Take For You

Parshat Tetzaveh

by Rabbi Avi Billet

There are four times in the Torah when the people are instructed to "take" an item or material for a purpose which is then described, using the Hebrew word "v'yikchu" (with a shva under the vav) – meaning, "and they will take."

Two of the instances appear at the beginning of last week's parsha and this week's parsha. "They will take 'terumah' to Me." (25:2) "Command the people, and they will take to you pure olive oil to light and raise a candle forever." (27:20). (This is repeated in Emor, Vayikra 24:2).

The other two instances are in Bamidbar 19:2, "Tell the Israelites and they will take to you an unblemished Red Heifer;" and Shmot 12:3, "They will take for them each a lamb for every house."

In three cases, the people are told to bring the items either to Moshe or for themselves, while the Terumah commandment is the sole difference, when they are told to bring the donation to God.

The idea of taking something to God in the context of the Mishkan is quite understandable. What is the purpose of the entire edifice, if not to become a Sanctuary for God's presence to rest on Earth?

On the other side, it is curious that the instructions for taking the oil and heifer are formulated in the same way, "V'yikchu ei'lekha" – to "and they will take to you." To Moshe? Why?

Ramban says the oil is to be brought to Moshe so he could be sure it is perfectly pure oil – that it follows halakhic specifications. Chizkuni says there is a practical reason involved – because he is the first one to enter the Mishkan, he will be the first one who needs the light to see in that windowless sanctuary.

The gemara, in the other hand, offers a different perspective, painting a contrast between Moshe's "needs" and God's non-needs. "Bring them to you, and not to Me, for I do not need their light." (Menachos 86b) In other words, while God does not need their light, you, Moshe, and the Jewish people, need the light of the Menorah.

Moshe is also told that the people should take to him the Red Heifer, which Rashi points out will always be called "the cow [ritual] that Moshe performed or instructed in the wilderness." Similar to the gemara, the Midrash Vayikra Rabba 30 says, "Is the [heifer] for Me? It is for you, to purify [the people]."

Moshe personally needs the light, and Moshe needs to provide the light. This is one of the two main components of Moshe's job, of Moshe's role as a "guide, advisor, leader" for the Jewish people.

With the red cow ritual, Moshe after whom the Red Heifer ritual is named, is not supposed to be doing a job the people can do for themselves, but he nonetheless serves as the conduit that brings about taharah to the people - the achievement of spiritual purity.

In this sense, Moshe is more like the "spiritual guide" who is meant to bring the people to live a life of purity. In the event that they have strayed, he is to guide them on the path that brings them back to purity.

Oil and heifer are brought to Moshe himself – to him, but for the people. Both items first come to him because he needs to tap into his innermost being, to utilize these raw materials in order to be able to achieve his maximum potential as a leader.

Moshe's job essentially serves two functions: As the source of light, he is meant to bring enlightenment, to help people find all the answers. At the same time, Moshe's other role as spiritual leader was to be the source of purity – to help people tap into the essence of their souls.

This double job is discussed by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik in his essay "Engaging the Heart and Teaching the Mind," which appears in "Reflections of the Rav Volume II." He spoke about the differences between the spiritual guide who takes care of only the spiritual side of one's experience, while the other leader or guide actually shows people how to live.

In order to achieve either end, a spiritual end or a life-goal, we need to take something – a lamb, some oil, or a red heifer, and appreciate the value of the freedom, light or symbol of purity it evokes. We take it for ourselves because it is not God who needs it, but we who need these symbols to help us connect to God. Rabbi Norman Lamm said in a sermon on this parsha in the 1960s, "The Torah, with all its difficulties and demands and disciplines, is a gift by God to man, and our observance of the Torah is no gift by us to God."

In other words, it is all for us, to help us refine who we are, to aim to perfect our ways, so we can aim to achieve the completeness that comes from living an enlightened existence and a pure existence in the service of God and in the perfecting of Man.