With the first words of our parashah, we see the shadow, but not the body, of a man.

"V'ata tetzavvah et b'nai yisrael" (Exod. 27:20): "And you shall instruct the children of Israel" in the production of oil for the menorah to be used in the Tabernacle.

Only two verses later we read:

"V'ata hakrev eilekha et aharon ahiekha v'et banav eto" (28:1): "And you shall bring forward Aaron your brother and his sons . . . to serve Me [God] as priests."

Then again in two verses,

"V'ata tedaber el khol hakhmei lev" (28:3): "And you shall instruct all who are skillful" to make the sacral vestments for Aaron the high priest.

Instead of the familiar language of introduction-"And God said to Moses . . . " we find the repeated use of the pronoun you (ata). These uses of the generic atah, one following on the heels of another, call our attention to the name that is not called: Moshe. Indeed, this language introduces a remarkable aspect of our Torah portion. From Moshe's birth until the end of the Torah, this is the only parashah where Moshe's name is never mentioned. Moshe is the principal actor in the undertakings of this reading, and yet his name is never explicitly invoked.

The language of V'ata (and you) is noteworthy and suggestive for a number of reasons. In truth, the pronoun ata is not needed for the sentence. The Torah could easily communicate the same idea with more economical language, employing the command form, tzav-"command the Children of Israel" (see, for example, Leviticus 6:2). This construction does not require the use of a pronoun at all. However, the Torah chooses to address Moshe through the pronoun, indicating his involvement in implementing these instructions, yet also creating a symbolic distance between him and the Children of Israel. He is there, yet he is not fully there.

Secondly, the absence of Moshe's name in these opening sentences is underscored by the presence of Aaron's name. In the same verses that repeat three times in staccato fashion: "V'ata (and you) . . . " (Exod. 27:20-28:3), Aaron's name is mentioned 6 times; by the end of the parashah, Aaron's name appears on 30 occasions. Moshe recedes in this parashah, while Aaron and his sons, who function as the people's priests, step into the spotlight. Strikingly, it is Moshe's very actions-which are performed not from his identity as "Moshe" but from the faceless "you," (ata)-that enable Aaron and his sons to assume their place in the public eye: Moshe's primary tasks in this parashah are to appoint and install his brother as high priest and his sons as priests and to furnish them with the proper vestments for their service.

There is a reading of these events that explains that Moshe was passed over for the high priesthood as punishment. Because Moshe was initially unwilling to assume the role of God's agent at the Burning Bush, God chose Aaron to be appointed high priest (see, for example, Tanhuma Shemini 3). Moshe did not "step up," as it were, to God's request and, therefore, our parashah, with the choice of Aaron as high priest and the absence of Moshe's name, serves as punishment for his unwillingness to answer the call of God.

But I submit that we need not understand this parashah in these terms. Rather, the Torah presents an important lesson of leadership. Moshe has courageously led the Children of Israel. 

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