Parashat HaShavua Tzav/Pesach
How does the entire nation of Israel squeeze into the small opening of the Ohel Mo’ed, God’s Tent of Meeting in the wilderness? This is the question of the Midrash that Rashi focuses on when he reads these verses: “Assemble the community at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting / וְאֵ֥ת כל־הָעֵדָ֖ה הַקְהֵ֑ל אֶל־פֶּ֖תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד” (Lev. 8:3) As Rabbenu Bachya explains: “This required a miracle, of course, and is one of several places in the Bible where a very small area was able to accommodate a very large number of people.” In fact, the Midrash teaches that Moshe questioned how this was physically possible, to which God replied: “Was not the heaven at one time no bigger than the eye of a needle, and I managed to fit the entire earth through it?” (Lev. 8:4)
Whether an entire nation or the whole world, God is able to make it work. But even as we recognize this miraculous power of God, it is not within the purview of humanity, and we must not make the mistake of trying. To the contrary: as the prophet Yishayahu teaches, “The Lord desires this for the sake of His righteousness' sake; He expands the Torah and strengthens it / יְהֹוָ֥ה חָפֵ֖ץ לְמַ֣עַן צִדְק֑וֹ יַגְדִּ֥יל תּוֹרָ֖ה וְיַאְדִּֽיר.” (Is. 42:21) Our Torah - our values, our disposition - is not meant to seek confinement or constraint of ourselves or others, but rather expansion, and through that expansion we are ever strengthened.
As I have written before, there is a line in Hallel that captures this notion beautifully: “From the narrow place I called God; God answered me in a vast expanse / מִן־הַ֖מֵּצַֽר קָרָ֣אתִי יָּ֑הּ עָ֜נָ֗נִי בַּמֶּרְחָ֣ב יָֽהּ” (Ps. 118:5) God’s greatness is found in the grand open spaces, and even in those places that might seem small like the Ohel Mo’ed, God enlarges them to invite us in and accommodate us all. This passage, which we are about to read daily on Pesach, also hints at what and how we escaped when we left Mitzrayim, Egypt: “tzar yam / מצר ים” the narrowness of Egypt and the straits of Yam Suf.
As David Hartman, in his book A Living Covenant, explains: “a covenantal vision of life…liberates both the intellect and the moral will.” He continues: the “Sinai covenant can encourage the development of a human being who is not afraid to assume responsibility for the ongoing drama of Jewish history.” (p. 3) As we look forward to a meaningful Pesach, retelling and reliving the stories of our ancestors, let us also remember our place in that story as actors as well, and the place of others, in what we pray can be a wide, welcoming world.
Shabbat shalom and Chag sameach!
Rabbi Jack Nahmod
Middle School Judaic Studies Head
Rabbinic Advisor