995 volume 55 page 35a Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 88b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Zevachim Volume 2 elucidated by Moshe Einhorn Henoch Moshe Levin Michoel Weiner Shlomo Fox Ashrei and Abba Zvi Naiman edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1995 volume 56 page 88b1 a b Babylonian Talmud Yoma 72a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Yoma Volume 2 elucidated by Eliezer Herzka et al volume 14 page 72a Babylonian Talmud Yoma 73b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Yoma Volume 2 elucidated by Eliezer Herzka et al volume 14 page 73b Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer chapter 38 Early 9th century in e g Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander pages 295 297 98 London 1916 Reprinted New York Hermon Press 1970 Mishnah Sotah 9 12 in e g Jacob Neusner translator Mishnah page 464 Babylonian Talmud Sotah 48a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Sotah Volume 2 elucidated by Eliezer Herzka Moshe Zev Einhorn Michoel Weiner Dovid Kamenetsky and Reuvein Dowek edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 2000 volume 33b page 48a3 Babylonian Talmud Sotah 48b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Sotah Volume 2 elucidated by Eliezer Herzka et al volume 33b pages 48b1 2 Jerusalem Talmud Sotah 24b in e g Talmud Yerushalmi elucidated by Avrohom Neuberger Yehuda Jaffa Mendy Wachsman Shlomo Silberman Mordechai Stareshefsky Gershon Hoffman edited by Chaim Malinowitz and Yisroel Simcha Schorr Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 2017 volume 36 page 24b Babylonian Talmud Menachot 42b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Menachos Volume 2 elucidated by Eliezer Herzka Michoel Weiner Avrohom Neuberger Dovid Arye Kaufman and Asher Septimus edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 2002 volume 59 page 42b Babylonian Talmud Yoma 72b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Yoma Volume 2 elucidated by Eliezer Herzka et al volume 14 page 72b Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 63b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Shabbos Volume 2 elucidated by Eliyahu Baruch Shulman et al volume 4 page 63b Babylonian Talmud Yoma 12b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Yoma Volume 1 elucidated by Abba Zvi Naiman et al volume 13 page 12b Babylonian Talmud Niddah 13b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Niddah Volume 1 elucidated by Hillel Danziger Moshe Zev Einhorn and Michoel Weiner edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1996 volume 71 page 13b Exodus Rabbah 38 3 in e g Simon Lehrman translator Midrash Rabbah Exodus volume 3 page 448 Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 83a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin Volume 2 elucidated by Michoel Weiner and Asher Dicker edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1994 volume 48 page 83a Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 83b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Sanhedrin Volume 2 elucidated by Michoel Weiner and Asher Dicker volume 48 page 83b Midrash Tanḥuma Beha aloscha 16 in e g Metsudah Midrash Tanchuma Translated and annotated by Avraham Davis edited by Yaakov Y H Pupko volume 6 Bamidbar 1 pages 252 53 Mishnah Menachot 5 6 in e g Jacob Neusner translator Mishnah page 743 Babylonian Talmud Menachot 61a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Menachos Volume 2 elucidated by Eliezer Herzka et al volume 59 page 61a Numbers Rabbah 9 38 12th century in e g Judah J Slotki translator Midrash Rabbah Numbers London Soncino Press 1939 volume 5 pages 313 14 see also Numbers Rabbah 10 23 in e g Judah Slotki translator Midrash Rabbah Numbers volume 5 page 403 Numbers Rabbah 22 4 in e g Judah Slotki translator Midrash Rabbah Numbers volume 6 pages 855 56 Babylonian Talmud Yoma 5a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Yoma Volume 1 elucidated by Abba Zvi Naiman et al volume 13 page 5a2 Numbers Rabbah 14 21 in e g Judah Slotki translator Midrash Rabbah Numbers volume 6 page 636 Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael Pisha chapter 12 Land of Israel late 4th century in e g Jacob Z Lauterbach translator Mekhilta According to Rabbi Ishmael Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1933 reissued 2004 volume 1 page 63 Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 115b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Zevachim Volume 3 elucidated by Israel Schneider Yosef Widroff Mendy Wachsman Dovid Katz Zev Meisels and Feivel Wahl edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1996 volume 57 page 115b Numbers Rabbah 3 6 in e g Judah Slotki translator Midrash Rabbah Numbers volume 5 page 78 see also Numbers Rabbah 12 6 in e g Judah Slotki translator Midrash Rabbah Numbers volume 5 page 467 Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 59b 60a in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Zevachim Volume 2 elucidated by Moshe Einhorn et al volume 56 pages 59b1 60a1 Mishnah Zevachim 4 3 in e g Jacob Neusner translator Mishnah page 705 Babylonian Talmud Zevachim 42b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Zevachim Volume 2 elucidated by Moshe Einhorn et al volume 56 page 42b For more on medieval Jewish interpretation see e g Barry D Walfish Medieval Jewish Interpretation in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler editors Jewish Study Bible 2nd edition pages 1891 1915 Ramban Exodus 28 2 Jerusalem circa 1270 in e g Charles B Chavel translator Ramban Nachmanides Commentary on the Torah Exodus New York Shilo Publishing House 1973 volume 2 pages 475 76 Maimonides The Guide for the Perplexed part 3 chapter 32 Cairo Egypt 1190 in e g Moses Maimonides The Guide for the Perplexed translated by Michael Friedlander New York Dover Publications 1956 pages 322 27 W Gunther Plaut The Torah A Modern Commentary Revised Edition revised edition edited by David E S Stern New York Union for Reform Judaism 2006 page 573 a b Gunther Plaut The Torah A Modern Commentary revised edition page 561 Umberto Cassuto A Commentary on the Book of Exodus translated by Israel Abrahams Jerusalem Magnes Press Hebrew University 1967 page 371 Nahum M Sarna The JPS Torah Commentary Exodus Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1991 page 176 Richard Elliott Friedman Commentary on the Torah New York Harper San Francisco 2001 page 266 Nahum M Sarna The JPS Torah Commentary Exodus The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation page 177 Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea L Weiss editors The Torah A Women s Commentary New York Women of Reform Judaism URJ Press 2008 page 477 Walter Brueggemann The Book of Exodus in Leander Keck editor New Interpreter s Bible volume 1 page 908 Nili S Fox Numbers in Adele Berlin and Marc Brettler editors Jewish Study Bible 2nd edition page 300 Gunther Plaut The Torah A Modern Commentary revised edition page 567 Everett Fox The Five Books of Moses Dallas Word Publishing 1995 page 245 William H C Propp Exodus 1 18 A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary New York Anchor Bible 1998 volume 2 page 36 See e g Maimonides The Commandments Sefer Ha Mitzvoth of Maimonides translated by Charles B Chavel London Soncino Press 1967 volume 1 pages 34 35 37 42 43 101 02 volume 2 pages 81 85 86 Charles Wengrov translator Sefer HaHinnuch The Book of Mitzvah Education Jerusalem Feldheim Publishers 1991 volume 1 pages 377 95 Exodus 27 21 Exodus 28 2 Exodus 28 28 Exodus 28 32 Exodus 29 33 Exodus 30 7 Exodus 30 9 Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 26b in e g Talmud Bavli Tractate Berachos Volume 1 elucidated by Gedaliah Zlotowitz edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Chaim Malinowitz Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1997 volume 1 page 26b Reuven Hammer Or Hadash A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals New York Rabbinical Assembly 2003 page 1 Exodus 27 1 8 29 36 37 Ezekiel 43 13 17 Fred Reiss The Standard Guide to the Jewish and Civil Calendars A Parallel Jewish and Civil Calendar from 1899 to 2050 with Parashiyyot and Haftarot and Candle Lighting Times for Selected Cities West Orange New Jersey