For Maimonides, at the heart of prayer is the prophetic experience of the individual in conversation with G-d. For Nahmanides, by contrast, prayer is the collective worship of the Jewish people, a continuation of the pattern set by the Temple service.
We can now appreciate the astonishing synthesis of Jewish tradition – because, remarkably, each prayer (with the exception of the evening prayer) is said twice. We pray once silently as individuals, then out loud (the reader’s repetition) as a community. The first is prophetic, the second priestly. Jewish prayer, as it has existed for almost 2,000 years, is a convergence of two modes of biblical spirituality, supremely exemplified by the two brothers – Moses the prophet and Aaron the high priest. Without the prophetic tradition, we would have no spontaneity. Without the priestly tradition, we would have no continuity.
The sedrah of Tetzaveh, in which the name of Moses is missing and the focus is on Aaron, reminds us that our heritage derives from both. Moses is a man of history, of epoch-making events. Aaron’s role, though less dramatic, is no less consequential. The priestly dimension of worship – collective, structured, and never changing – is the other hemisphere of the Jewish mind, the voice of eternity in the midst of time.