שמות כו-ל: הבגד עושה את הכהן

And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.

And Isaac trembled exceedingly (Gen. 27:33). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them (Prov. 20:12). Did the Holy One, blessed be He, fashion only the eye and the ear? Did He not form all of man’s organs? What is the meaning of the words The hearing ear and the seeing eye? You find that three of man’s organs fashioned by the Holy One, blessed be He, are under the control of man, and three are not under his control. Man controls the functioning of his hands, his mouth, and his feet. How is that? In the case of his hands, if he desires to, he may devote them to sacred purposes, such as building a sukkah, fashioning a lulav, a shofar, (or) fringes, or writing the (scriptural) portions which are deposited in phylacteries and mezuzahs. Conversely, if he so desires, he may steal, shed innocent blood, or attack travelers with his hands. Indeed, he can commit many transgressions with his hands. As to his mouth, if he desires, he can study the Torah, speak kindly, extol, praise, and pray unto the Holy One, blessed be He, and he can also sing psalms. Conversely, if he so desires, he can speak slanderously, blaspheme and revile the Lord, and swear falsely with his mouth. With regard to his feet, a man may choose to use them to go about in the performance of good deeds—to visit the sick, comfort the mourner, bury the dead, and to do other charitable deeds; but conversely, if he so desires, he can use them to transgress—to commit adultery, to murder, or to steal. The organs not under a man’s control are his eyes, his ears, and his nose. And how is that? In the case of a man’s eyes, he may witness the performance of a sinful deed, behold a repulsive sight, or see a man or a figure of authority he would prefer not to meet as he walks through the marketplace. What alternative has he? He must see them even though it might be to his disadvantage. In regard to the ear, a man hears blasphemous or sacrilegious remarks, or other things he does not wish to hear. What can he do? He hears them even though he does not desire to. As for the nose, a man walking on a highway smells unclean cooking, idolatrous incense, or the filth in the street even though it is distasteful to him. What alternative has he? He smells it even though he does not wish to. When the Holy One, blessed be He, wills it, even the organs under a man’s control may be taken out of his control. How do we know this? We know it from Moses, Balaam, Jonah, Jeremiah, and Jeroboam. Where do we learn this about Moses? R. Samuel the son of Nahman said: The Holy One, blessed be He, tried for seven days to persuade Moses from the midst of the burning bush, as is said: Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh (Exod. 3:11), but Moses replied: O Lord, I am not a man of words, neither heretofore, nor since Thou hast spoken unto thy servant (ibid. 4:10). This verse indicates that the Holy One, blessed be He, tried for seven days to persuade him to go to Pharaoh.¹²Translated literally, Exod. 4:10 reads: O Lord, I am not a man of words, also from yesterday, also from the day before yesterday, also since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant. Yesterday and the day before yesterday indicate three days; the word also is repeated three times, implying three more days; and the day on which Moses asked God to send someone else is the seventh day. He replied: Send please, whomever you will send. The Holy One, blessed be He, rebuked him, saying: Do you believe that your feet are under your control? Thereupon, Moses went to Pharaoh against his will. In the case of Jonah, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city (Jonah 1:2). But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord; and he went down to Joppa (ibid., v. 3). Ultimately, He inflicted upon him all the terrors of the sea: The fish swallowed him, and he cried out to the Holy One, blessed be He, from the belly of the fish; and the hair of his head and beard fell out because of the heat within the fish’s belly. Finally, he went to Nineveh, even though he did not desire to do so. In the case of Jeremiah, the Holy One, blessed be He, told him: Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee (Jer. 1:5). Then said I: “Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child (ibid., v. 6). The Holy One, blessed be He, thereupon responded: Say not: “I am a child”; for to whomsoever I shall send thee, thou shalt go, and whatsoever I shall command thee, thou shalt speak (ibid., v. 7); that is, against your will you will go, and against your will you will speak. When the Holy One, blessed be He, desires it, even one’s hands are not under man’s control. When did this occur? At the time that the prophet Iddo visited Jeroboam the son of Nabat: And behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the Lord unto Beth-El; and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to offer. And he cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said: “O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord: Behold, a son shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that offer upon thee, and men’s bones shall they burn upon thee” (I Kings 13:1–2). Why is the word altar repeated in this verse? Because of the two altars, one at Beth-El and the other at Dan, at which golden calves were erected. And men’s bones is stated rather than “Jeroboam’s bones,” to emphasize that the prophet was respectful toward the government. Jeroboam said immediately: “This man is a fool.” Whereupon the prophet replied: This is the sign … Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out (ibid., v. 3). And the altar was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given (ibid., v. 5) And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-El, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying: “Lay hold on him.” And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not draw it back to him (ibid., v. 4). When Jeroboam brought offerings to the idols, his hand did not dry up, but when he stretched forth his hand against the prophet, it did dry up. From this fact, you learn that the Holy One, blessed be He, was more concerned about the honor of that righteous man than about His own honor. The prophet exclaimed: “Do you believe that your hand is under your control?” Thereupon the king beseeched the man of God: Entreat now the favor of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me, etc. (ibid., v. 6). Similarly, one’s feet are not always within one’s control. There is a biblical verse that confirms this: A man’s goings are of the Lord; how, then, can man look to his way? (Prov. 20:24). Frequently, a man will depart upon a journey without knowing his ultimate destination; whether it will be for good or evil, for death or for life. Thus Elijah told the Arameans: This is not the way, neither is this the city (II Kings 6:19). The mouth likewise is not completely under man’s control. We learn this from the experience of Balaam and Isaac. Regarding Balaam, it is said: Nevertheless, the Lord thy God would not hearken unto Balaam, but the Lord thy God turned the curse unto a blessing (Deut. 23:6). In reference to Isaac we find that when Esau entered, Isaac began to tremble and was on the verge of saying: “Cursed shall he be.” The Holy One, blessed be He, called out to him: What do you intend to do? Do you believe that your mouth is under your control? Thereupon he reconsidered and said: Blessed shall he be. Thus, it is said: The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them (Prov. 20:12).

