Illustration Credit: Noa Kelner
Devash this week features a close look at each piece of the בִּגְדֵי כְּהֻנָּה (bigdei kehunah, priestly clothing).
Click on the following items of clothing to jump to that section:
אֵפֹד Ephod
וְעָשׂ֖וּ אֶת־הָאֵפֹ֑ד
They shall make the ephod (apron)
שְׁתֵּי כְתֵפֹת חֹבְרֹת יִהְיֶה לּוֹ
It shall have two shoulder straps attached to it
וְחֵשֶׁב אֲפֻדָּתוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָלָיו כְּמַעֲשֵׂהוּ מִמֶּנּוּ יִהְיֶה
The decorated belt that is upon it shall be made like it, of one piece with it
וְלָקַחְתָּ אֶת שְׁתֵּי אַבְנֵי שֹׁהַם וּפִתַּחְתָּ עֲלֵיהֶם שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ שִׁשָּׁה מִשְּׁמֹתָם עַל הָאֶבֶן הָאֶחָת…
Take two shoham stones and engrave on them the names of Benei Yisrael. Put six names on one stone…
וְעָשִׂיתָ מִשְׁבְּצֹת זָהָב וּשְׁתֵּי שַׁרְשְׁרֹת זָהָב טָהוֹר
Make settings of gold and two chains of pure gold
The chains connect the ephod to the חֹשֶׁן (hoshen, breastplate). Keep reading to learn about it!
In this illustration, we show the straps of the ephod according to Rashi’s explanation. But Rashbam (who was Rashi’s grandson) thinks that the ephod was more like a tunic or a jumper, and it had fabric that covered the kohen gadol’s back. Here’s why:
שֶׁאִם לֹא הָיוּ חוֹבְרוֹת הַכְּתֵפוֹת יַחַד אֶלָּא כְּמוֹ שְׁתֵּי רְצוּעוֹת עוֹלוֹת עַל צַוָּארוֹ... אִם כֵּן כְּשֶׁהַכֹּהֵן עָסוּק בַּעֲבוֹדָה וְכוֹפֵף אֶת צַוָּארוֹ לְמַטָּה, יִהְיוּ נוֹפְלוֹת הַכְּתֵפוֹת וּמִתְפָּרְדוֹת.
If they were not connected by fabric but were just two straps going up and over his shoulders… then when the kohen would be busy doing the service and would bend over, the shoulder straps would separate and fall off his shoulders.
- Can you think of a time you’ve worn something that kept slipping off? Was that distracting for you?
- What evidence can you find in the pesukim for Rashi?
חֹשֶׁן Hoshen
וְעָשִׂיתָ חֹשֶׁן מִשְׁפָּט
Make a hoshen (breastplate) of mishpat (justice)
רָבוּעַ יִהְיֶה כָּפוּל זֶרֶת אׇרְכּוֹ וְזֶרֶת רׇחְבּוֹ
It shall be square and folded, a zeret long and a zeret wide
Rashbam says that a zeret is half an אַמָּה (amah, cubit). An amah is about 18 inches, so a zeret would be about 9 inches.
וּמִלֵּאתָ בוֹ מִלֻּאַת אֶבֶן אַרְבָּעָה טוּרִים
Fill it with stone filling, with four rows of stones
וְנָתַתָּה אֶת שְׁתֵּי עֲבֹתֹת הַזָּהָב עַל שְׁתֵּי הַטַּבָּעֹת אֶל קְצוֹת הַחֹשֶׁן
Put the two golden cables in the two rings at the edges of the hoshen
וְנָשָׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּחֹשֶׁן הַמִּשְׁפָּט עַל לִבּוֹ
Aharon shall carry the names of Benei Yisrael on the hoshen of judgment on his heart
וְנָתַתָּ אֶל חֹשֶׁן הַמִּשְׁפָּט אֶת הָאוּרִים וְאֶת הַתֻּמִּים
Place the Urim and Tummim inside the hoshen of justice
According to Rashi, the Urim and Tummim was something that had God’s name written on it. (For more on the Urim and Tummim, see Devash for Tetzaveh 5782.)
