HEBREW WORD STUDY – BONDING – TETZAVEH – תצוה Taw Sade Vav Hei

Exodus 27:20: “And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.”

I read this passage in preparation for my Weekly Torah Portion class for those who are members of our All Access Subscription site. This verse really stood out to me because it is telling us that Moses was to command the Children of Israel. If I were the Children of Israel I would think: “Big deal, these are God’s laws so what makes Moses so high and mighty that he gets to command us? Can’t God do His own commanding?”

I read something in the works of an 18^th Century Jewish commentator Hayyim Ben Moshe Ibn Attar. He was also known as Ohr HaChaim or the light of life. He was a Hebrew master and linguist who lived in Jerusalem. He taught that the Hebrew word tetzaveh which we render as a command is more correctly in this context rendered as connecting or bonding. This is bonding in the sense of identifying with someone as an equal. God was not telling Moses to command the Children of Israel but to bond with them as an equal around this light. You see, as Rabbi Hayyim’s nickname suggests this light was the light of the life of God. It was a light that was never to be extinguished. Since the tabernacle was a picture of the human body, the light that dwells in the human body, that is the light of God will never be extinguished. When the temple was built and dedicated, replacing the tabernacle, God sent fire from heaven to ignite this lamp and it was the job of the High Priest to make sure that the fire received enough beaten oil to continue to burn.

Jesus is now our High Priest and it is His job to make sure the light of God never goes out in our bodies. Jesus just keeps feeding that flame. As you are aware, that light went out when the temple was destroyed. So too, when our bodies are destroyed or die, our Spirit is released to be joined with the Spirit of God where His Light will shine through us for eternity.

So, Moses was commanded to bring pure olive oil that has been beaten for the light. The Talmud teaches that Olive oil yields light only when it is pounded. So too are man’s greatest potential realized only under the pressures of adversity.

The fire was to burn “always” that is night and day. Yet the flame would fluctuate depending on the need for greater or lesser illumination. In other words. There would be times when Israel needs the light, life, and knowledge of God greater than at other times. When the need is there it will be provided. There are times in our lives when we really need God and there are times when things are going well and our need for Him is not as great. But that light will still shine and will only change according to our need for His life and knowledge.

Finally, there is that little thing about Moses commanding the Children of Israel. I suggest we follow Rabbi Hayyim’s teachings and render the word bonding for tetzeveh: “And thou shalt bond with the children of Israel, when they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.” This makes more sense. God wanted Moses to bond with His people as an equal over this eternal light. This would be to remind the people that although Moses was the great leader, he was equal with the Children of Israel in the eyes of God. He needed redemption just as much as they did.

I wonder how many pastors would step down from the lofty position, join hands with the lowliest of his congregation and bond with him letting him know that in the eyes of God He is just as important to God as the pastor is to God. Better yet, would the pastor actually believe it.

I mean that the pastor needs redemption just as much as the lowly, unemployed, uneducated church member needs redemption. In God’s eyes, they are both equal. After all, why would this pastor think he is greater than that lowly church member anyways? The pastor has some education, he was ordained by a panel of his peers who deemed him educated enough and sound enough in their denominational doctrines and creeds and given a role to lead a congregation. Well, Moses was educated, he was confirmed by God Himself to be a leader over Israel but yet, God wanted him to bond, be connected with his people on an equal basis. No exalting him over the people with a Moses Appreciation Day or a special bonus on his birthday. He was just plain old Moses who was given the task of leading the people. Why should the people shower him with honor and praise for doing what He was called to do? The pastorate just as the leadership of Israel was not a noble profession, it was and is a calling, an assignment to another human being who receives the right of equipment to perform this God-given task. It does not make him better than that member of the congregation who stops by the church after a hard day of work and unstops a clogged toilet. How many pastors would take that plunger and walk into that bathroom with all its defilements spilling on the floor and unstop that toilet himself and then get a mop and clean up the filth? I’ve met some, I also met a pastor who scolded his congregation for not stepping up to unclog a toilet and saying what a shame it would be if he, the ordained, most reverend, Doctor of letters had to do it.

Well, I believe Moses would have. He bonded with his people and nothing was above his dignity, even having to mess with beaten oil to keep a fire going.