And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, for splendour and for beauty. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make Aaron’s garments to sanctify him, that he may minister unto Me in the priest’s office. And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a tunic of chequer work, a mitre, and a girdle; and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto Me in the priest’s office. And they shall take the gold, and the blue, and the purple, and the scarlet, and the fine linen.

§ The mishna teaches that a priest lacking the requisite priestly vestments disqualifies the rites he performs. The Gemara asks: From where do we derive this? Rabbi Avuh says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says, and some determined it to be stated in the name of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon: As the verse states: “And you shall gird them with belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind mitres on them; and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute” (Exodus 29:9). The verse indicates that when their vestments are on them, their priesthood is upon them, but if their vestments are not on them, their priesthood is not upon them and their rites are disqualified.

And you shall make sacred garments: Behold, the garments that He commanded to make were ostensibly outer garments, such that their makeup is discussed - how the craftsmen are to make them with their work. But they really indicate inner clothes that the priests of God should make - to clothe their souls with thoughts and traits and proper tendencies, which are the clothes of the soul; and the craftsmen did not make those garments. But God commanded Moses that he should make these sacred garments - meaning to teach them how to refine their souls and traits, in such a way they will wear majesty and splendor upon their internal souls. And the explanation of "And you shall make sacred garments for glory," is that it is understood by us that every place that the soul of a man is called glory (as in Psalms 30:13, "In order that my glory sings"), you shall make sacred garments for the glory - meaning the soul - to wear...

And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, the work of the skilful workman. It shall have two shoulder-pieces joined to the two ends thereof, that it may be joined together. And the skilfully woven band, which is upon it, wherewith to gird it on, shall be like the work thereof and of the same piece: of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen. And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel: six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the six that remain on the other stone, according to their birth. With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones, according to the names of the children of Israel; thou shalt make them to be inclosed in settings of gold. And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel; and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial. And thou shalt make settings of gold; and two chains of pure gold; of plaited thread shalt thou make them, of wreathen work; and thou shalt put the wreathen chains on the settings. And thou shalt make a breastplate of judgment, the work of the skilful workman; like the work of the ephod thou shalt make it: of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. Four-square it shall be and double: a span shall be the length thereof, and a span the breadth thereof. And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of carnelian, topaz, and smaragd shall be the first row; and the second row a carbuncle, a sapphire, and an emerald; and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst; and the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be inclosed in gold in their settings. And the stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, every one according to his name, they shall be for the twelve tribes. And thou shalt make upon the breastplate plaited chains of wreathen work of pure gold. And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold on the two rings at the ends of the breastplate. And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod, in the forepart thereof. And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate, upon the edge thereof, which is toward the side of the ephod inward. And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and shalt put them on the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod underneath, in the forepart thereof, close by the coupling thereof, above the skilfully woven band of the ephod. And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a thread of blue, that it may be upon the skilfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod. And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. . And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD; and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.