Tetsaveh, Shabbat Zachor. Remembering for tomorrow

Parashat Tetzaveh teaches one of the most beautiful spiritual practices I know: the lighting of the “eternal flame” that must burn continuously in the Mishkan.

וְאַתָּ֞ה תְּצַוֶּ֣ה | אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְיִקְח֨וּ אֵלֶ֜יךָ שֶׁ֣מֶן זַ֥יִת זָ֛ךְ כָּתִ֖ית לַמָּא֑וֹר לְהַֽעֲלֹ֥ת נֵ֖ר תָּמִֽיד"

And You, you shall command the Israelites to bring you pure, pressed olive oil for the lamp, to keep the lamp burning continually." — Shemot 27:20

For there is no eternal flame, neither in the Mishkan nor in love, neither in our lives nor in our spiritual practice. By its very nature, a flame is fragile and fleeting. We must remember to rekindle it again and again.

This Shabbat, the Shabbat before Purim, is called Shabbat Zakhor—“Remember.”The name comes from the verse in Deuteronomy 25:17:

זָכ֕וֹר אֵ֛ת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֥ה לְךָ֖ עֲמָלֵ֑ק בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ בְּצֵֽאתְכֶ֥ם מִמִּצְרָֽיִם"

Remember what Amalek did to you on the way, when you came out of Egypt."

In the biblical story, Amalek is the mysterious enemy who attacks the rear guard of the Israelites as they leave Egypt—those who, weary, are straggling behind.

Since then, Amalek has become the archetypal enemy of Israel: the human force that rises in every generation, whether called Babylon or the Seleucid Empire, the Roman Empire or the Inquisition, Hitler, or today, for many, Hamas or the current Iranian tyrant.

Many voices in Israel today—both among the people and in the country—see a sign in the fact that these tense times, with the threat of a new conflict with Iran, occur right now: in the heart of Adar, as we prepare to celebrate Purim, commemorating the victory of Israel (the people) over the plots of the rulers of a mythical Persian kingdom millenia ago.

For many, this is a re-enactment of the mythic struggle against Amalek, precisely at the most significant moment.

Yet I am always cautious of such symbolic rushes.

I am wary of turning an enemy of flesh and blood into a mythic archetype.

So once again, I turn to mysticism.

The gematria (numerical value) of Amalek is 240—the same as the word safek (doubt)ספק

In spiritual practice, one of our greatest enemies is doubt—not the fertile doubt that questions our assumptions, but the confusion often produced by our fears, our attachments, and our weaknesses, which clouds the clarity of our path.

Spring has already arrived in Israel, and the almond trees in bloom explode with grace on every street corner. The flowering tree cannot afford confusion.

It requires the flame of desire to reach beyond itself and express itself in the world.

This week, the instruction of the Parasha, like that of Shabbat Zakhor, tells us the same thing: Remember.

Remember not to be swallowed by confusion.

Remember to nurture the flame of awareness, which will illuminate your way.

Then suddenly, “to remember” is no longer directed toward the past, but toward the present. It becomes mindfulness in spiritual practice.

To remember to be present illuminates the moment and allows the future to bloom.