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And
thou shalt make a breastplate of judgment, the work
of the skilful workman; like the work of the ephod thou shalt
make it:
like the engravings of a signet, every
one according to his name, they shall be for the twelve tribes. (Shemot 28,15, 21)
'Breastplate
of judgment' - it was so called because it atoned for any errors in
judgment. Another explanation: 'judgment' because it makes its statements clear
and its promise is true; (discernment in Old French). Because the word mishpat is used in three senses: the contentions of the
parties in the law suit, the pronouncement of the sentence and the punishment
to be meted out, whether it be death, flagellation or monetary; here it is used
in the sense of making its statements definite.
(Rashi
ad locum)
'And thou shalt make a breastplate of judgment, the work of the
skilful workman'
In all the
other vestments 'the work of the skilful workman' is not mentioned
excepting in reference to 'a breastplate of judgment', to teach us that
the atonement is for a sin committed by thought, 'thought' equated with 'act',
found only in acts of 'avodah zarah'
as explained previously in the making of
the ephod, the breastplate comes to atone for any judicial errors,
for legal decisions are formed in the heart (mind) of the judge, for he cannot
judge but what he sees, and he can pronounce 'right' as 'left and 'left' as '
right', according to the persona, the matter before him, the circumstances and
the place. If the judge is to say, "Thus it seems to me" who besides God
can challenge him, for only He knows what is hidden in the hearts of men.
Therefore, the breastplate was placed over the heart of Aharon,
for legal decisions are formed in the heart of the judge and it was a מעשה חשב
to atone for errors in judgment.
It is written 'מעשה חשב כמעשה אפוד' the Torah ascribes חשב באפוד
to teach you that the errors of
the judges are tantamount to 'avodah zarah' (Sanhedrin 7b) "Whoever
appoints an incompetent judge it is comparable to having planted ashera (a tree that was an object of pagan worship).
Therefore the text states that the breastplate that atones for judicial errors shall
be like the ephod that atones for idol worship. Chazal
have interpreted the verse: 'You shall not make other gods besides Me;
gods of silver...' as referring to an incompetent judge (Yerushalmi Bikkurim
3:3) for the basis for the sin lays with the mind of the judge, as it is
written: 'The thoughts of the righteous are just...' (Proverbs 12,5)
(Kli Yakar
ibid. ibid)
Light as the Basis for Our
Existence
Jeremy Weill
Parshat Tezaveh was one of the
most boring readings I encountered as a child; an endless list of preparatory
tasks for the mishkan, usually stated in repetitious
words and expressions. I sat in the synagogue like a good little boy and was
told by my elders that 'there are no superfluous words in the Torah'. It was
still difficult for me to grasp why there were so many precise details.
Much later, when I began to delve into the subject,
I discovered a trove even in the first verse
ואתה תצוה את בני ישראל ויקחו אליך שמן
זית זך כתית למאור להעלות נר תמיד
There many questions to be asked regarding this verse, and Nechama Leibowitz sums them up into three basic fields-textual, the
content and the location.
Problems of text include:
Problems as to the content that arise are:
·
Why is it necessary to bring the oil to Moshe?
·
What purpose does the ner tamid
serve?
The most fundamental question arises as to the
location:
In parshat Terumah God instructs Moshe: 'Speak unto the children of
The Ramban explains the
two commands slightly differently. Until now, the term used in the construction
of the mishkan was 'and you shall make -ועשית Moshe did it all. Now, however אתה תצוה Moshe must allow others to make the oil and bring
it to him to be examined if it acceptable for use in the mishkan.
Rabbi Samson R.Hirsch
continues this line of thought and adds that the phrase-'they shall bring to
you' emphasizes the notion that Moshe is acting as a bursar-he keeps it for the
nation and the donors must bring him only the purist oil to be used for light (זך כתית). Rabbi
Hirsch expounds on the significance of the lamp as a symbol for the nation as we
see at the beginning of Parshat Terumah
(Shemot
25,6).
Listed among the materials to be brought for the construction of the mishkan, are 'oil for lighting, spices for the anointing oil
and for the fragrant incense'; but these materials are required for the service
in the mishkan and not for its construction. Rabbi
Hirsch explains that 'oil for the lighting are fundamental to the mishkan because the light represents the human factor-service
with light and clarity-while the incense and spices represent the divine
factor-since they are described as providing a pleasant sensation so to speak,
to the Lord. This is the basis for all work In the mishkan,
a point the Torah emphasizes at the beginning of our parsha.
