Exodus · Chapter 28

And you, bring near to yourself Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, to minister before Me — Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron.

ואתה הקרב אליך AND THOU TAKE TO THEE after the work of the Tabernacle is finished.

AND THOU BRING THOU NEAR AARON THY BROTHER, AND HIS SONS WITH HIM … THAT THEY MINISTER UNTO ME IN THE PRIEST’S OFFICE, EVEN AARON, NADAB AND ABIHU, ELEAZAR AND ITHAMAR, AARON’S SONS. The reason for mentioning Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar [when it mentioned already “and his sons”] is that Moses should not think that by anointing the father to minister as priest, his sons would automatically become priests; instead he had to initiate them personally into the priesthood. Thus Phinehas [the son of Eleazar] and others already born were excluded [from the priesthood], for only these four sons who were anointed with Aaron, and their children born to them henceforth, were appointed as priests.

"And you" — since Moses was initially the priest of priests, the meaning of "bring near to yourself" follows from this. I have already hinted to you why Aaron was chosen to be consecrated to Hashem: it was for the honor of the family of Nahshon, so that the priests would atone for the children of Israel. There is nothing to say against Moses our master, for he was a fugitive, and who would grant him Hebrew? Moreover, the burden of all Israel rested upon Moses — to teach them the commandments and to adjudicate every difficult matter. The vav of "to serve Me as priest" [לְכַהֲנוֹ לִי] is an additional vav, like the vav of "the beasts of the field" [חַיְתוֹ שָׂדַי] (Ps. 104:11) and "the son of Beor" [בְּנוֹ בְעוֹר] (Num. 24:3). As for the mention of the names of Aaron's sons — perhaps he had other sons besides these, and there is no doubt that the family of Aaron multiplied greatly in the wilderness, which is why Israel assigned them many cities, as is written in the book of Joshua.

ואתה הקרב אליך את אהרון אחיך, "And you shall bring near to you your brother Aaron, etc." We must understand the words: "and you- bring near- to you," in light of the statement in Shemot Rabbah 3,17 according to which it was G'd's original plan to appoint Moses as High Priest. This was changed due to Moses' repeated refusal to accept the role assigned to him by G'd which angered G'd. As a result (Exodus 4,14), G'd told Moses that his brother Aaron who had merely been a Levite up to that point, had now been promoted to be a High Priest. When G'd commanded Moses at this point to perform the ceremonies required for Aaron to assume the office of High Priest, He told Moses that he had to make his own contribution to this ceremony so that he would not be perceived as begrudging Aaron an office which had originally been intended for him. In fact, the appointment of Aaron to this position would serve as atonement for Moses who had resisted G'd's invitation to become leader of the Jewish people at that time. The point mentioned last may be better understood in light of our tradition (Kabbalah) that when man opposes G'd, one of the many branches of his soul becomes detached from its holy root. At the time when Moses raised repeated objections to G'd's demand to accept the mantle of leadership, one of the branches of Moses' soul became detached from its celestial root. Although Moses had been punished for this, he had not obtained atonement until Aaron was inducted into the office of High Priest. Moses' active participation in this procedure would accelerate his atonement for this mistake. When the Torah speaks of ואתה הקרב אליך, we may understand this in the sense of "And you shall bring the estranged part of your soul close to you." G'd informed Moses that appointing Aaron would be his תקון, his rehabilitation for the error committed when he said to G'd: "send the one You are in the habit of sending (Exodus 4,13)." This may also help us to understand a somewhat strange imperative in Berachot 54 according to which a person must pronounce a blessing when he receives evil tidings just as he is obligated to pronounce a blessing when he receives glad tidings. The Talmud explains on folio 60 of that treatise that this means that even evil tidings must be welcomed with joy. I have always found this demand difficult to accept. When we consider the fact that afflictions are the instrument which reunite the branches of the soul which have separated from their holy root, it becomes easier to accept. After all, what worse fate could befall a person than that his soul become estranged from his Creator? When a person receives evil tidings this means that he suffers an affliction as a result of which the part of his soul which has become estranged to G'd will become reunited. How could a person fail to rejoice over this aspect of the afflictions he is being subjected to?

לכהנו לי, “to serve Me as priests;” the letter ו at the end of the word: לכהנו, is superfluous, just as in Psalms 104 11, or in Numbers 24,3, or in Numbers 23,18. (Compare Ibn Ezra’s short commentary)

“And you, bring near to you Aaron your brother from among the children of Israel.” Here, the Torah adds the language and you to tell you that because of the sin of the Golden Calf, Aaron became distanced [from God], just as the firstborn of Israel were disqualified. Moses brought him close through his prayer, as it is written And with Aaron, God was very angry, to destroy him, and I prayed also for Aaron at that time (Deuteronomy 9:20). The nature of this prayer was that Moses associated himself [with Aaron], saying, “Is he not my brother and my flesh? His destruction would be as if half of my flesh were consumed,” similar to how he prayed for Miriam. Thus, because Moses drew him close, Aaron was chosen due to Moses’ merit, even though he too was among the children of Israel who worshipped the Golden Calf. Nevertheless, Moses drew him near from among the children of Israel who were worshippers [of the calf], and all of this was for your sake. Therefore it says, And you, bring near to you Aaron your brother from among the children of Israel. Another explanation as to why it says “from among the children of Israel”: According to the explanation that prophecy only rests upon the prophets of Israel through the merit of Israel, as Rashi explains in Parashat Devarim on the verse And the Lord spoke to me (Deuteronomy 2:17). This comes to tell us that even though Aaron should have been distanced [from serving as High Priest], nevertheless God brought him near for two reasons: First, because of Moses, as he is his brother, and Aaron’s honor is Moses’s honor. And second, through the merit of the children of Israel who needed a priest like this who makes peace. Therefore both phrases are stated: And you bring near to yourself and from among the children of Israel.

נדב ואביהו אלעזר ואתמר, although the Torah had already indicated that this task was to be performed by “Aaron and his sons,” and we know the names of these sons of Aaron, the Torah names each one of them individually once more, in order to show that although both Aaron and his sons had been anointed with the oil of anointing, such had not been the case with Pinchos, Eleazar’s son, and that therefore at this time Pinchos was not included in the priests qualified to service the menorah. Once a priest had been ordained, his offspring born subsequently did not require anointing in order to be fully qualified as a priest.

לכהנו לי, “to minister unto Me.” Whenever the word לי is used in such a context it means that the instruction is of permanent validity. Compare Numbers 8,7: כי לי כל בכור בבני ישראל, “for every firstborn among the Israelites is Mine;” compare also Leviticus 25,55: כי לי בני ישראל עבדים, “for the Children of Israel are My slaves.” Compare further Leviticus 25,23: כי לי הארץ, “for the earth is Mine.”

And you shall make garments of holiness for Aaron your brother, for honor and for glory.

AND THOU SHALT MAKE HOLY GARMENTS FOR AARON THY BROTHER FOR SPLENDOR AND BEAUTY — this means that he be distinguished and glorified with garments of distinction and beauty, just as Scripture says, as a bridegroom putteth on a priestly diadem. For these garments [of the High Priest] correspond in their forms to garments of royalty, which monarchs wore at the time when the Torah was given. Thus we find with reference to the tunic, and he made him a tunic of ‘pasim’ — meaning, a cloth woven of variegated colors, this being the tunic of chequer work [mentioned here], just as [Ibn Ezra] explained, which clothed him as a son of ancient kings. The same applies to the robe and the tunic, as it is written, Now she [Tamar] had a garment of many colors upon her; for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled, which means that a garment of many colors was seen clearly upon her, for such was the custom that the virgin daughters of the king wore robes with which they wrapped themselves; thus the coat of many colors was upon her as an upper garment. It is for this reason that it says there, and she rent her garment of many colors that was on her. The mitre [mentioned here] is to this day known among kings and distinguished lords. Therefore Scripture says with reference to the fall of the kingdom [of Judah], The mitre shall be removed, and the crown taken off. Similarly it is written, and a royal diadem. Scripture also calls them the ornamented high caps, and it is further written, They shall have linen ornamented [caps] upon their heads, which are for the beauty and glory of those that are adorned with them. The ephod and the breastplate are also royal garments, just as it is written, and thou shalt have a chain of gold about thy neck. The plate [around the forehead, which the High Priest wore], is like a king’s crown. Thus it is written, ‘yatzitz nizro’ (his crown will shine). Furthermore, [the High Priest’s garments] are made of gold, blue-purple, and red-purple [which are all symbolic of royalty]. Thus it is written, All glorious is the king’s daughter within the palace; her raiment is of chequer work inwrought with gold, and it is further written, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy neck. As for the blue-purple, even to this day no man will lift up his hand to wear it except a king of nations, and it is written, And Mordecai went forth from the presence of the king in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a ‘tachrich’ (robe) of fine linen and purple — the tachrich being a robe in which the wearer wraps himself. By way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala,] majesty is to kavod (glory) and to tiphereth (splendor), the verse thus stating that they should make holy garments for Aaron to minister in them to the Glory of G-d Who dwells in their midst, and to the Splendor of their strength, as it is written, For Thou art the Glory of their strength, an...

"Holy garments" — they are called thus because they are worn while ministering in the holy place, or in the sense of "they shall not sanctify the people with their garments" (Ezek. 44:19). All of Aaron's garments mentioned here are "for glory and for splendor" — that he should be adorned with them, since there is no one among Israel who would wear the like.

לכבוד, to render honour and glory to the Almighty through the wearing of such resplendent garments when performing Temple service. ולתפארת, also the Priest should inspire awe among the Israelites who are all considered his disciples seeing he had the names of all the tribes engraved on these garments right opposite his heart when he wore them in his official capacity.

ועשית בגדי קדש לאהרון…לכבוד ולתפארת, "And you shall make holy garments for your brother Aaron for splendour and beauty." These beautiful garments are an expression of joy, and will convince Aaron that Moses wanted him to appear robed in splendour. A person who only carries out a directive under duress does not go to the trouble of constructing such splendid garments for the person who replaces him in a role that had originally been slated for himself. Although the garments in question were a must for the person wearing them whenever he performed service in the Tabernacle, G'd followed the principle of allowing Moses to accumulate this merit for himself by allowing him to perform this commandment joyfully. In this instance, Moses' action represented a rapprochement between the souls of Moses and Aaron respectively. Perhaps G'd even meant that Moses should pay out of his own funds for these garments Aaron would wear during performing the functions of his new office. Although we have learned that as a rule the cost of the priestly garments was to be defrayed by the public purse (Yuma 3,7), the Talmud allowed for individuals to donate such garments and hand them over to the public. We need to explore the meaning of the word לכבוד, for honour, in this verse after G'd had already informed us of both the purpose and the nature of these garments. If all the Torah meant to tell us was that honour and glory would be conferred upon Aaron its wearer, what have we gained by this knowledge? Perhaps we can understand the meaning of this word by reference to Avodah Zarah 34. The Talmud quotes Rabbi Akiva as not having an answer concerning the question of what garments Moses wore (when he temporarily functioned as High Priest) during the seven days of the inaugural offerings of the priests. When he enquired in the academy they told him that Moses wore a white shirt while performing the service during those days. The fact that Moses wore only a white shirt during those days is clear evidence that the priestly garments themselves were not an essential part of the Temple-service except for Aaron and his sons. If any of the other priests performed the service without wearing their special garments the sacrifices offered by such priests would be acceptable to G'd. Accordingly, the word לכבוד means that these clothes are not for G'd's sake but for man's sake, merely for the sake of the image of the priest wearing them, especially when such a person was a priest on a permanent basis. Seeing Moses performed such service only on a temporary basis, he did not have to wear such garments. Alternatively, G'd wanted to give us a reason why the Torah commanded that the High Priest wear 8 garments, 4 made of white linen and four containing gold. The Torah says that the reason is לכבוד ולתפארת, for splendour and for beauty. We find the following comment in the introduction of Tikkuney Ha-Zohar. "The four white linen garments are an allusion to the four letters in the Ineffable...

ועשית בגדי קדש, “you are to make holy garments;” after G-d had taught Moses how to construct the Tabernacle, he now proceeds to teach him about the priestly vestments to be worn when the priests perform their duties in the Tabernacle.

לכבוד ולתפארת, “for glory and splendor.” According to the plain meaning of these words the meaning is that the wearers of these garments will be honored and glorified by them. Seeing that in the eyes of even the distinguished individuals among the people the High Priest is considered like an angel of the Lord as far as his performing the sacrificial service is concerned, the Torah now commanded that his external appearance be comparable to that image which these people have of him by dressing him in garments reflecting his lofty assignment. The garments he was to wear were typical of Royal garments as we know from a number of verses in which these garments are associated with Royalty. Compare Samuel II 13,18: “she (David’s daughter the princess Tamar) was wearing an ornamented tunic מעיל, for maiden princesses were customarily dressed in such garments.” The word כתונת תשבץ is reminiscent of the garment Yaakov had made for his favorite son Joseph which the Torah described as a כתונת פסים, The מצנפת is also known to us as a headgear worn by rulers such as in the Arab countries even in our own days. A kabbalistic approach: the words לכבוד ולתפארת describe the task Aaron and his sons are to perform when performing their duties in the Tabernacle. It is their task to reflect credit on the Jewish people in the eyes of the Lord when they perform their duties dressed in these garments. You are aware already that the Tabernacle on earth was a model of the Sanctuary of the future. Isaiah 64,10 referred to the Temple as בית קדשנו ותפארתנו, “the House of our sanctity and glory.” What he meant when referring to “our sanctity” was the honour, and by the word “our glory” he referred to the glory that is Israel. The same idea is expressed by King Amatziah in Amos 7,13: “for it is a king’s sanctuary and a royal palace.” [He forbade the prophet to prophesy in the temple at Bethel. Ed.] The reason that the word לכהנו in לכהנו לי is spelled with the letter ו at the end is to allude to the sixth emanation which is called תפארת. The word לי is equivalent to לה’, i.e. G’d’s attribute כבוד.

ועשית בגדי קודש, “you are to make vestments to be worn during holy service.” Moses was not expected to fashion these garments himself, of course; this is a directive that he instruct the artisans charged with that task to insure that the vestments they would make would correspond to the details given in the Torah, Just as the skilled labourers constructing the Tabernacle itself were instructed by him personally, although Betzalel was the supervisor of the whole project to carry out their duties in consonance with the details recorded in Parshat Terumah. לכבוד ולתפארת, “for glory and splendour.” Nachmanides writes that this means that by wearing the garments described forthwith the wearer would enjoy glory and splendour in the eyes of those who saw him wearing these garments. The reason was that the garments that will be described now were all of the type worn by Royalty only. Already when Yaakov had a tunic, כתנת, made for Joseph, this was meant to distinguish the wearer, to set him apart from less distinguished peers. The מעיל, robe, was similarly a garment worn only by Royalty or other highly distinguished individuals. This is why the sages decreed that after the collapse of the independent Jewish state, grooms under the wedding canopy were no longer allowed to adorn themselves with turbans, and the brides were not wearing crowns on their heads. (compare Maimonides Taanit, based on Ezekiel 21,32). The headgear of the priests is also referred to as פארי מגבעות, as the kind of hat conferring distinction on the wearer. The breastplate too is a garment worn by Royalty. They were usually made from blue wool, gold threads, as we know from Daniel 5,7 (et al) והמונכא די דהבא על צואריה, “will wear purple and a golden chain around his neck.” The ציץ, the golden headband, corresponds to the crown worn by kings. Their crowns are made of a combination of blue and red, purple wool and gold. In Psalms 45,15 we are told כל כבודה בת מלך פנימה ממשבצות זהב לבושה, “the royal princess, her dress embroidered with golden mountings,” etc. Finally, תכלת, the wool dyed a royal blue, was also the colour worn only by Royalty. It is also possible that the meaning of the words לכבוד ולתפארת is a way of saying that seeing that the High Priest is to perform service of the Lord, he is to do so while clad in suitably decorative attire, all in honour of Hashem. [the problem with this interpretation is that the High Priest was not allowed to wear these vestments inside the Temple, only outside of it. Ed.] The Biblical verse supporting such an interpretation would be Psalms 69,19 כי תפארת עוזמו אתה, “for You are the glory of its strength.”

And you shall speak to all the wise of heart with whom I have endowed a spirit of wisdom, and they shall make the garments of Aaron, to consecrate him to minister before Me.

לקדשו לכהנו לי TO SANCTIFY HIM, TO APPOINT HIM AS PRIEST TO ME — to sanctify him, i. e. to instal him into the priesthood by means of the garments here specified, so that he may become priest unto Me. The expression of כהונה denotes service — serventrie in old French.

"And you" — the vav of "I have filled him" [מִלֵּאתִיו] refers back to the heart.

ואתה תדבר אל כל חכמי לב, that they should carry out all the instructions mentioned in the Torah in the preceding verses. ועשו את בגדי אהרן, not only should they build the Tabernacle, provide oil for the Menorah, but they should also fashion the garments to be worn by Aaron, etc. (3) TO CONSECRATE HIM. They should make the garments specifically for that purpose.

ואתה תדבר אל כל חכמי לב, "And you are to speak to all wise-hearted men, etc." The reason the Torah introduces this verse with the word ואתה is that Moses was to involve himself personally in speaking to those people. Although G'd had already said: "you are to make the holy garments," G'd repeated instructions to Moses here to make clear that Moses was not personally to make these garments but that they should be made at his behest. If the Torah had not issued instructions for Moses to personally speak to the artisans who were to make the garments, we would have thought that as long as these garments were made according to Moses' instructions it would not matter if he had personally charged the artisans with their task. The Torah is careful to say אל כל חכמי לב, "to all the wise-hearted men," as the fact that Moses would take out time to speak to all of them individually would be one of the signs demonstrating that he was personally anxious that Aaron be provided with such splendid robes. Had he not been enthusiastic about this task, Moses would have delegated as much of this task as he could and would certainly not have addressed every single artisan who was active in their construction. Furthermore, the reason that the Torah employs the word ואתה no less than three times in these five verses is a sign that Moses would enjoy the merit of performing three distinct services in connection with the building of the Tabernacle. He would receive credit for a) issuing the instructions to bring the donations enabling the Tabernacle to be built; b) for the overall instructions for building Tabernacle including its furnishings and the priestly garments; c) for the service that would be performed in the Holy Tabernacle as a result of his being instrumental in the Tabernacle being built. This was one of the reasons G'd said that the Israelites were to take things to him, or to bring things to him, or why he was to speak personally to all the wise-hearted men. All of this made Moses a messenger of the people. It would therefore be accounted for him as if he himself had performed every single activity connected with the project. The instruction to bring Aaron close to himself meant that when Aaron would perform the Temple service he would also do so as Moses' messenger. This is why the Torah was careful to write: אליך, "to you." The above-mentioned considerations also account for G'd' issuing these instructions to Moses in direct speech rather than in the third person describing what the individuals who actually fashioned the Tabernacle and its furnishings were to do. G'd meant for Moses to issue directives for others to carry out the work.

ואתה תדבר אל כל חכמי לב, “and you shall speak to the wise-hearted people, etc.” The word ועשו which appears close to the word חכמה hints that the making of these garments required an exceptional degree of wisdom meaning that they had to be made לשמם, i.e. the people making them had to remain constantly aware of the purpose of these garments and the function of the people who were to wear them. The Torah wrote the word ועשית, in addition to the word ועשו to underline how important the כוונה was which had to be present in the weavers, embroiderers, etc. You will note that this short paragraph contains the words לכהנו לי three times. Each time it would have sufficed for the Torah to write לכהן לי, “to be a priest for Me.” The three extra letters ו whose numerical value totals 18 is a veiled reminder of the 18 High Priests which served during the 410 years which the first Temple remained standing.

And you shall speak to all the wise-hearted. Here too, He mentions two instances of the second person [addressing Moses directly]: And you shall speak. This is because all the wise-hearted received their emanation from Moses, as it is written And I will take of the spirit that is upon you and place it upon them (Numbers 11:17). Similarly, all the craftsmen who were “in the shadow of God” received the flow of wisdom through Moses, as it is written And you shall select from all the people (Exodus 18:21) — meaning, through the holy spirit that is upon you. This means that you [Moses] should influence the judges of Israel from the holy spirit that is upon you. So too, And you shall speak to all the wise-hearted so that they may receive the emanation of intellectual light from you. Therefore, it is stated at the end of all the work of the Tabernacle, And Moses finished the work (Exodus 40:33). But did Moses really finish the work? Wasn’t it all the wise-hearted who did it? Rather, since Moses emanated to them from his intellectual light, it is as if he himself did all the work. And it says, “whom I have filled with a spirit of wisdom,” meaning, although in truth it is I who filled him with a spirit of wisdom, for the Lord gives wisdom (Proverbs 2:6), nevertheless, since the flow reaches them through you [Moses], it will all be attributed to your name. Therefore it says, And you — from your essential being and the additional wisdom within you — shall speak to all the wise-hearted to influence them. Since it says wise-hearted in the plural, it should have said “whom I have filled them [plural] with a spirit of wisdom.” We can say that whom I have filled him refers back to Moses, because since I filled him with a spirit of wisdom, therefore he will emanate from his wisdom to all the wise-hearted. This is not God’s statement to Moses, since it doesn’t say “whom I have filled you with a spirit of wisdom.” Rather, the verse explains to us what is meant by saying to Moses, And you shall speak to all the wise-hearted — why do I attribute this task to Moses? Because I have filled him with a spirit of wisdom. And afterwards, the Holy One, blessed be He, returned and said to Moses in the second person, And they shall make Aaron’s garments, etc. The word asher [whom] serves as an explanatory term [meaning “because”], as is its usage in several places.

And these are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban, and a sash. And they shall make garments of holiness for Aaron your brother and for his sons, to minister before Me.

חשן A BREAST-PLATE — an ornament borne in front of the heart. ואפוד AND AN EPHOD — I have heard no tradition nor have I found in the Boraitha any description of its shape, but my own mind tells me that it was tied on behind him; its breadth was the same as the breadth of a man’s back like a kind of apron which is called pourceint in old French which ladies of rank tie on when they ride on horse-back. Such, as mentioned, was the way in which the lower part was made, as it is said, (II Samuel 6:14) “And David was girded with a linen ephod” — this informs us that the ephod was something tied on the body. It is, however, not possible to say that it consisted of a girdle only, because it is said (Leviticus 8:7) “And he put the ephod upon him”, and afterwards it is stated “and he girded him with the חשב of the ephod” and this Onkelos translated by “the girdle of the ephod.” This, therefore, informs us that the חשב is the girdle and the אפור is the name of the ornamental garment itself. Further, it is not possible to assert that it was on account of the two shoulder-straps that it was called אפוד (i. e. that the term אפוד applies to these two straps and the girdle to which they were attached) for it is said, (v. 27) “the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod” — this tells us that the ephod is a separate name, the shoulderpieces a separate name and the girdle a separate name (i. e. each of these is the name of separate articles). Consequently I say that it is called אפוד in reference to the apron-like garment which hung down and that it was so called because they bedecked him (אופדו) and ornamented him with it, as it is said, (Leviticus 8:7) “And he bedecked (ויאפוד) him with it.” The חשב was the girdle which was on the upper portion of it (the ephod), and the shoulder-pieces were attached to it. Further, my own mind tells me that there is evidence that it was a kind of garment, for Jonathan ben Uzziel translates (II Samuel 6:14) “And David was girded with a linen ephod” by “a linen כרדוט” and exactly similarly does he translate מעילים, “robes”, by כרדוטין in the story of Tamar, Absolom’s sister, (II Samuel 13:18) “For with such robes (מעילים) were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled”. מעיל — This was a kind of shirt and so, too, the כתונת, except that the כתונת was worn immediately on the body and מעיל is a term for the outer shirt. תשבץ A QUILTED [INNER GARMENT] — made with משבצות as ornaments. These משבצות were a kind of indentations which are made in gold ornaments as a setting in which to fix precious stones and pearls, as it is said of the stones of the ephod, (v. 11) “enclosed in settings (משבצות) of gold.” In old French they call them castons. מצנפת — a kind of domed helmet which they call cofea in old French, for in another passage (v. 40) it calls them מגבעות which we translate in the Targum by כובעין, helmets. ואבנט — This was a girdle upon the inner-garment, and the ephod was the girdle over the outer-garment, just as we find it s...

