Adam Carpenter – Head of Jewish Studies Primary

Weekly Torah portion:

Parashat Tetzaveh Exodus 27:20 – 30:1

This week’s parashah  תצוה– Tetzaveh emphasises the role of the Kohanim (Priests) and the construction and institution of the  משכן Mishkan – the portable sanctuary carried while wandering in the wilderness. Parashat Tetzaveh focuses upon the Kohanim, the Priests who perform the rituals and sacrifices on behalf of the people. We are given detailed descriptions of the complex ritual garments worn by the Kohen Gadol (the High Priest) – regally decorated in gold and adornments of precious stones. We are also given details for the seven day period of sacrifices and rituals required to consecrate the priests for service. The parashah ends with a short description of the golden altar upon which incense was to be offered, including the נר תמיד ner tamid – the eternal light, that remains a key feature in synagogues to the present day.

Family discussion

* How many Jewish rituals can you name that involve light? What is the power, meaning and symbolism of light?

* The prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 49:6) called on the Jewish people to be ‘light unto the nations’. What do you think it might mean for the Jewish people to be a ‘light unto the nations?

Yiddish phrase of the week

As we dress up for Purim and revel in things not being as they seem, here is some Yiddish wisdom to get you scratching your chin.

Hebrew words of the week: זכור

The Shabbat preceding Purim is known as שבת זכור Shabbat Zachor – the Shabbat of Memory or Shabbat of Remembrance, where we remember what Amalek did to our ancestors in the Torah.

One of the most frequent Torah commandments connected to memory relates to remembering that we were slaves in Egypt and to remember the Exodus from Egypt. These words are found in the siddur, in the Shema and in the Friday night Kiddush. This act of recalling and memory etches into our consciousness to shape our values and sensitivity.

 – Yizkor: meaning ‘will remember’ יזכור

 – Yom HaZikaron – Day of Remembrance יום הזכרון

This is one of the names for Rosh Hashannah and the name given to the modern commemorative day in Israel to remember Israel’s Fallen soldiers.

Contemporary Jewish thinker, Avraham Infeld, developed a metaphor for describing a strong and stable Jewish identity. According to Avraham, there are five components, or ‘legs’ that combine to make up a person’s Jewish identity; Memory, Family, Covenant, Israel and Hebrew. Choosing at least three of the components of Jewish identity, or ‘legs’, provides a stable platform for living a Jewish life and contributing to the world. Less than three, and your ‘table’ or platform of Jewish identity will topple over; more than three makes it more sturdy. Choosing three also means that every Jew shares at least something with every other Jew, even though they may look different and have very different lifestyles, cultures and customs. Despite the difference in Jewish expression, Jews share some of these elements through the way they build their own identities. Which ‘legs’ make up the foundation for your Jewish identity? Source: www.5leggedtable.com

Follow this link to hear more about Avraham Infeld’s interesting take on Jewish history and memory: www.5leggedtable.com/memory.

Jasper Selinger

Student contribution

In Year 5 Jewish Studies this term we have been given a weekly task of having a discussion with our family about the week’s Torah portion. As I was flipping through our Torah Table Talk booklet, I was reminded of our class discussions that had taken place during Jewish Studies that week as we were exploring the Purim story. So I got out my Tanakh and re-read the first chapter of Megillat Ester to remind me of the details of the story. In class we had interesting discussions about Queen Vashti, the choices she made and how she stood up for her rights and dignity as a woman, thousands of years ago. This led me to make connections with what we have been learning in history about the fight for woman’s voting rights in Australia in the late 1800s and women’s rights in our world today. Over Shabbat my dad and I had a great conversation about what it means to have rights and what a powerful role model Vashti can be.