Behrman House 1986 Deuteronomy 25 17 Esther 1 1 10 3 Seder Eliyahu Rabbah chapter 20 10th century in e g William G Braude and Israel J Kapstein translators Tanna Debe Eliyyahu The Lore of the School of Elijah Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1981 Targum Sheni to Esther 4 13 Further reading EditThe parashah has parallels or is discussed in these sources Biblical Edit Exodus 39 1 31 making the priests vestments Leviticus 6 3 priest wearing linen 16 4 33 high priest wearing linen Deuteronomy 22 11 combining wool and linen 1 Samuel 2 18 priest wearing linen 22 18 priests wearing linen 2 Samuel 6 14 David wearing linen in worship Ezekiel 10 76 holy man clad in linen 44 17 18 priests wearing linen Daniel 10 5 holy man clad in linen 12 6 7 holy man clad in linen Psalms 29 2 holiness of God 77 21 Moses and Aaron 93 5 holiness of God 99 6 Moses and Aaron 106 16 Moses and Aaron 115 10 12 house of Aaron 118 3 house of Aaron 133 2 anointing Aaron Philo 1 Chronicles 15 27 David and Levites wearing linen in worship 2 Chronicles 5 12 Levites wearing linen in worship Early nonrabbinic Edit Philo Allegorical Interpretation book 1 26 81 book 3 40 118 On the Migration of Abraham 18 103 On the Life of Moses 2 29 150 51 The Special Laws 1 51 276 Alexandria Egypt early 1st Century CE In e g The Works of Philo Complete and Unabridged New Updated Edition Translated by Charles Duke Yonge 34 63 263 504 560 Peabody Massachusetts Hendrickson Publishers 1993 Josephus The Wars of the Jews 5 5 7 Circa 75 CE In e g The Works of Josephus Complete and Unabridged New Updated Edition Translated by William Whiston 708 Peabody Massachusetts Hendrickson Publishers 1987 Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 3 6 1 3 10 1 Circa 93 94 In e g The Works of Josephus Complete and Unabridged New Updated Edition Translated by William Whiston 85 95 Peabody Massachusetts Hendrickson Publishers 1987 Classical rabbinic Edit Mishnah Yoma 7 5 Sukkah 5 3 Sotah 9 12 Zevachim 4 3 Menachot 5 6 8 4 5 Keritot 1 1 Tamid 3 9 7 1 Kinnim 3 6 Land of Israel circa 200 CE In e g The Mishnah A New Translation Translated by Jacob Neusner pages 277 289 464 705 743 749 50 867 871 889 New Haven Yale University Press 1988 Tosefta Sotah 7 17 Menachot 6 11 7 6 9 16 Land of Israel circa 250 CE In e g The Tosefta Translated from the Hebrew with a New Introduction Translated by Jacob Neusner volume 1 page 865 volume 2 pages 1430 31 1435 1448 Peabody Massachusetts Hendrickson Publishers 2002 Jerusalem Talmud Challah 20a Shabbat 20b Pesachim 35a 57a 62a Shekalim 38b Yoma 3a 5a 6b 8b 14a 15a 16a 20a b 21b 36a b 49b 50a Sukkah 29b Megillah 17a Chagigah 1b 14b 28a Sotah 24b 34b Shevuot 6b Horayot 14b Tiberias Land of Israel circa 400 CE In e g Talmud Yerushalmi Edited by Chaim Malinowitz Yisroel Simcha Schorr and Mordechai Marcus volumes 11 13 18 22 26 27 37 46 49 Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 2008 2020 Midrash Tanḥuma Tetzaveh 5th 10th centuries In e g The Metsudah Midrash Tanchuma Shemos II Translated and annotated by Avrohom Davis edited by Yaakov Y H Pupko volume 4 Shemos volume 2 pages 145 205 Monsey New York Eastern Book Press 2004 Talmud Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 26b 57a Shabbat 12a 21a 31a 63b 113b 14a Eruvin 4a Pesachim 16b 24a 59a b 72b 77a 92a Yoma 5a b 7a b 14a b 15a 31b 33a b 45b 52b 57b 58b 61a 68b 71b 72b Sukkah 5a 37b 49b Taanit 11b Megillah 12a b 29b Chagigah 26b Yevamot 40a 60b 68b 87a 90a Nedarim 10b Nazir 47b Sotah 9b 36a 38a 48a b Gittin 20a b Bava Batra 8b 106b Sanhedrin 12b 34b 61b 83a b 106a Makkot 13a 17a 18a b Shevuot 8b 9b 10b 14a Avodah Zarah 10b 23b 39a Zevachim 12b 17b 19a 22b 23a 24b 26a 28b 44b 45b 59b 83b 87a 88a b 95a 97b 112b 115b 119b Menachot 6a 11a 12b 14b 25a 29a 36b 42b 49a 50a 51a 61a 73a 83a 86a b 89a 98b Chullin 7a 138a Arakhin 3b 4a 16a Keritot 5a Meilah 11b 17b Niddah 13b Sasanian Empire 6th Century In e g Talmud Bavli Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr Chaim Malinowitz and Mordechai Marcus 72 volumes Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 2006 Bede Medieval Edit Bede Of the Tabernacle and Its Vessels and of the Priestly Vestments Monkwearmouth England 720s In Bede On the Tabernacle Translated with notes and introduction by Arthur G Holder Liverpool Liverpool University Press 1994 Exodus Rabbah 36 1 38 9 10th Century In e g Midrash Rabbah Exodus Translated by Simon M Lehrman volume 3 pages 436 57 London Soncino Press 1939 Rashi Saadia Gaon The Book of Beliefs and Opinions 2 11 3 10 Baghdad Babylonia 933 Translated by Samuel Rosenblatt 125 177 New Haven Yale Univ Press 1948 Rashi Commentary Exodus 27 30 Troyes France late 11th Century In e g Rashi The Torah With Rashi s Commentary Translated Annotated and Elucidated Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg 2 375 421 Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1994 Rashbam Commentary on the Torah Troyes early 12th century In e g Rashbam s Commentary on Exodus An Annotated Translation Edited and translated by Martin I Lockshin pages 351 84 Atlanta Scholars Press 1997 Abraham ibn Ezra Commentary on the Torah France 1153 In e g Ibn Ezra s Commentary on the Pentateuch Exodus Shemot Translated and annotated by H Norman Strickman and Arthur M Silver volume 2 pages 583 628 New York Menorah Publishing Company 1996 Maimonides Maimonides Guide for the Perplexed part 1 chapter 25 part 3 chapters 4 32 45 46 47 Cairo Egypt 1190 In e g Moses Maimonides The Guide for the Perplexed Translated by Michael Friedlander pages 34 257 323 357 362 369 New York Dover Publications 1956 Hezekiah ben Manoah Hizkuni France circa 1240 In e g Chizkiyahu ben Manoach Chizkuni Torah Commentary Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk volume 2 pages 595 610 Jerusalem Ktav Publishers 2013 Nachmanides Commentary on the Torah Jerusalem circa 1270 In e g Ramban Nachmanides Commentary on the Torah Translated by Charles B Chavel volume 2 pages 471 509 New York Shilo Publishing House 1973 The Zohar Zohar 2 179b 187b Spain late 13th Century In e g The Zohar Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon 5 volumes London Soncino Press 1934 Bahya ben Asher Commentary on the Torah Spain early 14th century In e g Midrash Rabbeinu Bachya Torah Commentary by Rabbi Bachya ben Asher Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk volume 4 pages 1276 310 Jerusalem Lambda Publishers 2003 Jacob ben Asher Baal Ha Turim Commentary on the Torah Early 14th century In e g Baal Haturim Chumash Shemos Exodus Translated by Eliyahu Touger edited and annotated by Avie Gold volume 2 pages 845 79 Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 2000 Isaac ben Moses Arama Akedat Yizhak The Binding of Isaac Late 15th century In e g Yitzchak Arama Akeydat Yitzchak Commentary of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama on the Torah Translated and condensed by Eliyahu Munk volume 1 pages 471 83 New York Lambda Publishers 2001 Modern Edit Isaac Abravanel Commentary on the Torah Italy between 1492 and 1509 In e g Abarbanel Selected Commentaries on the Torah Volume 2 Shemos Exodus Translated and annotated by Israel Lazar pages 329 68 Brooklyn CreateSpace 2015 Abraham Saba Ẓeror ha Mor Bundle of Myrrh Fez Morocco circa 1500 In e g Tzror Hamor Torah Commentary by Rabbi Avraham Sabba Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk volume 3 pages 1123 46 Jerusalem Lambda Publishers 2008 Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno Commentary on the Torah Venice 1567 In e g Sforno Commentary on the Torah Translation and explanatory notes by Raphael Pelcovitz pages 432 43 Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1997 Moshe Alshich Commentary on the Torah Safed circa 1593 In e g Moshe Alshich Midrash of Rabbi Moshe Alshich on the Torah Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk volume 2 pages 551 62 New York Lambda Publishers 2000 Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz Kli Yakar Lublin 1602 In e g Kli Yakar Shemos Translated by Elihu Levine volume 2 pages 225 72 Southfield Michigan Targum Press Feldheim Publishers 2007 Hobbes Avraham Yehoshua Heschel Commentaries on the Torah Cracow Poland mid 17th century Compiled as Chanukat HaTorah Edited by Chanoch Henoch Erzohn Piotrkow Poland 1900 In