Voices of WRJ: T'tzaveh

by Resa Davids Parashat T’tzaveh is devoted to four sets of detailed instructions. Not one of the topics is relevant to my life. I have picked a few olives in my day, but I am not about to bring clear olive oil to the Tent of Meeting to light the Ner Tamid. I am not a seamstress (in fact, the required blouse that I had to present in 8^th grade sewing class wound up in the hands of my mother’s dressmaker so that I would not fail the class). Therefore, the instructions of how to prepare the apparel for Aaron and other priests do not relate to me. Sacrifice and the regulations related to the incense altar? No, not relevant, and not even stimulating. The time has come to read each verse with its commentary. And then it is time to read the articles and views written at the end of the parashah. I begin to understand that there are some issues embedded in the text which could become topics of interest to me and to my readers. Slowly, these topics begin to meld into a compelling theme. This parashah is most often read during the week before Purim. In the Megillah there is no mention of God. Our prayer book wants to remind us that miracles surround the Purim events. Miracles - but no reference to God? The rabbis were troubled by this anomaly, and so they parsed Esther’s name and declared that at its core “Esther” refers to hidden. God is hidden. Hidden, but still present. We are supposed to be aware that God is completely involved in the story and is guiding the players. In T’tzaveh, there is no mention of Moses. But we know that he is present, and we can even hear God speaking directly to Moses using the singular pronoun “you.” I am grateful to Dr. Lisa Grant, author of the Contemporary Reflection for this parashah on page 491 of The Torah: A Women’s Commentary. Dr. Grant introduces the concept of “the presence of absence.” She points out in reference to the Megillah that “In a typical Purim twist, the biblical text also reinforces the presence of God’s absence by pointing out the consequences of the absence of God’s presence.” Moses is present in every Torah portion from the moment he is given his name by Pharaoh’s daughter in Exodus 2:10 through to the very end of Deuteronomy 34:12. Why is the name of Moses suddenly absent from our text in Parashat T’tzaveh? We often refer to the Torah as the Five Books of Moses, even though Moses is certainly not mentioned in the Book of Genesis. He is our leader. He remains God’s agent, God’s enabler. But throughout this parashah, he is not named. Perhaps, says Dr. Grant, “his presence is momentarily diminished so that other leaders can step forward to serve the broader needs of the community.” When the time suddenly and very unexpectedly came for my husband and me to leave Israel for medical reasons after making aliyah and enjoying 10 ½ years of living in Jerusalem, I was fully involved in and committed to the development of WRJ-Israel. What was going to happen to this still fledgling organization when I was no longer there to serve as its chair? OK, a chutzpadik question, but real – at least to me. During the five years of tending the growth of WRJ-Israel within the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ), I established a Steering Committee which grew to approximately 14 members from different Reform communities all over Israel. Together, we developed a Mission Statement. Together, we developed programming. Together, we requested and were granted a seat on the IMPJ governing body. Together, we built a budget. Soon thereafter, we were assigned a professional director, Anna Kislanski, who is a staff member of IMPJ. Then Anna was assigned Anna Aleksandrowicz to be her assistant, specifically responsible for WRJ-Israel. One of our organization’s most important goals is to develop relationships between Israeli Reform women and North American members of WRJ. This outreach between Israel and the Diaspora is called Mifgash, encounter. With the help of scholarships through WRJ and grants from the IMPJ we were able to send three Israeli women to participate in the Centennial Assembly in San Diego. When I announced to the Steering Committee that we needed a new Chairperson for WRJ-Israel, one of these three women, Marina Polinovsky, stepped forward enthusiastically. Her strong understanding of WRJ after her experience in Orlando helped her to feel confident enough to take over this role. Without being fully aware of how soon I was going to have to step down from my active role and assume the role of consultant to WRJ-Israel, I had prepared others to be ready to lead. My absence allows the Israeli women to take hold of this organization and move it forward. The presence of absence allows me to remain present in the background. Resa Davids is the WRJ-Israel Founding Chair and currently serves in a consulting role on the WRJ-Israel Steering Committee. She is a WRJ Board member on the Advocacy Committee and Global Outreach Committee.  She is also on the WRJ Pacific District Board and the Sisterhood of University Synagogue Board in Los Angeles, CA.