Moses, the remarkable leader of the Jewish people, surely deserves the utmost recognition for his role in Jewish history. So why is his name not mentioned in Parashat Tetzaveh?

The Ba’al ha-Turim suggests that after the sin of the Golden Calf, Moses said to God: If You do not forgive their sin, “erase me from the record which You have written” (Shemot 32:31). Hence, Moses’ name does not appear in Parashat Tetzaveh. What can we learn from this exclusion?

Tetzaveh is typically read the week before Purim. Just as Moses is not mentioned in this parashah, God’s name is not written in Megillat Esther. This does not indicate the absence of ha-Shem or Moses; rather, it illuminates their qualities as leaders. Leaders should sometimes step back and allow others to step up.

Moses temporarily withdraws himself out of respect for his brother Aaron, who in this parashah becomes the High Priest. Similarly, in Megillat Esther, ha-Shem’s subdued presence allows Mordechai and Esther to develop as leaders. The names of God and Moses are not disclosed, yet their essence is very much apparent.

We can relate the connection between the parashah and the megillah to our own lives. When we are infants, our parents control every aspect of our existence. As we grow, their form of control changes and wanes over time. They are not necessarily left with no control, but a different form of control. The effectual leadership exhibited by ha-Shem and Moses teaches us about our lives and how we grow.

Next year, I, along with my Grade 12 peers, will start gaining more control over our lives as we embark on new paths of our academic careers. Just as the Children of Israel had to do, we will learn to survive with our newfound autonomy. We learn from this comparison between Parashat Tetzaveh and Megillat Esther that good leaders must know how and when to step back and allow their flock to grow and develop.