Tetzave (Ex. 27:20-30:10) - Pure Pressed Oil

In Ex. 27:20:"Now you shall command the Children of Israel that they shall take for you pure pressed (well ground) olive oil..." There is a syntactical issue with this phrase.  The adjective pressed or well ground must be going on the olive.  Therefore, it would be logical to assume that the adjective, pure is also going on the olive. In short, the Torah is telling us that we should use pure (or clean and unblemished) olives and we should grind them well for this oil (see Ibn Ezra). However, Rashi rejects this reading of the verse and prefers to read the pure as going on the oil meaning oil that is clean of sediment.

The hint for this understanding is from the beginning of the verse. G-d addresses Moshe in the second person, "Now you". This means that Moshe himself is to supervise the oil for lighting the lamps in the Tabernacle. Moshe in the desert did not have olives from which to make oil.  All he had was ready made oil that the Jews would have brought out with them from Egypt. In this oil, one could not distinguish whether it was made from clean unblemished olives or not. The only criterion that would make sense in this case is that the oil should be clean of sediment. This would apply to the oil they had with them in the desert.

The inner meaning behind the pure pressed oil that comes out of the olives is the self-sacrifice of the soul when it is faced with the trials and tribulations of the Exile. Just like an olive that is pressed, and reveals its inner essence, so also the soul reveals its inner essence when pressed by the decrees of our oppressors. This is why the Torah emphasizes that this commandment is being overseen by Moshe in the Desert, which itself represents a state of exile. Finally, because this commandment has its context in the desert, in the exile, then the final outcome is judged on its own purity and not on the purity of its ingredients. There are many different levels of souls but the self-sacrifice that the soul reveals is of the same essence across the board.