The opening of Parshas Tetzaveh is striking. Instead of the familiar formula “וידבר ה׳ אל משה לאמר,” the Torah begins:
ואתה תצוה את בני ישראל ויקחו אליך שמן זית זך כתית למאור להעלת נר תמיד
Moshe Rabbeinu’s name is absent.
The Baal HaTurim famously explains that this fulfills Moshe’s own words after the sin of the Golden Calf:
“מחני נא מספרך” —”Erase me from Your book.” (Shemos 32:32)
Even though Hashem forgave Klal Yisrael, the words of a tzaddik leave an imprint. One parsha would bear that consequence, and Tetzaveh was chosen.
The Vilna Gaon adds that Parshas Tetzaveh almost always falls around ז׳ אדר, the yahrtzeit of Moshe Rabbeinu. The parsha in which his name is missing coincides with the time of his passing.
But on a deeper level, perhaps this is the parsha where Moshe is most present.
“תצוה” – THE LANGUAGE OF CONNECTION
The word תצוה shares a root with צוותא, connection.
The Gemara in Talmud Bavli Berachot uses the phrase “העולם הוא צוות לזה,” the world is joined together. The Zohar teaches that a mitzvah is called so because it creates tzavsa, connection, between a Jew and Hashem.
So while Moshe’s name is absent, his essence is highlighted.
His tafkid was to be the ultimate connector, the intermediary who binds Klal Yisrael to their Father in Heaven.
MOSHE AND THE MISHKAN – THE ONE WHO RAISES
Chazal say that Moshe alone could erect the Mishkan because he embodied its very purpose, to create a dwelling where heaven and Earth meet.
In regard to Machtzis HaShekel, Hashem tells Moshe that whenever Klal Yisrael reads this parsha, “זוקף ראשן של ישראל,” you, Moshe, will raise their heads.
That language of זקיפה, straightening, lifting, is powerful.
The Yerushalmi and Bavli discuss when to straighten oneself in Shemoneh Esrei – לזקוף בשם, when invoking Hashem’s Name. The act of standing upright reflects recognition, clarity, and connection.
Moshe’s mission was always this:
- To lift our heads.
- To straighten our posture.
- To teach us to see.
When the Jews fought Amalek in Parshas Beshalach, the Torah states:
והיה כאשר ירים משה ידו וגבר ישראל וכאשר יניח ידו וגבר עמלק.
The Mishnah explains that it was not Moshe’s hands that won the war, but when Klal Yisrael looked upward and subjugated their hearts to Hashem, they prevailed.
The battle against Amalek is the battle for emunah – clarity versus coincidence, purpose versus randomness.
Moshe’s raised hands symbolized the constant lifting of perspective.
PURIM – REVEALING THE HIDDEN BEGINNING
This is the ultimate preparation for Purim.
The Chasam Sofer (in Toras Moshe) asks: What was the greatest miracle of Purim?
Not that Hashem heard the tefillos — that is natural.
Not that Achashveirosh reversed course — he was fickle.
Rather, he suggests the greatest miracle was that Achashveirosh partied for 180 days, and only on the final day did everything unravel – Vashti’s downfall, setting the entire geulah in motion.
At first glance, that seems minor. But perhaps it is profound.
The Gemara in Talmud Bavli Megillah debates from where the Megillah must be read. From the beginning? From “איש יהודי”? From “בלילה ההוא”?
We pasken from the very beginning.
Because the miracle did not start on the sleepless night.
It began at the party.
It began in what looked like spiritual failure.
Megillas Esther — megaleh hester — reveals the hidden.
The miracles were unfolding long before anyone recognized them.
HAMAN, MOSHE, AND THE DAY OF LIGHT
Chazal say Haman rejoiced when the lottery fell in Adar, the month of Moshe’s death. He saw darkness.
He did not realize that ז׳ אדר is also the day of Moshe’s birth.
The day of concealment was the day of greatest light.
Moshe’s name may be absent in Tetzaveh, but his presence is eternal.
He stands in every generation, lifting our heads, teaching us to see beyond Amalek’s facade.
THE AVODAH
Look carefully at your life.
Where are the “parties” that seem meaningless?
Where are the small details that appear coincidental?
Moshe teaches us:
- The miracle may have already begun.
- Lift your head.
- Straighten your posture.
- See the hidden light weaving itself quietly through your story.
R’ Yoni Schwartz related a story. Some time ago in Eretz Yisroel, Rav Elya Lopian, zt”l, was traveling with his talmidim on a train. Due to security threats, police were stationed in every booth of the train. In the middle of the ride, Rav Elya excused himself to his talmidim and went to use the restroom.
The Rav loved to bless Hashem, so when he came back, he told the policeman next to him in the booth, with great excitement, that he was about to say the brachah of Asher Yatzar. He explained that this brachah praises Hashem for the health He gives us and for all of His wondrous deeds. He also asked the guard to respond with “Amein” after he said the brachah. The secular guard liked this idea, and he called all the other guards over to answer “Amein” together with him. Rav Elya began to say the brachah with the greatest kavannah and enthusiasm, and when he finished, all the guards screamed “Amein” in unison so loudly that it could be heard on the other side of the train.
This loud sound startled the conductor so much that when he heard it, it caused him to pull the brakes on the train. The train stopped on its tracks, and the conductor came out asking if everything was okay. He was told that everybody was fine, and they were just saying “Amein” to the Rabbi’s brachah.
When the conductor got back in front to start driving the train again, he looked at the tracks just in front of him, and his face turned white. Right in front of where the train had stopped, a bomb was placed on the tracks, and it was big enough to blow up the entire train. If it were not for the brachah of Rav Elya and the Amein of the guards, many people would have been harmed. Indeed, as the brachah of Asher Yatzar concludes, Hashem is “Mafli La’asos,” the One who acts wondrously!
RABBI DANIEL COREN
