Parshas Tetzave 5766

Commentary by Rabbi Ephraim Nisenbaum

---

The kohanim (priests) were instructed to wear special garments during their service in the Tabernacle. If these garments were not worn, or if other clothes besides these were worn, the kohain was disqualified from doing the service, and was liable for Divine punishment.

The Torah explains the purpose of these garments: to add a dimension of glory and beauty to the Divine service. People are naturally impressed by beauty and a regal appearance.

The Kohain Gadol (High Priest) had eight vestments made especially for him. These included a pair of linen pants, a linen checkered tunic, a linen turban, and an embroidered sash. Over the tunic, he wore a blue, woolen, sleeveless robe called the Me’il. From the bottom of the Me’il there dangled little blue woolen pomegranates and golden bells that tinkled as he entered the Tabernacle.

Over the Me’il he wore the Ephod, an apron-type of garment with shoulder straps. It was woven from five different types of threads. A golden breastplate called the Choshen Mishpat was connected to the Ephod. Twelve different jewels, corresponding to the twelve tribes, were embedded in the Choshen. Each of the stones had a different tribe’s name engraved on it. The eighth vestment was a golden headplate called a Tzitz. It was worn on the High Priest’s forehead.

The regular kohain only wore the first four vestments when he did the service in the Mishkan: the shirt, pants, sash and a hat.

Because the kohanim could not even wear shoes, there was a special chamber called the Bais Hamokad, where a fire burned on the stone floor. The kohain would warm his feet there before doing the service on the cold floor of the Tabernacle.

One of the reasons for the great amount of attention and detail paid to the clothing was to have an impact upon the kohain’s appreciation of his responsibilities. The unique uniform that had to be worn would impress upon the kohain the uniqueness of his mission as representative of the nation.

The garments also served as atonement for specific sins that the nation had transgressed collectively as a group. Although each individual had to do his own Teshuva (repentance), the garments would atone for the nation as a whole. For example, the Me’il atoned for the sin of Lashon Hora (slander). The Choshen atoned for improper judgment, the pants for immorality, the hat for arrogance, the belt for jealousy, the Ephod for idolatry, and the Tzitz for chutzpah.

“...There was a man of Yehuda in Shushan the capital whose name was Mordechai...” (Esther 2:5)

Rav Yechezkel Levenstein, of the Ponovezh Yeshiva, explains that only Mordechai was called a man; everyone else behaved like sheep. The Jews all attended Achashveirosh’s feast because they feared angering him. Only Mordechai refused to follow the crowd and insisted on obeying the Torah. The salvation came through Mordechai’s behavior.

It only takes a few good men, or even one good person, to accomplish what everyone else cannot. Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch founded a community in Frankfurt, Germany will only eleven families, yet he turned the tide against the assimilation of German Jewry. The Ba’al Shem Tov, founder of chassidus, Rav Yisrael Salanter, founder of the Mussar movement, and Sarah Schnerer, founder of the Beth Jacob movement for girls' education, all created movements single-handedly that literally changed the face of, and saved, modern traditional Judaism. Purim teaches us the important strength of a single individual.

Did You Know...

On the Shabbos preceding Purim we read Parshas Zachor, the incident involving Amalek. This is the only Torah reading, according to most authorities, that is required by Torah law.

Some authorities require women to hear the reading too. A woman who cannot attend services in the morning may listen to the reading Purim morning, or she can read it to herself from a chumash (Bible).

Some communities have a special reading on Shabbos afternoon. However, many authorities discourage this practice, especially if there is no quorum of men present.

Women are obligated to listen to the Megillah on Purim both at night and in the morning. If a woman cannot attend services, the Megillah should be read for her privately.