"And these are the garments" — Scripture mentions first the breastpiece, which is above the ephod, which is in turn above the robe, and then the tunic, the sash that girds it, and the turban on his head. And so it was: when Aaron washed with water he would put on linen breeches — there is no need to mention these here or at the time of the actual work, since it is the practice of every person to wear breeches. Moses then clothed him in the tunic, and afterward placed the turban on his head, with the frontlet of the holy crown upon the turban. Now, in this verse — which enumerates the priestly garments — the frontlet of the holy crown is not mentioned, because it is not a garment. Our early authorities mentioned it in order to count eight priestly garments; but the Urim and Thummim are neither garments nor stones nor parchments. After the tunic, he girded him with the sash; then he clothed him with the robe; then the ephod — "he fastened it to him" by means of the band of the ephod, for the band belongs to the ephod, and it is called "ephod" on account of its band. This is the sequence given in this very verse. Do not be troubled that you find it written at the end, in the account of the actual vestiture: "he placed the turban on his head" (Lev. 8:9) — the meaning is that he had already placed the turban together with the gold frontlet when he put on the tunic. It is similar to "they clothed him with garments" (Zech. 3:5) — meaning they had already clothed him — for it is written first: "they placed the clean turban on his head" (ibid.).

ואלה הבגדים, And these are the garments, etc. Why does this verse list only six out of the eight priestly garments, omitting mention of the pants and the High Priest's ציץ, golden headband? Perhaps the missing garments have been alluded to already. The headband may have been alluded to in verse three as included in the line: "and they will make Aaron's garments to sanctify him." The words: "the garments of Aaron" in that verse were not really necessary; it would have sufficed to say: "and these are the garments, etc." The exclusive mention of Aaron alludes to the headband which was worn only by the High Priest. The reason it is mentioned together with the other garments is that it alone would not be able to perform any function. Aaron's (The High Priest's) eight garments performed their function only if all of them were worn by the High Priest at one time. This is also the justification for the conjunctive letter ו before the word אלה, "these." At first glance that letter appeared to have referred to other garments over and above the eight garments listed in the Torah at this stage. Actually, it only suggests that all the garments that were now being mentioned were interdependent on each other, essential. As far as the pants are concerned, we find an entirely unnecessary line at the end of verse four, i.e. "and they will make sacred garments for your brother Aaron and for his sons so that he will be a priest unto Me." Seeing that this line was unnecessary, we may see in it a veiled reference to the pants. Both Aaron and his sons are mentioned in that line as both he and his sons had to wear pants beneath their long tunics. The question which remains is why the Torah did not list these two garmennts together with the list of the six garments listed in verse four so that the allusions which we just mentioned need not have been recorded at all? We may have to look at these two garments as being in a category by themselves, the headband because of its special significance, and the pants because of their being of inferior status as a garment symbolising the priest's holiness. This is why each of these is alluded to separately and is not lumped together with the other six priestly garments. The six garments mentioned in a row in our verse are basically of equal worth as far as their symbolising the status of their wearers as priests is concerned. An additional reason for listing only the six garments here may be that the Torah wanted us to know that the priestly garments needed to be constructed for that specific purpose. This is why the Torah emphasised: "they shall make holy garments." Even Aaron's pants had to be made especially for him to wear when performing his duties. If so, we would realise that the same rule applied in even greater measure to the making of the garments which were holier than the pants by definition. The first verse which we explained contained the allusion to the headband, also speaks of לקדשו, "to sanctify him;" in the case...

ואלה הבגדים, “and these are the vestments “ Our author is stymied by the omission in this list of the “golden headband,” ציץ, listed in verse 36 of this chapter. חשן ואפוד, “a breastplate attached to an ephod.” At this point, linen trousers are not mentioned, as they were not constructed as a sign of distinction of the individual who wore them. ועשו בגדי קדש, “they (the artisans) shall make holy garments.” Other garments, such as the headband for Aaron and the trousers for his sons, are not mentioned at this stage.

ואלה הבגדים אשר יעשו, “These are the garments they are to make, etc.” Our sages in Erchin 16 say that just as the sacrifices themselves were instruments of atonement for the Jewish people, so the priestly garments (when worn at the right time in the right place by the right people) were also instruments helping the Jewish people to achieve atonement. This is the reason that the section dealing with the priestly garments was written right next to the section dealing with the sacrifices themselves (the consecration offerings 29,18). The breastplate would atone for sins committed erroneously by judges, as is written: ועשית חושן משפט, “you are to make the breastplate of judgment” (verse 15). The ephod would secure atonement for the sin of idolatry committed inadvertently as we are reminded by Hoseah 3,4: “and there will be no ephod and no teraphim.” It is also written in Judges 8,27 that Gideon converted gifts of gold given to him into a garment called ephod, something that was accounted a sin for him [seeing he did not treat it as a garment but as a sort of monument. Ed.]. The robe called מעיל secured atonement for loose use of one’s tongue, לשון הרע; this is symbolized by the bells at the lower hem of that tunic, מעיל. This robe had a number of bells at the lower edge of which could be heard when the High Priest wearing it was approaching. Just as the evil tongue is something that was spread in public, so the atonement procedure was by means of a garment heard in public. When evil was spoken in private by someone, (who was unaware that he was guilty of unfair comments) the means of atonement for this was the incense. The checkered tunic, כתונת תשבץ, would secure atonement for blood spilled inadvertently. This has been alluded to in Genesis 36,31: “they dipped the tunic in blood.” This tunic resembled a type of shirt and was worn next to the skin (like a T-shirt with sleeves). It was embroidered with gold threads designed in a checkered manner so that it appeared to have “stripes” through it. This is what is meant by (28,39) “you shall make the tunic of a box-like knit of fine linen.” The word תשבץ is the same as משבצות זהב (compare Maimonides Hilchot Klei Hamikdash 9,19). The headgear worn by the High Priest, i.e. the מצנפת, would obtain forgiveness for haughty bearing and deportment. It was appropriate that something worn high on top of one’s head should be the symbol by means of which haughtiness could be atoned for. The אבנט, belt, would secure atonement for lewd fantasies and other sinful thoughts. Our sages in Jerusalem Talmud Yuma 7,3 claim that the length of this belt was 32 cubits (about 20 meters) The golden head band, ציץ, worn by the High Priest on his forehead would atone for effrontery. We have a verse in Jeremiah 3,3 describing effrontery as associated with the forehead. The prophet speaks of the “brazenness of a harlot,” using the word מצח to define brazenness. Aaron had a total of eight garments of which the Torah lists only six. The Torah did not mention his linen trousers as only the garments Moses was to dress him in qualified for this paragraph. The headband, being made of pure gold, is also not enumerated as one of the garments, as, strictly speaking, it was an ornament rather than a garment. The instruction for Aaron to wear linen pants was given only in verse 42 after Moses had already been instructed to dress him in his garments. Had Moses been meant to dress Aaron in his pants the instructions to dress Aaron would not have been written only at the end of verse 42 The function of the pants as a means of securing atonement extended to sins of a sexual or incestuous nature as man is perceived as using his legs to run after chances to obtain sexual gratification.

And these are the garments that they shall make: a breastplate and an ephod. Here the breastplate is mentioned before the ephod, but later when listing them in detail, the ephod is mentioned first, and afterward and you shall make a breastplate. Similarly, at the time of construction in Parshat Pekudei, the ephod is also mentioned before the breastplate. Additionally, there is another difficulty: in all other instances it says and you shall make, but here it says and they shall make the ephod. I am surprised that all the commentators who questioned why it says and they shall make an ark regarding the Ark, here no one says a word. According to what will be explained soon regarding the purpose of the ephod, which came as atonement for idolatry, specifically for the [golden] calf that they made, which caused the breaking of the tablets that Moses carried on his shoulders — therefore the ephod was placed on his [the High Priest’s] two shoulders, and it is written two shoulder pieces shall be joined to it, corresponding to the two tablets which had five commandments opposite five. Therefore, it appropriately says and they shall make in the plural form, for the same reason that it says and they shall make regarding the Ark. However, it seems reasonable to understand, according to what our Sages of blessed memory said in the tractate (Arakhin 16a): “Why is the section of sacrifices juxtaposed with the section of the priestly garments? To tell you that just as sacrifices atone, so too the priestly garments atone. The breastplate atones for corrupt judgment, the ephod atones for idolatry, the robe atones for evil speech, the tunic atones for bloodshed, the turban atones for arrogance, the belt atones for impure thoughts of the heart, the headplate atones for brazenness, and the breeches atone for sexual immorality” — and all of these are derived there from scriptural verses. According to this, we can explain why the Holy One, blessed be He, placed the breastplate before the ephod, because the Holy One, blessed be He, is more strict about the corruption of justice than about idolatry. Evidence for this comes from the generation of the dispersion [Tower of Babel] who rebelled against the fundamental principle [of belief in God] but were not destroyed, while the generation of the flood, because there was violence and robbery among them, were destroyed. For if a person sins against the Holy One, blessed be He, what harm does it do to Him? But Israel, for the honor of the Omnipresent, blessed be He, gave precedence to making the ephod, because the sin of idolatry was more severe to them than the corruption of justice. Therefore it says, And they shall make the ephod, because the language of and they shall make also implies a prediction of future events, saying that this is how it will be — that they will make the ephod first. Furthermore, the Holy One, blessed be He, has the power to forgive and overlook idolatry, but not the corruption of justice in matters between one person and another, because the Holy One, blessed be He, only forgives matters between Himself and His creatures. But Israel said, “It is in our power to forgive and overlook the injustice that happened to us through the corruption of justice, but who can permit [the forgiveness of] the portion that belongs to the Most High?” Therefore, they gave precedence to the making of the ephod. And this is similar to what the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses, Take vengeance for the children of Israel against the Midianites (Numbers 31:2), and Moses said to take the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. From here Rashi learned to say that although Moses heard that his death depended on this matter, nevertheless he did it joyfully and without delay. For if he had not done it joyfully, then he should have told Israel things as they were — that they should take vengeance for the children of Israel for what they had done to them, since they caused 24,000 of Israel to fall. Rather, it is certain that Moses thought: Since Israel loves their leaders, and when they hear that Moses’ death depends on this vengeance, they will say, “Does the Holy One, blessed be He, seek vengeance except for our sake?” If so, Israel might say, “We will forgive what they did to us and not seek vengeance so quickly.” Therefore, Moses changed the wording and said to take the Lord’s vengeance on Midian for what they did against God in the matter of Peor. And if it concerns the portion of the Most High, who would dare to postpone it? Thus, Moses certainly acted joyfully and without delay. This matter will be further explained in the portion of Matot, God willing. Breastplate and ephod and robe, etc. He did not mention the headplate and breeches because they are not considered clothing, as they are not garments. But since we find here three instances of the language of “making” — And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, and then it says, And they shall make Aaron’s garments to sanctify him, and then it says, And these are the garments which they shall make — we can say that the first and second instances, since holiness is mentioned in them, certainly allude to the headplate and breeches. For wherever you find a fence for nakedness, there you find holiness. And according to our Sages (Arachin 16a), the breeches atone for sexual immorality. And I add that the headplate also atones for sexual immorality — this one for private matters and that one for public matters. For the breeches, which are in a private place, atone for private matters — that is, one who pursues sexual immorality privately and covertly, as it is written to cover the flesh of nakedness. And the headplate atones for brazenness, which is sinning publicly without shame. And this is what is cited in the Gemara (ibid. 16a), the verse you had the forehead of a harlot woman (Jeremiah 3:3). Therefore, Holy to the Lord is written on the headplate. And even if we say that the headplate atones for general brazenness, still, the first instance of “making” alludes to the headplate, upon which is written Holy to the Lord. And with this is resolved what was said initially, And you shall make holy garments for Aaron (Exodus 28:2) — placing holy garments before Aaron and afterwards it says, And they shall make Aaron’s garments to sanctify him (Exodus 28:3) — placing Aaron’s garments before “sanctification.” This is because the first verse speaks about the headplate [tzitz], which previously he was not accustomed to wearing any headplate. Therefore it says, And you shall make holy garments for Aaron — that one should make for Aaron a garment with Holy to the Lord engraved upon it like seal engravings, and let it be to him as a garment with which he wraps himself (Psalms 109:19). But further down it speaks about the breeches [undergarments], which in any case it is the way of people to go clothed with breeches. Therefore it says, And they shall make Aaron’s garments to sanctify him, meaning those garments of Aaron which he was already accustomed to wearing, now they shall make them to sanctify him from sexual immorality.

חושן ואפוד ומעיל וכתונת תשבץ ואבנט, “a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a tunic of chequer work, a turban, and a sash.” All the vestments have been mentioned here with the exception of the ציץ, the golden headband, and the trousers. It is possible that seeing that the Torah wrote that Moses was to address כל חכמי לב, “all the wise-hearted people,” there was no need to mention the two last mentioned garments, as making them did not involve any special skill.

ואלה הבגדים, they are all listed individually. חשן, something resembling a sheath, containing a pocket. Its precise nature depends on its use at the time. ואפוד, a garment which is at one and the same time decorative and protective, covering the chest of a person, worn as an outer garment. תשבץ, a knitted one (tunic). This garment, being knitted, has small holes all over it, as do most such knitted garments when made from wool. מצנפת, a kind of hat, cap, worn on the head. We encounter the word describing Royal headgear in Isaiah 62,3 וצניף מלוכה, “a royal diadem.” ואבנט, a belt or sash of sorts. According to the plain meaning, this is the place where the trousers should have been mentioned. They were not mentioned as only garments of a distinctive character enhancing a person’s stature are listed here.

And they shall take the gold, the blue, the purple, the crimson dye, and the fine linen.

והם יקחו AND THEY SHALL TAKE — Those men, wise in heart (cf. v. 3), who are to make the garments shall receive from the donors את הזהב ואת התכלת THE GOLD AND THE BLUE PURPLE, in order to make the garments of them.

AND THEY SHALL TAKE THE GOLD. Now up to this point all the commands were directed to Moses himself: and thou shalt make, thou shalt make, but now He commanded that he should speak unto all that are wise-hearted that they make the garments. It is for this reason that He said, and they shall take the gold and the blue-purple, meaning that they are to receive the free-will gifts directly from the public, and make with them the garments. The purport thereof is to state that the gifts should not be weighed out to them, nor be counted, for they are trustworthy people, similarly to that which is said, Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to give to them that did the work; for they dealt faithfully. And just as this is said with reference to the garments, the same applied to the whole work of the Tabernacle. Only on the first day [of its construction] is it written, and they received of Moses, and even then they took everything from him without an accounting. But on the other days the people brought the gifts directly to those who did the work. Therefore it is written, And they spoke unto Moses, saying: The people bring much more than enough — for it was to them that the people brought the free-will gifts, not that they gave them to Moses for him to weigh it out to them. However, after the workers had collected everything, they did count and weigh it out, and told it to Moses, as it is written, and the gold of the offering was twenty and nine talents etc.

"They" — the craftsmen of skilled heart: they are the trustworthy ones [who carry out the work].

והם יקחו את הזהב, just as the correct degree of dedication to its purpose was required by these חכמי לב while they would be engaged in fashioning the Tabernacle and its paraphernalia, so the same degree of mental concentration on their holy task was required while they received these contributions from the people or their go betweens.

והם, “and they,” the artisans, יקחו את הזהב, “will take the gold; gold which has been discussed elsewhere, i.e. the donations of gold listed in Parshat T’rumah. G-d tells Moses that just as He wishes that Moses should use these donations of gold in the construction of the Tabernacle, so He also wishes that some of it be used for making the priestly vestments. People will not say that Aaron uses this in order to flatter himself, or to enrich himself, as they are aware that it is he who facilitates their obtaining forgiveness for their sins. This will all be spelled out later on.

והם יקחו את הזהב, “and they shall take the gold, etc.” Up until this point all the directives had been addressed to Moses personally, whereas now G’d commanded that Moses address all the wise-hearted people to fashion the vestments, therefore the Torah had to continue with והם יקחו וגו', that these wise-hearted people had to get hold of the raw materials they were to employ when making these vestments. They would receive them directly from the donors and there would be no need for an accounting of the quantity of such materials handed over to the artisans entrusted with the work. They were all trustworthy. The same principle also applied to all the other people engaged in the construction of the Tabernacle. We know this from the fact that the only time mention is made of these donations being handed over by the people was on the first day they had been given such an opportunity, and Moses already had to stop them from binging additional contributions as the Tabernacle’s needs had already been oversubscribed. (compare 35,21 and 36,7) It is clear from there that the people brought their contributions directly to the artisans appointed to convert the materials into the respective furnishings of garments.

And they shall make the ephod of gold, blue, purple, crimson dye, and twisted fine linen — the work of a skilled craftsman.

ועשו את האפד AND THEY SHALL MAKE THE EPHOD — If I set myself to explain the making of the ephod and the breast-plate in the order of the verses, the description of them would be fragmentary and the reader might err in piecing the details together: therefore I shall write down how they were made, just as each of them was, in order that “he who runs may read” (may have a comprehensive idea of them in their entirety), and afterwards I shall explain it in the order of the verses. The ephod was made like that kind of apron of women who ride on horse-back. He (the priest) tied it on behind him opposite (at the height of) his heart below his elbows. Its breadth was equal to the measure of a man’s back and somewhat more (cf. Rashi, end of v. 26), and it reached to his heels. The belt was attached to its top edge along the whole of its width, being of weaver’s work (i. e. woven in one piece with the ephod) and it extended on both sides beyond the width of the ephod in order that it might go right round the body and gird on the ephod by means of it. The shoulder-pieces were attached to the belt, one on the right and one the left, behind the priest, at the two ends of the width of the apron, and when they were lifted up they stood (we should say “they lay”) upon his two shoulders, so that they were like two straps made of the same material as the ephod itself, and sufficiently long to lift them up to reach to his neck on both sides, and they hung over in front of him a little below his shoulders. The onyx stones were fixed in them, one on his right shoulder and one on his left shoulder, and the settings were placed in their ends in front of his shoulders on his breast. Two cords of gold were inserted through two rings which were on the breastplate at the two ends of its upper width (edge), one on the right and one on the left, and the two ends of the chain (or cord) were fixed in the setting on the right, and similarly the two ends of the left chain were fixed in the setting which was on the left shoulder. Consequently, the breast-plate hung in front of him over his heart from the settings of the ephod. Further, there were two rings at the two ends of the breast-plate on its lower edge, and opposite them two rings below on the two shoulder pieces of the ephod on the lower edge of each where this was joined to the belt. The under two rings on the breast-plate were opposite the rings on the ephod, lying one upon the other, and they fastened them (each pair of rings) together by a blue purple thread which was inserted through the rings in the ephod and breast-plate, so that the lower edge of the breast-plate should lie close to the belt of the ephod and should not move about and come apart from it, swinging to and fro. זהב תכלת וארגמן תולעת שני ושש משזר OF GOLD, OF BLUE PURPLE, AND OF RED PURPLE, OF CRIMSON AND FINE TWISTED LINEN — The five materials were intertwined in every strand: they beat out the gold into the form of thin plates and from them they cut...

The significance of the ephod is that it is greater than the breastpiece, and the breastpiece must not be displaced from the band. There are difficult questions concerning the ephod and the breastpiece. Moses made only one ephod; and what is written, "the ephod had come down in his hand" (I Sam. 23:6) — that is not Moses's ephod, for if it were, it would have been written "the ephod" with the definite article, as in "bring near the ephod" (ibid. 23:9). Furthermore, why does it say "had come down" [יָרַד] and not "he brought down" — it appears to indicate something that happened by chance? Moreover it is written: "eighty men bearing a linen ephod" (ibid. 22:18). Many commentators explained this to mean they were worthy of wearing an ephod, but they did not attend to knowing the truth: a linen ephod [אֵפוֹד בַּד] is a kind of linen garment, whereas Moses's ephod was not linen at all — it was gold, blue, purple, crimson, and fine linen together. And they [the priests] would inquire only through the breastpiece of judgment, upon which the Urim and Thummim gave responses, as it is written: "by the judgment of the Urim before Hashem" (Num. 27:21). There is no difficulty from "bring near the ephod" (I Sam. 23:9), since the breastpiece is attached to it and the Urim are with the breastpiece — and so it is written: "until a priest stands up for Urim and Thummim" (Neh. 7:65), and "Your Thummim and Your Urim" (Deut. 33:8). We see that Hashem answered David through the ephod of Abiathar, and that Saul, when he went to battle, inquired through the Urim — they are the same ones that were in the breastpiece of judgment, together with the ephod and the Ark. David at Ziklag inquired through the ephod of Abiathar, which was not Moses's ephod. There is yet a harder question: the Urim are not the stones of the breastpiece, for it is written: "you shall set in it four rows of stone" (v. 17 below) — that is the craftsman's work, not Moses's — and afterward it says to Moses: "you shall place in the breastpiece of judgment the Urim and the Thummim" (v. 30 below). In the account of the making of the ephod it is written: "four rows of stone" (Exod. 39:10), and these rows are mentioned, and it says of Moses: "he placed upon it the breastpiece, and he placed in the breastpiece the Urim and the Thummim" (Lev. 8:8). Thus on the plain sense [peshat], the illuminating [objects] are not the stones, nor are the perfecting [objects] the stones; the inquiry is through the Urim and Thummim and we do not know what they are. The letters of the tribal names — and even the names of the patriarchs — are of no avail [as an explanation], for the breastpiece is called "of judgment" only on account of the Urim that are upon it. There is yet another question: we cannot say that the Urim are themselves the Thummim, since it is written "for Urim and Thummim" (Ezra 6:65), and moreover the words אוּרִים and תֻּמִּים are both plural, so there are multiple things. Rabbenu Shlomo stated that the Urim and Thummim were inscriptions of the Explicit Name; but had he seen the responsum of Rabbenu Hai he would not have said so. The matter of the ephod and the breastpiece is a deep mystery; I will merely hint at part of it — perhaps one who has knowledge of the Most High will understand. The key that enables entry into the mystery is: the two braided chains set on the two settings, and the band of the ephod, which runs straight along the middle — hence the six [names] are on one shoulder and six on the other, in keeping with the calculation; therefore they are on one stone in the count of the children of Israel, according to their names in the order of their birth, and so too the second six. But the judgment is not according to the division in the heart, but according to the visible division before the eye. It is because of the inclination [of the breastpiece] that it says: "they bound the breastpiece from its rings to the rings of the ephod by a cord of blue" (v. 28 below). The breastpiece was doubled, for there the Urim and Thummim were stored until the moment of need — then they would be brought out to the outside of the breastpiece. The shoham stones are identical and of one kind, but this is not so with the breastpiece stones; the shoham stones are for remembrance, and the judgment of the children of Israel rests upon the breastpiece stones. The word אוּרִים is derived from the root of "I see a light" [חֲמוֹתִי רָאִיתִי אוֹר] (Isa. 44), and תֻּמִּים means "perfect ones." The Urim — not the Thummim — were of gold and silver, and their number is known by certain proofs from above and below; the discerning one will understand. Many ephods existed among the priests, and these have a band [חֵשֶׁב], but no breastpiece and no Urim. One who was practiced in the words of the Urim and Thummim that were on the breastpiece of judgment could answer an inquirer by analogy from the ephod alone, but not at all times. Even if I were willing to reveal this secret, I could not write it as I have written the commentary on the whole book, for no one who has not studied the Book of Measures [Sefer ha-Middot] and the secret of the work of the heavens can understand it. There is no need to elaborate on the form of the ephod and breastpiece and rings.

אפוד, a garment that covers a person from the waist down. Its upper rim is constructed like a sash or belt, artistic work. This sash is used when the wearer ties the ephod above his tunic. This is the meaning of Leviticus 8,7ויחגור אותו בחשב האפוד, ויאפוד לו בו, “he girdled him with the belt of the ephod and thus adorned him with it.”

ועשו את האפוד, “they are to make the ephod.” Apparently only a single ephod was to be made. When we read in Samuel I 23,6: “he brought down an ephod with him,” and in Samuel I 22,18: “he killed eighty five men on that day wearing a linen ephod,” this is no contradiction to what the Torah wrote, as none of these eighty five men also wore a breastplate attached to their ephod. The Jewish High Priests, when consulting G-d, did so only by means of the breastplate which had the urim and tumim folded in the pocket at the back of the breastplate. When in Samuel I 23,9, David told the High Priest Evyatar to bring forth the ephod, he referred to the one attached to the breastplate that was attached to it. The artisans constructed the ephod, according to what is written in the Torah, and as explained by Rashi. There is proof that the ephod was a vestment, as we are told in Samuel II 6,14, that David was girded with an ephod. We also have proof that the daughters of the king would wear such a garment so as to be identified of their rank as princesses. (Compare Samuel II 13,18.)

ועשו את האפוד, “they are to make the ephod.” In view of the fact that the Torah had made mention of the breastplate before the ephod in verse 4, it should have taken precedence here as well. It is clear that the reason this garment is mentioned first is that it was the most important of all the special garments of the High Priest. The breastplate was worn immediately beneath the ephod as an appendix to it, the ephod being the principal part of that combined garment. Seeing this was so, the Torah wrote about the making of the ephod before it wrote about the construction of the breastplate. At the time of the actual construction, the ephod is mentioned in verse 6, whereas the actual making of the breastplate is mentioned only in verse 15. If, nonetheless, in verse 4 the breastplate was mentioned first this was because the urim vetumim were to be housed in part of that breastplate, and it was these which represented the “hot line” to G’d of the High Priest who could receive answers from the celestial regions to his inquiries by means of that device. It is well to remember that the three garments (breastplate, ephod and belt) were made of a mixture of linen and wool even though the Torah had specifically issued a prohibition to the Israelites to wear any garment which combined these two materials (Deut. 22,11). Priests (only during the time they performed service in the Temple) were exempt from this prohibition. This is why the Torah wrote specifically in connection with the ephod: “they shall make the ephod of gold, blue wool, purple and scarlet wool and twisted linen.” In connection with the breastplate in verse 15 the Torah describes the very same materials again and in the same sequence. In Exodus 39,29 the Torah describes the belt as being made of “twisted linen, blue wool, purple wool and scarlet wool” (no golden thread). The word תכלת describes wool dyed the colour of the sky; the word ארגמן describes wool dyed a purple colour, whereas the word תולעת שני describes wool dyed a scarlet colour. The expression שש describes a kind of fabric made of linen. You should know that the ephod and breastplate contained five different kinds of materials whereas the פרוכת, the dividing curtain, contained four different kinds of materials. The pomegranate-like apples at the bottom of the robe contained three different kinds of materials. The breastplate of the ephod is described as containing: gold, blue wool, purple wool, scarlet coloured wool, and twisted linen (verse 15). Of the dividing curtain the Torah writes that it contained blue wool, purple wool, and scarlet coloured wool plus twisted linen (36,35). Of the pomegranates the Torah writes (39,24) that it contained blue wool, purple wool, and twisted scarlet coloured wool. No mention of linen is made in connection with the robe. Our sages in Yuma 71 say that wherever the Torah mentions the word שש in connection with garments the meaning is that the strand consisted of six threads of that material. If the word שש is followed by the word משזר, however, the Torah refers to strands of eight threads. If the word משזר occurs without the word שש in front such as in connection with the רמונים, the pomegranates of the robe, then the meaning is 12-threaded strands. These descriptions refer to the various threads of each material, so that you find that the dividing curtain was made of a total of 24-threaded of material, the breastplate and ephod of 28, seeing that the dividing curtain had four different kinds of materials each of which was described as שש and four times 6 equals 24. The robe, on the other hand, was constructed of a total of only 12-thread thick strands seeing it was comparable to the פרוכת (verse 31). On the one hand, it was made of only a single material, i.e. blue wool, seeing the Torah writes כליל; on the other hand, seeing the word כליל is understood to mean גדיל, a certain type of strand woven or spun out of a double thread, the robe would have 12 threads of blue wool per strand instead of the 6-threaded strands used with the dividing curtain. This is why the מעיל, the robe, had thicker strands consisting of 12 threads each. The breastplate and ephod which had yet another variety of material in addition to any other garment had a total of 28-threaded strands. It is impossible to say that the golden strand also consisted of six threads (so that it would have 30-threaded strands) as the expression וקצץ פתילים is mentioned in connection with it (39,3) and we know that the word פתיל refers to something only twofold, so that if it was folded over it would be four-fold. This gives us 4 varieties of six-threaded strands and one variety of a four-threaded strand for the materials used on the חשן האפוד.

And they shall make the ephod. In all other instances it says and you shall make, but here it says and they shall make, because the Sages said (Arachin 16) that the ephod comes to atone for idolatry, and here the Israelites transgressed and made the golden calf. Therefore, all of them should be involved in making the ephod to provide atonement for everyone. In a similar way, the Sages said (Exodus Rabbah 34:2) regarding And they shall make an ark — let everyone come and be involved in it, etc. Likewise, and they shall make stated here [is because] Moses had no part at all in that act [of the golden calf], therefore [the text] attributed [the making] to the Israelites and not to Moses. We have explained this previously in a different way. And [the text] says that it should be a work of skilled design in order to atone for idolatry, because the thought regarding it [idolatry] is considered like an action, as it is said in order to seize the house of Israel in their heart (Ezekiel 14:5). The reason for this is that the essence of that sin depends on belief, which is in the realm of thought, and all the services performed for idolatry are secondary to the thought, because the main sin depends on the believing heart. This is what is meant by and the skillfully woven band which is on it shall be of the same workmanship because although “cheshev” refers to binding or girding, nevertheless, the text uses the term cheshev, which also indicates thought, to teach that the thought regarding it [idolatry] is considered as an action. For this reason, the cheshev [band] was made like its workmanship, to atone for the thought which is considered as an action. And for this reason we find in the portion of Shelach Lecha, in the passage And if you err, etc. (Numbers 15:22–24) which speaks about idolatry, that it places the burnt offering before the sin offering, even though in all [other] atonements the sin offering precedes the burnt offering. This is because in every sin, the thought precedes the action, yet the action is more severe than the thought. Therefore, one removes first the greater [sin], which is the sin offering that atones for the action, and afterward the burnt offering for the spirit of thought. But with idolatry, the sin of thought is greater than the action, therefore it places the burnt offering before the sin offering. Similarly here, it places the atonement for thought before the atonement for action, as it first says a work of skilled design to atone for the sin of thought, and afterward it says two shoulder pieces joined to it to atone for the sin of action, as it is written They bear it on the shoulder, etc. (Isaiah 46:7) regarding idolaters. And because the [golden] calf caused the breaking of the tablets that Moses carried on his two shoulders, which had five commandments corresponding to five [on the other tablet], and they were joined, as the commandments were parallel to one another, therefore as atonement came two shoulder pieces joined to it, etc. In addition to this atonement, the Ark was made, which was carried on two shoulders by the two poles of the Ark. And this is what is meant by He dwells between his shoulders (Deuteronomy 33:12). For the Holy One, blessed be He, condensed His Divine Presence between the two poles of the Ark that were placed on the shoulders of those carrying the Ark. Furthermore, the Holy One, blessed be He, condensed His Divine Presence between the two shoulder pieces of the priest carrying the ephod, for on it was hung the breastplate of judgment in which were the Urim and Thummim opposite his heart, and the explicit Divine Name was engraved in them.

ועשו את האפוד; although my grandfather (Rashi) has explained both the ephod and the choshen in detail, I plan to concentrate on some aspects which he has not mentioned in his commentary.

Two shoulder-pieces, joined together, shall be attached to it, one on each of its two sides, and it shall be joined together.

שתי כתפת וגו׳ TWO SHOULDER-PIECES, etc. — The apron was below and the חשב of the ephod was the belt, and this was joined to it on its top edge similar to the apron of ladies who ride on horseback. On the priest’s back there were joined to the belt two pieces like two wide straps, one opposite each shoulder. He lifted these up upon his two shoulders so that they hung down in front of him before his breast, and because they were joined to the rings in the breast-plate they were held fast in front of him upon his heart so that they could not fall off his shoulders backwards, just as is explained in this section (v. 28). Thus they lay on his back in an erect position and then passed over his shoulders and the two onyx stones were fixed on them, one stone upon each shoulder-piece. אל שני קצותיו AT THE TWO EXTREMITIES THEREOF — on the width of the ephod; for its width was equal only to that of the priest’s back (and did not go entirely round his body, so that one may well speak of the two extremities of the ephod), and its height was up to the elbows — which they call coudes in old French — and not higher, because it is said (Ezekiel 44:18) “they shall not gird themselves (בַּיָּזַע),” i. e. they shall not gird themselves in the place where one perspires (במקום זיעה) namely, not higher than their elbows and not lower than their loins, but only by their elbows (Zevachim 18b). וחבר IT — the ephod — SHALL BE JOINED with the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod: he shall join them below the belt with a needle and he shall not weave them together with it, but he must weave them separately and join them afterwards.

שתי כתפות חוברות, carefully matched in the construction of their decorations. אל שני קצותיו, toward the two outer extremes of its width. וחובר, as a result of which the ephod will be joined to the art work of the shoulder pads.

שתי כתפות, “two epaulettes;” these have been mentioned first in verse 7. They looked like short belts joined to one another, and they would be attached to both the front and the back of the ephod. They would rest both over his right shoulder and over his left shoulder. They bore the name “shoulderpieces,” as they stood upright forming a kind of collar around the High Priest’s neck. According to a different opinion, these epaulettes were very wide, hence they were compared to shoulders. According to that opinion, this is why they were described as חוברות, for if they had been narrow like thin belts, they could not have been properly attached to the breastplate which would have been in danger of falling down. וחבר, this word from the end of verse 7, means that the shoulder pieces were joined to the ephod by means of pins (like safety pins).

שתי כתפות חוברות יהיה לו, according to my understanding the ephod was designed and constructed to cover only the lower half of the body from the waist down. It covered, (i.e. enclosed) this section both in front and at the rear. This is spelled out more clearly in Leviticus 8,7ויחגור אותו בחשב האפוד ויאפוד לו, “he put the tunic on him, girdled him with the decorated band (sash) with which he tied it to him.” This makes clear that the cheshev was a kind of belt or sash attached to the edge of the ephod firmly attached (sewn) to the body of the garment described as ephod. The shoulder pieces described here were so tightly attached to one another that they covered the entire back of a person from his waist upwards all the way up. [the shoulder pieces (straps) were joined to one another tightly from behind.] This is the reason the Torah repeats once more concluding with the word וחבר, vechubar, “so that it was properly joined together.” In other words, not only were the two shoulder pieces tightly joined together at the upper level of the torso, but they were also tied together by means of these bands at the level of the waist. The choshen was worn above it on his heart, being only one span wide and long (28cm square). This breastplate was also attached to the shoulder pieces above and to the ephod at waist level below. As a result, for practical purposes the breastplate and the ephod were really one garment. This had to be so, for, if the breastplate had only been fastened to the shoulder pieces of the ephod by means of the chains described, every time when the priest had occasion to bend down, the shoulder pieces would have been in danger of falling down. אל שני קצותיו, to its two ends, which were behind the priest, the ends of the upper part of the ephod beside the sash.

And the decorative belt that is upon it shall be of the same workmanship as it — of gold, blue, purple, crimson dye, and twisted fine linen.

וחשב אפדתו This signifies, and the girdle by means of which he bedecks it (the ephod) and puts it in order for the priest and adorns him (cf. Rashi on v. 4). אשר עליו WHICH WAS UPON IT — above on the edge of the apron: this is therefore the girdle. כמעשהו ACCORDING TO THE WORK THEREOF — as the weaving of the apron — the work of an artist and of the five materials — so the weaving of the belt, also, was the work of an artist and of the five materials. ממנה יהיה IT SHALL BE OF THE SAME — it shall be woven together with it, and one shall not weave it separately, and join its afterwards.

וחשב אפדתו, “and its skillfully woven band;” this was an integral part of the ephod, looking like a belt; this is why it was described in Leviticus 8,7: ויחגור אותו בחשב האפד, “he girded him with the girdle.” אשר עליו, “which is upon it;” all around the circumference of the ephod this woven band was visible and protruding as if a single belt looking (its woven pattern) like the cloth parts of the ephod. It looked similar to the workmanship of the robe over which it was worn. In other words: the word עליו, refers to the ephod. ממנו יהיה, “it shall be of the same piece.” (verse 8) Compare my explanation on verse 25, this chapter, until the word: ויורדות, “and hanging down slightly on both sides of his neck, facing the front of the ephod. ”You are to make two additional rings which you will attach to the two lower extremities of the breastplate pointing to the inner part of the ephod, underneath in its forepart of, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that they were on a level with the lower edge of the breastplate. כמעשהו ממנו יהיה, “it shall be of one piece with it.” This is a reference to the woven patterns of the ephod. It shall not be woven as a separate piece of cloth. Afterwards it will be attached to the edge of the ephod. The ephod would have two epaulettes at its two extreme edges and these would be joined, (tied). They would be joined by means of a pin or needle (type of safety pin) so that they would be seen to protrude as if standing, this being the reason why the Torah called them כתפות, “shoulder pieces,” prominent like shoulders. According to a different opinion, these epaulettes were very wide, hence they were compared to shoulders. According to that opinion, this is why they were described as חוברות, for if they had been narrow like thin belts, they could not have been properly attached to the breastplate which would have been in danger of falling down.

וחשב אפודתו, the belt attached to the sash acted as the connecting link tying things together, as described in Leviticus 8,7 which we already quoted.

And you shall take two onyx stones and engrave upon them the names of the children of Israel.

"The shoham stone" — it is white; in Aramaic בּוּרְלָא, in Arabic بَلَّوْر. We have no reliable way to identify the setting-stones [avnei ha-milu'im], for the Gaon [Saadia] translated them as he saw fit, since he had no tradition he could rely upon. For we see that he translated סַפִּיר [sapphire] as white, whereas it is only red. There is no argument from the redness written first [in his translation], for it is well known that there are five colors of gems: white, bereket, red, green, and black. Since red is the middle one, it is found in many varieties. As for his translation of נֹפֶךְ as resembling black, based on "and she painted her eyes" (II Kings 9:9) — this cannot be right, since the nun of נֹפֶךְ must be part of the root, as it follows the pattern of אֹדֶם. A great Spanish scholar said that יַהֲלֹם is what is called in Arabic الماس [diamond], which cuts through all stones and drills through crystal, derived from הוֹלֵם פַּעַם, "one who beats" (Isa. 41:7), with an additional yod like the yod of יִצְהָר. As for אַחְלָמָה — [it may be from] אֶל חֲלֹמָה: it is a stone such that whoever has it on his finger always sees visions. Do not wonder at this, for a power is found in the nature of every stone: there is a stone that attracts iron, one that stanches blood, one that flees from vinegar, and one that always breaks in a triangular shape.

ולקחת את שתי אבני שהם, "You are to take the two Shoham-stones, etc." The word את in this connection needs explaining. Perhaps the expression is to draw our attention to the previously mentioned Shoham-stones at the beginning of Parshat Terumah (25,7). The meaning of our verse then would be: "you shall take the two Shoham-stones which I have already commanded you to bring (as gifts)." This would account for the מתג, hyphen, between the words אבני and שהם, i.e. why only these two gemstones have been singled out here by name. These two stones performed a function additional to that of the gemstones called אבני מלואים, "stones to be set" (where the Torah did not employ the hyphen).

And take two onyx stones. To atone for the two stone tablets that were broken, whereupon the bond was severed between these four: the Holy One, blessed be He, the tablets, Moses, and Israel. Through this atonement, all were reconnected, for the two onyx stones correspond to the two stone tablets. Shoham [onyx] was explained by Rabbeinu Bachya as containing the letters of “HaShem” [God’s name], and it also contains the letters of “Moshe” [Moses], and engraved upon it were all the names of the children of Israel. Thus, all four are now brought together to one inn, whereas initially they had forgotten their savior and consequently, God also forgot them. Now, after the atonement when they returned and remembered that God was their rock, they too would be on His two shoulders for remembrance.

ופתחת עליהם, “you are to engrave upon them;” in verse 21 of the same chapter we read: והאבנים תהיין על שמות בני ישראל, “and the stones (jewels) shall be according to the names of tribes of the Childern of Israel;” if that translation were correct we would face a contradiction. According to the first verse the letters would be engraved in the jewels, whereas according to the second verse the letters would protrude from the jewels. We must therefore assume that the Torah speaks once of how they appeared to the onlooker from the outside or from the inside, respectively.

Six of their names on one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the second stone, according to their births.

כתולדתם ACCORDING TO THEIR BIRTH — in the order in which they were born: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali upon one, and upon the other Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin — the last name being written full (plene, with a י before the last letter, thus: בנימין) for that is how it is written in the passage that tells of his birth (Genesis 35:18). This gives twenty-five letters on each stone (cf. Sotah 36a).

ששה משמותם על האבן האחת, "Six of their names on the one stone, etc." Why did the Torah use the unusual expression משמותם, "of their names," instead of saying simply ששה שמות, "six names," etc.? Besides, the word הנותרים, "the remaining ones," is quite unnecessary as we all know that there were only a total of twelve tribes. We are therefore forced to conclude that the adjective "the remaining ones," implies that the latter six tribes were inferior to the the first six. We find something similar after the death of Nadav and Avihu, where the Torah describes Eleazar and Ittamar as the "remaining" sons of Aaron (Leviticus 10,12). Our sages in Yuma 87 describe the word הנותרים as referring to something inferior, using the word in Leviticus as their example. Bereshit Rabbah 73,9 discusses Genesis 30,36 where the Torah speaks about "the remaining flocks of Laban," and also describes the word "remaining" as referring to something inferior. If the meaning of the word הנותרים in our verse were to indicate that these tribes were inferior, this is most surprising seeing that the Torah underlines that they were recorded כתולדותם, "in the order of their (their founder's) birth." Why would the sons born to Jacob later be inferior to those born to him earlier? This seems especially unlikely seeing that Joseph was Jacob's favorite and is known as "Joseph the righteous." How could he be considered "inferior?" Moreover, we find that amongst the first 6 names listed are sons of the maidservants whereas several of the names inscribed on the second stone were of sons born by Jacob's true wives! In order to understand what is meant in our verse let me first preface with a statement in Sotah 36. Our sages there relate: "The High Priest wore two gemstones on his shoulders. The names of the children of Israel were engraved on those stones, six of them on the one stone and six on the other." The Talmud quotes our verse as proof for this statement. The names on the second stone were in accordance with the order of birth of the founders of those tribes, whereas the names engraved on the first stone did not correspond to this order, seeing that the name Yehudah appeared on the first stone and each stone had 25 letters engraved on it. Rabbi Chanina son of Gamliel says that the names did not appear in the order in which the tribes were counted in Numbers 1, 1-15, but in accordance with their being enumerated in Exodus I, 2-4. In what order precisely were they engraved? The sons of Leah were listed on one stone, the sons of Rachel were listed one on top of the second stone, the other on the bottom, with the names of the sons of the maidservants in between. If so, how does this agree with the Torah's statement that they were engraved in accordance with their respective births? Answer: "according to the names their father Jacob called them, and not in accordance with the names that Moses called them, i.e. Reuveni, Shimoni, etc." Thus far the statement of Rabbi Chaninah. The app...

ששה משמותם, “six of their names, etc.,” according to how their father had named them, in the chronological order of the births. The verses teaches that the names of the tribes were to be inscribed in order of their births, i.e. Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehudah, Dan, Naftali. These six were to be inscribed on one of the two gemstones on the shoulder epaulette of the ephod; on the second gemstone the order was: Issachar, Zevulun, Gad, Asher, Joseph, Binyamin. These twelve names were engraved on the two shoham-stones seeing the Torah describes the work as that of a lapidary (engraver of gemstones) (Verse 11). When describing the names on these 2 stones the word במלואתם which we find in connection with the 12 gemstones on the breastplate is missing. On the other hand, the words מעשה חרש אבן do not appear in connection with the 12 stones of the breastplate. This was clear as it is a physical impossibility to describe stones which have been engraved by a lapidary as still being במלואתם, “in their original completeness,” i.e. no chips having been removed. The only way those stones could have been “engraved,” or rather “inscribed,” while retaining all their original mass was by means of the chemical secretion from the shamir worm which was skillfully applied to write the names in question. This is the reason our sages in Sotah 48 said that Moses needed the shamir worm at that time whereas he did not require it in connection with the stones on the shoulder-pads of the ephod. The workmanship of the ephod could be described as follows: its overall width was about the size of a grown man’s back extending from shoulder to shoulder. Its length extended from under the armpits to the legs; the two shoulder-pads were sewn onto it above. This is the meaning of the words שתי כתפות חוברות. The reason was so that it could be worn as suspended from the High Priest’s shoulder. On each shoulder-pad (strap) one of the two square shoham-stones were recessed into a golden setting and each contained 6 of the 12 names of the tribes of Israel (compare Maimonides Klei Hamikdash 9,9).

כתולדותם, “according to the order in which they were born.” Rashi interprets the meaning of the word as we have translated it here. His grandson, Rabbeinu Tam, does not agree, seeing that an analysis will show that Dan was not listed in the order of the birth of the twelve tribes’ births, seeing that he had been the fifth son born to Yaakov, and in the Book of Joshua 19,47, we read: “they called the name of the town according to the names of their forefather.” It would appear therefore that what was meant in our verses here is that the names of the tribes appeared on the jewels of the Ephod in the sequence in which these sons had been born by their respective mothers. The sons of Leah are mentioned first in order of their births, followed by the sons of Bilhah, in accordance with their births, followed by the sons of Zilpah in accordance of their births, followed by the sons of Rachel. You will find that the jewel Leshem was that alluding to Dan, and the jewel yoshpah alluded to Binyamin. This is the way they appear in the liturgist’s poem known as krovatz recited prior to the kedushah on Purim morning commencing with the words: ויאהב אומן. The Talmud in tractate Sotah folio 36, has a different order. The names of the tribes appeared in a different order on the two jewels of the Ephod (epaulettes) worn by the High Priest. Some commentators were concerned with the total numbers of letters of the tribes’ names being equally divided, i.e. 50 on one side of the Ephod and 50 on the other side. This, of course, would account for the names not appearing in the same order as the names on the breastplate. [As it is impossible at this stage to decide whose opinion is correct, I have not translated the balance of our author’s remarks on the subject. A booklet named bigdey kehunah by Rabbi Israel Chayim Blumenthal, elaborates on the various alternatives. Ed.]

With the work of a gem-cutter, engraved in clear script as the engraving of a signet ring, you shall engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel; set in gold filigree settings shall you make them.

מעשה חרש אבן means THE WORK OF AN ARTIFICER IN STONES. This word חרש is in close connection (i. e. in the construct state) with the word that follows it and therefore it is punctuated with Patach in its last syllable. Similar is, (Isaiah 44:13) “The חָרַשׁ עצים stretcheth out a line” i. e. the worker in wood. So, also, (Isaiah 44:12) “the worker in (חָרַשׁ) iron maketh an axe.” All these examples of חָרַשׁ are in close connection with the words that follows them and are therefore punctuated with Patach. פתוחי חותם LIKE THE ENGRAVINGS OF A SIGNET — Understand this as the Targum renders it: a distinct writing like the engraving of a signet-ring: the letters were incised in them just as one incises the seals of a ring which are used to seal letters — a clear and distinct writing. על שמות — This is the same as בשמות “with the names of”. מסבת משבצות SURROUNDED WITH SETTINGS [OF GOLD] — Thou shalt make the stones to be surrounded by gold settings: the meaning is that they should make as a setting for each stone a kind of indentation in the gold, of the same size as the stone and sink it in the setting; thus the setting surrounds the stone on all sides. That setting they attached to the shoulder-pieces of the ephod.

מעשה חרש אבן, the words חרש אבן are in a construct mode; this accounts for the vowel patach under the letter ר in the word חרש. The meaning of the term is חרש של אבן, “a craftsman of gemstones,” someone expert in engraving. The reason why the vowel under the letter ח remains the kametz, is similar to the parallel mode of the word גנב, gannov, with the dagesh in both the letters ג and נ. פתוחי חותם, similar to the engravings made on signet rings.

And you shall place the two stones on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod as stones of remembrance for the children of Israel. And Aaron shall carry their names before Hashem on his two shoulders as a remembrance.

לזכרון FOR A MEMORIAL — so that the Holy One, blessed be He, will see the names of the tribes written before Him and He will remember their righteousness (cf. Exodus Rabbah 38:8).

על שתי כתפיו לזכרון, in order to attract the attribute of Mercy to be invoked by their merit. (the merit of wearing the shoulder pads)

ושמת את שתי האבנים על כתפות האפוד, “you are to place the two gemstones firmly on the two epaulettes;” this was to be done at the highest point of the High Priest’s shoulders.

על כתפות האפוד. These shoulder pads of the ephod extended from his shoulder on either side up to the neck of the High Priest, from which point they curved and descended towards the breastplate he wore on the chest. There were chains which linked the ephod to the breastplate, and the two major gemstones known as אבני זכרון (as well as אבני שהם) that had the names of the tribes engraved on them and which he wore like epaulettes on his two shoulders. The breastplate was suspended from these chains, apart from being fastened additionally to the ephod. אבני זכרון, as I will explain in connection with the golden plate ציץ worn on the forehead which had the words קדש לה' recessed into it. (compare verse 36).

And you shall make gold filigree settings.

ועשית משבצת AND THOU SHALT MAKE SETTINGS — two settings, for the minimum number of settings (the plural) is two. In this section it explains to you only part of their purpose, whilst in the section dealing with the breast-plate it completes for you the explanation about them.

ועשית משבצות זהב, “you are to make frames for settings of the gemstones, out of gold;” these were indentations; like miniature frames surrounding a picture which is inset. They would form the place to which the braided chains of which the Torah speaks in verse 14 and 22, could be fastened.

ועשית משבצות זהב, a golden plate to serve as the background to the settings which held the various gemstones of the breastplate in place. The plate had holes through which the chains could be attached to them by fastening the chains to the breastplate, as described in more detail in verse 25, the whole would in effect be as if a single piece.