According to R. Hirsch the topic of light is again written at the beginning of
the explanation of the sanctuary Because the tending to the lamps precedes all
other requirements. Without mental clarity one cannot have Torah-understanding
is the foundation for the observance of mitzvot. Use
of the word - תצוה - emphasizes the
importance of the subject, by defining it as an immediate task and one for all
time, as a commandment for the children of
Others explain this notion but in a slightly
different manner. For example, Rabbi Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, author of the commentary - 'Meshech
Chochmah' interprets the phrase - 'and they shall
take unto you' as a negative statement: God tells Moshe that the light is for
him; God is not in need of light. The light of Torah is for us and not for God.
He is not a recipient; on the contrary, He distributes wonderful things, large
and small. Moshe should have taken the materials for the production of light "unto
you", 'for you", for only through light is a man clear in his
thoughts and light denotes joy. Moshe was not capable of serving God and his
people devoid of joy and if without the medium of the lamps,
that was crucial to his further relationship with God.
What therefore is the idea concealed in the words - להעלות נר תמיד?
Three midrashim from Shemot Rabbah deal with this
issue. -The first midrash compares a Torah-less man
to one who travels at night without a lamp. Similar to a man who because there
was no light, fell and was injured, is the man bereft of Torah who upon
encountering numerous obstacles, is not capable of dealing with them.
The second midrash
considers the lamp emitting light as coming from the performance of a mitzvah.
The Author of the mitzvah creates the light and elevates the performer of the
mitzvah to a greater height.
The third midrash
relates to an argument between the 'yetzer hatov' and the yetzer hara. The 'yetzer hara' says, (for example), don't
give tzdakah, so that your bank balance will not be 'short'.
The 'yetzer hatov' advises
that by performing a mitzvah you will act as a lamp, kindling other lamps
without extinguishing your own lamp. Similarly, one who performs good deeds and
mitzvoth will not be in want for having performed them.
We can observe three different approache
- the lamp of Torah assisting man, the lamp of Torah elevating mankind and the
lamp of Torah as a gift benefiting others without depriving its donor of
anything-it is to be noted that all the different approaches emphasize the
benefits that man derives from the lamp, the actual one and the symbolic one and
make no mention of any benefit accruing to God as it were, from the kindling of
the lamps. The lamp is a necessity in the real world we live in.
However, the prophet Isaiah (Chapter 60) envisages a future world wherein there will not
be a need for a 'ner tamid',
for the Lord Himself will kindle the light of Torah within us, as it is
written: "Nations will come to Your light, And kings to the brightness of Your
rising. (Isaiah 60,3) (The nations
will come with Your light and kings will come with the
rays of the rising). Rashi in Massechet
Shabbat explains that the word להעלות את הנר that one must kindle the lamp until the flame
rises by itself. Rabbi Hirsch explains the phrase 'until the flame rises by
itself' as a symbol for a teacher who teaches so that the flame will rise on
its own- to say, that the function of the teacher is to bring the student to a
level from which he can continue to study on his own, even when the teacher is
not present.
Why then did the Torah choose to introduce the
lighting of the lamps at the beginning of parshat tezaveh, before the completion of the construction of the mishkan and before the consecration of Aharon
and his sons into the priesthood? Have we not seen that the kindling of the lamps
is an integral part of the service of the sanctuary and not its construction? Apparently
from this we can assume that we are not dealing with a 'technical' action, for the
Torah doesn't deal with strictly technical matters. The Torah does not instruct
us on how to clean the mishkan or how to illuminate
the mishkan, in technical terms. The placing of the
lighting of the lamps at the beginning of the parsha
teaches us that it is the basis for the 'maaseh hamishkan', similar to the creation of light, the first
element in the creation of the world. After the creation of light, follows the
rest of creation. The Torah is comparable to light as are the children of
Perhaps one may conclude that in every process of
building, light, spirit, Torah and its Implications and content precede the
structure itself.
Jeremy Weill resides in Beer Sheva
and is an independent advisor to firms dealing in International trade.
