Moshe Not Mentioned in the Parsha

Check this link for a quick, interesting analysis of this question on Parshas Tetzaveh.

Another nice vort (though a tad lengthy) can be found here.

Inspired by some of these teachings, here is the dvar Torah I wrote for the school newsletter at one of the schools where I teach:

Moshe Not Mentioned? Of Course He Is!

Is Tetzaveh really the only parsha since the birth of Moshe that does not mention him? No. And, truth be told, Moshe is absolutely mentioned in the parsha. Huh?


Firstly, Moshe's name does not appear in many of the parshas in the book of Devarim, because Moshe is speaking from Devarim chapter 5 through Devarim chapter 26.

Secondly, Moshe is clearly mentioned in Parshat Tetzaveh – 5 times in the first 5 pesukim, in fact! V'ata Tetzaveh – you will command; v'yikchu eilekha – they should bring to you [the oil] (27:20); V'ata Hakrev Eilekha – you bring close to yourself [Aharon and sons] (28:1); v'asita bigdei kodesh – you will make sacred vestments (28:2); v'ata t'daber – you will speak to everyone… (28:3)

Many argue that Moshe's name does not appear in the parsha because of the threat he gave Hashem in Shmot 32:32 to erase him from the Torah if Hashem would not forgive the Bnei Yisrael for the sin of the Golden Calf. The flaw in the argument is that when the Torah was once upon a time completed in a three year cycle, a. there was no parshat Tetzaveh as we know it now, and b. there were more "parshas" that did not contain Moshe's name!

So why do we make a big deal about it here? Most likely because this is the parsha closest to the threat (Ki Tisa is next week's parsha). Others suggest it is the parsha closest to Moshe's yarzeit (7 Adar – which is today), so Moshe's name is absent to indicate our mourning for him.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explained that Moshe was trying to show Hashem that Hashem's relationship with the Jewish people was so important to him, Moshe was willing to sacrifice everything in order to make sure that relationship could survive even the biggest threat – a seemingly harmful venture into idolatry.

In this way, the parsha is the Torah's tribute to Moshe – he is not mentioned by name, but he is very clearly a part of the proceedings. As the greatest leader of the Jewish people, Moshe was even ready to give up his connection to the greatest gift Hashem has given the world, the Torah, in order to preserve the relationship the Jewish people have with Hashem. The Torah left his name out, but it could never remove his connection to the mishkan and efforts to bring holiness to the Jewish people.

Our relationship with Hashem is what makes us, the Jewish people, the special nation that we are. Are we ready to sacrifice everything for the sake of the Torah? Are we ready to give up everything we have so that we can make that relationship with Hashem even stronger?

While I certainly hope we won't have to give things up in order to keep this relationship with Hashem strong, I do believe we can always be taking positive steps toward making our relationship with Hashem stronger.

We always talk about learning Torah and doing Mitzvot. In addition, let us commit to thinking about Hashem and talking about Hashem when we do these things, so we can bring home the idea that we are constantly working to maintain and improve our relationship with Hashem.