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Vertluch: Parshas Tetzaveh


The name of Moshe Rabbeinu is omitted throughout the entire Parshas Tezaveh. Various rishonim offer different explanations as to the omission, since the name of Moshe is mentioned in every parsha from Shemos though Zos Habracha
 
The Meshech Chochma, at end of parshas Terumah, quotes a gemarah in yoma (38a) that seems irrelevant to this parsha. The gemarah states that one of the entrance ways to the Bais Hamikdash was named Sha’ar Niknur. The reason was because when a man named Niknur went to purchase these doors from Miztrayim, his ship encountered a terrible storm on the trip home. The crew decided to throw one of the two doors overboard to help save them. When that didn’t work, they decided to also throw over the second door. To their amazement, Niknur stepped forward and said if it goes over then I am going with it. Niknur was moser nefesh in order to save the doors. In the end, they did not throw the second door overboard and the storm calmed down.  Hashem performed a miracle that the door that was thrown overboard traveled on the bottom of the boat. The gemarah concludes that all the doors of the Bais Hamikdash were covered in gold except for this gate, the gate of Niknur, because of the miracle it experienced.
 
Continues the Meshech Chochma with a gemarah in bava kama (69) that whenever we quote a source from someone who risked their life for learning Torah, we do not acknowledge their name. The reason being is because we are not proud of what they did as one is not obligated to risk his life for that. The only time a person should risk his life, is for the three big aveiros (to murder, have immoral relations and serve avodah zara). For everything else we do not risk our lives.
                                                       According to the answer given above that Niknur was moser nefesh, and shouldn’t have, we should not have publicized his miracle! But, says the Meshech Chochma, the reason we do publicize the story with Niknur is because it was different. We may not publicize someone when he is moser nefesh for his individual learning-but for talmud Torah d’rabim one may and must give up his life; and for that we do publicize! The proof to this is from another gemarah, that Yehoshua was punished for not learning Torah during the war. It is for this reason that we refer to the Torah as ‘zichru Toras Moshe’, since Moshe risked his life to go up to shomayim and learn the Torah. We learn from here that for talmud Torah d’rabim there IS a concept of being moser nefesh.
 
The Meshech Chochma states this in parshas Terumah, but what’s the connection? It seems that it is in the wrong parsha?
 
In reality, this vort should have been the first piece in parshas Tezaveh, because some want to say that this is why Moshe’s name is not mentioned in the parsha. Being that he risked his life for Torah-and he shouldn’t have, he wasn’t mentioned in this weeks parsha. It is for this reason that the Meshech Chochma begins parshas Tezaveh by saying that one who is moser nefesh d’rabim-the law of not acknowledging their name is not applicable. Really it was supposed to be in parshas Tezaveh and not Terumah, but this proves the notion that Moshe’s name was omitted because he risked his life for Torah.
 
There’s another beautiful idea mentioned in the Ba’al Haturim. Initially, Moshe was supposed to receive the kehuna and it was to remain in his family forever. However, it was taken away from him as a punishment when he attempted to get out of his shlichus by trying to avoid taking the yidden out of Mitzrayim. In addition to that, this parsha also deals mainly with the halachos pertaining to kohanim. The Torah was so sensitive to the feelings of Moshe Rabbeinu that in order to avoid the pain he would experience, it avoids mentioning his name in this parsha; to spare him the anguish and pain.
 
There was a bachur learning in Eretz Yisroel by Harav Moshe Shapiro, and there was a recently widowed lady whom with her five yesomim was to spend Succos in Eretz Yisroel. She called this bachur and asked if he could arrange for her a meeting with Reb Moshe. The bachur went back and asked Reb Moshe if he had time to meet with her. He approved, but with two conditions. First, the bachur had to be present and second, I don’t want to bother her so tell her I will come to her. The bachur said fine and arranged a meeting to be at 11am in a hotel lobby.
 
Reb Moshe makes up with this bachur that he will come to yeshiva and meet him so they can walk together to the meeting. At 10 am the bachur goes to hotel to remind this widow of the meeting but she is nowhere to be found. He calls; checks the dining room; knocks on the door…to no avail. For forty five minutes he’s running around looking for her to make sure she’s on time to the meeting. He finally returns to yeshiva to greet his rebbe and informs him of his unsuccessful attempts of finding her. Needless to say, this bachur felt humiliated with the absence of this ‘friend’. Reb Moshe said that he will stay a while in yeshiva and learn. Meanwhile, the bachur returns to the hotel and again she is nowhere to be found. Upon returning to yeshiva he apologizes profusely to the Rosh Hayeshiva for having wasted his precious time.
 
As he leaves, he turns to the bachur and says ‘when you see her don’t even mention my name, because she will have tzar that she made me wait and did not show up; forget this whole thing even happened!’
 
The sensitivity that Reb Moshe showed was exactly this Ba’al Haturim. Here we have an adam gadol who runs many kollelim throughout Eretz Yisroel, saying thirty shiurim a week, only davens vasikin and the list goes on and on! His forty five minutes is very valuable! Yet, he made this bachur promise not to even mention his name! We don’t even mention Moshe’s name here because we don’t want to cause the slightest bit of tzar. That is how a yid has to think.
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