Traits required for participation in the building of the mishkan
"and I have filled him with the Spirit of
God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts" As with
Joshua son of Nun 'filled with spirit of wisdom and understanding', And it is
written: 'and a divine spirit descended upon him'. What is a divine spirit? It is
wisdom and understanding, ...and the term intellect - בינה is derived
from the root בין .
Bezalel was endowed
with a knowledge of mathematics, geometry and
astronomy, biology and was privy to the psyche of man, his advantage over all
other men in his generation lay in the fact that he was proficient in all crafts,
for many erudite men are not proficient in any craft.
(Ibn Ezra Shemot 31,3)
Sacred Vestments
The Sanctuary was constantly guarded and surrounded [by Levites] as a mark
of respect and honor: and at the same time the layman, the unclean, and mourners,
were prevented from entering the Sanctuary, as will be explained. Among other
things that tend to display the greatness and the glory of the Temple and to
inspire us with awe, is the rule that none shall approach it in a state of
drunkenness or uncleanness, or in a disorderly state, i.e., the hair unkempt and
the garments rent; and that every one who officiated as priest should first
wash his hands and his feet. In order to raise the estimation of the
A priest that had a blemish was not allowed to officiate; and not only
those that had a blemish were excluded from the service, but also - according
to the Talmudic interpretation of this precept - those that had an abnormal
appearance; for the masses do not judge a man by his true form but by the
perfection of his bodily limbs and the beauty of his garments, and the 'temple
was to be held in great reverence by all.
(Moreh Nevuchim III,45, Translated into
Hebrew by M. Schwartz)
Clothing serves not only as a protection against the cold and not only as
an adornment. It is the primary and necessary sign of recognition for society,
and for the moral sense of man distinguishing him from animals-his status and
honor are evident from the symbols placed on his clothing. The very fact of
wearing clothes dignifies man, therefore the Priests receive special garments for
'honor and majesty...' when God himself gave to Adam and Eve garments and He
himself dressed them, it tells us that dress is not only a matter of consensus
among men, but is, as it were an extension of the act of creation, a sort of a
second skin given to humankind, a more nobler body. Rabbi Meir, in his
intention to compare man to his Creator, expressed it succinctly as he wrote in
his own sefer Torah,'כתנות
אור'-; about God Himself it is written: 'He wraps Himself in light
as with a garment' (Psalms 104,2).
(Breishit Rabbah
20,29, A summary of the commentary of Benno Jacob, ad locum by Nechama Leibowitz z"l)
Said Rabbi Einini bar Sasson:
Why were the Laws of Sacrifices placed adjacent to the Laws of the Priestly
Garments? To teach us that just as the offerings atone for sins, similarly the Priestly
garments atone for sins.
(Zevachim 88b)
The 'breastplate' atoned for perverters of the law,
as is written: (Shemot 28) 'and
thou shalt make a breastplate of justice'.
(Yerushalmi Yoma 7:3)"
"Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on
its horns. This annual
atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering..."
(Shemot 30,10)
If there is something to be protected from an injury by the defects in the
reality of life, most assuredly it is the vision of supreme moral perfection,
the vision that we envisage as the highest goal, expressed by the inner altar
upon which is offered the incense. Once a year the priests and the people
should emphasize the disparity between the vision And the reality- by offering
the ox and the goat of Yom HaKippurim, and by placing
the blood on the horns of the golden altar. Only then will it become apparent
to them the high goal to which reality must be elevated.
(R.S.R.Hirsch ibid)
Remember-Do Not Forget!
To the Rabbis of the midrash, Amalek
is the archetype of an enemy who deviates from the accepted rules of engagement,
who without provocation, exploits the apparently easy opportunity to wage war,
that renders little glory to the soldiers, and selects a tactic of attacking
the rear of the enemy, that contains the weak and the weary and the least
protected...
In its broader sense, the war against Amalek is a
battle against evil and injustice in the world that is embedded in the very
nature of man since his creation. In this respect Jews are no different than
gentiles...Consequently, this battle is not a 'milchemet
mitzva' incumbent only upon
(Yeshayahu Leibowitz: "Seven Years of Discourses on Parshat HaShavua, pgs. 875-877)
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