פָּרָשַׁת תְּצַוֶּה

Parshat Tetzaveh tells of the kohanim (the priests) who will serve in the Mishkan: their garments, their consecration, and the daily service. It opens with the pure olive oil the people bring for the Menorah, which Aharon and his sons kindle from evening to morning, always. Then the holy garments, made for honor and for splendor: the Ephod with two onyx stones on its shoulders bearing the names of the twelve tribes; the Choshen (the breastplate) with its twelve stones, one for each tribe, bound to the Ephod and holding the Urim and Tumim, worn on Aharon's heart; the blue Me'il (the robe) with golden bells and pomegranates on its hem; the Tzitz, the gold plate on the forehead engraved "Kodesh LaHashem"; the checkered tunic, the turban and the sash; and the tunics, sashes and hats of Aharon's sons, with linen breeches for all of them.

Then the seven days of consecration: Moshe washes, dresses and anoints Aharon and his sons and brings the sin offering, the burnt offering and the ram of consecration, whose blood is placed on their right ear, thumb and toe; they eat the flesh and bread at the entrance of the Ohel Moed, and the altar is anointed and made holy of holies. The Korban Tamid, two lambs each day, morning and evening, is set as the continual offering at whose place Hashem will meet with the people and dwell among them. The parsha ends with the golden incense altar, on which Aharon burns incense every morning and evening, and on whose horns he makes atonement once a year. Tetzaveh is the one parsha from Moshe's birth to the end of the Torah in which his name does not appear.