Who is honored?

Tata is the only cedra from the beginning of Exodus to the end of Deuteronomy that doesn't

contain the word Moses.

For once, Moses, the hero, the leader, the liberator, the lawgiver is off stage.

Instead, our focus is on his elder brother Aaron, who elsewhere is often in the background. Indeed, virtually

the whole parish is devoted to the role Moses did not occupy, except very briefly, that of

priest in general, a high priest in particular. Why so? Is there any larger significance to the

absence of Moses from this passage. The commendators offered many

suggestions. One of two, offered by Rabbi Yacob ben Asher, the Tbalhaturim, relates this

week's cedra to an event at the beginning of Moses' leadership, his encounter with God at the

burning bush. Moses repeatedly expressed reluctance

to undertake the mission of leading the people out of Egypt. And finally we read, but Moses said,

Shlach, nabiyat, please send somebody else. Then the Lord's anger burned against Moses and said,

what about your brother Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He's

already on the way to meet you and his heart will be glad when he sees you. You shall speak to him

and put words in his mouth and I will help both of you speak and I will teach you what to do.

The sages say that it was this hesitation on the part of Moses that caused part of Israel as potential high priest

to be taken from him and given to his brother. Rabbi Yaakov bin Aashir concludes that

Moses' name is missing from Tzaba to spare him from distress on seeing Aaron acquire the

insignia of priesthood that might have been Moses' own. Without negating this or any

other explanation, there may be of more fundamental message. As I've mentioned before,

and as I explained in my book, Not in God's Name, one of the recurring themes of Genesis

...