## Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts

###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 1
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
**II. Brothers: A Drama in Five Acts**
***THE CORE IDEA***
*Tetzaveh* is the only *parasha* where the name of Moshe is not mentioned at all since the first *parasha* of the book of Shemot (in which he is born). Here, just this once, Moshe, our hero, the leader, the liberator, the lawgiver, is off-stage. Instead, our focus is on his elder brother Aharon who, elsewhere, is often in the background. Indeed, virtually the whole *parasha* is devoted to the role Moshe did *not* occupy – that of priest in general, high priest in particular.


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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
The question is: Why is Moshe removed from the passage entirely? The commentators offered various suggestions. One given in the Talmud refers to an event at the beginning of Moshe’s leadership – his encounter with God at the Burning Bush. Moshe repeatedly expressed reluctance to undertake the mission of leading the people out of Egypt. Finally, we read:


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 3
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
“But Moshe said, ‘O Lord, please send someone else to do it.’ Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moshe and He said, ‘What about your brother, Aharon the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his 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; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do’” (Shemot 4:13–15).


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 4
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
There is a debate in the Talmud about the lasting impact of that moment when Moshe, as it were, refused one time too many. To turn down the challenge of leadership once or twice is a sign of humility. To continue to do so, especially when it is God issuing the challenge, may bring about God’s anger, as happened here. According to Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai in the Talmud, the lasting effect of Moshe’s reluctance to lead was that one vital leadership role – priesthood – was eventually granted to Aharon rather than to Moshe himself. Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher (1270–1340) suggests that Moshe’s name is missing from *Tetzaveh*, which deals with the priestly garments, “to spare him distress” upon seeing Aharon acquire the uniform of priesthood that might have been Moshe’s own.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 5
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
**QUESTIONS TO PONDER**


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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*1. Do you think Moshe’s name was removed from this* parasha*for his benefit, or for Aharon’s benefit?*


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[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/7)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*2. Who do you think is more likely to be jealous of his brother, Aharon or Moshe?*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 8
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/8)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*3. Do you have siblings? Are you sometimes jealous of them, or they of you? Why do you think this is?*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 9
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***IT ONCE HAPPENED…***
*The day the Nazis liquidated the ghetto of Piotrków, the rabbi of the Polish town, Reb Moshe Chaim Lau, grabbed his eldest son Tulek, looked him in the eye with burning passion and love, and said, “You are the eldest of the children. It is your responsibility to ensure they continue to follow in our ways.” Tulek knew exactly what he meant. “Take special care of Lulek,” his father implored. Tulek believed his father had deep faith that Lulek, the youngest of the family, then aged just seven, would somehow survive and continue the legacy of the family. Finally he added, “If you come safely through this hell, you will know how to find your home. Not here, not on any alien hostile soil. Your home is* Eretz Yisrael*.” This mission gave Tulek an amazing drive to survive. His father’s words gave him extraordinary strength beyond what could possibly have been expected of a boy aged sixteen.*


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[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/10)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*As the Nazis forced the men and women into two separate lines, Lulek held onto his mother tightly. But she understood that he had a greater chance of survival if he was with the men, so she pushed him away from her into the arms of Tulek. Tulek emptied the bag he had with him, wrapped Lulek in a blanket, and placed him in the bag. Their parents were sent directly to Treblinka and perished on that day. Tulek was sent to Buchenwald with Lulek hidden on his back.*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 11
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*Time and time again, Tulek gambled his life to save his younger brother, all the while fighting to survive himself. In the Czestochowa labour camp, he bribed a German officer with a diamond hidden in his teeth to buy Lulek’s life, and again in Buchenwald with his father’s gold watch, hidden in his shoe. This was the last of his resources and after this he had to rely on his wits alone.*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 12
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/12)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*As the Allied forces closed in, the Jewish inmates were deported on a train, but Lulek, in hiding, remained in the camp. Tulek managed to jump from the train with two other survivors. “Where do we head now?” they asked. “Back to Buchenwald,” Tulek answered. “I have to go back for the child!”*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 13
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/13)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*On April 11, 1945, Buchenwald was liberated by American troops. Against all odds, and against all reason, the two brothers had survived, and after travelling through Europe, they found their way onto a Jewish Agency “illegal immigrant” ship headed for Palestine. They arrived in pre-state Israel in July 1945, less than three years after Tulek had taken his oath to their father, the rabbi of Piotrków.*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 14
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/14)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*This story has a postscript. Almost fifty years later, the two brothers stood side by side at the Kotel. The elder brother, Naftali Lau-Lavie, himself a dedicated public servant of many years, beamed with pride as his little brother, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, was inaugurated as the beloved chief rabbi of the State of Israel.*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 15
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
**QUESTIONS TO PONDER**


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 16
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/16)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*1. Are there any similarities between these two brothers and the brothers in our parasha (Moshe and Aharon)?*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 17
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 17](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/17)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*2. Do you think the love between these siblings is normal, or something beyond the usual?*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 18
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 18](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/18)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***THINKING MORE DEEPLY***
One of the recurring themes of Bereshit is sibling rivalry, hostility between brothers. This story is told four times: between Kayin and Hevel, Yitzḥak and Yishmael, Yaakov and Esav, and Yosef and his brothers.


