Tetzaveh - Yeshua in the Tabernacle

The Torah portion of Tetzaveh contains multiple connections to the Messiah. From the olive oil for the menorah, to the veil in front of the holy of holies, to the overarching purpose of the entirety of the Tabernacle, it all points towards the Messiah.

God made the people of Israel responsible for supplying the olive oil for the menorah.The commandment to bring the olive oil for the menorah applies to the entire people of Israel, and because of this, the rabbis relate the entire people of Israel to olive oil and the olive tree. As it says in Jeremiah 11:16, “The LORD called thy name A leafy olive-tree, fair with goodly fruit;” Paul also depicted Israel as an olive tree in Romans 11.

When Israel is in exile, it is beaten and crushed like an olive. When Israel is redeemed, it is refined and purified, like olive oil. The Yalkut Moshiach says that this is why God commanded Israel to bring olive oil and not just olives to be crushed into oil. The entire nation of Israel must be beaten like an olive tree and crushed like and olive in order to be refined by repentance. The Midrash Rabbah relates the stages of olive oil production to the suffering of Israel in exile:

This same concept can be applied to the Messiah in that the Messiah bears the suffering of the entire nation. On the night Yeshua was betrayed, he prayed in an olive grove on the Mount of Olives. The grove, most commonly known by its greek name, “Gethsemani” is called “Gat Shamnei (גת שאמני)” in Hebrew and translates to “Olive press.” One cannot overlook the significance of the Anointed One (Mashiach), praying at a place called the “Olive Press,” On a mountain called the “Mount of Anointing.”

Yalkut Moshiach, quoting the Midrash, says that part of Exodus 27:20, the part where it says, “Pure olive oil beaten for the light,” refers “to King Messiah, who is called to illuminate the darkness for Israel, as it says [in Isaiah 49:9], ‘Saying to the prisoners: “Go forth.”’, and it says [in Isaiah 60:3], ‘The nations will walk in your light.’”

God commanded the Cohanim to keep the Menorah lit outside of the holy of holies. The Torah says very specifically that the Menorah was supposed to be placed outside of the holy of holies. What does this infer? The rabbis say that this was to make sure that we knew that the light was not for God’s benefit, as it says in the Midrash: “Do not suppose that the Almighty needs the light, for if that were the case, the menorah should have been placed within the veil [inside the holy of holies] next to the ark, but it was placed outside the curtain.”

Exodus Rabbah gives an explanation as to who the menorah’s light is for:

Another explanation says that the menorah cast a light to hint towards the coming light of messiah. It says in the Midrash that the Torah burned outside the holy of holies “to teach you that He has no need for the light of mortals ... but that He only wanted to give you merit so you will have light in the world to come.”

The Midrash says:

The Tabernacle, The Ark of the Covenant, and the Priesthood are all a means to an end: That God might dwell among his people. God wants to rest his presence, of Shechinah, amidst the Jewish people, as it says in Exodus 29:45, “I will dwell among the sons of Israel and be their God.”

Since the destruction of the Temple, the Jewish people have wandered in exile, scattered among the nations. Judaism teaches that the Shechinah entered exile along with the Jewish people. The destruction of the Temple made the Shechinah homeless.

It says in Exodus Rabbah:

The visions of the Prophet Ezekiel from the Midrash describe the Shechina depart “from the threshold of the Temple ... to the east gate, from the east gate to the court of the priests, from the court to the roof, from the roof to the altar, from the altar to the wall, from the wall to the city, and from the city to the Mount of Olives.” Where it lingered for a bit before a final departure, to heaven.

The departure of Yeshua corresponds to the departure of the Shechinah. Just as the Shechina left the Temple, Yeshua’s last words before leaving the temple, in Luke 13:35, were, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Yeshua stayed on the Mount of Olives for a bit, before going up to heaven, just like the Shechinah. Like the Shechinah, Yeshua is still with his people today, as it says in Matthew 28:20, “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” And just as Israel awaits eagerly for the Shechinah to return again, we await for Yeshua’s return.

Three times a day, in the Shemoneh Esrei, we pray for the Shechinah to return to Zion:

Tetzaveh contains instructions for certain things to be built within the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle, and it’s predecessor, and even the menorah point towards the Messianic Era, and the Shchinah’s and Yeshua’s return to Zion. May it be soon and in our days.