Chapter Two Introduction In this chapter the Rebbe gives us the skeleton of the answer to some of the questions: (a) The word tetzaveh means command. However, there is a teaching that connects the etymology of tzivu (tetzaveh) to that of tzavsa which means connect. Thus, the opening phrase of the verse now reads, “And you (Moses) shall connect the Children of Israel (with the Infinite Light)”. (b) When Moses does this, then comes the second phrase of the verse, “And they shall take to you pure olive oil…”. Meaning that the Children of Israel now bring an addition, an elevation, within Moses.
Note: The Rebbe will explain later in the mamor that what this means is that first Moses feeds the Faith of the Children of Israel that it be from the Essence of the Soul. Then the Children of Israel work with this, and align their Revealed Faculties (intellect, emotion, thought, speech, and action) with the Essence of the Soul. This, in turn, brings to Moses an elevation in his own Revelation of the Essence of the Soul, that it be of the Higher Dimension of the Essence of the Soul, which allows for that which is in itself only encompassing by Moses, to now become internalized by Moses.
For this Higher Essence of the Soul is not defined by a simplicity that must deny ‘form’. The point being that this which Moses connects the Children of Israel to the Infinite Light, empowers the Children of Israel to do a service, which in return gives to Moses. --The Rebbe goes even higher than this, as we will see later on. (c) In brackets the Rebbe explains from another explanation on another verse (-Numbers 11:21) how it is that the Children of Israel can bring an elevation to Moses. “Six hundred thousand people on foot are the people (lit. feet of the people) in whose midst I am”.
Mystically, the verse is referring to the Children of Israel as the feet of Moses. Thus, the verse is mystically saying that the feet are bringing an elevation to Moses. The elevation is hidden in the words, “midst I am”. “Onochee - I am” refers to the Supernal Crown, which is above the head, and it encompasses the head. However, the feet of Moses bring about that the encompassing ‘Supernal Crown - I Am’ should become digested and internalized into Moses - “in their midst”, into the midst of Moses’ Revealed Faculties.
(d) The Rebbe concludes with explaining that this is what the verse means, that the Children of Israel, after Moses connects them with the Infinite Light, they in turn bring an elevation to Moses, as we explained in (b). “ 2) And the Previous Rebbe explains (in his known mamor, Opening Words V’Kibel HaYehudim5, which was said on Purim Kattan, 56876) that ‘tzivu’ (tetzaveh) is (from the etymology) tzavsa v’chibur (connection)7.” Note: The Rebbe refers to the mamor of the Previous Rebbe as “known”. A chosid who lived in Russia, working in the Chabad underground group of keeping yeshivas, Torah-study, kosher food, mikvah, etc.
alive in the times of Stalin, told me that he and the others knew by memory verbatim every word of this Purim Kattan fabrengehn of the Previous Rebbe. This mamor, together with the sichos, of the Previous Rebbe was their very life in these dark times. The word tetzaveh in the verse means “shall command”. However, there is a teaching which connects the word with another etymology. That of the word tzavsa, which means connection, “tzavsa v’chibur - connection and binding”. With this definition, the first phrase of the verse has an entirely different meaning.
Now it is saying, “And you (Moses) shall connect the Children of Israel”: “And this is the meaning of ‘And you shall ‘tetzaveh’ the Children of Israel’, that Moses will connect and bind the Children of Israel with the Infinite Light8.” “And through this that Moses sustains Israel (that he connects them with the Infinite Light), through this there is made an advantage and addition within Moses.
” The Rebbe will now divert in brackets to explain the concept of Israel bringing an advantage and addition to Moses, after which the Rebbe will explain that this is what the meaning of the verse is that through “And you will connect the Children of Israel (to the infinite Light)” then there will be the “and they shall take to you pure olive oil…”. “[For Moses and Israel are as the imagery of ‘head’ and ‘foot, as it is stated9, ‘Six hundred thousand people on foot are the people (lit. feet of the people) in whose midst I am’, that all of Israel are the ‘feet’ of Moses, and Moses is their ‘head’.
And just as by the person the feet walk the head to a place which the head on its own cannot reach there, so too it is with Moses and Israel, that through Israel (the feet of Moses) there is added on a virtue by Moses. For this is what is stated, ‘Six hundred thousand feet of the people in whose midst I am’ (meaning) that through the ‘feet of the people’ there is drawn the ‘Onochee - I Am’ in the ‘midst’ of Moses11].” The verse “Six hundred thousand feet of the people in whose midst I am’” simply means that Moses is saying, that he stands in the midst of 600,000 people (this number is just the makes ages 20-60).
