Parashat Tetzaveh begins with the verses: “And you shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may be set up to burn continually. In the tent of meeting, outside the veil which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening to morning before the Lord. It shall be a statute for ever to be observed throughout their generations by the people of Israel” (Leviticus 27:20-21).

Many commentators have asked why God requires that a light burn continually before Him. After all, God has no need of our light. One answer offered by the midrash is that we must serve God and provide Him light so that we will better appreciate all the good that is provided us. Thus, we read in Midrash Rabbah: “The Holy One said to Moses: They bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, not because I have need of you, but rather so that you should provide light for me as I provide it for you. Why? To raise you up before all of the nations, which will say: Israel provides light for the One who lights the world….” We might understand this text simply to be saying that we are concerned with reciprocity – I give you, and you give Me. But I do not see our relationship with God as one of give and take, nor can I accept that this is the true message of the midrash. Therefore, I would like to try to explain the command to provide an eternal light before God the way that I understand it in my day-to-day life.

I will begin with a story.

It is told that late one night, Rabbi Israel Salanter left his study hall and saw a dim light flickering in the cobbler’s window. Rabbi Salanter, who was sensitive to the hardship and suffering of every Jew, went to the cobbler’s house and found him repairing shoes by candlelight.
Rabbi Salater asked: “Why are you working so late?”
“Rabbi,” the cobbler responded, “As long as the light is burning, I must work and repair.”
Rabbi Salanter returned immediately to the study hall, and said: “My brothers and friends, I have just learned an important lesson from a cobbler: As long as the light is burning, a person must work and repair.”

This story can be understood through a verse in Proverbs (20:27): “The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord.” In other words, the human spirit is like the continually burning flame that God commanded us to light. A person can live without a limb, but without a soul there is no life. The human soul is the eternal light. Its purpose, according to our story, is work and repair. In the story, the cobbler’s work is the humble labor of day-to-day survival. That is what the story seeks to emphasize. A person can kindle an eternal light even through his most mundane activities. We need not wait for special moments of holiness and spiritual awakening in order to kindle the light of our souls. Working and repairing are the simple tools through which we light a lamp to burn continually before the Lord.

“And you shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may be set up to burn continually” (Leviticus 27:20).

1. Why “And you shall command the people of Israel,” rather than simply “Command the people of Israel”? Nachmanides explains that the intention is to convey the message: “You must command them yourself.”

• Why is it important that Moses do it himself?

• Why isn’t Jethro’s advice applicable here, as well? Jethro advised Moses to delegate authority and to appoint assistants, and Moses accepted that advice.

• Are the rules related to the Tabernacle more important that those concerning interpersonal relationships?

• Might the problem be that people in the camp were questioning the role of Aaron and his sons, or talking about other potential candidates for the Priesthood? Is that why it was necessary that Moses himself set the course?

“Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests – Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar” (Leviticus 28:1).

1. Why “bring near”?

2. Why is it necessary to specify the names of Aaron’s sons, when the text has already said: “Aaron your brother, and his sons with him”?

• Was there competition, jealousy, tension or hatred among the brothers themselves?

• Why “Aaron your brother” rather than simply “Aaron”?

• Why did God have to say all this? Wasn’t it obvious?

• Was it necessary for God to speak in order to prevent slander or allegations of nepotism?

“These are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a girdle; they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests” (Leviticus 28:4).

1. Why an “ephod”? Why must the priests wear special vestments?

2. Might this not give rise to jealousy? After all, didn’t special clothing contribute to the hatred of Joseph?

3. Spinoza claimed that religious leaders knew that people could be controlled by exploiting their superstitions. “The mob has no ruler more potent than superstition.” According to Spinoza, “Immense pains” have been taken to invest religions “with such pomp and ceremony, that it may rise superior to every shock, and be always observed with studious reverence by the whole people” (Spinoza, Preface to Theological Political Treatise).

• How would you respond to this?

• Was Moses a Spinozist?

• Are Spinoza’s observations heretical?

• Are modern men necessarily Spinozists?