Avraham Yehoshua Heschel Chanukas HaTorah Mystical Insights of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel on Chumash Translated by Avraham Peretz Friedman pages 189 90 Southfield Michigan Targum Press Feldheim Publishers 2004 Thomas Hobbes Leviathan 3 34 40 42 England 1651 Reprint edited by C B Macpherson pages 431 503 04 572 585 Harmondsworth England Penguin Classics 1982 Saul Levi Morteira Saul Levi Morteira Eulogy for David Masiah Budapest 1652 Guarded Him as the Pupil of His Eye Amsterdam 1645 In Marc Saperstein Exile in Amsterdam Saul Levi Morteira s Sermons to a Congregation of New Jews pages 527 35 Cincinnati Hebrew Union College Press 2005 Edward Taylor 18 Meditation Heb 13 10 Wee Have an Altar In Preliminary Meditations First Series Cambridge Massachusetts Early 18th Century In Harold Bloom American Religious Poems 21 22 New York Library of America 2006 Chaim ibn Attar Ohr ha Chaim Venice 1742 In Chayim ben Attar Or Hachayim Commentary on the Torah Translated by Eliyahu Munk volume 2 pages 788 814 Brooklyn Lambda Publishers 1999 Hirsch Yaakov Culi and Yitzchak Magriso Me am Lo ez Constantinople 1746 In Jacob Culi and Yitzchak Magriso The Torah Anthology Me am Lo ez Translated by Aryeh Kaplan volume 9 pages 141 265 Jerusalem Moznaim Publishing 1990 Nachman of Breslov Teachings Bratslav Ukraine before 1811 In Rebbe Nachman s Torah Breslov Insights into the Weekly Torah Reading Exodus Leviticus Compiled by Chaim Kramer edited by Y Hall pages 223 31 Jerusalem Breslov Research Institute 2011 Samson Raphael Hirsch The Pentateuch Exodus Translated by Isaac Levy volume 2 pages 509 75 Gateshead Judaica Press 2nd edition 1999 Originally published as Der Pentateuch uebersetzt und erklaert Frankfurt 1867 1878 Luzzatto Samuel David Luzzatto Shadal Commentary on the Torah Padua 1871 In e g Samuel David Luzzatto Torah Commentary Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk volume 3 pages 858 66 New York Lambda Publishers 2012 Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter Sefat Emet Gora Kalwaria Ger Poland before 1906 Excerpted in The Language of Truth The Torah Commentary of Sefat Emet Translated and interpreted by Arthur Green pages 123 27 Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1998 Reprinted 2012 Alexander Alan Steinbach Sabbath Queen Fifty four Bible Talks to the Young Based on Each Portion of the Pentateuch pages 61 64 New York Behrman s Jewish Book House 1936 Benno Jacob The Second Book of the Bible Exodus London 1940 Translated by Walter Jacob pages 809 28 Hoboken New Jersey Ktav Publishing House 1992 Mann Thomas Mann Joseph and His Brothers Translated by John E Woods 382 New York Alfred A Knopf 2005 Originally published as Joseph und seine Bruder Stockholm Bermann Fischer Verlag 1943 Isaac Mendelsohn Urim and Thummim In The Interpreter s Dictionary of the Bible volume 4 pages 739 40 Nashville Tennessee Abingdon Press 1962 Umberto Cassuto A Commentary on the Book of Exodus Jerusalem 1951 Translated by Israel Abrahams pages 369 92 Jerusalem The Magnes Press The Hebrew University 1967 Meyers Moshe Greenberg Urim and Thummim In Encyclopaedia Judaica volume 16 pages 8 9 Jerusalem Keter Publishing House 1972 Carol L Meyers The Tabernacle Menorah Missoula Montana Scholars Press 1976 Elie Munk The Call of the Torah An Anthology of Interpretation and Commentary on the Five Books of Moses Translated by E S Mazer volume 2 pages 392 425 Brooklyn Mesorah Publications 1995 Originally published as La Voix de la Thora Paris Fondation Samuel et Odette Levy 1981 Victor Avigdor Hurowitz The Priestly Account of Building the Tabernacle Journal of the American Oriental Society volume 105 number 1 January March 1985 pages 21 30 Ranon Katzoff Suffragium in Exodus Rabbah 37 2 Classical Philology volume 81 number 3 July 1986 pages 235 40 Pinchas H Peli Torah Today A Renewed Encounter with Scripture pages 85 89 Washington D C B nai B rith Books 1987 Nahman Avigad The Inscribed Pomegranate from the House of the Lord Biblical Archaeologist volume 53 number 3 September 1990 pages 157 66 Mark S Smith The Early History of God Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel pages 10 New York HarperSanFrancisco 1990 Exodus 26 40 Harvey J Fields A Torah Commentary for Our Times Volume II Exodus and Leviticus pages 69 76 New York UAHC Press 1991 Nahum M Sarna The JPS Torah Commentary Exodus The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation pages 175 95 Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1991 Nehama Leibowitz New Studies in Shemot Exodus volume 2 pages 508 34 Jerusalem Haomanim Press 1993 Reprinted as New Studies in the Weekly Parasha Lambda Publishers 2010 Walter Brueggemann The Book of Exodus In The New Interpreter s Bible Edited by Leander E Keck volume 1 pages 902 17 Nashville Abingdon Press 1994 Judith S Antonelli The Tabernacle In In the Image of God A Feminist Commentary on the Torah pages 203 12 Northvale New Jersey Jason Aronson 1995 Ellen Frankel The Five Books of Miriam A Woman s Commentary on the Torah pages 133 35 New York G P Putnam s Sons 1996 W Gunther Plaut The Haftarah Commentary pages 195 202 New York UAHC Press 1996 Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden Teaching Torah A Treasury of Insights and Activities pages 134 39 Denver A R E Publishing 1997 Cornelis Van Dam The Urim and Thummin A Means of Revelation in Ancient Israel Winona Lake Indiana Eisenbrauns 1997 Steinsaltz Adin Steinsaltz Simple Words Thinking About What Really Matters in Life 156 New York Simon amp Schuster 1999 Exodus to Deuteronomy A Feminist Companion to the Bible Second Series Edited by Athalya Brenner pages 34 38 Sheffield Sheffield Academic Press 2000 Sara Paasche Orlow Finding Our Home in the Temple and the Temple in Our Homes In The Women s Torah Commentary New Insights from Women Rabbis on the 54 Weekly Torah Portions Edited by Elyse Goldstein pages 160 63 Woodstock Vermont Jewish Lights Publishing 2000 Martin R Hauge The Descent from the Mountain Narrative Patterns in Exodus 19 40 Sheffield Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Press 2001 Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg The Particulars of Rapture Reflections on Exodus pages 351 97 New York Doubleday 2001 Lainie Blum Cogan and Judy Weiss Teaching Haftarah Background Insights and Strategies pages 481 88 Denver A R E Publishing 2002 Michael Fishbane The JPS Bible Commentary Haftarot pages 123 28 Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 2002 Alan Lew This Is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared The Days of Awe as a Journey of Transformation 53 55 Boston Little Brown and Co 2003 Robert Alter The Five Books of Moses A Translation with Commentary pages 471 86 New York W W Norton amp Co 2004 Jeffrey H Tigay Exodus In The Jewish Study Bible Edited by Adele Berlin and Marc Zvi Brettler pages 171 79 New York Oxford University Press 2004 Professors on the Parashah Studies on the Weekly Torah Reading Edited by Leib Moscovitz pages 142 44 Jerusalem Urim Publications 2005 W Gunther Plaut The Torah A Modern Commentary Revised Edition Revised edition edited by David E S Stern pages 561 79 New York Union for Reform Judaism 2006 William H C Propp Exodus 19 40 2A 310 538 New York Anchor Bible 2006 kugel Suzanne A Brody Aaron s Adornments In Dancing in the White Spaces The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems 82 Shelbyville Kentucky Wasteland Press 2007 James L Kugel How To Read the Bible A Guide to Scripture Then and Now pages 358 New York Free Press 2007 Kenton L Sparks Enuma Elish and Priestly Mimesis Elite Emulation in Nascent Judaism Journal of Biblical Literature volume 126 2007 637 42 Priestly Mimesis in the Tabernacle Narrative Exodus 25 40 The Mishkan The Tabernacle Its Structure Its Vessels and the Kohen s Vestments Brooklyn Artscroll 2008 The Torah A Women s Commentary Edited by Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea L Weiss pages 473 94 New York Women of Reform Judaism URJ Press 2008 Marla Brettschneider When the Fabulous Is Holy Parashat Tetzaveh Exodus 27 20 30 10 In Torah Queeries Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible Edited by Gregg Drinkwater Joshua Lesser and David Shneer foreword by Judith Plaskow pages 106 08 New York New York