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Why does the Torah (תורה) command oil for the menorah when last week's parsha made it voluntary? The shiur develops a fundamental yesod: the Mishkan exists entirely for Israel's benefit, not God's. The menorah and table serve as sources of wisdom and wealth, respectively, and the parsha's structure teaches that our entire relationship with Hashem (ה׳)—including prayer and mitzvos—is designed for our growth, not His needs.
Rabbi Zweig opens with three textual difficulties in Parshas Tetzaveh. First, last week the materials for the Mishkan were voluntary donations, yet here the Torah (תורה) commands the Jewish people to bring oil for the menorah. Second, the oil must be brought specifically to Moshe, unlike other donations that went to a central collection point, and Moshe himself must verify that it is pure first-drop olive oil. Third, the Torah says Aharon and his sons must arrange the menorah, yet in Parshas Emor it says only Aharon—and stranger still, the Torah describes Aharon's function with the menorah before formally installing him as Kohen Gadol in the next chapter. The shiur's central thesis resolves all these questions: the Mishkan was built entirely for the Jewish people's sake, not for God's. God does not need our service; rather, He created a system whereby we can feel close to Him and benefit spiritually and materially. The menorah and the shulchan (table) institutionalized this: connecting to the shulchan brings wealth, connecting to the menorah brings wisdom. These are not abstract metaphors—the Gemara (גמרא) teaches that when we pray today, tilting slightly northeast (corresponding to the table's position) brings wealth, while tilting southeast (toward the menorah) brings wisdom.
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Parshas Tetzaveh (Shemos 27:20–28:1)
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