Weekly Torah Commentaries

Our parasha portrays a rarely seen and crucial harmony between divine
desire and human motivation. It is a harmony between the exterior — the
expressed will of God, and the interior — the heart and will of human
beings. This harmony portrayed in Torah reaches its crescendo in the
blessings of the New Covenant, and its final cadence in the world to come.

As a congregational leader, I am often asked questions pertaining to
belief. People want to know the biblically correct perspective on
eschatology, salvation, and the nature of God. I am always happy to answer
these questions to the best of my ability, but it’s far less frequently
that I’m asked more practical questions: How should I live? What should I
do? What sort of person should I strive to be?

Parashat Tetzaveh and Shabbat Zachor, our readings just before Purim,
together offer a simple but urgent charge. Remember who you are. Remember
whom you serve. Remember why you were redeemed. And do not forget.

In Moses’ day the heartfelt donations were used to construct a special
place for Adonai to dwell with his people as they continued on their
journey. Today, instead of giving precious materials to construct a
physical dwelling we are learning to live less for our own worldly
successes and physical desires and more to become one with the Spirit of
God.

When we first moved to Ann Arbor, more than forty years ago, there was a
Chinese restaurant nearby with a giant lobster in a tank in its foyer. The
creature was nearly three feet long and must have weighed close to twenty
pounds. No one knew for sure how old it was—perhaps seventy-five years,
give or take. So why am I talking about lobsters and what does it have to
do with our parasha?