The Context:
Moshe’s yahrzeit is the 7th of Adar, which often falls in the week of Parshas Tetzaveh. Commentators point out that this parshah is the only one since his birth in which Moshe’s name does not appear. A fitting allusion to his passing.
Yet this requires more explanation: Chassidus teaches that a righteous person’s presence is felt even more in this world after their passing. Why, then, would Moshe’s passing be alluded to in his absence from the parshah?
The Explanation:
How is the righteous person more present in this world after their passing? The soul of the person ascends to their essence, withdrawing from any manifest, contained revelation in the body. Now, the essence of the soul shines unrestrained, filling even this world with greater influence of the righteous person.
The name of a person is only used in relation to others. When we need to call the person to focus their attention on us, we use their name. The name does not touch the essence of the person, their essence remains the same with or without their name. Thus, the name alludes to the dimension of the person which can be seen, contained, and grasped. The essence, however, transcends the name.
The absence of Moshe’s name from the parshah, then, alludes to his passing because it reinforces the idea that Moshe’s diminished form of revelation, his name, is absent, but his essence which cannot be limited to a name is fully revealed. This is why the parshah is still full of references to Moshe, “you shall take, you shall command,” because the unrestrained essence of Moshe is even more present after his passing.
Numbered Allusions:
This idea is also alluded to in the numerical value of Tetzavah — 501. The sages associate the number 500 with the full expression of the natural realm. The Midrash states, “The Holy One Blessed be He traveled the distance of 500 years to acquire for Himself a name,” meaning, G-d’s “name” which refers to His acts within creation is acquired after “500” years which is the summation of the natural world.
Thus, 501 alludes to the essence of G-d which transcends any relationship with creation.
This is also alluded to in the number of verses in the parshah, 101. The number 100 similarly alludes to a completed natural entity, having the perfection of ten times ten. 101 again alludes to a essence that is outside the bounds of natural perfection.