And two chains of pure gold, twisted, shall you make them — the work of braiding. And you shall attach the braided chains to the settings.

שרשרת זהב means CHAINS OF GOLD — the word being the same as שלשלאות (the letters ל and ר being interchangeable, as in ארמנות for אלמנות; cf. the Aramaic ארמלתא) מגבלות means AT THE END OF THE BORDER (גבול) of the breast-plate תעשה אותם SHALT THOU MAKE THEM. מעשה עבת OF CORD-LIKE WORK — made of plaited threads and not made of rings and hooks (somewhat like links) like those chains which are made for cisterns (to which the bucket is attached), but like those which are made for censers which are called encensiers in old French (cf. Rashi on Beitzah 22b). ונתת את שרשרת — This means, AND THOU WILT PLACE THE CHAINS OF CORD-WORK — i. e. the chains made of cord-work — upon these settings. This is not the place where the command is laid down about making the chains nor is this the command about fixing them: the word תעשה used here does not express a command, nor does the word ונתת used here express a command, but these express the future tense. For in the chapter about the breast-plate He returns to this, and there He lays down the command about making them (v. 22) and fixing them (vv. 24—25). This is written here only to point out part of the purpose of the settings which He commanded to be made together with the ephod, and He wrote this here to tell you: these settings you will require — when you will make chains at the ends upon the breast-plate you shall put them upon these settings.

The word שַׁרְשְׁרֹת ["chains"] has a doubled middle root-letter [Ayin ha-pe'al]. If it were not doubled it would be שַׁרְשֶׁת גַּבְלֻת ["a twisted chain"] (v. 22 below). In the sacred tongue the word גַּבְלֹת and many other words in the making of the breastpiece are difficult — as is the word חֹשֶׁן itself.

מגבלות, constructed to precisely defined dimensions, so that they will be stretched tight from the edge of the shoulder pads to the upper edge of the breastplate.

ושתי שרשרות, “and two chains etc.;” the chains mentioned here are to be worn by the High Priest as is explained later in this chapter; the reason why they are mentioned here is that they were fastened also at the epaulettes, as we know from verses 22-25.

מעשה עבות, seeing that normally, when we hear about “chains,” we think of rings inserted within the other in a continuous row, the Torah was at pains to describe these “chains” as being more like strands of ropes intertwined. ונתת את שרשרות העבותות על המשבצות, you will construct them in the nature of heavy, thick ropes; the Torah still did not tell us where the ends of these ropes were to be attached. Later on in verses 24 and 25 the Torah will explain that the ends of these two (chains) ropes were to be threaded through two holes at either side of the gold plate forming the backdrop to the settings in the breastplate. The other two ends of these (chains) ropes would be attached to the ephod in front.

And you shall make a breastpiece of judgment — the work of a skilled craftsman; like the work of the ephod you shall make it: of gold, blue, purple, crimson dye, and twisted fine linen shall you make it.

חשן משפט THE BREAST-PLATE OF JUDGMENT — it was so called because it atoned for any error in judgment (cf. Zevachim 88b; Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 7:5). Another explanation of why it is called “the breast-plate of משפט”, is because it makes its statements clear (definite — so that there can be no doubt about their meaning) and its promise is true; discerement in old French, (sentence of judgment). Because the word משפט is used in three senses: the contentions of the parties to the law-suit, the pronouncement of the sentence and the punishment attendant on the sentence, whether it be punishment of death or punishment of flagellation or punishment involving a monetary payment; here it is used in the sense of making its statements definite, so that this is the breast-plate with the Urim and Thummim which explains and makes its statement clear. כמעשה אפד AFTER THE WORK OF THE EPHOD — the work of an artist and of the five materials.

ועשית חשן משפט מעשה חושב, “you shall make a breastplate of judgment of a woven design.” He would weave a cloth made of blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool and linen. He would take one thread of gold and make a strand of the other six-threaded strands of materials so that each would have a seventh golden thread. This is the meaning of the words: תכלת וארגמן ותולעת שני ושש, (compare Maimonides Klei Hamikdash 9, 5-6). This is based on the words וירקעו את פחי הזהב וקצץ פתילים לעשות בתוך התכלת ובתוך הארגמן וגו', “they hammered out sheets of gold and cut threads to be worked into designs among the blue, the purple,” etc. (39,3). This teaches that the golden thread was folded over amongst the other materials, like a double thread. The length of the breastplate was 2 zeratot, (22 cm approx), its width 1 eret. It was folded over so that it would look square from the front. There were four rows of three gemstones on it, each gemstone being square. The names of the tribes were “inscribed chemically” each tribe’s name in accordance with the colour gemstone reflecting its individuality. Reuven’s name was inscribed on the stone called אודם, Shimon’s on a stone called פטדה, etc., etc. In addition to the names of the twelve tribes the names of the patriarchs Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov were also inscribed plus the words שבטי ישורון. These additional words were distributed between the various stones so that, for instance, the stone אודם with the name Reuven had an additional letter א as part of the name אברהם, whereas the stone פטדה which had the name שמעון inscribed on it also had a letter ב added as the second letter in the name אברהם, and so on. A stone with a short name such as גד, for instance, had the word שבטי of שבטי ישורון added seeing that there was enough space for this. The stone with the name אשר had in addition the letters ישר of the word ישורון inscribed on it, whereas the stone with the name יוסף had the last three letters of the word ישורון inscribed on it also, so that each stone had a total of six letters making an overall total of 72 letters. These 72 letters corresponded to the great name of the tetragram when it is spelled in all its 24 permutations. The six days of creation comprised a total of 72 hours of daylight, the number of hours during which the universe and all that is in was created (no creation took place at night.). We know this as the Torah speaks of ביום עשות ה' אלו-הים ארץ ושמים (Genesis 2,4), “on the ‘day’ Lord G’d made earth and heaven.” This number 72 has also been alluded to in Psalms 89,3 where David speaks about the world having been built on the attribute חסד, loving kindness. The numerical value of the word חסד is also 72. We infer from these verses that the world which has been created in 72 hours of creative activity by G’d is maintained due to the merit of the twelve tribes of Israel, i.e. the 72 letters inscribed in the breastplate of the high Priest. It is remarkable that the stone with the name בנימין which was spelled plene, i.e. with two letters י (as opposed to Exodus 1,3 or Genesis 42,38 et al) where there is no letter י before the final letter ן filled out its stone seeing his name had six letters. It was therefore impossible to add a letter from the patriarchs’ names on his stone. The reason that this was so may be connected to a historical occurrence in the time of the Judges when the tribe came close to extinction, only 600 young men surviving after the civil war described in Judges 20-21. Had his name not been spelled with six letters on the breastplate, even the six hundred young men who survived might not have done so. Scientific books claim that the basic number of gemstones, (not allowing for variants, mutations) are only 12 in number, so that they were all represented on the breastplate of the High Priest. They may be considered as the “patriarchs” of all other precious stones. The reason that the gemstone assigned to the tribe of Reuven was the אודם was the fact that it symbolised the blush on his face when he owned up to being guilty of his misdemeanour in Bilhah’s tent. The fact that he was not ashamed to admit his guilt is a credit to him reflected by this red-coloured stone known as “rubin.” It is supposedly found in certain areas at the bottom of the sea. It is chipped of a great rock beneath the sea, and is mined similar to silver and gold. The rock is known as Balax. Rubin and Balax are supposedly two names for the same kind of stone. The difference between them is only that the variety known as rubin is reddish looking. Onkelos also translates the word אודם as סמקן, a red stone. It is the choicest of a number of sub-categories of the same basic kind of precious stone. Seeing it is red, an essential colour reminding us of blood, it is reputed to have the power to protect a woman who wears this jewel against ever aborting any fetus she carries. Women who wear jewelry made from this stone will give birth to babies that have been growing in their wombs for the full nine months. The stone is even supposed to have positive effects upon women who are having a difficult delivery. If this stone will be crushed into powder and consumed with food and drink it displays properties similar to those of the דודאים (mandrakes?), the plant which Leah “sold” Rachel in order to help her achieve pregnancy (compare author’s comment on Genesis 30,14). The shape of those dudaim which Reuven had found at the time was the outline of a human being. This is the reason that the word אודם, normally spelled with the letter ו was spelled without that letter in order to draw our attention to the spelling which could be read “Adam,”אדם . The reading of the word teaches the nature of the stone, whereas the spelling teaches the effect of that stone, its function. Shimon’s stone פטדה, is a greenish-looking gemstone, similar to the turquoise colour of the sea in certain coastal cities. Onkelos also translates it as ירקן (emerald?). It is of the same group as the gemstone נפך, the stone with the name of Yehudah inscribed on it. Both are of similar colour, except that the stone described as נפך is the more precious of its group. It sparkles very much. The פטדה is inferior to the נפך both in colour and in sparkle. The greenish colour symbolises the terrible sexual licentiousness committed by that tribe who had caused the face of their leader Zimri to turn green in shame (Numbers 28,14). The same happened to all the other members of the tribe of Shimon who took part in that sin at that time. Darkon, dropsy, was the illness from which these people died. The positive feature of that gemstone is that it cools the body. This may be the reason it is found in hot countries such as Nubia (the Sudan). The people in that country are especially steeped in sexual licentiousness. They need to “cool off” in order to counteract their tendencies. This is why we read in Job 28,19 “topaz from Nubia cannot match its value (that of rubies).” The reason Job made this comparison was because these stones were found in Nubia. The stone which bore the name of Levi was the ברקת, known popularly as carbuncle (a rounded gemstone without facets). It is so called as it flashes just like a bolt of lightning, ברק. It illuminates like a lamp. Onkelos also translates it as ברקן, a flashing stone. This was the gemstone Noach hung in the ark to provide him with light. The Torah referred to this light in Genesis 6,15 צהר תעשה לתבה. Isaiah refers to it as אקדח, in Isaiah 54,12 where, speaking of the future of Israel he writes: ”I will make your battlements rubies and your gates of precious stones, i.e. לאבני אקדח.” The name is justified as it appears glowing like red-hot coals. A similar expression occurs also in Isaiah 50,11: “kindlers of fire.” The reason this stone was chosen to symbolise Levi was that the Levites illuminate the people by teaching them spiritual illumination, i.e. Torah, as we know from Deut. 33,10 יורו משפטיך ליעקב ותורתך לישראל, “they teach Your judgments to Yaakov and Your Torah to Israel.” We also know of Moses, who was of the tribe of Levi, that the whole house was filled with light when he was born as the Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 1,24) interpreted the words in Exodus there (Exodus 2,2) that “she (his mother) saw that he was good.” Furthermore, when Moses returned from Mount Sinai with the second sets of Tablets the Torah testified that the skin of his face emitted rays of light (Exodus 34,29). We have another verse (Kohelet 8,1) “a man’s wisdom lights up his face.” The positive value of this gemstone is that it is apt to enlighten the foolish, providing him with insights he never had. This is in addition to the general usefulness of that jewel in providing light just as does a lamp. People say that if one pounds this carbuncle into fine dust and mixes it with food or drink as one mixes certain medicinal herbs into the food it proves very capable of providing wisdom and opening up previously “closed” hearts. Yehudah’s name was inscribed on the gemstone called נפך as we mentioned already. This jewel is known either as merkedy or zemurah in Arabic. Onkelos’ translation azmoragdin, (emerald) can support either one of these names. He chose a combination of these two words. As already mentioned, it is a greenish stone of high luster and represented his shame-facedness in accusing his daughter-in-law Tamar’s pregnancy as being the result of harlotry when he himself had fathered the child she was carrying (Genesis 38,26). Seeing that he overcame his embarrassment and made a public confession of his own involvement, this stone, i.e. its color, was chosen as appropriate for him. In addition he also had had to bear the shame, i.e. his face turning green, in the matter of having sold Joseph and his father suspecting him of this though the matter had never been spoken of. When Yaakov blessed Yehudah on his deathbed saying: “from the prey, my son, you elevated yourself,” he wanted him to know that he suspected him of having been involved in the deception which had made Yaakov call out in anguish: “a wild beast has torn Joseph to shreds (Genesis 37,33).” When hearing his father say that he considered Yehudah as having elevated himself, i.e. having exonerated himself from that guilt, his face was restored to its original colour after all these years. It then resembled the appearance of the emerald giving off a sparkle. It is also written of Yehudah (Genesis 49,8) “your hand is at the neck of your enemy,” and the outstanding feature of the gemstone emerald is that people wearing it experience that their enemies turn their neck towards them, i.e. that they attempt to flee. This is the reason this jewel is known as נפך. The Bible comments on Yehudah’s bravery in battle more than once, and it is written of David (Samuel I 18,7) that he defeated his enemies in their tens of thousands, Of the messiah it is written: (Isaiah 11,4) “with the spirit (breath) of his mouth he will kill the wicked.” Issachar’s name was inscribed on a jewel called ספיר, sapphire, a jewel known as sephily of a blue colour. It had been assigned to Issachar because he was extremely wise and his tribe excelled in Torah knowledge. This has been attested to in Chronicles I 12,32. We have a tradition that the Tablets with the Ten Commandments were made of sapphire (Tanchuma Ki Tissa 26). We also find another reference to this jewel in Exodus 24,10 where the vision of G’d seen by the elders and the nobles is described as their observing with their mental eyes the appearance of bricks made of sapphire. It is a well known fact that the souls of Torah scholars are part of a whole bundle of souls beneath the throne of G’d’s attribute כבוד. This is derived from Ezekiel 1,26: “as the semblance of a throne, in appearance like sapphire.” The blue color of this jewel is not like the blue which denotes haughtiness similar to certain shades of red or green; on the contrary, it is a color symbolizing humility, modesty, a character trait equally becoming to both young and old. This is what Isaiah 57,15 meant when he wrote: “I dwell on high, in holiness; yet with the contrite and lowly in spirit.” The outstanding feature of this jewel is that it is good for one’s eyesight; this is the reason people have a habit of passing this jewel back and forth in front of their eyes. It was appropriate for Issachar as Torah also provides enlightenment. There is a popular saying that this jewel is useful in getting rid of all manner of pains and any swelling one experiences in any part of one’s body. The Torah too is a powerful remedy for all parts of the body. We have been told in Eyruvin 54 that if someone suffers from headaches the best remedy is to immerse oneself in the study of Torah. The name of Zevulun was inscribed on the gemstone known as יהלום, diamond. This gemstone is known as pirle, same as bedolach. It is clear, transparent. It is to remind us of “white” silver, an allusion to the material wealth of the tribe of Zevulun. We know from Yaakov’s blessing of Zevulun in Genesis 49,13 that he was a great trader sending his ships far afield in order to bring home wealth from foreign lands. It was appropriate therefore that the stone bearing his name was the diamond. The special property of the diamond for man is that it helps one to go to sleep, something Leah referred to when she (the mother of Zevulun) said after he was born: “this time my husband will make his permanent home with me” (Genesis 30,20). [I believe what the author meant was that possession of diamonds allows people to sleep easy as they feel emotionally and economically secure. Ed.] The name of the tribe of Dan was inscribed on a gemstone called לשם, known as opal, or ashtefassis. It shows a human face turned upside down, reminiscent of the time when the tribe of Dan attempted to reverse the norms of Judaism by appointing for themselves a non-Levite as religious leader (compare Judges 18,31). We find in Joshua 19,47 that a certain town previously called Leshem was renamed Dan in commemoration of the founding father of that tribe. This city became an integral part of the land of Israel. The name of the tribe of Naftali was inscribed on a jewel known as שבו, agate. It is commonly known as turquoise. [The various names which I have spelled in italics appear to be the equivalents of these gems’ names in Spanish or old French during the time of the author. Ed.] Onkelos also translates it as טרקיא. The special property ascribed to that gemstone was that it “pulls” man while riding in carriages or riding horses and enables him to become successful as a driver or rider. This occurs through man and beast developing mutual affinity for each other while man sits in the saddle. It was appropriate for Naftali to be associated with this gemstone as at the time he was born his step-mother Rachel had said that she had prevailed in a struggle with the attribute of Justice and her sister and as a result her handmaid had born this son for her. Rachel also had to use all her abilities (she thought) in order to have a son at least through her handmaid (compare Genesis 30,8). The gemstone bearing the name of Gad was the אחלמה, popularly known as crystal. This is why Onkelos translates the word as עין עגלא. A better known gemstone called lemon is similar to it but reddish in appearance. The reason this gemstone was used to symbolize Gad was that seeing the gemstone crystal is very common and everyone is familiar with it, the members of the tribe of Gad were also widely known as were the people who had been slain by this tribe in the wars of Israel against the Canaanites. This is the meaning of Deut. 33,20 וטרף זרעו קדקד , “tearing off arm, and even head.” The special property of this gemstone is that it reinforces the resolve of one’s heart when going to war and prevents one from becoming faint-hearted. The gemstone gives man strength. It is called אחלמה, as that word is connected to מלחמה, attributes needed to be successful in battle. The expression occurs in that sense in Isaiah 38,16: ותחלימני ותחיני, “You have restored me to health and have revived me.” The idea is that G’d made King Chiskiyah strong again. Another verse with a similar message is Job 39,4 where G’d speaks to Job about the health of the hinds, etc., saying יחלמו בניהם ירבו בבר, “their young are healthy (strong) able to grow up in the open fields.” The gemstone on which the name of the tribe of Asher was inscribed is called תרשיש, better known as cariolica, topaz, chrysolite. Its color is close to that of oil (olive oil). Others say that its color is azure-blue (compare R' David Kimchi). Onkelos translates it as כרום ימא, aquamarine. The reason is that the color of the sea resembles that of azure-blue. The name Tarshish appears also as a destination in the ship hired by the prophet Jonah, presumably because these gems could be found in that country. The special property of this topaz is to facilitate in the digestion of foods. It is even more important if one first pulverizes it and mixes the powder into one’s food. It will then make a mass similar to a mixture of flour and oil. The Torah extols Asher’s land portion within the land of Israel as being particularly full of oil, i.e. rich soil as we know from Yaakov’s blessing in Genesis 49,20. The gemstone bearing the name of the tribe of Joseph was called שהם, better known as onyx. The special property of this jewel is that its owners enjoy favor in the eyes of people. The letters in that stone also spell השם when read in a different order. This is an allusion to the verse in Genesis 39,2: “G’d was with Joseph and he became a successful man;” or, Genesis 39,24 “G’d made the warden of the prison like Joseph, etc.” Anyone who wears the jewel in the king’s palace will find that he becomes very successful and that his suggestions will be well received. The name of the gemstone on which Binyamin’s name was inscribed was ישפה, better known as jasper. It is a multi-colored gem consisting of red, black, green. Binyamin had many contradictory thoughts about the sale of Joseph by his brothers, all of which are reflected in the different colours of the jasper. The special property of that stone is that it stops the flow of blood. The reason this gemstone was assigned to the tribe of Binyamin had to do with the founder of that tribe not being able to decide if to tell his father that Joseph was most likely alive, or to keep silent as he could not foresee how Yaakov would react to such information. In the end he controlled himself, stopped himself, and did not reveal what he knew. The word ישפה may be understood as two words, i.e. יש פה, “he has a mouth,” or words to that effect. The name of that stone alludes to the fact hat Binyamin deserved credit for keeping silent about what he knew his brothers had done to his older brother Joseph. This completes the discussion about the twelve gemstones on the breastplate of the High Priest. All the details connected with the stones, the breastplate, the inscriptions, etc., are part and parcel of the detailed supervision G’d exercises over the fate of the Jewish people in all its aspects. I have seen in a book by Aristotle devoted to stones that the stones require the wearer of them to be pure in order for each of them to effectively carry out its special function, the properties we have listed above. If the wearer is ritually impure, they either lose their power altogether as far as he is concerned, or their power is greatly reduced. As soon as the wearer undergoes purification rites, the gemstone around his neck will recover its power. It is perfectly in order to accept what Aristotle says as there is no gemstone which does not contain some power given to it by celestial sources. Just as we have been taught in Bereshit Rabbah 10,7 that there is no herb on earth which does not have its counterpart in the celestial regions providing it with its individual mazzal, so the same is true of the precious stones. Having carefully absorbed what we have written about the gemstones in the garments of the High Priest you will note that he was surrounded by the names of the tribes of Israel both in front and behind, seeing these names were inscribed both on the breastplate and on the shoulder pieces of the ephod. [I suppose the fact that the ephod was closed from behind makes the whole garment appear as if it were worn on the back. Ed.] Whenever the High Priest put on his special vestments, he would put on the ephod and the breastplate at the same time, seeing that they were joined together and the Torah had instructed (verse 28) that the breastplate not be detached from the ephod. The band (belt) was tied together under the High Priest’s heart. The two shoulder-straps were inserted in the two rings at the upper end of the breastplate and two threads of blue wool cord were fed to beneath his armpits from the rings at the lower ends of the shoulder straps of the ephod. A Kabbalistic approach: ...

And you shall make a breastplate of judgment, of skilled work. Throughout all the priestly garments, the term skilled work is mentioned only regarding the ephod and the breastplate. This indicates that this atonement is for a specific sin where the thought is considered equivalent to the action, which is found only in idolatry, as explained earlier in the section about the ephod. The breastplate comes to atone for corruption in judgment, as judicial matters are entrusted to the judge’s heart, for a judge has only what his eyes see, and it is in his power to declare right as left and left as right, depending on the situation, the person, the time, and the place. If a judge says, “This is how it appeared to me,” who can contradict him except God alone, who examines the hearts of men? Therefore, the breastplate was placed on Aaron’s heart, because judgments are entrusted to the heart, and thus it was of skilled work to atone for the judge’s thoughts. Since it says skilled work like the work of the ephod, it links the concept of skilled work to the ephod, telling you that corruption in judgment is equivalent to idolatry, as our Sages said (Sanhedrin 7b): “Whoever appoints an unworthy judge is as if he planted an Asherah,” which refers to idolatry. Therefore, it says that the breastplate of judgment, which atones for judicial corruption, should be like the work of the ephod, which atones for idolatry. Similarly, our Sages interpreted the verse You shall not make with Me gods of silver as referring to an unworthy judge (Jerusalem Talmud, Bikkurim 3:3), because this sin primarily depends on the judge’s thoughts, as it is written (Proverbs 12:5): The thoughts of the righteous are just, for they are complete in judgment even in their thoughts. It was square — because every judge needs to be complete in the four qualities listed in the verse And you shall choose (Exodus 18:21). It was doubled — because the sin is also doubled, as it harms one person financially and another spiritually by allowing him to keep another’s money unjustly. This is what the Midrash concludes (Lamentations Rabbah 1:57): “They sinned doubly and were punished doubly,” for they sinned through corruption of justice, as it says (Isaiah 1:21): Righteousness lodged in it, and they sinned through idolatry, which is also a double sin, as it says (Jeremiah 2:13): They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew out for themselves broken cisterns. From all this, we learn the similarity between corruption in judgment and idolatry, which is why the breastplate was like the work of the ephod. A span its length — because corruption in judgment causes the destruction of the world, and its correction is like becoming a partner with the Holy One, blessed be He, in the work of Creation, about which it says and measured heaven with the span (Isaiah 40:12).

חשן משפט, the name reflects the fact that in the pocket of the breastplate there was placed the parchment with the Holy name of G’d, known popularly as urim vetumim, the tool by means of which G’d could be consulted if the High Priest did not know the answer to a question involving Jewish religious law. He would then consult G’d and receive his answer by the letters on the breastplate becoming illuminated. (compare Numbers 27,21).

It shall be square, doubled — a span its length and a span its width.

זרת ארכו וזרת רחבו A SPAN IN LENGTH AND A SPAN IN WIDTH, being double (Exodus 39:9) and it lay on him in front over his heart, as it is said, (v. 30) “And they shall be upon Aaron’s heart.” It was suspended from the shoulder-pieces of the ephod which came from behind him upon his shoulders and hung over and fell down a little way in front of him, and the breast-plate was suspended from them by means of the chains and rings, as is explained in the section (vv. 22—29).

כפול, something like a pocket. This was necessary in order to place the urim vetumim inside it. (2) ZERET. Half an amah.