University Press 2009 Thomas B Dozeman Commentary on Exodus pages 633 63 Grand Rapids Michigan William B Eerdmans Publishing Company 2009 Reuven Hammer Entering Torah Prefaces to the Weekly Torah Portion pages 119 24 New York Gefen Publishing House 2009 Rebecca G S Idestrom Echoes of the Book of Exodus in Ezekiel Journal for the Study of the Old Testament volume 33 number 4 June 2009 pages 489 510 Motifs from Exodus found in Ezekiel including the call narrative divine encounters captivity signs plagues judgment redemption tabernacle temple are considered Sacks Bruce Wells Exodus In Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Edited by John H Walton volume 1 pages 253 57 Grand Rapids Michigan Zondervan 2009 Jonathan Sacks Covenant amp Conversation A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible Exodus The Book of Redemption pages 217 48 Jerusalem Maggid Books 2010 Avrohom Biderman The Mishkan The Tabernacle Its Structure and its Sacred Vessels Brooklyn Artscroll 2011 James W Watts Aaron and the Golden Calf in the Rhetoric of the Pentateuch Journal of Biblical Literature volume 130 number 3 fall 2011 pages 417 30 William G Dever The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel When Archaeology and the Bible Intersect pages 244 Grand Rapids Michigan William B Eerdmans Publishing Company 2012 Herzfeld Shmuel Herzfeld hah The Source of Spirituality In Fifty Four Pick Up Fifteen Minute Inspirational Torah Lessons pages 117 22 Jerusalem Gefen Publishing House 2012 Torah MiEtzion New Readings in Tanach Shemot Edited by Ezra Bick and Yaakov Beasley pages 377 410 Jerusalem Maggid Books 2012 Michael B Hundley Gods in Dwellings Temples and Divine Presence in the Ancient Near East Atlanta Society of Biblical Literature 2013 Jonathan Sacks Lessons in Leadership A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible pages 99 104 New Milford Connecticut Maggid Books 2015 Jonathan Sacks Essays on Ethics A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible pages 123 29 New Milford Connecticut Maggid Books 2016 Shai Held The Heart of Torah Volume 1 Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion Genesis and Exodus pages 194 202 Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 2017 Steven Levy and Sarah Levy The JPS Rashi Discussion Torah Commentary pages 62 64 Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 2017 External links Edit Texts Edit Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translation Hear the parashah chanted Archived 2011 06 10 at the Wayback Machine Hear the parashah read in HebrewCommentaries Edit Academy for Jewish Religion California Academy for Jewish Religion New York Aish com Akhlah The Jewish Children s Learning Network Aleph Beta Academy American Jewish University Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies Anshe Emes Synagogue Los Angeles Ari Goldwag Ascent of Safed Bar Ilan University Chabad org The Desert Tabernacle eparsha com G dcast Jewish Agency for Israel Jewish Theological Seminary The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash Kabbala Online Mechon Hadar Miriam Aflalo Archived 2012 04 06 at the Wayback Machine MyJewishLearning com Ohr Sameach Orthodox Union OzTorah Torah from Australia Oz Ve Shalom Netivot Shalom Pardes from Jerusalem Patheos Professor James L Kugel Professor Michael Carasik Rabbi Dov Linzer Rabbi Fabian Werbin Rabbi Jonathan Sacks Rabbi Shimon com Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld Rabbi Stan Levin Reconstructionist Judaism Archived 2017 12 27 at the Wayback Machine Sephardic Institute Archived 2011 07 26 at the Wayback Machine Shiur com 613 org Jewish Torah Audio Tanach Study Center Teach613 org Torah Education at Cherry Hill TheTorah com Torah from Dixie Torah org TorahVort com Union for Reform Judaism United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism What s Bothering Rashi Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Yeshiva University Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tetzaveh amp oldid 1140227468, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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