How did Benei Yisrael have precious stones for the hoshen and ephod? According to R. Shmuel bar Nahmani in a midrash (Yoma 75a), these gems fell from heaven together with the מָן (mann, miraculous food) that Benei Yisrael enjoyed in the desert!
R. Shmuel is noticing that the phrase בַּבֹּקֶר בַּבֹּקֶר (ba-boker ba-boker, morning after morning), appears when the Torah describes the materials donated to the Mishkan, and also when the Torah talks about the mann:
In the Mishkan:
וְהֵם הֵבִיאוּ אֵלָיו עוֹד נְדָבָה בַּבֹּקֶר בַּבֹּקֶר
They brought donations to him (Moshe) morning after morning
With the Mann:
וַיִּלְקְטוּ אֹתוֹ בַּבֹּקֶר בַּבֹּקֶר
They gathered it (mann) morning after morning
- Can you think of ways that the precious stones help Benei Yisrael to survive, just like mann?
- What would it be like to find precious gems falling from the sky?
מְעִיל Me’il
וְעָשִׂ֛יתָ אֶת־מְעִ֥יל הָאֵפ֖וֹד כְּלִ֥יל תְּכֵֽלֶת
Make the me’il (robe) of the ephod of pure tekhelet (a blue dye from the hilazon snail)
פַּעֲמֹן זָהָב וְרִמּוֹן פַּעֲמֹן זָהָב וְרִמּוֹן עַל שׁוּלֵי הַמְּעִיל סָבִיב
A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around the hem of the me’il
וְהָיָה עַל אַהֲרֹן לְשָׁרֵת וְנִשְׁמַע קוֹלוֹ בְּבֹאוֹ אֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ לִפְנֵי ה’ וּבְצֵאתוֹ וְלֹא יָמוּת
Aharon shall wear it while he works, so that its sound is heard when he comes into the holy space before God and when he goes out—so that he doesn’t die
וְאָמַר רַבִּי עִנִינִי בַּר שָׂשׂוֹן לָמָּה נִסְמְכָה פָּרָשַׁת קָרְבָּנוֹת לְפָרָשַׁת בִּגְדֵי כְהֻנָּה לוֹמַר לָךְ מָה קָרְבָּנוֹת מְכַפְּרִין אַף בִּגְדֵי כְהֻנָּה מְכַפְּרִין...
מְעִיל מְכַפֵּר עַל לָשׁוֹן הָרָע מִנַּיִן? אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנִינָא יָבֹא דָּבָר שֶׁבְּקוֹל וִיכַפֵּר עַל קוֹל הָרָע.
R. Inini bar Sason says: Why is the section of the Torah about korbanot (sacrifices, in Vayikra 1-7) right next to the section about bigdei kehunah (priestly clothing, in Vayikra 8)? This tells us that just like korbanot bring forgiveness, bigdei kehunah also bring forgiveness…
For example, the me’il brings forgiveness for lashon hara (gossip). How? R. Hanina says: An object of sound brings forgiveness for the bad sounds.
When the kohen gadol walked around the Mishkan, the bells at the bottom of his me’il would ring, creating a holy sound.
- What is this midrash saying about the power of holy sounds? What kinds of holy sounds can you make to counteract the sounds that cause pain?
צִּיץ Tzitz
וְעָשִׂיתָ צִּיץ זָהָב טָהוֹר וּפִתַּחְתָּ עָלָיו פִּתּוּחֵי חֹתָם קֹדֶשׁ לַיהוה
Make a tzitz (headplate) of pure gold, and engrave upon it an inscribed seal: “Kodesh LaShem (Holy to God)”
וְשַׂמְתָּ אֹתוֹ עַל פְּתִיל תְּכֵלֶת וְהָיָה עַל הַמִּצְנָפֶת
Place it on a tekhelet string on the mitznefet (turban)
וְהָיָה עַל מִצְחוֹ תָּמִיד לְרָצוֹן לָהֶם לִפְנֵי ה’
It shall be on his (Aharon’s/the kohen gadol’s) forehead always, to gain favor for them, before God
Our Sages in the Talmud (Yoma 7b) wonder: How could the kohen gadol have the tzitz on his forehead always? He would definitely have to take it off sometimes, like to go to the bathroom or to go to sleep!