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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
There is a noticeable pattern to this set of narratives, best seen in the way each story ends. The tale of Kayin and Hevel ends with murder – fratricide (killing a sibling). Yitzḥak and Yishmael, though they grow up apart, are together at Avraham’s funeral. Evidently there has been a reconciliation between them. Yaakov and Esav meet, embrace, and go their separate ways. Yosef and his brothers are reconciled and live together in peace, Yosef providing them with food, land, and protection.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 20
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 20](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/20)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Bereshit is telling us a story of great consequence. Fraternity – one of the key words of the French revolution – is not simple or straightforward. It is often fraught with conflict and contention. Yet slowly, brothers can learn that there is another way. On this note, Bereshit ends. But it is not the end of the story.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 21
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 21](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/21)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
The drama has a fifth act: the relationship between Moshe and Aharon. Here, for the first time, there is no hint of sibling rivalry. The brothers work together from the very outset of their mission to lead the Israelites to freedom. They address the people together. They stand united when confronting Pharaoh. They perform signs and wonders together. They share leadership of the people in the wilderness. At last, we see two brothers functioning as a team, with different gifts, different talents, different roles, but without hostility, each complementing the other.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 22
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Their partnership is a constant feature of the narrative. But there are certain moments when it is particularly noteworthy. The first occurs in the passage already cited above. God tells Moshe that Aharon “is already on his way to meet you, and *his heart will be glad when he sees you*.” How different this is from the tense encounters between brothers in Bereshit!


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 23
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 23](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/23)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Aharon, we may have thought, might have many reasons not to rejoice on seeing Moshe return. The brothers had not grown up together. Moshe had been adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter and raised in an Egyptian palace, while Aharon remained with the Israelites. Nor had they been together during the Israelites’ sufferings. Moshe, fearing for his life after his assault on an Egyptian taskmaster, had fled to Midyan.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 24
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Besides this, Moshe was Aharon’s younger brother, and yet it was he who was about to become the leader of the people. Always in the past, when the younger had taken something the elder might have believed belonged naturally to him, there was jealousy, animosity. Yet God assures Moshe: “When Aharon sees you, he will rejoice.”


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 25
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 25](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/25)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
The second fascinating clue is contained in a strange passage that traces the descent of Moshe and Aharon: “Amram married his father’s sister Yokheved, who bore him Aharon and Moshe…. *It was this same Aharon and Moshe* to whom the Lord said, ‘Bring the Israelites out of Egypt by their divisions.’ They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. *It was this same Moshe and Aharon*” (Shemot 6:20, 26–27). Why the repeated phrase, “It was this same”? There are two other peculiarities in the phrases. The first is that the names of the brothers are placed in a different order: the first says “Aharon and Moshe,” the second, “Moshe and Aharon.” Even stranger is the grammatical oddity of the phrase. Both times, the third-person singular is used, literally translating to “He was Aharon and Moshe”; “He was Moshe and Aharon.” The text should have said “They” – all the more so since the pronoun “they” is used in the middle of the passage: “They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh.” The unmistakable implication is that they were like a single individual; they were as one. There was no hierarchy between them: sometimes Aharon appears first, sometimes Moshe.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 26
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 26](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/26)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
It was precisely the fact that Aharon did not envy his younger brother but instead rejoiced in his greatness that made him worthy to be high priest. So it came to pass – measure for measure – that just as Aharon made space for his younger brother to lead, so the Torah makes space for Aharon to lead. That is why Aharon is the hero of *Tetzaveh*: for once, not overshadowed by Moshe.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 27
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***FROM THE THOUGHT OF RABBI SACKS***
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have been locked in a violent, sometimes fatal embrace for so long. Their relationship is sibling rivalry, fraught with mimetic desire: the desire for the same thing, Avraham’s promise.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 28
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
…At the heart of all three faiths is the idea that within humanity there is one privileged position – one favoured son, a chosen people, guardian of the truth, gatekeeper of salvation – for which more than one candidate competes. The result is conflict of the most existential kind, for what is at stake is the most precious gift of all: God’s paternal love. One group’s victory means another’s defeat, and since this is a humiliation, a dethronement, it leads to revenge. So the strife is perpetuated.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 29
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***Not in God’s Name,* 98–99**


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 30
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
**QUESTIONS TO PONDER**


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 31
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 31](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/31)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*1. Do you think we can learn from the sibling rivalries in the Torah to help us understand the world?*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 32
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 32](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/32)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
*2. Do you think God has favourites? Is it possible God loves all nations and people equally?*


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 33
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 33](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/33)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***AROUND THE SHABBAT TABLE***
Why do you think Moshe was so desperate to have Aharon help him with this task?


