Machshavot HaLev - Yeshivat Lev HaTorah

111
Tetzaveh
Placement and Purpose
Rav Michael Siev
P arshat Tetzaveh concludes with the command the build the mizbach ha-ketoret,
the mizbe’ach upon which the ketoret (incense) was to be offered each day in the
mishkan. The placement of this command seems quite surprising. The Torah has
already recorded the commands to build the other keilim of the mishkan in Parshat
Teruma; why does it wait until the end of Tetzaveh to command the construction of
the mizbach ha-ketoret?
Upon closer examination of the structure of Parshiot Teruma and Tetzaveh, the
parshiot that record Hashem’s commands regarding the building of the mishkan,
our confusion only intensifies. The commands begin with the aron and kapporet,
continues with the shulchan and menorah, and moves on to the physical structure of
the mishkan itself. This is followed by the mizbach ha-olah, the mizbe’ach upon which
the korbanot were offered, and the command to construct the courtyard around the
mishkan. The commands follow a clear order; they start from the kodesh ha-kodashim
(the aron and kapporet), continue with the keilim of the mishkan itself (the shulchan
and menorah) and move on to the structure of the mishkan; the parsha then concludes
with the mizbach ha-olah, which was in the courtyard, and the construction of the
fence around the courtyard. There is a clear progression from the innermost keilim
to the outermost reaches of the mishkan compound. And yet, the Torah skips the
mizbach ha-ketoret, which was located in the mishkan itself. Only after detailing the
clothing of the kohanim, their consecration ceremony and the mitzva of korban tamid