כפול, “double;” the material from which the breastplate was made was folded over, the jewels being fastened to the upper side which was visible to all. The lower part was used as reinforcement to hold the jewels and their settings in place securely. This is the way this has been explained by Torat kohanim on Leviticus 2,4, section 10. on the section entitled “symbolisms of the jewels on the breastplate.” It is quite possible that just as the material for the breastplate was folded over so was the material containing the jewels on the Ephods, epaulettes. Rashi explains the words urim vetumim that the Torah describes as having been placed in the folds of the breastplate (verse 30), by writing that the word אורים explains the word המשפט, which precedes it as meaning מדינות, “establishment of legal rules,” whereas the word תמים would refer to the “limits set for the application of all these rules.” In practice, the High Priest during the period of Second Temple used the breastplate to obtain confirmation from G–d rather than to obtain instructions from G–d as in Isaiah 24,15:באורים כבדו את ה', “honor the Lord with lights” [Rashi speaks of the High Priest’s breastplate during the time of the second Temple when the parchment with the tetragram from the first Temple was no longer in existence. During Moses’ lifetime, Aaron never needed to use the urim vetumim in order to communicate with G–d, as Moses spoke to G–d directly. During the period after Moses’ death and the destruction of the first Temple, the High Priest would address queries to G–d and these would be answered by letters on the breastplate being illuminated, and these had to be interpreted by the High Priest. During the period of the second Temple, -if I understand this correctly,- the High Priest phrased his query so that it required to be answered either positively or negatively, and the letters for “yes” or “no” would become illuminated. It is not known what Rashi’s source was for writing that the parchment with the tetragram was kept in the folds of the breastplate. Ed.] According to our author, the communication from the breastplate confirmed the boundaries of the parcels of land allocated to each tribe when he distributed it to the various tribes.

And you shall fill it with a filling of precious stone — four rows of gemstone: the first row, a red stone, a green stone, and a gleaming stone — one row.

ומלאת בו AND THOU SHALT FILL IT [WITH FILLINGS OF STONES] — Because the stones fill the hollows of the settings which were specially made for them it calls them by the term מלואים “fillings”.

אדם, a “carnelian;” פתדה, a “chrysolite;” ברקת “emerald;”

And you shall set it with settings of stones, four rows of stones. And in each row, three precious stones, for a court of law [beit din] must have no less than three [judges]. And they shall shine like the radiance of these stones, for they are noble stones that appear [as pure] inside as they do outside. And in the Akeidah [Rabbi Yitzchak Arama’s commentary], he wrote that these stones were some expensive and some inexpensive, to hint that a judge should treat a case involving a single coin with the same justice as one involving a hundred maneh. And the names of the tribes were engraved upon them according to their birth order, to hint that one should not show favoritism to any person, but should hear the small and the great alike, as if there is no advantage to the greatest of the tribes over the smallest, except for the birth order based on age, and apart from this, all are equal. This is a proper hint, and it also hints to the judge not to become haughty saying, “I will rule,” for one whose heart is arrogant in rendering decisions is a fool, wicked, and coarse-spirited. And the verse states, He guides the humble in justice (Psalms 25:9). And the reason for this we explained above in Parashat Mishpatim. And this is why they said (Talmud Shabbat 139a) that in the merit of and he will see you and rejoice in his heart, Aaron earned the breastplate of judgment upon the heart, for because of his great humility, he did not envy the authority of Moses, his brother who was younger than him in birth order. He merited the breastplate of judgment, which depends on the attribute of humility, and the names of the tribes were written there according to their birth order, and this is precisely measure for measure.

ומלאת בו, recessed depressions in order to fill them with the respective gemstones.

And the second row: emerald, a violet stone, and agate.

נפך, “a turquoise;” ספיר, “a sapphire;” יהלם, an “amethyst"

And the name of the second row, smaragd, and sapphire and chalcedony; and upon them shall be engraven and expressed the names of the three tribes, Jehuda, Dan, and Naphtali.

And the third row: jacinth, turquoise, and eye-of-the-calf stone.

לשם, “a jacinth;” שבו, "an agate;" אחלמה, “a crystal;”

And the name of the third row, ligure, and agate, and amethyst; and upon them shall be written and expressed the names of three tribes, Gad, and Asher, and Issakar.

And the fourth row: sea-colored stone, onyx, and jasper — set in gold filigree in their settings.

משבצים זהב יהיו SET IN GOLD SHALL THEY — the rows — BE במלאותם IN THEIR SETTINGS — surrounded by gold settings in depth of such a size that each shall be filled by the thickness of the stone. This is the meaning of במלאותם, “in their fillings”: of such a size as will be filled by the thickness of the stones shall be the depth of the settings, neither more nor less.

תרשיש, "a beryl"; שהם, "a lapis lazuli"; ישפה, "jasper."

משובצים זהב יהיו במלואותם, “set in gold they shall be in their mountings.” The meaning of the words is that the stones should remain whole, in their golden settings. The principal instruction of this verse is that the stones should be on top of the gold and the inscriptions on top of the stones. There were a total of 72 letters corresponding to the 72 (lettered) name of Hashem (as pointed out at the beginning of verse 15). This reflects a great spiritual awakening reminding people of the great value of Torah which supersedes even all the accumulated gemstones found on the breastplate of the High Priest. By placing the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, i.e. the letters of the Torah, above the gemstones, and the gemstones above the golden mountings, the point that Torah values are supreme was made for all to see. The gold was the basis of the gemstones and the gemstones in turn were the basis of the letters of the Torah. Without the letters inscribed on top of the gemstones the gemstones and the gold would not have been of much significance. The significance of the letters lay in the fact that it was these which G’d employed in order to create this universe.

And the stones shall bear the names of the children of Israel — twelve, corresponding to their names, engraved in clear script as the engraving of a signet ring, each man according to his name; they shall be for the twelve tribes.

איש על שמו EVERY ONE WITH HIS NAME — As the order in which they were born shall be the order of the stones: a sardius for Reuben, a topaz for Simeon, and so in the case of all of them.

והאבנים תהיין על שמות בני ישראל, as soon as the Israelites when donating these various materials had dedicated them to their sacred purpose, i.e. that their names be inscribed on these gemstones, they became sacred, so that the word תהיין, meaning “they will remain, etc.,” is fully justified.” שתים עשרה על שמותם, the Torah emphasises that the number 12 is not arbitrary but represents the names of the 12 tribes, no fewer nor any additional ones. [Joseph is represented by one gemstone not two, and the tribe of Levi was included though they did not share in the distribution of the land of Canaan to the tribes. Ed.] פתוחי חותם איש על שמו, this sounds like an instruction to the engraver of these gemstones to have in mind the specific name of the tribe when he engraves letters on the gemstone representing that tribe.

איש על שמו, each jewel symbolised the name of the tribe in whose row it was placed and engraved.. According to Rashi, the order in which these jewels have been named here corresponded to the order in which the names of the twelve tribes had been arranged on the breastplate, in order of their ages. If Rashi were correct, then the jewel leshem should not have been the one symbolising the tribe of Dan, as is clear from Joshua 19,47. We would have to say therefore that the order followed the ages of their respective mothers, i.e. Leah, Bilhah, Zilpah, Rachel. When we accept this then the jewel leshem corresponds to the position of Dan on the breastplate. There is an argument between Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish if the respective letters of the name of the tribe stood out, as for instance the letter ע of the name שמעון, and the letter ל in the name לוי, and no letter would move from its place to be joined to its counterpart, so that the whole name would not appear arranged consecutively, or that each name appeared on its jewel completely spelled out consecutively. [We must remember that according to tradition there were a total of 72 letters but seeing that they did not represent each letter in the alphabet, another verse had to be inscribed on the breastplate. [The significance of the number 72 is that it is the number of letters in the longest version of G-d’s name. Ed.]

And you shall make for the breastpiece twisted chains of braided work of pure gold.

על החשן means [AND THOU SHALT MAKE] FOR THE BREAST-PLATE (not upon it), — in order to fasten them (the plaited chains) on its rings, as is explained further on in the section. שרשת — This is the same expression as the roots (שֹׁרֶשׁ) of a tree which hold the tree firm so that it may be held and kept fixed in the ground. Thus, also, these roots, as it were, shall hold the breast-plate firm because from them shall it hang on the ephod. These were really the two plaited chains which are mentioned above in the section on the settings (v. 14). Indeed, Menachem ben Seruk actually explained the word שרשרות as well in the sense of roots and he said that the second ר was redundant, just as the ם in שלשם and the ם in ריקם. I, however, do not agree with his statement, but I am of opinion that שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת in the Hebrew language is the equivalent of שַׁלְשֶׁלֶת in the Mishnaic language (Mishnah Kelim 14:3) (cf. Rashi on v. 14). גבלת — This is the same as מגבלות used above, (v. 14) meaning that thou shalt fix them in the rings which will be on the border (גבול) of the breast-plate. Wherever the word גבול occurs it has the meaning of end; à sommel in old French מעשה עבת means PLAITED WORK.

גבלות, not in order to lengthen or shorten but precisely for a short distance between the top of the breastplate and the forward part of the shoulder pad as described in verse 14 merely to link these two sections of the High Priest’s garments.

ועשית על החשן שרשות, “you shall make chains on the breastplate, etc.;” this is a reference to the two chains that had been mentioned already in verse fourteen.

ועשית על החשן שרשות גבלות, these are the rope-like chains described earlier inverse 14.

And you shall make for the breastpiece two rings of gold, and place the two rings on the two sides of the breastpiece.

על החשן means [AND THOU SHALT MAKE] FOR THE BREAST-PLATE (not upon it), — in order to fix them on it. And it would not be correct to say that this means that they should originally be made upon it (על), for if this were so why should it again say in this verse, “And thou shall put the two rings [on the two extremities]”? Would they not already have been lying upon it if they had been made together with the breast-plate? It should rather have written at the beginning of the verse, “And thou shalt make at the ends of the breast-plate two rings of gold.” In the case of chains, also, you must explain it similarly. על שני קצת החשן ON THE TWO EXTREMITIES OF THE BREAST-PLATE — on its two corners that are close by his neck, on the right and on the left, which come opposite the shoulder-pieces of the ephod.

ועשית על החשן שתי טבעות זהב, ונתת את שתי הטבעות האלה על שני קצות החושן, “you shall attach two rings to the two edges of the breastplate;” to the upper edges of the breastplate.

'ועשית על החשן וגו, at the outer ends of the upper edge you will fasten rings in order to thread the two thick rope-like chains through them. There were matching rings at the front of the shoulder pads corresponding to these rings at the upper end of the choshen to which the other end of the avatot (ropes) would be fastened. As a result of this, the breastplate would hang down on the chest of the High Priest, suspended from the ephod, but it would still be able to move sideways rather freely. In order to prevent this from happening it also had to be fastened to the ephod as will be explained later where we are told that there would be two rings, one from each side at the upper end of the ephod in the region of the sash (belt). The chains would be fastened to the upper edge of the ephod through these rings, but the אזור the sash, belt, would be tied over it around the High Priest’s waist.

And you shall put the two golden chains through the two rings on the sides of the breastpiece.

ונתת את שתי עבתת הזהב AND THOU SHALT PUT THE TWO עבתת OF GOLD — These are the selfsame שרשרת גבלות “chains on the ends” which are written about above (v. 14). There, however, it did not specify the place where they were to be fixed on the breast-plate, stating only that the ends were to be put on the settings; now it tells you that one should insert them in the rings which were on the breast-plate. And you can be certain that these are identical with the former ones, because in the section אלה פקודי they are not mentioned twice (in two separate paragraphs).

ונתת את שתי העבותות הזהב, “you shall attach two wreathen chains made of gold;” these are the golden chains of which we said that they were attached to the breastplate as a permanent fixture.

And the two ends of the two chains you shall attach to the two settings, and place them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod on its front side.

ואת שתי קצות means, AND THE TWO EXTREMITIES OF שתי עבתת THE TWO PLAITED CHAINS — (Rashi points out that קצות is in the construct state) — i. e. the two ends of each cord תתן על שתי המשבצות THOU SHALT FASTEN IN THE TWO SETTINGS — These are the selfsame settings which are mentioned above in the paragraph that is placed between the section on the breast-plate and the section on the ephod. There it did not explain their purpose and their position; now, however, it explains that he should fix into them the ends of the plaited chains which had been inserted in the rings of the breast-plate on the right and on the left near the neck. The two ends of the right chain he fixed in the setting on the right, and similarly in that on the left he fixed the two ends of the left chain. ונתת AND THOU SHALT PUT the settings. על כתפות האפד ON THE SHOULDER-PIECES OF THE EPHOD, one setting on this shoulder-piece and one on that. Consequently the shoulder-pieces of the ephod hold the breast-plate up so that it may not fall, and from them did it hang. But the lower edge of the breast-plate would still come and go (swing to and fro) and strike against his stomach and would not lie closely upon it; therefore two more rings were needed for its lower edge, as it goes on to explain. אל מול פניו IN THE FOREPART THEREOF — i. e. in the forepart of the ephod. meaning that he should not put the settings on that surface of the shoulder-pieces which faced the מעיל, but on the upper surface which faced the outside. It is that latter surface which is called the forepart of the ephod, because the surface which is not seen, being turned towards the מעיל, cannot be called the פנים, the front.

ואת שתי קצות העבותות, “and the other two ends of the wreathen chains, etc.;” this somewhat cumbersome formulation is also found in Exodus 15,16, where we read: עד יעבור עמך ה', עד יעבור עם זו קנית, “until Your people of Hashem has passed, until this people You have acquired has passed;” a similar construction is also found in Psalms 93,3: נשאו נהרות ה' נשאו נהרות קולם, “the ocean raises its voice o Lord, the oceans sound their thunder.” These are just a few examples of this type of construction. The meaning of the verse is as follows: the two ends of the two wreathen chains shall be attached to the two golden frames, משבצות, mentioned in verse 13, between the ephod and spread across the breastplate. ונתת, you are to place these two golden frames at the edge of the epaulettes of the ephod which are folded over and hanging down on either side of the High Priest’s neck, slightly protruding forward towards the face of it, i.e. opposite the upper edge which was at his back. It will be partially folded at the front of the High Priests due to the belt and the decorated band which he is tightening with his belt. In the earlier part of this paragraph the construction of these garments was described, whereas here the Torah describes how they were to be worn. [At the end of volume 4, I hope to attach illustrations of all this. Ed.]

And you shall make two rings of gold and place them on the two sides of the breastpiece, on its edge, on the side that faces toward the ephod, inward.

על שני קצות החשן IN THE TWO EXTREMITIES OF THE BREAST-PLATE — These are its two lower corners on the right and on the left. על שפתו אשר על עבר האפוד ביתה ON THE BORDER THEREOF WHICH IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE EPHOD INWARD — Here you have two indications of the position of the rings: one, that he should place them on the two ends of the lower edge, for it was this which was over against the ephod, because its upper edge was not over against the ephod since it was close to the neck and the ephod was placed a little above his loins (consequently the upper edge of the breastplate which was near the priest’s neck was nowhere near the ephod which was girded round him just above the loins. See Rashi on v. 7). It gives another indication by the use of the word ביתה : that, he should not fix them on that side of the breast-plate which faced outside, but on that side which faced inward, because it is said ביתה, inward. It was that side which was turned toward the ephod, for the ends of the lower edge of that side of the breast-plate really lay upon the ephod since the priest tied the belt of the ephod around him and the apron was folded over in front of the priest upon his loins and upon a part of his stomach on both sides as far as against the ends of the breast-plate (i. e. the corners of the lower edge), the ends of which lay upon it.

ועשית שתי טבעות זהב, “you will construct two golden rings;” additional ones. ושמת אותם על שתי כתפות מלמטה ממול פניו, ”attach them to the two ends of the breastplate at its edge, at its inner edge which faces the ephod”. In other words: these rings were attached to the inside of the breastplate so as to be in contact with the ephod. This is the meaning of the word:.ביתה

And you shall make two rings of gold and attach them to the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod from below, on its front side, adjacent to the place where it is joined, above the decorative belt of the ephod.

על שתי כתפות האפוד מלמטה. ON THE TWO SHOULDER-PIECES OF THE EPHOD UNDERNEATH — underneath because the settings were placed on the upper ends of the shoulder-pieces of the ephod which came upon his shoulders beside his throat and which were folded over his shoulders and fell down in front of him; and the rings mentioned here He commanded to be put on the other end of each shoulder-piece which was joined on the ephod. This is the meaning of what is said לעמת מחברתו, “over against the joining thereof”, i. e. close by the spot where they were joined on to the ephod, namely, a little above the girdle, for the place of joining was over against the girdle. Thus these rings were placed a little above the place where the shoulder-straps began to rise from the girdle, and this is the meaning of what is said, “above the girdle of the ephod”. These were thus opposite (i. e. on a level with) the end (the lower edge) of the breastplate (but, of course, on the priest’s back, whilst the breast-plate lay in front of him). Now they placed a thread of blue purple in those rings and in the rings of the breast-plate and fastened them (the pair of rings) together by means of that thread on the right and on the left so that the lower edge of the breast-plate should not move forward and then return backward (should not move to and fro) and strike against his stomach. It followed, therefore, that it (the breast-plate) lay well upon the “Meil”. ממול פניו TOWARDS THE FOREPART THEREOF — i. e. on the outer side.

ממול פניו, the letter מ at the beginning of the word ממול means that it is not to be at the level of his face but below, i.e. where the ephod’s sash is located not where the shoulder pads are located above his chest. לעומת מהברתו, on the level where the ephod’s sash is tied.

ועשית (עוד) שתי טבעות זהב ונתת אותם על שתי כתפות למטה ממול פניו. “You are to make still another two rings and you shall put them on the two epaulettes of the ephod underneath on the front part thereof, close to the coupling thereof. This was at the rear of the High Priest’s back, at the lower end of where it was joined to the decorated band of the ephod. Some commentators claim that the ephod covered both the High Priest’s front and his back, similar to a short skirt known as korshit? They could not imagine that a garment worn beneath one’s loins could be described as “decorative.” We never find such garments except those designed to cover one’s private parts. Furthermore according to Rashi, the yarns used in these garments consisted of 28 threads each, and no one would have worn such heavy underwear. If the High Priest had had to wear such underwear it would have impeded him in carrying out some parts of his priestly duties. When he bent down they would have fallen off his shoulders. Therefore some commentators believe that they could only have covered the upper part of his torso. They would reach up to shoulder height.

And they shall bind the breastpiece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a cord of blue wool, so that it rests upon the decorative belt of the ephod, and the breastpiece shall not be detached from above the ephod.

וירכסו — This is an expression for joining. Similar in meaning is, (Psalms 31:21) “[Thou hidest them] from the רֻכְסַי of men”, i. e. from the union of companies of wicked people. Similar is, (Isaiah 40:4) “And the רכסים shall become a plain” — i. e. the mountains which are close (almost joined) to one another so that it is not possible to descend into the valley between them except with great difficulty, since, in consequence of their closeness to each other, the valley is precipitous and deep — these רכסים, connected mountains, shall become a level plain and easy to travel upon. להיות על חשב האפוד THAT IT MAY BE UPON THE GIRDLE OF THE EPHOD — that the breast-plate (not the ring) may be attached to the girdle of the ephod. ולא יזח SO THAT [THE BREAST-PLATE] BE NOT LOOSENED — יזח is an expression for “breaking away”. It is an Arabic expression according to the opinion of Dunash ben Labrat.

AND THE BREASTPLATE SHALL NOT BE ‘YIZACH’ (LOOSENED) FROM THE EPHOD. “Yizach is an expression of ‘breaking away’. It is an Arabic expression, as Dunash ben Labrat explained.” This is Rashi’s language. It appears likely to me, however, that yizach is like yisach (break away), which is associated with the expressions: The Eternal ‘yisach’ (will pluck up) the house of the proud; and the faithless ‘yis’chu’ (shall be plucked up) out of it — referring to breaking and plucking, and the letter samech (in yisach), is interchanged with the letter zayin (of yizach), just as in the verses: let the saints ‘ya’alzu’ (exult) in glory; ‘nithalsa’ (let us solace ourselves) with loves; ‘v’nitatztem’ (and ye shall break down) their altars; ‘nathsu’ (they break up) my path. Similarly, and they shall keep the watch of the house ‘masach’ — from being torn away; he. [Jehoiada the priest] thus warned the guard that not one of them should leave his position and thus cause the watch to be broken. Perhaps the following verse can also be explained on this basis: ‘ulmeizach’ wherewith he is girded continually, which means “for separation and breaking,” the verse stating that the wicked shall always be girded with the curse until they will be destroyed and broken up by it, just as others gird themselves with a girdle. There is no ‘meizach’ any more — there is no more separation, the prophet [Isaiah] telling the people of Tyre: “overflow with the people of your land as the Nile to the land of Tarshish your trafficker; there will be no more separation and scattering for you — for not one will be separated from you there [in the hope of returning to his city], since he will not return to Tyre, because it will have been destroyed completely.” The term horeis applies to one who separates himself from the station of his colleagues, just as in the expression, let them not ‘yehersu’ (break through) towards the Eternal to see, and it is written, and from thy station ‘yehersecha’ (shalt thou be pulled down). Similarly: He looseth ‘meziach aphikim’ — He abates the destruction of the aphikim, which are flooding rivers that inundate mountains and valleys. The term meizach is in the same form as meitzach (forehead), both of them having the letter nun missing, as [meitzach] is of the root nitzuach (enduring, victory), for the strength of the head is in the forehead.

The word וְיִרְכְּסוּ ["they shall bind"] is derived from the root of מַרְכְּסֵי אִישׁ ["the snares of men"] (Ps. 31:21), in the manner of עַוָּת.

וירכסו את החשן מטבעותיו, “They shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with the thread of blue wool so that it will be above the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and so that the breastplate will be prevented from moving around on top of the ephod.” Rashi has explained this in detail in his commentary of Kedoshim (Leviticus 19,16.).

וירכסו, same as ויחגרו, “they will girdle.”

And Aaron shall carry the names of the children of Israel on the breastpiece of judgment upon his heart when he enters the sanctuary, as a remembrance before Hashem at all times.

לזכרון לפני ה' תמיד. In order for G’d to always remember the merits of the founding tribal fathers of the Jewish people and to treat their offspring favourably when remembering their founders.

בחשן המשפט, “on the breastplate of judgment;” the term “judgment” here refers to the High Priest being able to receive answers to queries on Jewish law from G-d when these require to be clarified.

And you shall place in the breastpiece of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be upon Aaron's heart when he enters before Hashem. And Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before Hashem at all times.

את האורים ואת התמים THE URIM AND THE THUMMIM — This was an inscription of the Proper Name of God which was placed between the folds (i. e. the two pieces forming the front and back) of the breast-plate through which it (the breast-plate) made its statements clear (lit., illuminated its words; מאיר from אור, light, this being an allusion to the אורים) and its promises true (מתמם from the root תמם, an allusion to תמים) (Yoma 73b). In the second Temple there was certainly the breast-plate (although other objects employed in the Temple Service were missing) for it was impossible that the High Priest should have lacked a garment, but that Divine Name was not within it. It was on account of the inscription which constituted the Urim and Thummim and which enabled it to give decisions that it was called “judgment”, as it is said, (Numbers 27:21) “And he shall enquire for him by the judgment of the Urim” (Numbers 27:21). את משפט בני ישראל [AND AARON SHALL BEAR] THE JUDGMENT OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL — the object by means of which they are judged and admonished whether they should do a particular thing or whether they should not do it. But according to the Midrashic statement (Zevachim 88b) that the breast-plate atoned for those who pervert judgment it was called “judgment” in allusion to the pardon thus given for perverse judgment.

AND THOU SHALT PUT IN THE BREASTPLATE OF JUDGMENT THE URIM AND THE THUMMIM. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra thought to display wisdom in the matter of the Urim and the Thummim, by saying that they were made by a craftsman from gold and silver, and he continued his discussion of them in this vein, for he thought that they were akin to the forms which the astrologers make in order to know the thoughts of the one who comes to ask of them [about the future]. But what [Ibn Ezra] said is of no import. Rather, the Urim and the Thummim are as Rashi has written: “This was an inscription of the Proper Name of G-d which was placed between the folds of the breastplate.” It was for this reason that the breastplate had to be double [i.e., made of a material that was folded in order to form a sort of bag, into which the Urim and the Thummim — the sacred Names of G-d, as explained further on, — were placed by Moses]. The proof for this is that in the work of the craftsmen the Urim and the Thummim are not mentioned at all, neither in the command nor in the [description of the] making thereof. Now concerning the garments He details: And he made the ephod, and he made the breastplate, but it does not say, “and he made the Urim and the Thummim.” And if it were the work of a skilled engraver He would have dealt with it in greater length than with all [the garments]. Even if perhaps He desired to shorten the discussion about them on account of their profundity, He would at least have said here, “and thou shalt make the Urim and the Thumim as it has been shown to you in the mount; of pure gold — or purified silver — you shall make them.” moreover, you will notice that He did not use the definite article in connection with any of the vessels [of the Tabernacle] which had not been previously mentioned. Instead, He said, and they shall make an ark; and thou shalt make a table; and thou shalt make a candelabrum, and thus too in connection with all of them. In the case of the Tabernacle, however, He said, And thou shalt make ‘the’ Tabernacle, because He had already mentioned it [in saying], And let them make Me a Sanctuary. Now with reference to the Urim and the Thummim He said, And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment ‘the’ Urim and ‘the’ Thummim. He did not command him as to the making of them, and yet Scripture mentions them with the definite article! Moreover, Scripture mentions them with reference to Moses only, saying by way of command, and thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment…; similarly, at the time of making them it says, and in the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim, since they were not the work of craftsmen. Neither craftsmen nor the congregation of Israel had any part whatsoever in their making or in their donation, for they were a secret transmitted by the Almighty to Moses, and he wrote them in holiness. They were thus of heavenly origin, and therefore they are referred to without any specification and with the definite article, in a simil...