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 34
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 34](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/34)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Is it more natural to have a sibling relationship like those characters from the book of Bereshit, or like Moshe and Aharon’s?


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 35
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 35](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/35)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Is your relationship with your siblings more like those in the book of Bereshit or like that of Moshe and Aharon?


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 36
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 36](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/36)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
**EDUCATIONAL COMPANION TO THE QUESTIONS**


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 37
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 37](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/37)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***THE CORE IDEA***
According to Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai in the Talmud, this was a punishment because Moshe refused to trust God and accept the leadership role he was being offered. The punishment, it could be argued, was a lesson to Moshe, and therefore for his benefit. However, Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher takes a different approach and is of the opinion that this signified a sensitivity to Moshe, who could have qualified for the priesthood himself and therefore could have been distressed to witness Aharon receiving the uniform of priesthood. So God disassociated him from the *parasha* where this is discussed. Finally, perhaps we can argue that this was for the sake of Aharon, so he could have his moment in the limelight, when the Torah discusses his spiritual leadership role. The Torah wishes not to overshadow Aharon at this moment by mentioning his younger brother, who has a larger role.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 38
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 38](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/38)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
We often feel that those around us who seem so confident and have such strong self-esteem couldn’t possibly have doubt in themselves. It is therefore a shock to learn that even the strongest personalities, who have achieved so much, also struggle with the very human emotions of jealousy and self-doubt. It would be reasonable to assume that Aharon was jealous of Moshe, even though we see no evidence of that in the Torah. It is also feasible that Moshe could likewise have had some envious thoughts towards his elder brother, the high priest.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 39
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Sibling rivalry is a natural emotional response and exists to some extent in all families. Much has been written on this. On the simplest level, the rivalry is about the love available in the family. We must remind ourselves that love is not a zero-sum game. A parent’s love for one child does not preclude them from loving a second child just the same.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 40
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***IT ONCE HAPPENED…***
Moshe and Aharon have only love and respect for each other, in contrast to the complex sibling relationships we see in the book of Bereshit (see *Thinking More Deeply* for a more in-depth presentation of this idea). Despite Aharon’s seniority, there is no evidence to suggest that he is jealous or bitter because of his younger brother Moshe’s leadership role. So too in this moving story of the Lau brothers, there is only deep and mutual love, and Naftali only feels pride and love when his younger brother becomes chief rabbi of the State of Israel.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 41
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
While brotherly love is a natural and beautiful thing that exists everywhere, this particular story is quite extraordinary, taking place as it does during exceptional times. While all people would hope to be able to go to these lengths to save their sibling, this is a particularly inspiring and remarkable story.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 42
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***FROM THE THOUGHT OF RABBI SACKS***
Rabbi Sacks suggests in *Not in God’s Name* that we can understand the tension between Judaism and its daughter religions (Christianity and Islam) through the prism of sibling rivalry, and this can be learned from the strained relationships between Yitzḥak and Yishmael, and between Yaakov and Esav. In this *Covenant Conversation* essay he also suggests that all the sibling relationships in the book of Bereshit are models for our own relationships. Each one complex and at times difficult, yet each one came to reconciliation in the end. The ultimate sibling relationship is between Moshe and Aharon – no tensions, only love. This is the ideal to strive for.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 43
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
Rabbi Sacks believes that God loves all His creations, which includes all people and all nations. Just as a parent can love many children equally, so can God.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 44
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
***AROUND THE SHABBAT TABLE***
At this stage, Moshe lacked confidence in his abilities, despite God’s assurances. Perhaps he also felt that it was only right that there would be a role for his elder brother.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 45
[Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 45](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Covenant%20and%20Conversation%20Family%20Edition/s/Tetzaveh,_II%3B%20Brothers%3B%20A%20Drama%20in%20Five%20Acts/r/45)

**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
All models of the sibling relationship are natural, including the models we find in the book of Bereshit, which are often fraught with tension and rivalry. However, this does not mean we should not strive for the ideal that Moshe and Aharon model for us. The Torah presents us with realistic role models (we see both Moshe and Aharon in an authentic light, including their flaws and mistakes) who represent ideals that are worth striving for, and are realistically achievable.


###### Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Tetzaveh, II; Brothers; A Drama in Five Acts 46
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**Covenant and Conversation Family Edition, Maggid Books, 2023:**
This is a personal question. When considering it, encourage the participants in the discussion to be honest, and remind them that sibling rivalries are natural and common.