Parasha Tetzaveh : Holy Garments

[muman613]

Shalom,

This week we are reading Parasha Tetzaveh which contains several important ideas. The Parasha starts with the explanation of the Menorah service, that it would be lit by the Kohein in the evening and it would burn till the morning. But many pasukim deal with the Holy garments that the Kohein would wear while performing the Temple service.

The High Priest would have to don special garments to perform the temple service. We read about this during the Yom Kippur service also. One of the concepts we learn from this Parasha is that when performing the holy service a man must be dressed for the occasion. Even a regular Jew should get dressed properly for the Yom Tovim/Holidays and Shabbatons.

All kohanim wore: 1) the ketonet—a full-length linen tunic; 2) michnasayim—linen breeches; 3) mitznefet or migba’at—a linen turban; 4) avnet—a long sash wound above the waist. In addition, the kohen gadol (“high priest”) wore: 5) the efod—an apron-like garment made of blue-, purple- and red-dyed wool, linen and gold thread; 6) the choshen—a breastplate containing twelve precious stones inscribed with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; 7) me’il—a cloak of blue wool, with gold bells and decorative pomegranates on its hem; 8) the tzitz—a golden plate worn on the forehead, bearing the inscription “Holy to G‑d.”

The Parasha also discusses the inauguration of the Mishkan and the Incense altar on which the Ketoret/Incense was burned.


Here is what Rabbi Richman says about this weeks Parasha:



 

[muman613]

http://www.shortvort.com/tetzaveh-parasha/11678-parashas-tetzaveh-clothed-in-hidden-lessons

The next chunk of the Parasha describes the vestments to be worn by the Kohen whilst performing the service, if he did not wear these vestments then any service he performed was invalid. The mefarshim bring down that a prime reason for having to wear this very unique clothing was to set them apart from others when they performed the service. Through this clear physical distinction the nations had to recognise that there was a spiritual separation in which Aaron and his sons (the Kohanim) were on a high spiritual level and that this was why only they could perform the service. The clothing also made it clear to the Kohanim themselves that they were undertaking a very important task and this provides yet another example of how one's appearance can influence how he will perform the task at hand. Through this we learn that any Jew who prays or involves himself in the performance of other commandments should take care to dress and conduct himself with dignity and respect for 'the One before Whom he stands'. You wouldn't turn up in jeans and a tank top to meet the queen at her palace, so we must not act in such a way when we turn up in Shul or Yeshiva to pray or learn Torah.

When we study the vestment in detail we see that there are some very deep reasons behind what seems on the surface to be quite a strange set of commandments regarding the precise materials and designs of them. We are told through the oral tradition that each of the garments, to be worn by the Kohanim, atoned for a particular sin of the Jewish people and embedded within this are a vast amount of lessons to be learnt. So lets get cracking!

The first of these vestments to be described is that of the Ephod which Rashi describes as similar to the garment worn by women riding on horses which doesn't really help us non-equestrians but it was kind of a half apron which was worn back to front... either way what we are going to focus on is what was on top of it's shoulder straps which was two gold settings which contained the Shoham Stones. According to most commentators these were made of either Onyx or Beryl, and engraved on to them was the names of the twelve tribes, six on one shoulder and six on the other in order of birth. So the obvious symbolism here is that when the Kohen Gadol would wear this he would need to recognise that he had the responsibility of all the nations on his shoulders, probably most prominently on Yom Kippur when he would enter the holy of holies and ask for atonement for the whole of Israel. A deeper meaning is present however... as we previously mentioned, each piece of clothing was an atonement for a sin committed by the Jewish people, the Ephod atoned for the transgression of idol worship. According to Shoftim [18:14] the idol worshippers used to wear a similar type of robe and therefore the Ephod worn by the Kohanim was an atonement for idols which were usually worshipped while wearing this type of garment. On top of the Ephod was the Shoham Stones which were an atonement for the worst of those idol worshipping transgressions, the sin of the Golden Calf. In Parashas Yisro we learn that the Jewish Nation arrived at Mount Sinai united but the result of the sin of the Golden Calf was that the Luchos (Tablets) were smashed by Moshe and we became technically divided by the sin. If we look into the actual word Shoham, שהם, we find that the relationships which were severed between the twelve nations of Israel, Moshe and of course Hashem are reunited through these Shoham Stones... If we rearrange the word Shoham/שהם we can make the words משח... Moshe and השם... Hashem... Thus in these stones we have the reunification of; the twelve tribes of Israel engraved on them, Moshe and of course Hashem, which provides the ultimate atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf.

[muman613]

http://www.jewishmag.com/parsha/oldparshas/tetzaveh.htm

The Priest's Garments
by Avi Lazerson


In this week's Torah Portion, Titsaveh, much is taken up with the details of the garments of the Kohanim, the priests that serve in the Holy Temple. The Jewish People have been commanded to make garments for the priests "for glory and for splendor."

The question is for the glory and splendor of whom?

Some say that the garments of the priests are to inspire all that look upon them and imbue them with glory and splendor of God and his Holy Temple. Just like a king who has guards around him, who wear uniforms that signify to the passerby that the person who lives in the building is of great importance, so too, the priests who, through wearing their uniforms, reveal the importance of their work and for whom the work is being done.

Others say that the glory and splendor is for the priests themselves. The work that the priest must do in the Holy Temple is a work of a very special nature. Just like a fireman or soldier must wear a special uniform that aids him in performing his tasks, so too, the priest must also wear these special garments. Part of the performance of his service is the realization that the presence of G-d is to be found in the Temple. He must be totally aware of the Master of this great House.

In either case, we see the importance of clothing. They imbue us with respect and give us honor. We, too, in our every day lives, must realize that we are striving to be a servant of G-d, therefore, we should dress for the part. Who knows, perhaps with some effort on our part and help from above we, to, will have our own personal service accepted like that of the priest in the Holy Temple.

We have two types of garments. One are the physical clothing that we wear in this world. The second is the garments that we use to clothe ourselves in the next world. These are the commandments that we fulfil with love and awe. Just like that soldier or fireman needs his garments in this world to be able to do his task, so too, we need our spiritual garments to appreciate the glory and splendor of G-d as revealed in the next world.

[muman613]

G-dcast on Tetzeveh:

[muman613]

Rabbi Mizrachi gives a 1hr 47min lecture on Tetzaveh:



Most of this lecture is on the Halacha/Laws of Purim, which we will celebrate this coming Wednesday-Thursday. The Fast of Esther will be on Wednesday, March 7....

It will be hard for me to hear the Megillah this year. I don't think I will be able to take the day off this year...

[muman613]

That was long, and it was a little boring at the end.

Here is a short Rabbi Shafier video:

[muman613]

A little Kabbalah with Rabbi Ginzburg: