Torah Talk for Parashat Tetzaveh
February 20, 2018 by
In this parasha, God describes to Moshe the clothing and anointing process of the kohanim (priests).
An old joke goes as follows: A man comes to the rabbi and says that he wants to be a kohen (a member of the priestly order). The rabbi says, “I’m sorry, it doesn’t work that way, you cannot just become a kohen.” The man offers the rabbi a donation of $5,000 to the synagogue. The rabbi says no. The man ups his offer to $10,000, and the rabbi asks him, “Why is it so important for you to be a kohen?” The man responds, “Well, my father was one, so I want to be one, too.”
Clearly, the man did not realize that being a member of the priestly order is transferred from parent to child along the paternal line. That line begins in this parasha in the second and third verses. Read more >