"You shall place" — the meaning of "judgment" [מִשְׁפָּט] here is the divine judgments and decrees concerning what is to come, for it is for this purpose that one inquires through the Urim and Thummim.

משפט בני ישראל על לבו, so that he will pray on their behalf that they would emerge exonerated in any judicial confrontation.

ונשא אהרן את משפט בני ישראל, “Aaron will bear the judgment of the Children of Israel on his heart;” i.e. he will inform G-d of the needs of the Jewish people so that he can give them guidance; we have encountered the term משפט in this sense Deuteronomy 18,3, as well as in Kings I 8,59 in Solomon’s blessing of the people after the consecration of the Temple he had built in Jerusalem.

ונתת אל חושן המשפט את האורים ואת התומים , “you are to place within the breastplate the Urim and the Tumim, etc.” The Torah introduces both the Urim and the Tumim with the letter ה in front as if we were dealing with known phenomena whereas in fact they have never been mentioned before. They had never been mentioned as being either part of the furnishings of the Tabernacle or as being part of the priestly vestments. Seeing that later on when the various furnishings and vestments are being described as having been made, we never read of ויעש את האורים ואת התומים, “he made the Urim and the Tumim,” it is clear that they were not something fashioned by craftsmen. They were something fashioned directly by celestial input. This is the reason they were introduced as a known quantity, something which had been in existence already. We observe something parallel in Genesis 3,24 when the Torah reports וישכן מקדם לגן עדן את הכרובים, “He positioned east of Gan Eden the cherubs, etc.” We had never been told of the existence of cherubs. There too the letter ה in front of the word כרובים taught us that such cherubs had already existed though we did not know of them seeing they had come from an extra-terrestrial domain. The fact is that the words Urim ve-Tumim are the description of the names of holy beings by means of whom the High Priest was able to divine certain events in the future and to announce them to the people who had inquired about them. The two names Urim, Tumim, represent two different parts of such divine messages. The first refers to the lighting up of letters on the breastplate which were visible to the High Priest and enabled him to place the respective letters into sequences which formed an intelligible message. The flashing of the respective letters on the breastplate was called Urim, whereas the combining of these letters into an intelligent message by properly arranging the letters in question was called Tumim [from the words אור, light, and תמים, perfect, whole. Ed.] The holy name of the Lord was written on a parchment the High Priest folded underneath the breastplate so that the parchment was covered by the stones above and the fabric underneath. Moses placed the parchment inside the breastplate only after he had dressed Aaron in his vestments. This is the meaning of the verse in Leviticus 8,8: “He placed upon him the breastplate and he put inside the breastplate “the Urim and the Tumim.” It was one of a number of levels of divine revelations such as Ruach hakodesh, Holy Spirit, which is considered a higher level than the revelation called Bat kol, “heavenly echo.” The communications received by the High Priest by means of the Urim ve-Tumim ranked below that called Nevuah, prophecy. We have been told in Berachot 4, that the reason the Urim and Tumim were called by these names is that the first word, i.e. Urim refers to their ability to convey what they had to say by means of light, i.e. the flashing of the letters we mentioned. The word Tumim, on the other hand, means that they would bring their message to an intelligible conclusion, i.e. their predictions would come true. These two phenomena were also known as כרתי ופלתי as we know from Samuel II 20,23, the names suggesting that the answers given to questions directed to these High Priests equipped with the breastplate were clear and unmistakable. When someone asked the High Priest concerning a future event and he received an answer based on the pronouncement of the Urim and Tumim as interpreted by the High Priest he would find that the event forecast would indeed occur. The High Priest would stand with his face towards the Holy Ark when referring the petitioner’s question to G’d for an answer. The person making the inquiry would stand behind the High Priest. He would not phrase his question or inquiry in a loud voice but would speak like people who engage in prayer not expecting anyone near them to hear the details of their prayer. Immediately after the petitioner had uttered his request the High Priest would be granted a measure of Holy Spirit and he would look at the breastplate and he would see the prophetic message flash on the breastplate’s letters, (such as עלה or לא תעלה in the event that the king had inquired if to engage in a certain war and if he would be successful.) The only people entitled to use this facility were the King or the community as a whole as has been pointed out in Yuma 71.

“And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim.” Because those who sit in judgment illuminate [me’irim] for the whole world, for this reason the Sanhedrin were called “the eyes of the congregation,” as they serve as eyes for them to bring to light all the hidden matters of the litigants, as explained above. Therefore, the Urim and Thummim were placed in the breastplate of judgment.

ונתת אל חשן המשפט את האורים ואת התומים, “you are to place within the folds of the breastplate the Urim and the Tumim.” Nachmanides writes that Ibn Ezra,in an effort to be very astute, wrote that the Urim and Tumim were something constructed by human hands, by artisans. (compare Leviticus 8,8 where Moses is described as placing the Urim and the Tumim inside the breastplate after Aaron already wore the breast plate). He clearly thought that these Urim and Tumim were something man made of silver and/or gold. He appears to have thought that these mysterious inserts were similar to what the astrologers use in order to understand communications from their zodiac signs. [Before translating the scathing criticism by Nachmanides here on the personality of Ibn Ezra, the reader must be cautioned that the commentary by Ibn Ezra found on this verse in most editions of the Chumash is a one liner, not as in the version of the Ibn Ezra’s commentary published by Mossad Harav Kook by Asher Weisman in three volumes in 1976. Anyone reading that version (at the end of volume 2, in the so-called short version) will come away with a totally different impression than if he had read only the standard version available in most editions of the Chumash. Ed.] (continuing Nachmanides’ commentary) Ibn Ezra said absolutely nothing, but the Urim and Tumim were in accordance with Rashi’s commentary a piece of parchment on which the Holy name of Hashem had been written and which Moses inserted between the folds of the cloth supporting the Choshen. The proof of all this is that we do not find a single mention in the Torah of the Urim vetumim as being one or two of the components of either the Tabernacle or the vestments of the priest being constructed by any of the artisans who fashioned all the other items. When the making of the ephod [to which the breastplate was attached. Ed.] was mentioned as well as that of the breast plate, (39,2-6), there is not a single word about the Urim and Tumim having been constructed. Neither is there a mention anywhere of the people having contributed from their materials for the construction of the Urim vetumim. We are dealing here with a mystical element, the apparent function of the Holy Name of Hashem, or a variety of them, being concealed within the folds of the breastplate enabling the letters engraved on the 12 gemstones which decorated the breastplate, to flash in response to queries directed by the wearer, the High Priest, to G’d, queries to which he required a direct answer from heaven as the Sanhedrin, Supreme tribunal, was not competent enough to answer them. One such example is found in Judges 1,1 when Joshua wanted to know which tribe should lead in the attack against the Canaanites. It is quite possible that these names of G’d which Moses wrote on the parchment which he inserted in the folds of the breast plate, were known as such to the elite of the Jewish people at the time, and that this would explain the use of the definitive article used here, i.e. האורים, התומים, something which is never used unless the subject is a known quantity, a phenomenon that at least some people are familiar with. This may also explain why David possessed an ephod comparable to that which Moses had in his time, and why we read that in Nov the city of priests (whom King Shaul murdered) there were 85 priests wearing such a type of ephod. (compare Samuel I 22,18) These priests were all trained by prophets, and possibly they used their ephods to address inquiries to G’d on certain occasions.

את האורים ואת התומים; the function was somewhat similar to that of oracles employed by the priests of idolatrous cults. If those had any value at all, -and we may assume that at least their worshippers had concluded that they did, -how much more influential would these urim vetumim in the sacred garments of the High Priest be in order to elicit answers to questions posed to G’d, seeing that the means employed were holy and sanctioned by G’d Himself?

And you shall make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue wool.

את מעיל האפוד THE ROBE OF THE EPHOD — i. e. the robe over which the ephod was placed to serve the purpose of a girdle. כליל תכלת signifies THE WHOLE OF IT BLUE PURPLE, meaning that there should be no other material mixed with it (Yoma 71b).

ME’IL’ (ROBE). Rashi commented: “This was a kind of shirt, and so also was the k’thoneth, except that the k’thoneth was worn next to the body and the me’il is a term for the upper [outer] shirt.” But this is not so, for the me’il is a garment in which one wraps oneself, just as Scripture says, and he [Samuel] is covered with a ‘me’il’, and it is further written, ‘y’atoni’ (He hath covered me) with ‘me’il’ (the robe) of righteousness, and the term atiyah (enwrapping) does not apply to a shirt, but to a garment with which one covers oneself, as it is said, ‘oteh’ (Who coverest Thyself) with light as with a garment, it being associated with the term atoph (enveloping onself). And so we find: and his upper lip ‘ya’teh’ (he shall cover up, [which Onkelos renders] yitatoph. This is identical with the word kardunin from the Targum of Jonathan ben Uziel which the Rabbi [Rashi] mentioned [as his translation of the word me’il], for this kardunin is used for enwrapping oneself, something akin to the form of the ephod with which [the High Priest] envelops the half of his body that is towards his feet. But if a me’il was a kind of shirt [as Rashi said], then me’il and kardunin would not be alike at all. Another proof is the verse, and he seized the skirt of ‘me’ilo’ (his robe), and it rent. Thus the me’il has skirts and is not a kind of shirt. Rather, the me’il is a garment which enwraps the whole body from the neck downwards to the feet of the person, and has no sleeves at all. Now in other me’ilim there is a piece of garment for the neck, covering the whole of it, and sewed on [with a needle], this garment being called pi me’il (the hole of the robe), but with reference to this me’il Scripture commanded that it be woven together with the robe. The me’il is entirely slit frontwise till the bottom, and he put his head through the hole on top; thus the neck [of the priest] is enwrapped with the hole of the me’il, and in front of him are the two skirts with which he covers or uncovers himself at will — something like [our] cloak which has no head-tire. Now since the seam divides the front part of the me’il and separates it all the way downwards, therefore the term atiyah (enwrapping) is always used in connection with it [as explained above].Nor do I know either why the Rabbi [Rashi] made the bells independent objects, stating that there was one bell between every two pomegranates. For if so, the pomegranates served no purpose. And if they were made just for ornament, why were they made like hollow pomegranates? Let him rather make them like golden apples! Moreover, Scripture should have explained with what the bells should be hung, and whether rings should be made on which to hang the bells. Instead, [we must say that] the bells were inside the pomegranates themselves, for the pomegranates were hollow and made in the shape of small pomegranates that have not yet burst open, and the bells were hidden inside but visible through them. Now Scripture has not spec...

"You shall make" — the Gaon translated מְעִיל as a rain-garment in the form of what is called a sarbel [surcoat], with its head-opening inside the garment. Our early sages of blessed memory said that pomegranates go around the robe and a bell between every two pomegranates. Others said that the bells are not visible but are inside the pomegranates, and there they sound their ringing.

ועשית את מעיל האפוד, You are to make the robe for the ephod.” The wording of the text teaches that the robe was attached to the ephod. Rashi also wrote that the ephod was placed over the robe much like a belt. כליל תכלת, “entirely of blue wool.” This teaches that the robe was made completely of blue without any other color being mixed into its fabric. Its shape was similar to a garment known as גלימה, i.e. mantle, or cloak. Its top had a circular opening so that it was not buttoned along its front in order to close and open it. (It was slipped overhead when putting it on or taking it off). It had two wing-like flaps which the High Priest could open or close as he liked. At his hem, all around the hem there were 72 pomegranate shaped woolen balls made of blue purple and scarlet red wool, 36 on either side of the wings we mentioned. These pomegranates were hollow containing 72 bells with tongs and clappers. This is what our sages explained in Zevachim 88. According to this interpretation [which differs radically from Rashi, see below. Ed.] the words פעמון ורמון, פעמון ורמון have to be understood as meaning “each bell was concealed within the pomegranate.”

And you shall make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue. Since the robe atones for evil speech, it was therefore made entirely of blue, because blue resembles the sea, and through the blue one will look at the sea and observe it and act accordingly. For regarding the sea it is said I broke My decree upon it, and set bars and doors, and I said, “Until here you shall come and no further…” (Job 38:10-11). Similarly, the Holy One, Blessed be He, placed a wall and a bar for the tongue, as our Sages of blessed memory said (Arachin 15b), “And not only that, but I surrounded you with two walls, one of bone and one of flesh.” What then could He add or increase protection from a deceitful tongue? For it goes outside, speaks, shoots its sharpened arrows to all four corners of the world, and passes through bars and doors. It would be proper for a person to learn from the sea, which does not pass through doors and bars and does not breach its boundaries. This is the reason for the blue, which resembles the sea, because when one looks at the blue, one will be reminded of the sea that resembles it in color, and consequently will then contemplate the sea’s behavior, observe it and act accordingly. And in the section of “Shelach Lecha,” with God’s help, this matter will also be explained regarding the techelet [blue thread] of tzitzit, as concluded in the Yalkut portion of Ha’azinu (942): Moses said, Look at the heavens that I created to serve you — have they ever changed their ways? etc. And likewise regarding the sea, as it is said Do you not fear Me, says the Lord, who has placed sand as a boundary for the sea (Jeremiah 5:22), etc. This is the reason for the techelet as a reminder of all of God’s commandments, because by looking at the techelet which resembles the sea, one will be reminded of the sea’s behavior — that it does not breach its boundaries and stands by God’s decree. So too should a person behave. And by looking at the sea which resembles the firmament, one will also be reminded of the firmament’s behavior, which does not change its measure. One should observe this and do likewise, all the more so. And by looking at the firmament which resembles the Throne of Glory, one will see with his own eyes the source from which he was hewn, and he will yearn to return and cleave to that place, because the soul yearns for the place where its tent was initially situated. See further in the portion of Shelach Lecha (15:38), for that is its place. And here, the main reason for the techelet is to learn from the sea alone, as stated. We can also say that there is benefit in looking at the heavens and the Throne of Glory, because this will cause one to reduce his speech, as it is written For God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore, let your words be few (Ecclesiastes 5:1). And regarding the matter of the two walls surrounding [the mouth], it [the Torah] says, And there shall be an opening for his head in the midst, it shall have a binding around its opening — for the tongue also needs to be like this, that “the opening of his head” should be inside, within the wall closest to it, which is of bone. And corresponding to the wall of flesh, which refers to the lips, it says there shall be a binding around its opening, it shall not be torn — so that the two walls should not be torn together. And it does not say “a work of skilled design” regarding it, because the sin of the tongue is specifically in speech and not in thought. And there were pomegranates and bells on it that make sound, to atone for the tongue that is inside the mouth like a clapper inside bells. And the correction for the tongue is that one should not profane his word anymore and should speak only matters of holiness, as it says, And his sound shall be heard when he enters the holy place, and he shall not die. For evil speech kills three people (Arachin 15b), which implies that one who is careful about this will not die, as in the story of that peddler who would announce, “Who wants to buy the elixir of life?” etc., as will be explained in the portion of Metzora, God willing.

ועשית את מעיל האפוד, “and you are to make the robe of the ephod, etc.” Rashi explains that the robe was a kind of shirt. Nachmanides queries the expression עוטה, wrapping, used in connection with the robe, as this expression certainly seems out of place in connection with a shirt. The word means to drape (oneself) as in a tallit, a garment which envelopes the body completely. It has neither sleeves, nor a collar, a cutout for the neck as described in verse 32, and called פי תחרא. This particular robe, according to the Torah’s directives, had to be of weaver’s work, ארוג, embroidered, and the wearer would slip it on overhead and would place his arms through the armpits provided. At the front it had two flaps that could be opened or closed according to the wishes of the wearer. We know this from Samuel I 15,27 where King Sha-ul is described as grabbing hold of the flap of the prophet’s Samuel’s robe.

מעיל האפוד; the garment on which the ephod is worn. כליל תכלת, entirely of blue wool. I believe that the reason why this garment was totally blue is that seeing that both the ephod’s and the choshen’s function is to evoke the zikaron, the memory of G’d, the m’il, which is the base for the other two garments is also dyed in a colour symbolising memory as we know from the blue strand in the tzitziyot which the Torah describes as evoking the memory of heaven and G’d’s commandments in Numbers 15,35.

And the opening for its head shall be folded within it; a border shall surround its opening all around — the work of a weaver — like the opening of a coat of mail it shall have, so that it will not tear.

והיה פי ראשו AND THE HOLE IN THE HEAD OF IT SHALL BE — the hole of the Robe which is at its top — that is, the opening which serves as a receptacle for the neck, בתוכו IN THE MIDST THEREOF — Understand this as the Targum renders it: כפיל לגויה “turned in towards the inside” — the turn-in shall serve as its seam. It was weaver’s work (woven as such with the Robe) and not made with a needle. כפי תחרא AS IT WERE THE HOLE OF A HABERGEON — This informs us that their habergeons had the neck-opening turned in. לא יקרע means SO THAT IT BE NOT RENT — Indeed, whoever rends it, transgresses thereby a negative commandment because this is among the number of the negative commands contained in the Torah. The same is the case with (v. 28) “that the breast-plate be not loosened”, and similarly, (Exodus 25:15) “they shall not depart from it”, which is said of the staves of the ark (Yoma 72a).

לא יקרע, the robe should not have a regular collar and neckline running down the front of the garment open, but it should be round as a ring. The expression יקרע, is applied to vertical openings in a garment or building. The expression occurs in a similar sense in Jeremiah 22,14 וקרע לו חלוני, “provided with narrow windows cut out, etc.”

בתוכו “inside it,” i.e. in its center. Compare to what the Torah wrote in Genesis 2,9, about the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. מעשה אורג, woven work; the Torah means that it was continuous along the entire neck of the garment. The garment had been woven from the neck down to its hem. At the top it was reinforced so as not to tear easily.

והיה פי ראשו בתוכו, “and its head-opening shall be folded over within;” it appears to me that when the sages explained in Zevachim 88 that “let something involving sound be the instrument of atoning for a sin committed involving sound,” they had in mind such sins as evil gossip, lies, refusal to honor verbal undertakings, etc. This is why the wording of the Torah in describing the “collar” of the robe as והיה פי ראשו בתוכו sounds so stilted. The wording contains a hint that what a person says should reflect what is in his heart. His pronouncements should not be at variance with his true feelings and intent. The lips which form the frame of his mouth should have prevented him from abusing the power of speech; whereas instead of doing so the sinner made his mouth a מעשה אורג, “weaver’s work,” i.e. he fabricated all kinds of embellishments to the truth. The words כפי תחרא, “like the opening of a coat of mail,” also hint at the manner in which the sinner used the mouth to reinforce his lies, just as the armor of the knights of old consisted of overlapping pieces of metal to allow both for protection and flexibility. The robe was designed to atone for the kinds of sin which estrange the sinner to his G’d. Concerning such people David said in Psalm 101,7: ”he who speaks untruths shall not stand before My eyes.”

פי תחרא, an opening in the garment at the top, permitting the wearer to slip into it by pulling it down over his head. בתוכו, in its middle (the middle of the top). להבדיל, similar to garments worn by the members of the clergy. לא יקרע. The collar does not open downwards (like our shirtfronts) but one leaves an opening for the neck when weaving it before finishing it at the top.

And you shall make on its hem pomegranates of blue, purple, and crimson dye, on its hem all around; and golden bells between them all around.

רמוני POMEGRANATES — They were round and hollow, similar to that kind of pomegranates which are made like (have the form of) a hen’s egg. ופעמני זהב AND BELLS OF GOLD — bells, together with the clappers in them. בתוכם סביב IN THE MIDST OF THEM ROUND ABOUT — i. e. between them (the pomegranates) all the way round the hem: between every two pomegranates there was one bell attached hanging from the hem of the Robe (cf. Zevachim 88b).

בתוכם. between pomegranate and pomegranate, not inside the pomegranate.

A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate — on the hem of the robe all around.

פעמן זהב ורמון פעמן זהב ורמון means a golden bell and a pomegranate next to it.

פעמון זהב ורמון, “with a golden bell and a pomegranate alternating along its lower rim.” The purpose of the pomegranate was to produce sound when the bell hit it while the High Priest was walking.

פעמון זהב ורמון, “a golden bell and a pomegranate.” According to Rashi the Torah speaks of two distinctly separate kinds of ornaments, one looked like a bell, the other like pomegranate. Nachmanides writes that if that were correct the “pomegranates” would not have served any purpose that we can understand. If we were to understand that the “pomegranates” were decorative only, why would he not have made them like apples, but made of gold? We must assume that the bells were surrounded on the outside by these “pomegranates,” the “pomegranates” being hollow, they were made to look like unripe small “pomegranates” that had not “opened” yet, and the bells were hidden within their cavities, but could be seen partially from the outside.

A golden bell, and a pomegranate of hyacinth and crimson; a golden bell, and a pomegranate of hyacinth and crimson upon the border of the robe round about; their number, seventy and one.

And it shall be upon Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he enters the sanctuary before Hashem and when he goes out, so that he will not die.

ולא ימות THAT HE DIE NOT — From what is included in this negative statement you may infer the positive: if he has these garments on him he will not incur death; consequently if he enters the Sanctuary lacking one of these garments he incurs death at the hands of God (cf. Sanhedrin 83).

THAT HE DIE NOT. “From this negative statement you infer the positive: if these garments are upon him, he will not incur death, but if he enters [the Sanctuary] lacking one of these garments he is liable to death [by the hand of Heaven].” This is Rashi’s language. But it does not appear to me to be correct, for if so He should have written this verse after having mentioned all eight garments [of the High Priest], and why did He mention it after three garments — the breastplate, the ephod, and the robe — before mentioning the frontplate, the upper garment, the mitre, the belt and the breeches! Furthermore, [the verse reads here,] and when he cometh out [of the Sanctuary], that he die not. But the act of going out [from the Sanctuary] is no function for which he should incur death if lacking the [proper number of] garments!Similarly Rashi commented on the verse: “And they shall be upon Aaron and upon his sons — they means all these garments; upon Aaron and upon his sons, those which are proper to him, and those specified for them. [That they bear not iniquity,] and die — thus you learn that he who ministers [the Divine Service] lacking any of these garments incurs death [by the hand of Heaven].” And so indeed it appears from the simple meaning of Scripture. But according to the conclusion reached on these subjects in the discussions in the Gemara, it would appear that this does not conform to the opinion of our Rabbis, for to them this commandment applies to all alike, to Aaron and his sons, but it refers only to the breeches, and the punishment [of death by the hand of Heaven for lacking them] likewise applies [only] to them [i.e. the breeches]. For He had commanded that they be made, [as it is said,] And thou shalt make them linen breeches, and then He commanded concerning their being worn [by the priests, saying,] And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons. As to the rest of the garments, He had already given the command above concerning the making of them and wearing them, [as it is said,] And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and upon his sons with him. If so, this command [And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons] refers wholly to the breeches, and the punishment likewise refers [only] to them. We learn this from what the Rabbis have said in Tractates Sanhedrin and The Slaughtering of Sacrifices: “Whence do we know that a priest who ministered [the Divine Service] lacking the [proper number of] garments is liable to death [by the hand of Heaven]? Said Rabbi Abohu in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, and they arrived in the chain of tradition up to ‘in the name of Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Shimon:' And thou shalt gird them with belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind head-tires on them; and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute, the interpretation of which is: ‘So long as they wear their [appointed] garments, they are invested with their priesthood; when they do not wear their garments, they are not invested...

ובצאתו ולא ימות. "and when he comes out, so that he will not die." It appears from this verse that if the High Priest's tunic did not have the bells that could be heard he would be guilty of the death penalty to be administered by Heaven. Were this not so and the verse had referred to the absence of the garment to which the bells were attached or to any of his special garments, the words: "so that he will not die" should have beeen written after the list of the garments was complete in verse 43. The fact that the Torah did not wait with this clause until then is to teach us that even the absence of the bells only made the High Priest liable to death at the hands of Heaven. Repetition of the threat of death in verse 43 refers to a priest who serves without one or more of the garments he is to wear at that time.

ונשמע קולו, “its sound would be audible;” [the High Priest did not wear these garments inside the Tabernacle on the Day of Atonement. Ed.] The sound was meant to alert the people that the time for him to perform the service in the Tabernacle had arrived. According to another interpretation, the sound was necessary to warn the other priests not to enter the Holy of Holies. On the Day of Atonement there was no need for it, seeing that only the High Priest performed sacrificial service on that day.

