Parashat Tetzaveh, 5785, 2025: "Hashem’s Everlasting Love"

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
There are two well-known pasukim in Sefer Shemot that express the concept of Hashem’s dwelling amongst the Jewish people. The first appears in Parashat Terumah: “And they shall make Me a sanctuary (Mikdash) and I will dwell (v’shachanti) in their midst.” The second is found in our Torah portion: “I will dwell (v’shachanti) in the midst of the children of Israel, and I will be their God (v’hayiti lahem l’Elokim).” (25:8 and 29:45, these and all Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach)  Whereas the first pasuk presents the idea of Hashem’s dwelling with us following the construction of the Mishkan, the second adds the notion that He will be our God. Taken in tandem, the following formula emerges: Construction of the Mishkan eventuates in v’shachanti in our midst, which leads to v’hayiti lahem l’Elokim.
 
Although the terms, v’shachanti, and v’hayiti lahem l’Elokim initially appear to convey similar content, v’shachanti, their differentiated phrasing indicates they differ conceptually. This approach was followed by both the Sforno zatzal (Rabbi Ovadiah ben Ya’akov,1475-1550) and the Ha’emek Davar zatzal (Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin, 1816-1893) in their respective Torah commentaries on Sefer Shemot 29:45.
 
According to the Sforno, v’shachanti refers to Hashem’s ready desire to accept our tefilot and avodah (korbanot in the Beit HaMikdash), while v’hayiti lahem l’Elokim, refers to that which He will do--bikvodo u’vatzmo, without any go-between. This parallels how He took us out from Egypt: “Not through the intermediary efforts of an angel (malach), not through the exertions of a ministering angel (saraf) and not as a result of a messenger but, rather, solely by the Holy One blessed be He, in His honor and glory.” (Haggadah, translation my own)
 
Ha’emek Davar pursues a different line of thought and suggests that “v’shachanti in our midst” denotes the everlasting connection that obtains between the Almighty and the Jewish people, even if no Mishkan or Beit HaMikdash is present:

Even in the absence of the Mishkan, wherein Hashem’s glory, may He be blessed, was explicitly manifest, [Hashem] will continue to ever be in the midst of the Jewish people. This means that His Schechinah (Divine Presence) will never depart from the community of Israel…even though it will not appear manifestly evident to all. (Translation my own)
 
Moreover, he maintains that the second phrase, “v’hayiti lahem l’Elokim,” describes Hashem as continually attuned to and “watchful of our needs and will fulfill them.” 
 
It is important to note that both the Sforno and the Ha’emek Davar conceptualize v’shachanti and v’hayiti lahem l’Elokim as referring to Hashem’s commitment to an eternal personal relationship with the Jewish people. In my view, this is the counterpoint to our passionate song at the Yam Suf: “This is my God, and I will ever praise Him; the God of my father, and I will exalt Him.” (Sefer Shemot 15:2)  Just as we were God-intoxicated at the Yam Suf and could not refrain from bursting out in a song of everlasting love to Hashem, in Parshiot Terumah and Tetzaveh, it is His turn to proclaim His everlasting love for our people. As we find so movingly expressed in Sefer Hoshea:
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And I will betroth you to Me forever, and I will betroth you to Me with righteousness and with justice and with loving-kindness and with mercy. And I will betroth you to Me with faith, and you shall know the Lord. (2:1-2)
 
Shabbat Shalom
 
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