Parshah Summary – P’sha
The parshah opens with the commandment (Tetzaveh, “you shall command”) that the Children of Israel should bring pure olive oil to kindle the Ner Tamid – the “everlasting flame” of the Menorah, which Aaron is to kindle each day, “from evening till morning.” The priestly garments, to be worn by the kohanim while serving in the Sanctuary, are then described: 1) the ketonet – linen tunic; 2) the mikhnasayim – linen breeches; 3) the mitznefet or migba’at – linen turban; and 4) the avnet – a long sash wound above the waist.
In addition, the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) wore: 5) the efod—an apron-like garment made of blue, purple, and red-dyed wool, linen, and gold thread; 6) the hoshen—a breastplate containing twelve precious stones inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; 7) the me’il—a cloak of blue wool, with gold bells and decorative pomegranates on its hem; and 8) the tzitz—a golden plate worn on the forehead, bearing the inscription “Holy to Hashem.” The parshah also describes instructions for the seven-day initiation of Aaron and his four sons—Nadav, Avihu, Elazar and Itamar—into the priesthood, and for the making of the golden altar, on which the ketoret (incense) was burned
Torah of Awakening: Jewish Meditation Teaching
וְאַתָּ֞ה תְּצַוֶּ֣ה אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְיִקְח֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יךָ שֶׁ֣מֶן זַ֥יִת זָ֛ךְ כָּתִ֖ית לַמָּא֑וֹר לְהַעֲלֹ֥ת נֵ֖ר תָּמִֽיד׃ You shall command the Children of Israel to bring you oil of olives, pure, crushed for illumination, for kindling lamps continuously… - Shemot (Exodus) 27:20, Parshat Tetzaveh
Once, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak began greeting everyone after prayers as if they had just returned from a long journey:“Shalom Aleikhem! Shalom aleikhem!” exclaimed the rebbe to each and every congregant. When they gave him strange looks, he responded: “Why do you look surprised? While the hazan was leading the prayers, you weren’t here at all. This one was in the market place, this one was on a cargo ship, this one was relaxing at home. When the davening stopped, you all returned, so I greeted you: shalom aleikhem!”
There is an unconscious tendency to retreat into our minds, preferring thoughts about reality over actual Reality. It is like going to a concert, but instead of listening to the musicians play, you put on headphones and listen to a recording of a performance recorded some time in the past. At best, our inclination toward inattention causes us to lack depth and Presence in our lives; at worst, it can cause depression and various forms of insanity, as we lose connection with the truth of what is happening in our immediate experience and become swallowed up by the virtual reality of thought. It seems to be the nature of the mind to constantly move; how can we overcome this tendency and become a beacon of Presence in an insane world? לְהַעֲלֹ֥ת נֵ֖ר תָּמִֽיד – for kindling the eternal flame… There is an aspect of awareness that is constant – whether we’re asleep or awake, whether we’re angry or openhearted, there is always this basic level of awareness; we don’t have to create it – it is already תָּמִֽיד tamid – constant. לְהַעֲלֹ֥ת – for kindling… But, since the tendency is for awareness to be repeatedly drawn in by the dramas of the mind and heart, we have to “kindle it” so to speak. Just as when you are asleep, you are a little bit aware, otherwise no one would be able to wake you up; but once someone does wake you up, your awareness greatly increases. So too, there is a wayלְהַעֲלֹ֥ת נֵ֖ר תָּמִֽיד l’ha’alot ner tamid – to wake up even more. And how do we do that? וְיִקְח֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יךָ שֶׁ֣מֶן זַ֥יִת – they shall bring you oil of olives… Olives have a hard, inedible pit within them. Similarly, there is ordinarily a hard, seemingly impenetrable pit at the core of who we are. From the moment we wake up in the morning until we fall asleep at night, there is that sense that “I” have woken up, “I” am going to sleep. When we feel angry at someone, there is a sense that “I” am angry. And even if we let go of the anger and we feel expansive and forgiving, there is still the sense that “I” am expansive and forgiving. That is the pit – the pit is the “I.” And, just like you can’t eat the pit, so it