ונשמע קולו בבואו אל הקדש, “and its sound will be heard when he enters the holy precincts.” When Aaron enters the Sanctuary dressed in his eight special vestments his voice in prayer will be heard by G’d and his prayers will be accepted. In addition to the sound of his voice in prayer there will also be heard the sound of the bells at the hem of his robe. This little verse is a lesson in manners. When a person wishes to receive an audience he first knocks on the door of the king or prefect from whom he requests the audience. Aaron (the High Priest) would announce his intention to pray by means of the chiming of the bells at the hem of his robe. What is customary as a sign of deference to a mortal king must also be observed when one petitions the King of Kings. When one arrives unannounced in a mortal king’s palace, enters without preamble, one incurs the death penalty. Similarly, when the High Priest enters G’d’s Sanctuary it behooves him to give notice of his intention to enter. The matter is best illustrated in Esther 4,11 from where we know that King Ahasverush looked with great suspicion on anyone who came unannounced, and, generally speaking, he had such persons executed as he thought they were bent on harming him. Even though G’d, of course, is fully aware of the intentions of the “intruder,” the same rules of etiquette apply in the Sanctuary. Another reason why the High Priest “gave notice” in this manner of his intention to enter the Sanctuary was to ensure that none of the angels would at that time interfere with his prayer, i.e. interpose themselves between him and G’d. Had he entered unannounced this could have happened. He himself might even have been harmed by the angels who were unaware of his intentions. Actually, the sound of the bells was not meant to give warning either to the Shechinah or to the angels that the High Priest was approaching. it was intended to warn the angels that the approaching High Priest desired to have privacy during his audience with the Shechinah. Additionally, it was meant to head off any chance that some angel would harm him as an unwanted intruder (as happened to Nadav and Avihu). The same sound of these bells chiming when the High Priest had completed his audience in the Sanctuary served the angels notice that they could again resume their customary positions inside the Sanctuary. When the Torah writes the words ולא ימות, “so that he will not die,” at the end of our verse, this was a warning that if the High Priest were to enter the Sanctuary without the bells on his robe being audible, the attendants around the Shechinah would kill him as an intruder. This matter is elaborated on in Jerusalem Talmud Yuma 1,5 and quoted by Nachmanides in connection with Leviticus 16,17: “that no person (אדם) should be in the Tent of Testimony,” that this wording includes even the angels which were described in Ezekiel’s vision as having a ”human face” (Ezekiel 1,10). This is why the High Priest was instructed to make certain that his approach would be heard by means of the bells in the hem of his robe chiming. The idea is reflected in Psalms 55,15 “sweet was our fellowship; together we walked in G’d’s house when there is turmoil.” What we have described applied during all the days of the year when the High Priest entered the Sanctuary; it did not apply on the Day of Atonement when he entered the Holy of Holies, as on that day he was not allowed to wear the “golden garments” when inside the Sanctuary. We are told in Midrash Shemot Rabbah 38,8 in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi that the reason the names of the twelve tribes were inscribed on the breastplate can be understood by means of a parable. A king’s son had a tutor, a pedagogue. He went to the king to intercede on behalf of his pupil the prince. He was concerned lest the various officials attending the king might utter some negative comment concerning the prince while he was engaged in defending him. What did the tutor do? He dressed himself in his most impressive uniform, an attire designed to cause respect and awe in those who would see him wearing it. In a similar manner, Aaron would enter the Sanctuary to intercede with G’d on behalf of the Jewish people dressed in the kind of garments which would be sure to keep unwelcome listeners away. If he had not had many merits he could not have survived such an encounter. By wearing the breastplate with the names of the twelve tribes (and the names of the patriarchs) inscribed on them he felt sure that whatever personal merit he might lack would be made up for by a reminder of the accumulated merits of the patriarchs and Yaakov’s sons. G’d enabled him to neutralise any attacks by the angels upon him through providing him with these priestly vestments and giving him a holy appearance. This is alluded to in Isaiah 59,17: He ”wrapped Himself in zeal as in a robe.” Thus far Midrash Rabbah. [This parable raises more questions than it solves: 1) the High Priest was not allowed to enter the Holy of Holies at will (Leviticus 16,2). He could only enter on the Day of Atonement during certain times of the day. 2) on that day he wore only white linen garments when inside the Sanctuary (Leviticus 16,4). Ed.]

ונשמע קולו בבאו אל הקדש, the golden bells will knock against each other even though they are separated from one another by the woolen pomegranates.

And you shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave upon it in clear script: Holy to Hashem.

ציץ — This was a kind of golden Plate, two fingers in breadth, going round the forehead from ear to ear (Shabbat 63b).

"You shall make a frontlet [צִיץ]" — the Gaon translated it as עִצָּאבָה [a headband]. It is placed on the turban and is not in the form of a crown, for it rests on the forehead alone. On the plain sense, the headdresses [מִגְבָּעוֹת] are not like the turban: the headdresses resemble what men in these lands place on the head — tall coverings that cover the head. The turban is a thin, long cloth wound around the head alone. It somewhat resembles the head-wrapping that women wear in these places. In the lands of the Arabs, in Spain, Africa, Egypt, Babylon, and Baghdad, the turban is worn on the head by men of distinction and not on a woman's head; and great princes place a gold frontlet on the turban at the forehead. I have already noted for you that the custom of the Land of Israel and its adornments is not like the custom of these places. Rabbenu Shlomo was compelled to emend the verses using three cords of blue thread, but on the plain sense there is no need for more than one cord to hold the frontlet against the face of the turban at the forehead.

קדש לה׳. "Holy unto G'd." This means that as long as the words "Holy unto G'd" appeared on the headband (golden plate), this was acceptable. When the Talmud said in Shabbat 63 that the words were arranged in two rows, this means that the name of י־ה was engraved on top and the word קדש followed by the letter ל underneath. Such an arrangement of the words was not mandatory. You will find there that Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yossi reported that while in Rome he personally had seen the ציץ which the Romans had captured, and that the words "Holy unto G'd" were engraved on it in a single line. This proves that the order in which the words were engraved did not matter. When Maimonides wrote in chapter nine of his treatise on Kley Hamikdosh that the words appeared in two rows, with the word קדש in the second line, this does not present a difficulty. He referred only to the preferred way of engraving these words.

ועשית ציץ, “you are to make a frontlet; (of gold),” a sparkling kind of jewelry. We find that term in such a connection in Ezekiel 1,7: ונוצצים כעין נחשת קלל, “they were sparkling like the luster of burnished copper or in Psalms 132,18: “and his crown will sparkle on him;”ועליו יציץ נזרו.

ועשית ציץ זהב טהור, “you are to make a head-plate of pure gold.” The head-plate was made as follows: Betzalel took a flat strip of gold two fingers wide which would be worn around Aaron’s forehead from ear to ear and on which were inscribed the words קדש לה', “holy unto the Lord.” The word קדש was written on the lower line, the word לי-ה-ו-ה on the upper line. The letters in these words were protruding. (Maimonides Klei Hamikdash 9,1-2 explains the technique used). The two ends of the ציץ were pierced so that below the holes a strand of blue wool would be fastened which in turn would be tied behind the High Priest’s neck. According to the view of Raa’vad the inscription on the lower line was קדש ל so that only the name of the Lord i.e. י-ה-ו-ה was inscribed on the upper line. That letter ל was at the end of the upper line whereas the name of the Lord appeared at the beginning of the lower line near the end at the right. The reason Maimonides calls the upper line “lower” and the lower line “upper,” is because he considered what is at the end of the line as “lower,” and what is at the beginning of the line as “upper.” (At any rate, according to Rabbi Shlomoh Aderet’s interpretation the words קדש לה' could be read sequentially in the normal order, and not as the impression first created by the words of Maimonides. The ציץ, head-plate, was also considered as one of the eight vestments of the High Priest. However, strictly speaking, it was not a garment but a decoration, a kind of jewelry. If our sages always speak about eight vestments which the High Priest would adorn himself in, they simply included this adornment with the other seven which are garments in the true sense of the words. The other seven garments symbolized the seven heavens; I will explain this in greater detail at the end of Parshat Tzav (Leviticus 8,7). The golden head-plate represented the highest of all the heavens. The very words inscribed on the head-plate are an allusion to the principle that the glory of the princess is best seen by the fact that she stays out of the limelight, as Psalms 45,14 phrased it כל כבודה בת מלך פנימה ממשבצות זהב לבושה, “the royal princess, her dress embroidered with golden mountings, (is led inside to the king.”) The chamber (heaven) referred to is the tenth, innermost. This is why the ציץ was made of pure gold and why it was appropriately inscribed with the words קדש לה'. This is also the meaning of the words פתוחי חותם קדש לה', “engraved like a signet ring ‘holy unto the Lord.’” The Torah writes in verse 38 that the ציץ is to be worn on Aaron’s forehead, and that it is to be on his forehead תמיד “always.” How are we to understand the latter word “always?” The word refers to the periods during which the High Priests fulfills his specific functions in the Temple or within the holy precincts. As you are already aware the High Priest served as a symbol and so did his vestments while he wore them during the performance of his duties. This is the reason why the Torah wrote the word לזכרון, “as a remembrance,” i.e. as a symbol, in connection with the gemstones on the ephod and with the gemstones on the breastplate (compare verse 12 and verse 29). The word לזכרון is very close in meaning to the word לדוגמה, “as an example, a model, a symbol.” The word ציץ itself is reminiscent of Song of Songs 2,9 מציץ מן החרכים, “He was peering through the lattices.” Aaron’s inspiration came from the Shechinah which peered through the lattices (shuttered windows of the highest heaven) observing him performing his functions. The word is related to ויצץ ציץ, “it sprouted a bud,” i.e. the topmost part of the fruit. Wherever the word occurs it alludes to the highest of something. Just as this particular ornament symbolized the highest emanation, the highest attribute of G’d, so all the vestments symbolized something of that nature.

And you shall make a pure gold frontplate. According to our Sages (Arachin 16a) who said that the frontplate [tzitz] atoned for brazenness, we need to consider this matter carefully, since it is written, And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, and Aaron shall bear the iniquity of the holy things which the children of Israel shall sanctify and our Sages said (Menachot 25a) that this refers to sacrifices offered in a state of impurity. How can this midrashic interpretation contradict the plain meaning of the text? According to what we wrote above, the frontplate atones for blatant promiscuity, as it says (Jeremiah 3:3), You had the forehead of a promiscuous woman. Wherever you find a fence against immorality, there you will find holiness, and promiscuity desecrates holiness, as will be explained later in Parshat Korach on the verse For all the congregation, they are all holy and so on. And Moses heard — that they suspected him with another man’s wife. Based on this, we can say that they found a basis for this interpretation, suggesting that just as the frontplate atones for ordinary sacrifices that became impure, so too it atones for the forehead of a promiscuous woman — the holiness of a person. Therefore, it had written on it Holy to the Lord. Both of these aspects are present in it, for the frontplate itself atones for the impurity of sacred items, but the fact that it was specifically placed on the forehead was to atone also for the forehead of a promiscuous woman. For this reason it says, And you shall place it on a blue cord, similar to the blue cord of the tzitzit [ritual fringes], about which it says (Numbers 15:39), And you shall not follow after your hearts and after your eyes, after which you stray. This shows that it protects from promiscuity, like the story of the man who hired a prostitute for 400 zuz but was saved by his tzitzit (Menachot 44a). And even if our Sages were speaking of ordinary brazenness, nevertheless it also involves desecration of holiness, for all brazenness presumably does not originate in holiness but comes from the side of impurity, since the chamber of its conception was defiled. This matter is self-evident. And according to this understanding, there will be three things here that protect from promiscuity. The first is the tzitz [headplate] itself, which had Holy to the Lord written on it. The second is the blue cord, which is similar to the blue cord of tzitzit [ritual fringes] about which it is said that you do not follow after your heart and your eyes, which lead you astray. The third is the mitre [turban], which atones for haughtiness, and our Sages said (Sotah 4b): “Whoever is arrogant, it is as if he has engaged in forbidden sexual relations with all of those with whom relations are forbidden,” etc. They further said (ibid.): “Anyone who has haughtiness will eventually stumble with a married woman,” etc. The reason for this matter will be explained, God willing, in Parashat Korach on the verse For all the congregation are holy, and the Lord is among them; why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord and Moses heard — that they suspected him of [relations with] a married woman, etc., see there. Therefore it is stated regarding the tzitz: And you shall put it on a blue cord, and it shall be on the mitre. And with this is also resolved what Rashi explained, that we need to reconcile three verses: a cord on the tzitz, the tzitz on the cord, and the cord on the mitre. For we can explain that the term “on” does not indicate the location of its placement, but rather it is an expression of addition, saying that each one adds to its companion, since all three have one intention. According to this, there is an “on” that indicates the place of placement, and there is an “on” that indicates addition, and the student will choose which of them indicates the placement according to the meaning of the verses.

ועשית ציץ. The name ציץ reflects the fact that this head-plate is worn on a place that everybody looks at on the forehead of the High Priest. We explained this point in our commentary on 12,7. 'קדש לה. The names of the tribes of Israel are engraved on both the gemstones of the ephod as well as on the breastplate. These names were to remind G’d of the merits of the founding fathers of these tribes and to facilitate atonement for the sins of their descendants. The specific sins referred to are inadvertent violations involving sacred sites entered in violation of the law, or the consuming of sacred sacrificial meat by people either not entitled to eat them or not in a ritually pure state which would be the prerequisite for eating same. While the High Priest wore the ציץ G’d undertook to forgive such inadvertent violations committed by the people concerned.

And you shall fasten it on a cord of blue wool, and it shall be upon the turban — facing the front of the turban it shall be.

על פתיל תכלת [AND THOU SHALT PUT IT] ON A BLUE PURPLE STRING — but in another passage (Exodus 39:31) is states, “And they put upon it (upon the Plate) a string of blue purple (so that the Plate was beneath the string, not upon it as is here commanded)! Then again, it is written here, “and it (the Plate) shall be upon the mitre”, whilst further on (v. 38) it says, “And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead”! And in the Treatise on the Slaughter of the Sacrifices (Zevachim 19a) we learn: “His (the High Priest’s) hair was visible between the Plate and the mitre, whereon he placed the Tephillin”, thus informing us that the mitre was above on the crown of the head and was not so deep that the entire head went into it right down to the forehead, and that the Plate was beneath it with a space between them. Consequently the Plate was not on the mitre as seems to be stated in this verse! But I say that (cf. Rashi on Exodus 39:31 ואומר אני וגו׳) the strings were in holes and hung from it (from the Plate) at its two ends and at its middle point, six in these three places (i. e. one string in each hole, the centre of each string resting on the bottom point of the hole, the three thus forming six). Thus, at each hole, there was one string on top of the Plate — outside it, and one inside (between the Plate and the forehead). He tied the ends of the strings, the three of them, behind the neck; it follows therefore that the length of the Plate and the strings that were at its ends together encompassed his skull. The middle string which was on its top edge bound together with the ends of the two which were at the extremities of the Plate, passed over the breadth of the head above (over the crown). Consequently it (the Plate, together with the strings) formed a kind of helmet. It is with reference to the middle string that it states, “And it (the string just mentioned in the verse; not the Plate as was assumed) shall be upon the mitre”, for he placed the Plate, with the strings already tied in this manner, upon his head as a kind of helmet passing it over the mitre, and the middle string held it (the Plate) firm so that it could not fall, and thus the Plate hung in front of his forehead and did not fall lower down. In this way all these verses find their explanation — the string being on the Plate, the Plate on the string, and the string on the mitre above (cf. Chullin 138a).

AND THOU SHALT PUT IT ON A BLUE-PURPLE STRING. “But in another place in Scripture it states, And they put upon it a string of blue-purple [which indicates that the frontplate was beneath the string, not upon it as is here commanded]! Moreover, here it is written, and it shall be upon the mitre, and further on it says, And it shall be upon Aaron’s forehead! In the Tractate on the Slaughtering of Sacrifices we have been taught: ‘The High Priest’s hair was visible between the frontplate and the mitre, whereon he placed the phylacteries.’ From this we learn that the mitre was above on the crown of the head [and was not so large that it covered the entire head right down to the forehead], and the frontplate was beneath it [with a space between them], and the strings were in holes and hung from the frontplate at its two ends and in its middle — six in these three places: one string on top [of the frontplate], one outside and one inside [between the frontplate and the forehead]. He tied the ends of the three strings behind the neck, and thus it came to be that the length of the frontplate and the strings at its ends encompassed his whole skull. The middle string which was on top was tied together to the ends of the two strings [at the extremities of the frontplate], and passed over above the breadth of the head. Thus it came to be that [the frontplate with the strings] formed a kind of helmet. Now it is with reference to the middle string that Scripture states, and it shall be upon the mitre, for he placed the frontplate [together with the strings tied in the above manner] upon his head [as a kind of helmet, passing it over the mitre], and tightened it through the middle string so that it would not fall. Thus the frontplate hung in front of his forehead. All these verses are thus reconciled: the string was on the frontplate, and the frontplate upon the string, and the string on the mitre above.” All this is Rashi’s language. But I wonder concerning Rashi’s words, for Scripture commands the making of only one blue-purple string, and he makes six! Moreover, Rashi combined the verses which tell of the command to make [the frontplate] with those which tell of the making thereof, increasing the strings with the number of verses! One could count in such manner in the case of the ark, the table, and the candelabrum [two of each, since they are mentioned once in the command to make, and again in the narrative when they were actually made]! Furthermore, if Scripture commanded that they put the frontplate on a blue-purple string, how did they [do the opposite and] put a blue-purple string on it? Where were they commanded to do so? And why did they need the strings in the middle, since the frontplate was tied behind the neck, as are all frontplates which are worn by men and women?Indeed, the matter is not as the Rabbi [Rashi] said. For there was only one string there; the plate reached from ear to ear and was pierced at its two ends and the blue-purple string w...

The meaning of "and you shall set it upon a cord of blue" — [it means] together with a cord of blue, for the frontlet was tied from both sides. There is no doubt that "the face of the turban" is the place of the forehead and not the top of the head. In another place it is written: "they placed upon it a cord of blue" (Exod. 39:31), to affix it to the turban at the forehead. Do not wonder at the word עַל ["upon" / "alongside"], for like it: "the men came with [עַל] the women" (Exod. 35:22), "a wave-offering of the bread of first-fruits before Hashem with [עַל] the two lambs" (Lev. 23:20), "the fat with [עַל] the breast" (Lev. 7:30) — and many like these. You will never find that the turban was worn by Aaron alone, while the headdresses were for his sons. Some say that מִגְבָּעוֹת derives from גִּבְעוֹת ["hills"] (Gen. 49:26), since the turban encircles and envelops the head, as it is written: "He will wrap you with a wrap" (Isa. 22:18), and "wrapping you with a wrap" (ibid. 22:17). One who knows the manner of winding the turban will understand the meaning of that verse — "not the lowly one is raised up and the high one brought low" (Ezek. 21:31) — for it is a craft. It is written: "he placed the turban upon his head and set the holy crown upon the turban" (Exod. 29:6), so the frontlet is called נֵזֶר ["crown"], and likewise: "upon him his crown shall flourish" (Ps. 132:18) — perhaps everything comes from the root of צִיץ, a visible thing, as in "peering through the lattice" (Song 2:9). Know that in the two cavities in the skull at the forehead, there the power of the five senses is joined; there is the power of imagination, and there thought begins — therefore it is written concerning the frontlet: "to bear the iniquity of the holy things" (v. 38 below), since perhaps the intention of those who consecrated the offerings was not entirely proper.

אל מול פני המצנפת יהיה, “upon the forefront of the mitre (liturgical, pointed headdress) on his forehead it shall be.”

ושמת אותו על פתיל תכלת, “you shall fasten it to a cord made of blue wool.” Rashi points out that instead of the verb שים, i.e. ושמת, used by the Torah here, the Torah uses the verb נתן, i.e. ויתנו, in Exodus Not only that, but here the ציץ. is to be fastened to Aaron’s מצנפת, turban, though worn on his forehead, מצח, whereas in Parshat Pekudey it is described as being worn over the Turban. [Rashi, in discussing the implications at length, something that Nachmanides assumes the reader has already familiarised himself with, therefore comes to the conclusion that there were three locations on the ציץ to each of which a blue cord was attached in order to securely place the ציץ in such a way that there was room for Aaron to put on his phylacteries on the skin of his forehead. Ed.] Nachmanides expresses his amazement at Rashi’s interpretation, claiming that clearly the Torah mentions only a single blue wool cord in connection with the headband. According to Rashi, in Nachmanides’ view, there would have been six such cords. Furthermore, he accuses Rashi as unjustifiably lumping together verses that describe the instruction to make the headband, with verses (Parshat Pekudey) that describe the manner in which the directive was actually carried out. If indeed there were as many blue wool cords as described by Rashi, what would have been the purpose of the blue cord mentioned here which was in the center of the ציץ? According to Rashi, the headband had already been firmly secured in place behind Aaron’s head, at the nape of his neck! We must conclude that there was only a single such cord made of blue wool, this cord was stretched on Aaron’s forehead from one ear to the other and the headband itself had two holes in it at either of its two extremities, the cord being threaded through these holes so that the headband was securely tied together by means of this cord at the nape of Aaron’s neck. Simultaneously, the turban Aaron wore on his head covered this blue cord at the level of Aaron’s brain; whereas at the back of his head the turban covered this cord down to the level of the nape of the neck. In the front, the ציץ was worn so that it covered a major part of Aaron’s forehead, from ear to ear. The result of all this was that the rear of Aaron’s head was enclosed by the turban from ear to ear, whereas the front was covered by the golden headband from ear to ear. This is the meaning of the line: ושמת המצנפת על ראשו, i.e. “on the upper part of his head,” not like the מגבעות, the caps worn by the ordinary priests that enclosed the entire head, as we know from 29,9 וחבשת להם מגבעות, “you shall wrap the headdresses on them.” The meaning is that the entire head be covered by these מגבעות, headdresses, caps. As to what the Torah writes ונתת את נזר הקודש על המצנפת, “you are to place the crown of sanctity on the turban,” (29,6) the meaning is that that the ציץ is to be connected, tied, to the turban. There is no need to belabour the switch from the word ושמת to ונתת, and vice versa, as the Torah did not choose these two expressions for such interpretations, just as once the Torah writes that ויתנו עליו פתיל תכלת, whereas another time it writes ושמת אותו על פתיל תכלת. The variations of the wording teach that as long as the principal purpose of fastening the headband both to the forehead and to the turban was accomplished, minor changes in the procedure did not matter. We find similar variations in language of the Torah in connection with the consecration offerings in chapter 29, where the Torah writes in verse 3: ונתת אותם על סל אחד והקרבת, “you are to place them on one basket (the loaves of bread) and present them as an offering, etc.,” where the word על does not mean “on,” but “inside.” Similarly, there are numerous occasions when the preposition על actually is used instead of the preposition אל. Here too it is quite in order to understand the words ושמת אותו על פתיל תכלת, as if the Torah had written ונתת אותו אל פתיל תכלת, “you are to fasten it to a cord of blue wool.” The fact is that the cord was fastened to the headband, ציץ. Inversely, the headband was also fastened to the cord made of blue wool. The result was that the cord was on the headband.

ושמת אותו על פתיל תכלת, there was a single strand of blue wool at either end of the tzitz which extended from ear to ear so that the head-band could be tied by means of it. There were also three strings above the tzitz which crossed the High Priest’s head (linking up with the woolen strand and attached to the מצנפת, the turban like shaped headgear worn by the High Priest. אל מול פני המצנפת יהיה, the headband was to be worn immediately below the lower rim of the mitznefet.

And it shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear the guilt of the sacred offerings that the children of Israel consecrate, with regard to all their holy gifts. And it shall be on his forehead at all times, for their acceptance before Hashem.

ונשא אהרן AND AARON SHALL BEAR [THE INIQUITY OF THE HOLY THINGS] — The word נשא is an expression of forgiveness, but nevertheless it does not move from (lose) its ordinary meaning of “bearing”: Aaron bears the load of iniquity so that it follows that the iniquity is lifted off the holy things. את עון הקדשים [HE SHALL BEAR] THE INIQUITY OF THE HOLY THINGS — atoning for the blood and fat of sacrifices which had been offered when they were unclean, as we have learned (Pesachim 17b; Yoma 7a): What iniquity is it that it (the Plate) bears (atones for)? If you say that it is the iniquity caused by פגול — but it is already said in reference to this, (Leviticus 19:7) “it cannot be atoned for”! If you say it is the iniquity caused by נותר — but it is said in reference to this, (Leviticus 7:18) “It shall not under any circumstances be accounted [unto him] as a sacrifice”! Nor can one say that it (the Plate) atoned for the iniquity of the priest who offered a sacrifice when he was unclean because it is stated here, “[shall bear] the iniquity of the holy things” and it does not state “the iniquity of those who offer the sacrifices” — thus it (the Plate) atones only in so far as to make the sacrifice a fitting one if there had been anything irregular about it. והיה על מצחו תמיד — It is not possible to say that this means that it should be on his forehead continually because, as a matter of fact, it was on it only at the time of the sacrificial service. But the word תמיד is to be connected with the words that follow: “continually to make atonement for them”, even if it be not then upon his forehead, i. e. when the High Priest was not officiating, and therefore was not wearing the Plate, at that time when the unclean animal was being sacrificed by an ordinary priest. But according to the opinion (if we adopt the opinion) of him (Rabbi Judah) who says that only whilst it was on his forehead did it atone and effect pardon, and that if it was not on his forehead it did not effect pardon, the following inference must be derived from the phrase על מצחו תמיד: it informs us that he must constantly touch it whilst it is on his forehead, so that he should not divert his attention from it (Yoma 7b).

