פרשת תצוה

Dvar Torah

Dvar Torah

                                                                     

The Power Of Speech

(שמות כז:כ) וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ כָּתִית לַמָּאוֹר לְהַעֲלֹת נֵר תָּמִיד:

"And you should command the people..." (27:20)

The Torah begins this Parasha in a very unusual way, "and you should command..." Normally when Hashem tells Moshe to do something, the Torah says, "and Hashem spoke to Moshe..." Why does the Torah choose to introduce this Parasha in such a strange manner?

Our Rabbis tell us the Parasha started this way because the name of Moshe does not appear in Parashat T'tzaveh at all.

Why was Moshe’s name left out?

The Rabbis teach us that when the Jewish people made the golden calf, Hashem told Moshe that He would destroy the entire nation and replace the Jewish people with Moshe’s descendants.  Upon hearing this, Moshe cried and begged Hashem not to carry out this decree.  He also told Hashem that if all the Jews would be destroyed and not forgiven, Hashem should erase his, Mose’s, name from the Torah.

In truth, Hashem did forgive the Jews, so why is Moshe’s name not mentioned?

The Torah is showing us a lesson about speech.  We might not realize the power that every word we speak has.  Moshe said, "erase my name from the Torah." We see that even though the Jewish people were forgiven, Moshe’s name was erased from this Parasha to show that because Moshe had spoken these words,  Hashem fulfilled part of them.

We see from here that each and every word that we speak is so valuable and important.  Each word is measured and counted.  With this in mind, how careful should we be when we speak to our family, friends, and classmates.

Shabbat Shalom!!! 

Parsha Questions

1) Why does this סדרה start with the word ואתה - and you, and not ויאמר ה' אל משה?

(שמות כז:כ עיין בעל הטורים)

2) What does the גמרא tell us that we see from here? (מכות יא.)

3) What kind of oil was used in the משכן to light the מנורה? (שמות כז:כ)

4) Explain שמן זית זך.  (רש"י שמות כז:כ)

5) Where was the מנורה kept and lit? (Be exact in it’s location.) (שמות כז:כא)

6) List the בגדי כהונה? (שמות כח:ד & כח:לו)

7) List which בגדים were for the כהן גדול and which were for the כהן הדיוט. (עיין רש"י שמות כח:מ)

8) What were the בגדי כהונה made from? (שמות כח:ה)

9) What was engraved into the two אבני שהם?  (שמות כח:ט-י)

10) In was order were these written? List all. (רש"י שמות כח:י)

11) How many letters were on each? (רש"י שמות כח:י)

12) Why was the חושן called חושן משפט? (רש"י שמות כח:טו)

13) What was placed on the חושן? (שמות כח:יז-כ)

14) What should be written on the אבני מילוים? (שמות כח:כא)

15) What was on the bottom of the מעיל? (שמות כח:לג-לד)

16) Why were these SO important? (שמות כח:לה)

17) What was engraved on the ציץ? (שמות כח:לו)

18) During the inauguration of the כהנים, a פר was brought as a sin offering. For what sin did this offering atone? (רש"י שמות כט:א)

19) What should be made for the קטרת to be burned on? (שמות ל:א)

20) וכפר אהרן על קרנתיו אחת בשנה. When was this? (רש"י שמות ל:י)

Torah Math

(שמות כז:כ) וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ אֵלֶיךָ שֶׁמֶן זַיִת זָךְ כָּתִית לַמָּאוֹר

This week’s Parasha begins by telling us of the Mitzvah of lighting. The Pasuk says; “and you shall command the children of Israel, and they shall take for you pure olive oil to light...”.  Although this Mitzvah is clearly referring to the Menorah lit in the Bet Hamikdash there are two other Mitzvot of lighting that we have -- Shabbat and Chanukah.  Each of these Mitzvot are commandments that woman are obligated in.  This is hinted in the words of this Pasuk.  The word “commanded” has the numeric value of 501, the same as the words “woman are obligated” telling us that there are these Mitzvot that woman are to perform.  Check it out!

                                                תצוה=נשים צוה=501       

TORAH TRIVIA!

Super Stumper Question:

This a question to ask others and discuss the answers.

Answer to last week’s question:  Was Haman a Jew?  According to the opinion that Haman was a former salve to Mordechai, since he was now free all of the Halachot of being Jewish applied to him. 

Question of the week:  Based on the answer above, where do you see this in the text of the Megilah?

 FOOD Section!

Can you guess what this recipe connects to this week’s Parsha?

Spice Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

3 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

2 sticks margarine, softened

2 cups of sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups soy or almond milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 3 (8-inch) round cake pans.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and ground cloves.

Cream the margarine, sugar, and salt until light and fluffy with an electric mixer. Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the dry ingredients and the buttermilk alternately beginning and ending with the dry.

When the batter is well mixed and smooth, divide it amongst the 3 prepared cake pans and bake about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes come out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out to cool completely. If the cake layers have domed a little during the baking process, slice off the tops with a long serrated knife so they are flat and even.

Place the first layer, cut side down, on a cake pedestal or serving plate. Spoon about 3/4 cup of buttercream onto the center of the cake. Spread it almost to the very edges with an offset spatula. Repeat with the remaining 2 layers. Garnish the top of the cake with finely chopped nuts and cocoa powder.