Whereas Parshas Terumah details the structure of the Mishkan, Parshas Tetzaveh primarily addresses the Bigdei Kehunah - the priestly vestments
- and the initiation processes for Aharon and his sons to serve as kohanim. It seems quite strange that Parshas Tetzaveh also includes the commands of kindling the Menorah and erecting the Mizbach Ha-Zahav - the altar designated for burning Ketores (incense) in the Mishkan - for these two mitzvos appear to be unrelated to the Bigdei Kehunah or the initiation of the Kohanim. One would expect that kindling the Menorah and erecting the Mizbach Ha-Zahav would appear in Parshas Terumah, alongside the commands to construct both the Menorah and the Mizbach Ha-Nechoshes - the outer altar, used for most other sacrifices. Why, then, did the Torah omit the lighting of the Menorah and the construction of the Mizbach Ha-Zahav from Parshas Terumah and reserve them for Parshas Tetzaveh?

The Sefer Ha-Chinuch (mitzvos 98 and 103) explains that the purpose of lighting the Menorah and burning Ketores on the Mizbach Ha-Zahav is to bring glory to Hashem's House. This may be the rationale for the Torah's presentation of these commandments alongside the Bigdei Kehunah, for the Bigdei Kehunah themselves are "for glory and splendor" (Shmos 28:2). This theme of "glory and splendor" applies to lighting the Menorah, burning Ketores and garbing in Bidgei Kehunah, and it thus unites these three topics into one parshah.

On a deeper level, we can understand the relevance of the mitzvos to light the Menorah and erect the Mizbach Ha-Zahav from an analysis of the Bigdei Kehunah themselves. The halacha states that any Avodah (service) which is performed by Kohanim while not wearing Bidgei Kehunah is invalid ("pasul"). In fact, the Gemara explains that the very status of a Kohen (for the purpose of Avodah) is lacking when the Kohen is not garbed in his priestly vestments. Think about it; it is quite a powerful concept, for even when the Avodah is performed correctly, it is considered as being done by a Zar (non-Kohen) when the servicing Kohen is lacking Bidgei Kehunah. Whereas one who davens without appropriate dress is still considered to have fulfilled the obligation to pray, and one who performs a mitzvah while wearing inappropriate attire nevertheless fulfills the mitzvah, a Kohen who performs Avodah, but lacks garments which are designed to display "glory and splendor", is deemed to have acted in vain. Why is this so?

The answer is that Avodah in the Mishkan and Beis Ha-Mikdash must by definition constitute a display of glory and splendor. This is not a side requirement or a preference; it is the core of all Avodah. Without it, Avodah is deemed flawed and invalid. Thus, lack of Bigdei Kehunah is - per force - a lacking in the definition of Avodah, which is a show of glory and splendor.

This takes us back to the mitzvos of kindling the Menorah and offering Ketores on the Mizbach Ha-Zahav. These two institutions are not normative components of the Mishkan, as are all other furnishings presented in Parshas Terumah. Rather, lighting the Menorah and burning Ketores bestow upon the Mishkan a state of glory and splendor, rendering the entirety of it an edifice of perceptible glory, just as the Bidgei Kehunah qualify Avodah as service of glory and splendor. Through the mitzvos of lighting the Menorah, offering Ketores and requiring Bigdei Kehunah, the Torah introduces the halacha that Avodah and the Mishkan itself must be manifestations of glory and splendor. This is why the commands to kindle the Menorah and erect the Mizbach Ha-Zahav are intrinsically related to Parshas Tetzaveh.