Parashat Tetzaveh stands at the center of the two and a half portions that lay out the commands for building the Tabernacle. It is preceded by Parashat Terumah and completed by half of Parashat Ki Tissa. The construction of the Tabernacle is a one-time act, seemingly without direct implications for the life of the people in later generations. And yet, the Torah presents its readers with an extraordinarily detailed architectural plan. Every component is described with care; every procedure is shaped down to the finest detail.
Within this framework, the uniqueness of Moses’ character and role stands out. He is the leader of the people; he is the conductor of the work; he is the prophet who receives the instructions; and he will also be responsible for installing Aaron and his sons and for pouring the anointing oil upon their heads. But when all this is finished, Moses himself will not serve in the Tabernacle. The authority of the priesthood and the routine of its service will not be his, and his descendants will have no role in it. The revered leader and master of prophets is required to establish a form of leadership in which he himself will have no part. Just as he will not enter the land to which he leads his people, so too he will not be part of the sacred order of life of the Tabernacle that he builds and shapes. Yet here this is not a punishment, but rather the essence of Moses’ leadership. He is charged to serve and to found, to shape and to guide—but not to become part of an institutional elite that enjoys power and the honors of authority. This is his way, his personality, his mission.
A decisive expression of this mission is given in Parashat Tetzaveh and Ki Tissa through the repeated use of the word “ve’atah” (“and you”), which appears in these portions with an intensity greater than in any other part of the Torah.
“Now you, command the Children of Israel, ” opens the portion (Exodus 27:20); “Now you, have come near to you Aharon your brother and his sons with him,” (Exodus 28:1) continues it; and again, “So you, speak to each who is wise of mind whom I have filled with the spirit of practical-wisdom, that they may make Aharon’s garments…” (Exodus 28:3).
Parashat Ki Tissa echoes this: “And as for you, take you fragrant-spices… and you are to make [from] it anointing oil of holiness…” (Exodus 30:23–25); “And you, speak to the Children of Israel, saying: However: my Sabbaths you are to keep!” (Exodus 31:13).
And you … and you … and you. This is your unique role, which goes beyond the orders of monarchy and priesthood, power and honor. This is your mission. This is your place in the unfolding history of the people.
This one-time and unique status also forms the basis of God’s harsh declaration in the face of the Golden Calf. With a change of only one letter, God seeks to turn this uniqueness into the foundation of a plan of destruction: “So now, let me be, that my anger may flare up against them and I may destroy them— but you I will make into a great nation!" (Exodus 32:10). Moses, who only moments before had been immersed in the exaltation of receiving the tablets and standing in intimate encounter with his God, must now stand up and confront God and God’s wrath. Here the full meaning of the stance of “and you” is distilled. One who was called to a mission of leadership, who from the outset relinquished office and priesthood, honor and status, must now also stand before his God and refuse Him. His firm stance will save his people and make it possible to continue the struggle for their path before God—despite their weaknesses, despite their sins, despite the fact that again and again they will stray from the way.
Indeed, Moses understands well the depth of meaning in the pair of words “ve’atah – ve’atah” (“and you – and now”). The day after that bitter and reckless moment, after he shattered the tablets and violently suppressed the revolt, he again turns to his God:
Moses said to his God: “Moshe said to YHWH: See, you, you say to me: Bring this people up! But you, you have not let us know whom you will send with me! And you, you said: I have known you by name, and you have found favor in my eyes! So now— if I have, pray, found favor in your eyes, pray let me know your ways, that I may [truly] know you, in order that I may find favor in your eyes: see, indeed your people is your people!" (Exodus 33:12-13).
This time it is not God who calls out “and you” and demands that from it flow a radical “and now.” This time Moses demands something of his God. You are the one who commanded me this mission; You are the one who decreed that I must fulfill it without companions; You are the one who said that You know me by name and that I have found favor in Your eyes.
If so, then this must also be expressed in the “and now.” You must make Your ways known to me. I must know You as You have known me. If I am indeed the one repeatedly addressed by the word “and you”; if upon this “and you” there once threatened an “and now” of destruction—then it is my duty to stand before You and bear a double challenge of “and you” and of “and now.”
We are not required to be like Moses. But we are commanded to learn from him, to see in his unique leadership a guiding star by whose light we walk. In a reality of abandonment and plunder, of a golden calf and loss of direction, of hollow and sinful leadership, Moses sets before us the pillar of cloud that goes before us. Each and every one of us is called to a measure of “and you,” to stand up in the face of reality. Each and every one of us is called to hew the strength to protest, to resist, to demand, to shatter tablets and to build tablets—even before our God; all the more so before flesh-and-blood rulers.
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Rabbi Prof. Yehoyada Amir heads the Regina Jonas Rabbinical Seminary for Liberal (Reform) Judaism in Potsdam, Germany; professor (emeritus) of Jewish thought at Hebrew Union College, a Reform rabbi and theologian. He chaired the Reform Rabbinical Council in Israel and was a member of the executive committee of Rabbis for Human Rights. His book "A Small Still Voice: Theological Critical Reflections" (In Hebrew: Kol Demamah Dakah) was published in 2009.