seems that the “I” is irreducible; no matter what the experience, it is always “I” that am having it. זָ֛ךְ כָּתִ֖ית לַמָּא֑וֹר – pure, crushed for illumination… But, just as the olive pit is crushed along with the fruit to make olive oil, so too that hard sense of “me” known as ego can be “crushed” into oil, and that oil becomes fuel for consciousness – fuel for enlightenment. How do we get the “oil” from the “pit” of self and burn it in the light of awareness? The essential thing is not to try to control your mind, not to try to be non-judgmental or to think less, but rather to simply to notice what is present in this moment; that “just noticing” is non-judgmental; that “just noticing” is the mind becoming still. You have thoughts and feelings? Just notice that there are thoughts and feelings. Let your awareness rest in the actual truth of your experience in this moment – being present with your feelings as they arise and fall, being present with your body and the rise and fall of your breathing, being the perceiving Presence behind your thoughts. In this way, we naturally let go of the urge to retreat into our minds, which is what creates the sense of “me,” the hard pit of ego, and instead feel ourselves as the Luminous Presence within which the Mystery of this moment is unfolding. בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵד֩ – In the tent of the time of meeting… The word מוֹעֵד mo’ed means both “special time” and “meeting.” It can also be read asוְעֵד מmem v’ed – “merging and witnessing.” The letter מ mem is מַיִם mayim, “water” which represents “fluidity,” “merging.” The word עֵד ed is “witness.” Thus, we can understand מוֹעֵד mo’ed as the special time of merging through the witnessing awareness that meets the moment; in other words, meditation – the practice of sustained Presence. מִח֨וּץ לַפָּרֹ֜כֶת אֲשֶׁ֣ר עַל־הָעֵדֻ֗ת – on the outside of the concealing curtain which is over the tablets… The word הָעֵדֻת ha’eidut, indicating the tablets upon which are written the Aseret Hadibrot, the “Ten Commandments,” doesn’t actually mean tablets at all; that would be לוחות lukhot. Rather, עֵדֻת eidut is again the plural of עֵד ed, “witness.” This “witness” is behind the פָּרֹכֶת parokhet – behind the curtain – you can’t see the “witness.” This is exactly the nature of consciousness. Consciousness sees everything else, but just like the eyeball, it cannot see itself. It is a mystery to itself, indicating that the fruit of spiritual awakening is not any new piece of information or expanded knowledge, but rather the awareness of the Nothing – the is-ness beyond all understanding that is forever behind the “curtain,” so to speak. And yet, you are the witness – you are behind the curtain. You can’t understand consciousness, but you can be conscious – you can be present – and in doing so, you can awaken out of the “dream” of the mind. זָ֛ךְ כָּתִ֖ית – pure, crushed… But to do this in a way that is truly זָ֛ךְ zakh, “pure,” the olive pits have to be כָּתִ֖ית katit – “crushed.” This means that when suffering comes our way, when things go wrong, when we suffer loss, when we experience anger or worry or fear, we must bring awareness into our feelings. Let the feelings be there, without elaborating upon them too much in thought, without blaming or trying to figure out how to avoid them in the future. לַמָּא֑וֹר –for illumination… Instead, let their energy crush the pit of ego, the pit of taking-for-granted, the pit of resistance to what is, and return to humble receptivity. The feeling of pain is not necessarily pleasant, but it is temporary, and it is the suffering that leads to greater מָּא֑וֹר ma’or, greater illumination. This Presence-in-Suffering, for the sake of illumination, is the Path of נ Nun. In this week of Shabbat Tetzaveh, the Sabbath of Command, may we receive this mitzvah – this commandment – to ignite the eternal flame of awareness with the oil that is pressed from us through the suffering comes our way. And as our light increases, so too may we transform our actions and “crush” any stuck patterns that create more negativity in ourselves and in our relationships. May the blessing of this consciousness feed the movement of evolution speedily in this broken world, bringing forth our yet-unrealized potential for lasting peace…
Read past teachings on Tetzaveh HERE.
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