Tezaveh: Kahuna

The parsha  deals with the initiation of Aaron and his 4 sons as the Kohanim (rendered in English as priests).  They were anointed as those who would minister in the sanctuary, they would perform the services for the people as a whole and for individuals in need of expiation or expression.  This is the beginning of specialization, people  relieved from the need to till the soil and raise animals because they are supported by the surplus of the community.  in our world, that describes almost everyone's work outside the home.

 The first instruction is for the people,  as a whole,  to supply clear olive oil for the Kohanim,

וְאַתָּ֞ה תְּצַוֶּ֣ה ׀ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְיִקְח֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יךָ שֶׁ֣מֶן זַ֥יִת זָ֛ךְ כָּתִ֖ית לַמָּא֑וֹר לְהַעֲלֹ֥ת נֵ֖ר תָּמִֽיד׃

You shall further instruct the Israelites to bring you clear oil of beaten olives for lighting, for kindling lamps regularly.

בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵד֩ מִח֨וּץ לַפָּרֹ֜כֶת אֲשֶׁ֣ר עַל־הָעֵדֻ֗ת יַעֲרֹךְ֩ אֹת֨וֹ אַהֲרֹ֧ן וּבָנָ֛יו מֵעֶ֥רֶב עַד־בֹּ֖קֶר לִפְנֵ֣ ... חֻקַּ֤ת עוֹלָם֙ לְדֹ֣רֹתָ֔ם מֵאֵ֖ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ס)

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 the LORD. It shall be a due from the Israelites for all time, throughout the ages.

Parshath Behaalothecha  (Numbers 8) also begins with the lighting the menorah.  There, in Bamidbar, this activity  is assigned to Aaron as compensation for the absence of a tribal temple tribute.  Every tribe, except the Levites, brought an identical offering of  silver bowls, golden spoons, incense and flour and sacrificial animals at the end of parshath Nasso. The lighting of the menorah was Aaron's redress for the absence of his tribe from this celebration of the new Tabernacle.

The lighting of the oil is a crucial act, performed daily by the Kohen.  It has a sacrificial aspect. The oil is consumed, a material that could provide human nutrition is redirected from that most fundamental task.  Instead, the oil is burned.  It provides a different service, it provides light, it allows human vision.  The light prevents bumping into the curtain that separates the ark from the rest of the world.  The light makes the layout of the sanctuary  navigable, a situation close to understanding ( but not quite there)  This kind of re-purposing scratches the surface of  the meaning of the sacrificial rite.

The lighting of the menorah requires only one person.  The person who causes the light is special. That act makes the person special. He is performing Gd's first act of creation: Let there be light.   The  daily bracha before shema begins:

הַמֵּאִיר לָאָרֶץ וְלַדָּרִים עָלֶיהָ בְּרַחֲמִים. וּבְטוּבו מְחַדֵּשׁ בְּכָל יום תָּמִיד מַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית

Who mercifully illuminates the world and those on it, and in goodness daily and constantly  renews the works of creation.

 The original Kohanim were inducted into this role with a 7 day ritual. some of which is described in this weeks parsha.  It is a ceremony of gifts: gifts to Gd via the alter, gifts to Moses, the master of these proceedings, gifts to the nascent priests.  It is a major feast; leftovers are forbidden.

Before the ritual is described, the priestly garments, the fanciest of  vestments , containing gold and jewels and engraved precious stones, is described.  The Kohen is to wear these when the service is performed. 

I live in a world that devalues ritual and cares only about the competent  performance of the task. The acts  described in Tetzaveh emphasize the trappings and the ritual.  I go through my day not knowing where the lasting value resides.    The formalities simplify the performance, they remove superfluous decisions, add solemnity, provide a checklist. Violating the formalities facilitates transgression. The task is  ritual, too.