In the simple meaning the verses’ “in whose midst I am” is referring to Moses, as he is expressing himself to G-d, in response to, “And You say, 'I will give them meat, and they will eat it for a full month'.” Chasidus gives much mystical insight to this verse: (a) Everything that G-d gives to Israel has to come through Moses, the head. Thus, Moses’ response is not about “how will G-d provide meat in the desert for a nation of 600,000”, but rather, it is about Moses, who is the Spiritual Leader, crying out to G-d, “And now you want me to be the one through whom meat is provided to the people?!
” (b) The question is not just about providing physical meat, but in essence, even for Moses, the head, to provide spirituality to Israel, the feet, is an incredible descent for Moses. Thus, in this verse is also hidden the answer to Moses: Through Moses serving the 600,000 ‘feet’, the ‘feet’ then bring and add on an additional virtue to Moses, that the dimension of ‘Onoichee - I Am’ which is the ‘Supernal Crown’ of G-d, which by its very definition (crown) lies above, and only encompasses, the ‘head’, now becomes digested and internalized ‘in their midst’ of Moses.
And with this understanding, the Rebbe returns to how the Previous Rebbe explains the verse, answering some of the questions on our verse: “And this is ‘And you will ‘tetzaveh’ the Children of Israel and they shall take to you olive oil…’ that through this which Moses is ’yetzaveh’ and connects the Children of Israel with the Infinite Light, through this the Children of Israel brings olive oil to Moses (‘And they will take to you’), that there is added on an additional Light within Moses.
” The Rebbe concludes this chapter with defining the flow of the verse: Its is through the “And you will ‘tetzaveh’ the Children of Israel” that “and they shall take to you olive oil”. With this some of the questions were answered: (a) G-d is telling Moses that it is Moses (“And you will…”) who is to ‘tetzaveh - connect’ the Children of Israel with the Infinite Light. (b) The Children of Israel take to Moses (and not to Aharon) the elevation of “olive oil”, in return of Moses’ giving to the Children of Israel the ‘tetzaveh - connection’ with the Infinite Light. Footnotes 5.
For the relationship between the explanation on (the verse) “And you shall command…” and on the (the verse) “And the Jews accepted…” - See further in Chapter Nine and further. This mamor is built upon explaining the verse “And you shall command…” in our Torah-portion. The journey for this is through the explanation on the verse “And the Jews accepted…” in the Book of Esther. Later on, the mamor will connect these two verse. At first the connection will be through the words of the verse “crushed for luminary”.
Then the Rebbe will get deeper and higher, in connecting it with the different dimensions of the “And you shall ‘connect’… And they shall take to you”, with the fact that that, (a) the verse, “And the Jews accepted…” is talking about during the time of “Time of the Decree”, while (b) it is written in Chapter Nine of the Book of Esther, which is after the miracle already happened. 6. Printed in “HaTamim”, Issue 7, (page) 35c [(in the new edition, page) 336c]. Sefer HaMamorim 5686, page 110 and further. 5711, page 180 and further. -See there Chapter Four. 7.
It is so (“tzivu (tetzaveh) is tzavsa v’chibur (connection and bound)”) also in Torah Ohr, our Torah-portion, (page) 82a (on the verse, ‘And you shall tetzaveh’). And in many places. And see that which is cited in Toras Menachum, Sefer HaMamorim Adar, page 59, footnote 55. 8. So it is at the end of (the mamor) Opening Words V’Atoh Tetzaveh 5679 (Sefer HaMamorim 5679, page 256). And in many places. And in (the mamor) with these Opening Words (of) 5687, Chapter Four at its beginning (and likewise (at the) end of Chapter 15) (it states) “connect the Children of Israel” and he does not add on “With the Infinite Light”.
And we may say, that in that mamor it is explaining that Moses connected the Children of Israel (within) themselves, as it is (explained in this mamor of the Rebbe) in Chapter Eleven. The Rebbe is dealing with a technical issue: The verse reads, “And you shall ‘tetzaveh - connect’ the Children of Israel, and they shall take for you…”. The verse is not reading as G-d telling Moses to connect the Children of Israel to anything, but rather, that Moses is to connect, to unite, the Children of Israel themselves. The Rebbe himself will deal with this later on in CHAPTER ELEVEN.
However, here, in CHAPTER TWO, the Rebbe is explaining it as that Moses is to connect the Children of Israel with “the Infinite Light”. Thus, first the Rebbe is citing sources for this interpretation to the verse. Then the Rebbe points out that in a mamor of the Previous Rebbe it states just, “To connect the Children of Israel” and does not add on the words, “To the Infinite Light”. Thus, the Rebbe is explaining that in that mamor, the Previous Rebbe is explaining the verse in the concept of Moses is to bring unity within the Children of Israel themselves (--as the Rebbe explains it as this as well further on in CHAPTER ELEVEN). 9.
(Torah-portion) Beha’alosecha (in the Book of Numbers), 11:21. 10. For all this see (the mamor) Opening Words mentioned above (V’Atoh Tetzaveh), 5686, Chapter Five.