Tetzave | From Past Glory to a Future Temple (Yechezkel 43:10-27)

 

1. a. The Temple has contemporary significance

 

At first glance it would appear that only the second half of this prophecy is connected with the parasha. In both the parasha and the haftora, the inauguration of the altar lasts seven days. The prophecy teaches that this was not a one-time mitzva but rather an ongoing one - that the altar be inaugurated following its establishment, for the duration of seven days (see the commentary of the Ramban and the end of parashat Naso).

 

From this perspective, the haftora of Tetzaveh is different from the haftora of Teruma. In Teruma, both the parasha and the haftora described the glories of old - on one hand the mishkan, on the other hand the First Temple. The haftora of Teztaveh, in contrast, speaks of a vision that has not yet been fulfilled. This teaches us that learning about matters pertaining to the Beit Ha-Mikdash is not merely a study of history and nostalgia for the glory that once was, but rather that their study has contemporary significance; they are relevant to us today.

 

1. b. The haftora joins Teruma and Tetzaveh

 

Despite the fact that, as noted above, the first part of the haftora does not appear to echo or parallel any aspect of the parasha, it does have some connection with what we learned towards the end of parashat Teruma: the measurements of the altar for the burnt offerings and the issues pertaining to it. Thus, the haftora creates a bridge between the parashiot of Teruma and Tetzaveh, bringing continuity between the end of Teruma and the middle of Tetzaveh, and thus the inauguration of the altar is "juxtaposed" with its description.

 

1. c. Holiness and Purity

 

There is a verse in the haftora that looks identical to one in the parasha. In the parasha (29:37) we read, "Seven days you shall make atonement upon the altar and you shall sanctify it." In the haftora (43:26) we read, "Seven days they shall make atonement upon the altar and purify it."

 

It is specifically the similarity between these two commands that draws our attention to the difference between them (other than the fact that the parasha speaks in the singular, since the command is being given to Moshe, and the haftora in the plural, for there the command is given to the kohanim):

 

The parasha teaches "you shall sanctify it," while the haftora teaches "they shall purify it."

 

What is the difference between sanctity (kedusha) and purity (tahara)? Sanctity is the opposite of 'chulin' - ordinariness. "Ordinary" is a neutral state; it conveys neither a positive nor a negative connotation. Sanctity means elevation above the ordinary in a positive direction. Purity, on the other hand, is the opposite of impurity. Impurity is a negative state and purity is the escape from that state with a return to a neutral state - the state of... ordinariness. We may demonstrate this graphically:

 

Sanctity        Purity

Ordinariness    Impurity

 

This embodies the difference between the mishkan of the desert and the Mikdash described by Yechezkel. The mishkan is meant to uplift the nation from its state of ordinariness to a state of continual sanctity. It comes to eternalize the sanctified encounter at Har Sinai where God rested His Shekhina (Divine Presence) upon them.

 

The Mikdash of Yechezkel, in contrast, will arise after long and bitter years of various abominations (as described in the preceding chapters of Yechezkel). What the people need is not upliftment from a situation of ordinariness but rather purification from a state of impurity. And therefore, "they shall purify it."

 

1. d. The glory of the final Temple will be great

 

But there is something positive in purification that is elevated above the 'sanctified.' According to the Rambam in his Commentary on the Mishna (Para, chapter 3, 2), "Behold - there is no difference between someone who has never been defiled by contact with the dead and someone who was defiled and then immersed himself and had the waters of purification sprinkled upon him on the third and seventh day, but the person who sprinkled upon him achieves a greater degree of purity, for the verse already called him 'pure.'" This follows what our Sages taught, "The completely righteous do not stand in [achieve] the place of those who have returned in repentance" (Berakhot 34b).

 

In this sense, the Temple and the altar that will be built in the future are greater than those that were in the past, as the haftora ends, "And I will accept you, promises God..." 

 Tanslated by Kaeren Fish