R. Shimon and R. Yehudah think the pasuk must mean “it would be as if” the tzitz were always on the kohen gadol’s head, but they explain this in different ways.
R. Shimon thinks it’s as if he’s always wearing it because of what the tzitz would be doing: It would always be making God happy with the people, whether the kohen gadol was wearing it or not.
R. Yehudah thinks it’s as if he’s always wearing it because of how the kohen gadol would act: He would never stop thinking about it for a second. When wearing the tzitz, the kohen gadol would never have a moment of הֶסַּח הַדַּעַת (heseh ha-da’at, losing focus).
The Gemara connects this feature of the tzitz to another mitzvah where heseh ha-da’at is not allowed:
וּמָה צִיץ, שֶׁאֵין בּוֹ אֶלָּא אַזְכָּרָה אַחַת, אָמְרָה תּוֹרָה: ״עַל מִצְחוֹ תָּמִיד״ — שֶׁלֹּא יַסִּיחַ דַּעְתּוֹ מִמֶּנּוּ. תְּפִילִּין שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהֶן אַזְכָּרוֹת הַרְבֵּה — עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה.
The tzitz only has God’s name on it once, and the Torah says it should be “on his forehead always”—meaning that the kohen gadol should never stop thinking about it. Tefillin contain many mentions of God’s name—all the more so (that a person should never stop thinking about them when wearing tefillin)!
- Why might wearing tefillin and wearing the tzitz require so much mental focus and concentration? What does that have to do with God’s name being written on them? What does that teach us about how to treat God in our lives?
This Mishnah discusses the tzitz as part of a conversation about how to do בִּרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים (birkat kohanim, the priestly blessing).
בַּמְּדִינָה כֹּהֲנִים נוֹשְׂאִים אֶת יְדֵיהֶן כְּנֶגֶד כִּתְפֵיהֶן, וּבַמִּקְדָּשׁ עַל גַּבֵּי רָאשֵׁיהֶן, חוּץ מִכֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל שֶׁאֵינוֹ מַגְבִּיהַּ אֶת יָדָיו לְמַעְלָה מִן הַצִּיץ.
Outside the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple), kohanim raise their hands to shoulder height, and in the Beit HaMikdash they hold them above their heads, except for the kohen gadol (high priest), who does not raise his hands about the tzitz (on his forehead).
- According to this opinion in the mishnah, why should the kohen gadol not raise his hands above the tzitz? What would be the message of that practice?
בגדי כהן הדיוט Clothing for Ordinary Kohanim
וְלִבְנֵי אַהֲרֹן תַּעֲשֶׂה כֻתֳּנֹת וְעָשִׂיתָ לָהֶם אַבְנֵטִים וּמִגְבָּעוֹת תַּעֲשֶׂה לָהֶם לְכָבוֹד וּלְתִפְאָרֶת
For the sons of Aharon (who were kohanim, but not the kohen gadol) make tunics. And make them sashes and turbans for honor and splendor.
וַעֲשֵׂה לָהֶם מִכְנְסֵי־בָד
Make them linen pants
These four pieces of clothing would be worn both by a כֹּהֵן הֶדְיוֹט (kohen hedyot, ordinary priest) and also by a כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל (kohen gadol, high priest).
- According to Rashi, the מִגְבַּעַת (migba’at, turban) described here for a kohen hedyot is the same thing as the מִצְנֶפֶת (mitznefet, turban) worn by the kohen gadol.
- There are different opinions about the אֲבְנֵט (avneit, sash). The kohen gadol wore one avneit year-round, and had a special one for Yom Kippur. Rebbi thinks that a kohen hedyot’s avneit was like the kohen gadol’s year-round avneit. R. Elazar thinks that a kohen hedyot’s avneit was like the one that the kohen gadol wore on Yom Kippur (Yoma 12b).
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