Tehillim on the Parsha: Tetzaveh: Heavenly Realities
“Bring near to yourself Aaron your brother.” (Exodus 28:1) We must understand this verse in light of another verse in Psalms (119:89), “Forever, God, Your word stands firm in the heavens.” The midrash asks, ‘And is the word of the Holy One, Blessed is He, established only in the heavens and not in the earth? The rabbis answer that there is a different reality to a promise that is made in the heavens. Once the promise is standing and established in the heavens it will definitely become a reality on the earth.
For so we find in the promises made by the Holy One, Blessed is He to the righteous. How is this? At the time that the Holy One, Blessed is He, said to Abraham, “Go for yourself from your land and I will make you into a great nation,” Abraham said to the Holy One, Blessed is He, “Master of the universe! What pleasure will there be for me in all of these blessings if I am going to leave this world without children?” The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to Abraham, “Do you already know that you are not going to have children?” Abraham said to to God, “Master of the universe! Such is what I see in my astrological sign that I will never have children.” God responded to Abraham, “Do you fear what you see in your astrological sign? By your life! Just as it is impossible for a human being to count the stars so it will be impossible to count the numbers of your children.”
The promise made to Abraham was not a promise that could be fulfilled based on the laws of this world. This is a promise described by the verse, “Forever, God, your word stands firm in the heavens.” The promise in the heavens changed the realities on the earth.
Rabbi Yehuda taught at that moment the Holy One, Blessed is He, lifted Abraham above the very heavens and he said to him, “Look please towards the heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And God said to him, “Such will be the numbers of your children.”
And so you find with Jacob, the Holy One, Blessed is He made, a promise to him and said, “And your descendents will be as the dust of the earth,” and, “I will go down with you to Egypt and I will bring you up, yes up.” The Holy One, Blessed is He fulfilled this promise beyond the rules of this physical world, but clearly established in the heavens this as promise in heaven that becomes reality on earth.
And so you find with Aaron, the Holy One, Blessed is He, promised Moses, and said to him, “Bring close your brother Aaron to Me,” and the Holy One, Blessed is He fulfilled this promise, created a new reality on this earth for Aaron, the brother of Moses. (Shemot Rabbah 38:6)
When we read of God’s promises, we read of the promises being established “forever, standing firm in the heavens,” for those promises will create new realities on our world, the earth.
The verse, “Forever, God, Your word stands firm in the heavens,” is reminding us that our Torah study, our service of God, reaches to this word of God that stands firm in the heavens. It is His promise to us just as it was His promise to Moshe regarding Aaron.