Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
The Torah says that Aharon’s מְעִיל (me’il, robe) has to be made with little bells all around the bottom fringe. Then, it says:
וְהָיָ֥ה עַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֖ן לְשָׁרֵ֑ת וְנִשְׁמַ֣ע ק֠וֹל֠וֹ בְּבֹא֨וֹ אֶל־הַקֹּ֜דֶשׁ לִפְנֵ֧י יְהֹוָ֛ה וּבְצֵאת֖וֹ וְלֹ֥א יָמֽוּת׃
Aharon shall wear it while working in the mishkan, and his/its sound will be heard when he comes into the sanctuary before God and when he goes out—that he may not die.
The words וְנִשְׁמַע קוֹלוֹ (ve-nishma kolo) could mean “and its sound will be heard,” or it could mean “and his voice will be heard.” Which is it?
שֶׁפַּעֲמוֹנֵי זָהָב נוֹקְשִׁים וּמַכִּים זֶה לָזֶה.
The golden bells (on the me’il) knock against each other (and make a noise).
אבן עזרא הקצר על שמות כח:לה
וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים כִּי כַּאֲשֶׁר יְשָׁרֵת בְּאֵלֶּה הַבְּגָדִים, יִשְׁמַע יהוה תְּפִלָּתוֹ.
Ibn Ezra (Spain, 900 years ago) on Exodus 28:35
Some say that when he (Aharon) wears these clothes, God will hear his prayers.
Rashbam says it’s about the sound the me’il makes. The me’il worked kind of like a cow bell, ringing wherever Aharon went, warning people to stay away.This was important because the Torah also tells us that when Aharon would do some of his holiest tasks in the mishkan, everyone else was supposed to keep a distance (Vayikra 16:17).
- Look at the verbs (action words) in the second half of pasuk 35: do they refer to the me’il or to Aharon? Does this provide more evidence for one of these explanations?
- Prayer isn’t actually mentioned very often in the description of building the mishkan. Could it make sense for that to be the topic here, like Ibn Ezra suggests? Can you think of a reason why prayer might connect to the description of Aharon’s me’il?
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