Within this framework, the uniqueness of Moses’ character and role stands out. He is the leader of the people; he is the conductor of the work; he is the prophet who receives the instructions; and he will also be responsible for installing Aaron and his sons and for pouring the anointing oil upon their heads. But when all this is finished, Moses himself will not serve in the Tabernacle. The authority of the priesthood and the routine of its service will not be his, and his descendants will have no role in it. The revered leader and master of prophets is required to establish a form of leadership in which he himself will have no part. Just as he will not enter the land to which he leads his people, so too he will not be part of the sacred order of life of the Tabernacle that he builds and shapes. Yet here this is not a punishment, but rather the essence of Moses’ leadership. He is charged to serve and to found, to shape and to guide—but not to become part of an institutional elite that enjoys power and the honors of authority. This is his way, his personality, his mission.
A decisive expression of this mission is given in Parashat Tetzaveh and Ki Tissa through the repeated use of the word “ve’atah” (“and you”), which appears in these portions with an intensity greater than in any other part of the Torah.
“Now you, command the Children of Israel, ” opens the portion (Exodus 27:20); “Now you, have come near to you Aharon your brother and his sons with him,” (Exodus 28:1) continues it; and again, “So you, speak to each who is wise of mind whom I have filled with the spirit of practical-wisdom, that they may make Aharon’s garments…” (Exodus 28:3).
Parashat Ki Tissa echoes this: “And as for you, take you fragrant-spices… and you are to make [from] it anointing oil of holiness…” (Exodus 30:23–25); “And you, speak to the Children of Israel, saying: However: my Sabbaths you are to keep!” (Exodus 31:13).
And you … and you … and you. This is your unique role, which goes beyond the orders of monarchy and priesthood, power and honor. This is your mission. This is your place in the unfolding history of the people.
This one-time and unique status also forms the basis of God’s harsh declaration in the face of the Golden Calf. With a change of only one letter, God seeks to turn this uniqueness into the foundation of a plan of destruction: “So now, let me be, that my anger may flare up against them and I may destroy them— but you I will make into a great nation!" (Exodus 32:10). Moses, who only moments before had been immersed in the exaltation of receiving the tablets and standing in intimate encounter with his God, must now stand up and confront God and God’s wrath. Here the full meaning of the stance of “and you” is distilled. One who was called to a mission of leadership, who from the outset relinquished office and priesthood, honor and status, must now also stand before his God and refuse Him. His firm stance will save his people and make it possible to continue the struggle for their path before God—despite their weaknesses, despite their sins, despite the fact that again and again they will stray from the way.
Indeed, Moses understands well the depth of meaning in the pair of words “ve’atah – ve’atah” (“and you – and now”). The day after that bitter and reckless moment, after he shattered the tablets and violently suppressed the revolt, he again turns to his God:
Moses said to his God: “Moshe said to YHWH: See, you, you say to me: Bring this people up! But you, you have not let us know whom you will send with me! And you, you said: I have known you by name, and you have found favor in my eyes! So now— if I have, pray, found favor in your eyes, pray let me know your ways, that I may [truly] know you, in order that I may find favor in your eyes: see, indeed your people is your people!" (Exodus 33:12-13).
This time it is not God who calls out “and you” and demands that from it flow a radical “and now.” This time Moses demands something of his God. You are the one who commanded me this mission; You are the one who decreed that I must fulfill it without companions; You are the one who said that You know me by name and that I have found favor in Your eyes.
If so, then this must also be expressed in the “and now.” You must make Your ways known to me. I must know You as You have known me. If I am indeed the one repeatedly addressed by the word “and you”; if upon this “and you” there once threatened an “and now” of destruction—then it is my duty to stand before You and bear a double challenge of “and you” and of “and now.”
We are not required to be like Moses. But we are commanded to learn from him, to see in his unique leadership a guiding star by whose light we walk. In a reality of abandonment and plunder, of a golden calf and loss of direction, of hollow and sinful leadership, Moses sets before us the pillar of cloud that goes before us. Each and every one of us is called to a measure of “and you,” to stand up in the face of reality. Each and every one of us is called to hew the strength to protest, to resist, to demand, to shatter tablets and to build tablets—even before our God; all the more so before flesh-and-blood rulers.
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Rabbi Prof. Yehoyada Amir heads the Regina Jonas Rabbinical Seminary for Liberal (Reform) Judaism in Potsdam, Germany; professor (emeritus) of Jewish thought at Hebrew Union College, a Reform rabbi and theologian. He chaired the Reform Rabbinical Council in Israel and was a member of the executive committee of Rabbis for Human Rights. His book "A Small Still Voice: Theological Critical Reflections" (In Hebrew: Kol Demamah Dakah) was published in 2009.