What do you think of when you think of the word mitzvah?
בָּרוּךְ אָתַה יי אֶלׂהֶינוּ, מֶלֶךְ הַעוׂלָם, אָשֶר קִדְשָנוּ בְּמִצְוּׂתַיו, וְצִוָּנוּ...
Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu, melech haolam, asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu...
Blessed are You Adonai our God, Sovereign of the Universe, who sanctifies us with God's commandments, and commands us...
This is the traditional translation of a common prayer/blessing. What do you understand this to mean?
Context:
This week's Torah portion is called Tetzaveh. It follows Terumah which provides the Israelites with detailed instructions for building the mishkan, the tabernacle in which God will dwell as the Israelites wander in the wilderness. Instead of ending the previous portion at the end of the chapter, this portion, Tetzaveh, starts with the last two verses of Exodus 27:20-21.
(20) You shall further instruct the Israelites to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling lamps regularly. (21) Aaron and his sons shall set them up in the Tent of Meeting, outside the curtain which is over [the Ark of] the Pact, [to burn] from evening to morning before ADONAI. It shall be a due from the Israelites for all time, throughout the ages.
Isaac Abarbanel (Portuguese commentator who lived from 1437-1508), asks the question: Why are the instructions for kindling the lamps given before the Tabernacle-Mishkan was constructed and this lampstand made?
Why do you think these verses are carried over from last week's portion (about the construction of the Tabernacle) and this week's portion (about the clothing of the priests and procedure for investing them with their authority?
Sefat Emet. Book. The eponymous work of Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib (AKA the Sefat Emet). 1847-1905. It is a part of the Mussar tradition, a practice in which a person focuses one character traits as a means for improving one's life.
Sefat Emet: Teztaveh 2
In the Midrash: "You command"... "Adonai named you verdant olive tree, fair, with choice fruit" (Jer. 11:16). There is a hidden point within the souls of Israel, of which Scripture says: "If you seek it as you do silver and search for it as for treasures..." (Prov.2:4). This inwardness reveals itself as a result of great effort, a struggle of the soul and the body, to purify the physical. Thus we are like the verdant olive tree: what an effort it is to bring forth that oil!
Now Scripture also says: "For a commandment is a candle and Torah is light, and the way to life is the rebuke that disciplines" (Prov. 6:23). The souls of Israel are the wicks that draw the oil after the light. Thus we read: "Let them take olive oil unto you" (Ex. 27:20)--drawn toward the wick. The mitzvot are the lamps, vessels in which oil and wick are joined to the light.
All these elements exist within every person, just as they exist within Israel as a whole. The Midrash here also quotes: "From them shall come cornerstones, from them tent-pegs" (Zech 10:4). God made humans upright, bearing within themselves the perfect totality (shleimut) of all creatures, from the deepest depths to the greatest heights. Aaron the priest was chosen to serve God; this was for the sake of Israel, for after the sin they contained a mixture of good and evil. The Blessed Holy One's counsel was to choose one person in each generation to represent purity, through whom purity would flow to all of Israel.
You can do the same. Set aside one quality, or one special mitzvah, about which you take fabulous care. Through this you will be able to draw light and redemption to all your qualities. "From them shall come tent-pegs"--the choosing of Aaron set firm grounding for Israel's tent. The blessed Holy One raised him up, removed him from all evil. It was through this [uplifted on] that Israel were always able to return, to cleave again to their blessed creator.
According to the Sefat Emet, what does it mean to be commanded?
Why is it important to focus on a character trait?
(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ב) דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְיִקְחוּ־לִ֖י תְּרוּמָ֑ה מֵאֵ֤ת כָּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרוּמָתִֽי׃
(1) ADONAI spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts; you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart so moves them.
The above verses are from last week's Torah portion.
What does it mean that God tells the people to bring gifts rather than commands the people?
What does it mean for a person's heart to be so moved?
Arthur Green's Commentary on Sefat Emet, Exodus, Tetzaveh 2
The metaphor of the olive tree also contains an unspoken understanding that is only through the pain of divine rebuke--the pressing of the oil--that its fine oil is drawn forth. Israel is made pure by its suffering, drawn after the wick that makes its fire burn.
As God appoints a leader for the people, so may you also appoint a "leader" within your own religious life. The mitzvah or quality that you choose to make your own in this special way will become a mirror to your soul. Choose it wisely--or let it choose you.
Rabbi Arthur Green, United States of America. 1941- .
Do you think personal growth requires pain or discomfort? Why or why not?
What are some character traits that you value in yourself?
What traits do you value in others?
Why do Aaron and his sons require special clothing?
What does a person's clothing say about their character?
Is it possible to place too much meaning no the clothing a person wears?