לרצון להם לפני ה׳. "that they may be accepted on their behalf by G'd with goodwill." We need to understand why the two words "Holy unto G'd" possessed the ability to attract G'd's goodwill. Perhaps the word "Holy" referred to the people of Israel. We find Israel described as "Holy" by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 2,3). The word "unto G'd" are meant to convey that the Jewish people as a whole are devoted and dedicated to G'd. This fact (and not merely the words on the ציץ) ensure G'd's goodwill towards the people. This is the mystical dimension of the words אני לדודי ודודי לי, in Song of Songs 6,3. Solomon means that "if I am devoted to G'd, as a result G'd i.e. דודי, will turn His benevolent attention towards me."

והיה על מצחו תמיד, “it shall always be on his forehead.” Whenever he wears the mitre (turban) on his head he must also wear the crown of holiness, i.e. the Tzitz headband. It had the tetragram engraved on the golden band.

ונשא אהרן את עון הקדשים, according to the plain meaning of the text the reference is not to sacred things which have been allowed to become ritually impure, but the meaning is as follows: the fact that the High Priest would wear the tzitz would facilitate the atonement needed by the various members of the Jewish people requiring same by means of the sacrificial offerings prescribed by the Torah to expiate their sins.

And you shall checker the tunic of fine linen, and make the turban of fine linen, and the sash you shall make as the work of an embroiderer.

ושבצת means make them with many checkered figures, and entirely of fine linen.

Scripture said concerning Aaron's tunic at the outset: "a checkered tunic" (v. 4 above) — it alone is embroidered in a checkered pattern, not so the tunics of his sons. The checkered work was made for Aaron's honor. And so it says in the account of the actual vestiture: "he put on him the tunic" (Lev. 8:7) — the specific one, namely the checkered one — while for his sons it says: "he clothed them with tunics" (ibid. 8:13), as in "for the sons of Aaron you shall make tunics" (v. 40 below). Rav Saadia translated וְשִׁבַּצְתָּ as تَعْيِين [designation/setting], which resembles the form of a coin that is square, made within the round.

“And you shall weave the tunic of fine linen, and you shall make a turban of fine linen, and you shall make a sash, etc.” Our Sages said (Arachin 16) that the tunic comes to atone for bloodshed. What is the connection between these things? And if it is because Joseph’s brothers dipped Joseph’s tunic in blood, nevertheless, what does all bloodshed occurring in every generation have to do with the tunic? For without doubt, this atonement is for every generation and not only for the bloodshed of the tribes. The author of the Akeidah was very hard-pressed on this matter, as you will see in his book. Also, there was no actual bloodshed there, because dipping the tunic in blood is not bloodshed, though in a distant way there is an aspect of bloodshed since they sold him as a slave, and our Sages said (Bava Batra 8b) that a captive suffers all [forms of distress]. However, I found a resolution to this from what Rabbeinu Bachya wrote in Parshat Vayeshev, and these are his words: “Through the tunic, events developed into the enslavement of their bodies in Egypt, and later, there were the 10 martyrs killed by the government, for indeed the body is the tunic of the soul.” End quote. You see the Rabbi’s opinion that the body is the tunic and garment of the soul, and if so, there is a similarity and relationship between this tunic and the body of the murdered person. And it was entirely of fine linen [shesh], that is, flax, because Cain was the first of all murderers, and the matter developed because he offered flaxseed, and his offering was not accepted while his brother Abel’s offering was accepted. Therefore, he became jealous of him and killed him. And this is why there were six [shesh] cities of refuge, because “shesh [linen]” relates to the word for “six” [shisha]. And the linen turban atones for haughtiness of spirit, because the turban was like a crown that indicates authority, as it is written Remove the turban and lift off the crown (Ezekiel 21:31). And it is written And a royal diadem in the hand of your God (Isaiah 62:3). And it was made of linen because linen is appropriate for one who rises to greatness, as it is written regarding Joseph And he clothed him in garments of fine linen (Genesis 41:42). And the sash atones for improper thoughts of the heart; therefore, the sash was thirty-two cubits long [the numerical value of “lev” [heart] is thirty-two], and contemplating sin is worse than the sin itself, because after one has committed the act itself, one becomes satiated from the travail of their soul and their soul is disgusted by it, but the improper thoughts cling to a person forever, just as a belt clings to a man’s loins. Therefore, the sash, which clung to him like a belt, came for atonement. And make for them linen breeches — to atone for sexual immorality, which is practiced in private when people are alone together [bad vebad], for bad [linen] also connotes the meaning of solitude/isolation. The priestly garments atoned for these eight transgressions: four of them are the most severe of all transgressions dependent on action and speech, and they are: idolatry, sexual immorality, bloodshed, and evil speech, which equals them all. And four of them are comprehensive categories: Perversion of justice causes destruction of the world; and haughtiness of spirit, contemplation of sin, and brazenness include all transgressions, and they are the most common. And perhaps this was the intention of the proselyte, who said “I will convert on the condition that they make me a High Priest” so that he could wear these garments, as mentioned in tractate Shabbat (31). Was he so foolish that he wanted to convert just to wear these garments? Rather, certainly he had heard scholars reciting And these are the garments they shall make, along with the explanation of their purpose and what they atone for. The proselyte knew that he had transgressed all these sins during his time as a gentile, and he needed all these atonements. It seems this was also Ahasuerus’s intention when he dressed in the priestly garments, as they learned in tractate Megillah (12a) through a gezeirah shavah [textual comparison]: It says here the glory of his greatness and it says there for honor and for glory. Just as there it refers to priestly garments, so too here it refers to priestly garments. He too erred in this, thinking that wearing them would provide him atonement for all these eight major transgressions. We can further reconcile what our Sages interpreted in tractate Megillah (12b) on the verse And those close to him were Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, etc. (Esther 1:14). The ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: “Have they ever offered before You young bulls and two turtledoves on an earthen [adamah] altar?” Tarshish — “Did they ever serve before You in priestly garments containing tarshish stones, which are jasper?” Meres, Marsena— “Did they ever stir [marsu] before You the blood and meal offerings, etc.?”It seems to me that the reason they did not mention all the priestly garments but only the breastplate [choshen] containing the stones, and of all the stones mentioned only the tarshish, is because among all the priestly garments, the holiness was not as evident as in the breastplate, which contained the Urim, the explicit Divine Name, and the 12 stones. All of these are alluded to in the word tarshish [which can be read as] ‘trei shesh’ [double-six],“ — two times six equals 12. This Midrash requires explanation, because one could ask why [the angels] did not criticize [the gentiles] by saying, “Have they accepted the Torah? Do they put on tefillin?” and similar matters. But certainly, since [the gentiles] were not commanded to do these things, they cannot be blamed for not doing them. If so, they were also not commanded regarding sacrifices, so how could [the angels] criticize them for not offering bulls, etc.? Furthermore, we should examine the language: why did the angels phrase it in the negative, saying “Have they ever offered sacrifices before You?” rather than simply stating “They do not offer sacrifices before You.” Certainly, the main criticism was that the angels saw Ahasuerus wrapping himself in a prayer shawl that was not his and dressing in the priestly garments, and additionally drinking from the Temple vessels, as our Sages learned from the verse and vessels of various kinds (Esther 1:7), that this wicked man was using the Temple vessels (Megillah 12a). Therefore, the angels found an opportunity to disrupt his feast and criticize him, saying before the Holy One, Blessed be He: “Master of the Universe, see how this wicked one has dressed himself in priestly garments as if he were a priest offering sacrifices. Has he offered bulls and turtledoves before You? And see how he has clothed himself in tarshish [which can be read as] ‘trei shesh’ [double-six], which is holy of holies to the Lord. Has he performed divine service with them?”And when they said Meres, Marsena [names of Ahasuerus’s advisors mentioned in Esther 1:14], they were protesting that he became drunk using sacred vessels. “Has he mixed [‘meres’] blood and meal offerings with them, as is proper for these sacred vessels? Rather, he used all of them for his own needs.” Therefore, he deserves a great punishment, for the stranger who approaches [the holy vessels] shall be put to death (Numbers 18:7). This explains the precise language “Have they ever offered…” as is clear to anyone of understanding. However, we still have room to question this Midrash interpreter, for how did he interpret Carshena, Shethar, Admatha as words of the angels when the plain meaning of the verse doesn’t suggest this? For it says the seven chamberlains who attended upon the king, which implies that all these are names. How could the beginning of the verse connect with its end? Furthermore, why indeed wasn’t Ahasuerus punished like Belshazzar was punished for using the sacred vessels? Additionally, what motivated Ahasuerus to use the sacred vessels — didn’t he see or know what happened to Belshazzar? Furthermore, our Sages (Megillah 12) said and the drinking was according to the law, meaning according to the law of Torah where eating exceeds drinking, like the eating and drinking of the altar: a bull and three-tenths of fine flour for the altar’s consumption, and half a hin of wine for drinking. What prompted Ahasuerus to do this? Isn’t it the way of the world that at every feast, drinking exceeds eating? Go and see what the people do! Why did Ahasuerus deviate from the custom of the world to make his feast resemble the consumption of the altar? What seems most likely to me to say about this is that Ahasuerus wanted to correct two things with this. The first is that we find in many places where there is a large feast, with one’s table full and one’s Master’s table empty, it gives an opening for accusers to say, “Master of the Universe, look at all these feasts — did he offer anything to the Most High, an ox or a ram?” as concluded in the Yalkut on the portion of Vayera (22:1-95) After these things. The angels were accusing and saying, “From all these feasts that Abraham made, did he offer before You an ox or a ram, etc.?” Similarly, Ahasuerus was afraid that they might criticize his feast in heaven: “Did he offer anything from the feast to the Most High, bulls or turtledoves?” Therefore, he erred in his imagination thinking that everything would be rectified if he made his feast resembling the altar’s offerings, and it would be accepted to atone for him as if he had actually sacrificed on the altar. That is why he took the holy vessels, dressed in priestly garments, made the eating more abundant than the drinking, and called his officers names reminiscent of sacrifices, because he thought all this would make it acceptable as if it had actually been done on the altar. The second reason is the opposite of this: His main intention was to wear the priestly garments for atonement, because he had been told by the sages of Israel that these eight garments atone for specific sins. He wanted to adorn himself with them for honor and glory, and also wanted to show off the holy vessels because none like them could be found, as learned from the verse and vessels different from vessels (Yalkut Shimoni Esther 1:1048). Nevertheless, this wicked man was informed that it was forbidden for non-priests to wear these garments — only a priest during service could wear them — and regarding the holy vessels, he was afraid of the punishment that happened to Belshazzar. Therefore, he thought to rectify this by saying: “Granted, Belshazzar thought and erred because he used these vessels inappropriately, as their proper use requires food to be more abundant than drink, but regarding Belshazzar it is written he drank wine before the thousand (Daniel 5:1), meaning he certainly had more drink than food, and he did everything to distance the vessels from their holiness by using them inappropriately, therefore he was punished.” Furthermore, he thought Belshazzar was punished because he did not offer an ox or ram, etc., from the entire feast. However, Ahasuerus thought to be innocent of all these, for he said, “I will use these vessels in their proper way — with eating exceeding drinking — and thus I will not profane them from their sanctity. Also, I am innocent, and my kingdom, from the offense of wearing the priestly garments, as it would be like I am standing and offering sacrifices. And in this way, I will also be innocent from the accusation of Did he ever offer before You a bull or a ram?”And to strengthen his misconception, he named his chamberlains who served him at the feast — who sat first in his kingdom — after the names of the priests who serve our God in the Temple, for they are foremost in the kingdom of heaven, seeing the face of the Supreme King. Therefore, he called the names of those who saw his face and were close to him: Carshena, Shethar — after bulls of the first year and two turtledoves — and so forth. All this he did to equate his feast and its servants completely to the feasts of the altar and the service of the priests who attend the altar. He thought to be exempt through this from the accusation of Did he ever offer before You a bull or a ram?, from the punishment of Belshazzar, and from the punishment for a stranger wearing the priestly garments. And because all this was merely an imitation and not actual service, the angels found grounds to accuse and say, “Master of the Universe, do not regard their offering; it is a vain offering, for in all his actions there is nothing but mere resemblance, as there was no actual sacrifice there.” Therefore, they spoke in the negative form: Have they ever offered before You bulls of the first year or turtledoves, etc.? As if to say, “Does the mere fact that his servants were named after these make it as though he actually offered sacrifices?”In this way, the entire interpretation of the verse and those nearest to him: Carshena, Shethar… is according to its literal meaning, even according to the Midrash. Nevertheless, the author of the Midrash stated from his own reasoning that the angels accused him, for truly they had grounds to accuse and claim against him all the aforementioned claims. And presumably, the angels of mercy did not refrain from mentioning his guilt for the benefit of Israel and to return his evil upon his own head — for wearing priestly garments without offering sacrifices, for not offering a bull or ram from the entire feast, and for using sacred vessels. Therefore, his feast was disrupted through Vashti, but he was not killed like Belshazzar because he was close to being unintentional, having erred in this scheme he devised, thinking that his entire feast was in the likeness of the heavenly one. And this is a precious interpretation.

And for the sons of Aaron you shall make tunics, and you shall make for them sashes and headgear; you shall make for them for honor and for glory.

ולבני אהרן תעשה כתנת AND FOR AARON’S SONS THOU SHALT MAKE INNER GARMENTS — these four garments and no more; viz., the three mentioned in this verse, — the inner garment, the girdle and the מגבעות which are identical with what is elsewhere called the mitre, — and the breeches prescribed later in this section (v. 42).

לכבוד ולתפארת. "for splendour and for beauty." The reason the Torah repeats this expression again is to allude to something we have learned in Zevachim 18. The Talmud there states that if the priestly garments were soiled or torn they were unfit to be worn when the priests were about to perform service in the Temple. According to a Baraitha quoted there the garments had to be made from new cloth. The Talmud there also says that if they were new this was alright whereas if they were old or made from recycled material this was inadmissible. Another Baraitha is quoted saying that recycled material was acceptable but that the requirement that they be made from new material was recommended but not mandatory. The word לכבוד concerns the rule that they were not to be torn, an absolute law, whereas the word ולתפארת refers to the garments being new as a condition which was not mandatory though desirable. This is the reason the Torah had to write both expressions. If our interpretation were not correct, the Torah would have written only the word לתפארת which implies more than the word לכבוד. [There is an opinion offered in the Talmud according to which the garments which became dirty as a result of contact with the אבנט, the girdle, did ot become disqualified. However, if they were dirty when the priest put them on they were disqualified. Ed.]

ועשית להם אבנטים ומגבעות, “you will make for them sashes and turbans.” According to Rashi, the word מגבעות is an alternate for the word מצנפת, “headgear.” When worn by an ordinary priest it is called מגבעת, whereas the headgear worn by the High Priest is called מצנפת. Actually, the headgear of the ordinary priest was not as high as that of the High Priest, in order to allow for space where he could wear his phylacteries between the tzitz and the mitznefet.

לכבוד ולתפארת, seeing that the headgear of the High Priest was especially decorative.

And you shall clothe them — Aaron your brother and his sons with him — and you shall anoint them and bring their offerings and consecrate them, that they may minister before Me.

והלבשת אתם את אהרן AND THOU SHALT PUT THEM ON AARON — i. e. those which are mentioned in connection with Aaron: the breast-plate, the ephod, the Robe, the inner garment of checker-work, the mitre, the girdle and the Plate, and the breeches which are prescribed later for all of them (for all the priest’s and therefore for Aaron also). ואת בניו אתו [AND THOU SHALT PUT THEM ON AARON …] AND ON HIS SONS WITH HIM — i. e. put on them those garments which are prescribed for them. ומשחת אתם AND THOU SHALT ANOINT THEM — viz., Aaron and his sons, with the oil of anointing. ומלאת את ידם AND THOU SHALT CONSECRATE THEM (more lit., fill their hand) — wherever the term “filling the hand” is used it denotes the installation ceremony performed when one enters for the first time into an office, as a sign that he is entitled to it from that day and henceforth. And in the old French language — when a person is appointed to the charge of a matter, the Prince puts into his hand a leathern glove which they call “gant” in old French and by that means he gives him a right to the matter, and they term that transmission of the glove and the office, revestir in old French This is the connection between the literal and the metaphorical meaning of “filling the hand”.

AND THOU SHALT PUT THEM UPON AARON THY BROTHER AND UPON HIS SONS WITH HIM — “those which are mentioned in connection with them.” This is Rashi’s language. The meaning of with him is that they were all clothed with the priestly garments and anointed on the same day. AND THOU SHALT ANOINT THEM ‘UMILEITHA ETH YADAM’ [literally: “and fill their hands”]. “Every expression of ‘filling the hand’ denotes installation, when one enters for the first time into an office which one is to hold from that day onwards.” This is Rashi’s language. But I have not understood his words. How does the expression of “filling the hand” come to mean “installation?” And as to that which the Rabbi said that “in the [old] French language — when a person is appointed to be in charge of any matter, the ruler puts into his hand a leather glove which they call gant, and by means of that glove gives him the right to that matter, and it is this which is called ‘filling the hand,’” — I do not know whether the Rabbi’s intent is to state that because of that glove the installation is called “filling the hand,” and to this he brought proof from a custom [in France]! Know that this custom they derived from the Torah, as to them this form of taking possession is [what is meant by] the acquisition by exchange mentioned in connection with Boaz, for so they translated: [Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging…] a man drew off ‘na’alo’ (his shoe) — “a man drew off his gant,” and they say that it was the near kinsman that gave it to Boaz. This custom of theirs is mentioned in the books of their scholars. Thus we have engaged in vain talk!The correct interpretation of milui yadayim in the Torah is that it is an expression of perfection, similar in usage to these verses: ‘ki malu yamai’ (for my days are completed); ‘ubimloth’ hayamim ha’eileh’ (and when these days were fulfilled); until the days ‘m’loth’ — be fulfilled. Similarly, ‘b’keseph malei’ means “for the full price.” And the reason for this expression is that one might say of a stranger [i.e., a non-priest] who cannot perform the offering for his cleansing, or of any person who is not empowered to perform some royal service, that his hand misses that function; and when he becomes empowered to do it, his hand has thereby been perfected and made fit for all kinds of work and service. Thus, ‘milu yedchem hayom’ [generally translated: consecrate yourselves today] means that: “now your hands are full with the whole service of G-d, for even every man upon his son, and upon his brother have you served Him [that day].” Or it may be that Moses was hinting to the sons of Levi that by virtue of this merit they would be chosen to perform the Divine Service in the Tabernacle, as it is said, At that time the Eternal separated the tribe of Levi. Similarly King David said to Israel on the occasion of the donations for the House [of G-d], Because I have set my affection on the house of my G-d, s...

"You shall clothe Aaron your brother with them" — the word אֹתָם ["them"] encompasses the checkered tunic, the turban, and the sash — which are Aaron's garments — and also encompasses the tunics that are not checkered, the sashes, and the headdresses — which are his sons' garments. "You shall sanctify" — by means of speech [i.e., verbal declaration], as in "the priest shall pronounce him impure" [טָמֵא יְטַמְּאֶנּוּ] (Lev. 13:44).

ומלאת את ידם. Ensure that they complete their task to perfection so that the priests will be equipped to perform the service in the Tabernacle wearing suitable garments.

והלבשת אותם…ומשחת אותם, "and you will dress Aaron and his sons in them and anoint them, etc." The Torah means that the priests are first to put on the garments and that they are to be anointed while still wearing these garments. The act of anointing the priests with the anointing oil helped to make them into priests. When the Torah speaks of ומלאת את ידם, instead of merely of ומלאת אותם, this may mean that the priests would be affected emotionally by this procedure so that they would become recipients of G'd's kindness, known as "His great Hand." Students of the Kabbalah will understand what I refer to. וקדשת אותם, "and you will sanctify them." This refers to the performance of the sacrificial service which (Moses) would perform in order to sanctify them. This had to be mentioned here in order for us to know that until Aaron and his sons wore the priestly garments and had been anointed, the sacrificial service performed by Moses did not accomplish the change in their status.

וקדשת אותם, “you will sanctify them.” This refers to an oral sanctification. (Ibn Ezra) It is comparable to the oral declaration of someone being declared ritually impure by the priest when with the skin disease tzoraat, in Leviticus 13,44.

והלבשת אותם את אהרן אחיך ואת בניו אתו, “ you will dress your brother Aaron and his sons with him with them.” Moses was to dress up Aaron and his sons in the garments described previously. The word אתו, normally translated as “with him,” means here that this procedure should be performed with all of them on the same day, just as their anointing took place on the same day. ומלאת את ידם, “you will inaugurate them.” According to Rashi whenever the expression מלוי ידים occurs, it refers to a kind of consecration, inauguration. The party so described begins a new assignment, one that is a long term assignment, not a short term one. Nachmanides explains the words ומלאת את ידם as being similar to מלאת ימים, completing a certain length of preparatory days, such as the nine months of pregnancy, or completing a tour of service, as when Yaakov demanded to be given Rachel as his wife, his reason being described with the words כי מלאו ימי, “the seven years I contracted to work for her are complete..” (Genesis 29,21). We encounter the phrase ובמלאת הימים האלה, “at the completion of these years, etc.” (Esther 1,5) It describes what the occasion was for the party Ahasverus gave to both his ministers, and subsequently to the citizens of Shushan. The connection with our consecration is that any non-priest who nonetheless performs service in the Tabernacle, even if he copies the exact procedure performed by the priests, lacks something. This something is added through the anointment to the priesthood of Aaron and his sons, and the garments they wore that were testimony to their qualifications as priests. The ”uniform” completes the act of consecration, officially makes the wearer the appointee to the King’s service, his “guard.” Another element completing this appointment to the priesthood was the איל המלואים, the ram as well as the other offerings listed in chapter 29 which were one-time offerings to mark this occasion. The occasion could not recur, as from that time on the priesthood became a hereditary status. Having offered these sacrifices once, initiated Aaron and his sons into the priesthood, so that their performing similar tasks on behalf of others had become legitimate.

והלבשת אותם, as soon as the Tabernacle would be erected.

And make for them linen breeches to cover the flesh of their nakedness; from the loins to the thighs they shall extend.

ועשה להם AND MAKE FOR THEM — for Aaron and his sons — מכנסי בד LINEN BREECHES — this makes eight garments for the High Priest and four for the ordinary priest.

"Linen breeches" — they shall be short, so that he will not stumble in them.

ועשה להם מכנסי בד, "and make for them pants of linen, etc." Why did the Torah wait so long with the commandment to make pants for the priests? Inasmuch as the Torah had instructed Moses to dress the priests in their service garments I would have thought that this instruction included the need for Moses to put on their pants. In order for us to know that the priests were to put on the pants themselves, the Torah delayed telling us about the pants until after commanding Moses to put the other garments on Aaron and his sons. We must not conclude from the positioning of this commandment that the pants were the last garment the priests were to put on. The Torah mentions in Leviticus 16,4 that the pants should cover the flesh of the priests, and we learned in Yuma 23 that the pants were the first garment the priests were to put on. Our interpretation of the delay in mentioning the need for the priestly garments to include pants is correct then. Another reason for listing the pants as the last of the priestly garments may be the Torah's intention to position this commandment immediately adjacent to the warning in verse 43 for the priests not to become guilty of an iniquity as a result of which they would die. Had the Torah included the commandment for the priests to wear special pants when the other garments were listed, I might have concluded that the warning in verse 43 applied only to the garments other than the pants seeing that the reason the priests had to wear pants was for the sake of chastity, something applicable to every male, not just to priests. By positioning the requirement that the priests were to have special pants to be worn when they performed the service in the Temple, the Torah made it clear that whatever rules applied to the other priestly garments also applied to their pants.

. מכנסי בד, “linen trousers;” we know that these were trousers, as their purpose is described as covering their private parts, and the Torah does not add the words: לכבוד ולתפארת, “for splendour and for beauty.”