The content of most of this Parsha is a description of the elaborate vestments that the regular Kohen and the High Priest wore during the service to the Almighty.
The Torah describes these clothes as for the purpose of dignity and beauty (28:2). We would think of the clothing then for a public display; when the Kohanim appeared in public people would be impressed by the special clothing that they wore. In actuality that was not the case because the Kohanim were not allowed to wear these clothes outside the Mishkan or the Temple area. They were only permitted to wear these clothes during the ritual service at the Temple. In essence the clothing was not for the dignity and beauty of the Kohen, but rather lending to the beauty and dignity of the ritual service itself. There is an elaborate discussion as to the proper definition of the Ephod (28:6). The Ephod was some form of an apron that the High Priest wore. Some say that the Ephod was like a half cape, as wide as the body, reaching from just below the elbows to the heel. Others agree that it was a long garment and was more like a skirt from the waist to the heel, covering the High Priest in front and back. Others claimed that it was long but some maintain that it was much simpler in construction. They see it like a cape made out of a single rectangular piece of cloth draped over the shoulders like a large Tallit and hanging down to the feet and back. Yet there are others (the Chizkuni) who felt it was not a long garment at all but rather like a vest with a belt around its lower edge tied in front; a backward vest. Added to this we have a description by Josephus who described it as a sleeved garment. The main part of it was a cubit square with an opening for the Breastplate which went over the front of the body. It had straps, most probably going around the neck, which buttoned onto the precious stones on the opposite sides to hold the Ephod in place. Again, what we see here is a lack of early description to give us a definitive idea of exactly what the Ephod was. It is one of the things that we will just have to wait patiently for the Mashiach to come at the time of the next Beit Ha-Mikdash to get us a proper rendition of the Ephod.
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Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, of blessed memory, served for decades as England’s rabbi emeritus, and he would tell a very sweet story that I want to share with you.
As Rabbi Sacks remembers it, he was around seven or eight years old at the time, and he wanted to get his father something for his—his father’s--birthday. The young Jonathan was pretty stumped, given that his parents had always given gifts to HIM and that he’d never thought about trying to reciprocate, and that he didn’t have much money. What could he possibly do for his father, the man who sacrificed so much to raise and educate four boys, of whom Jonathan was eldest? So, the young man went shopping, and while in a store he found a really cheap plastic trophy. On the trophy were written the words, “The World’s Best Father.” And he bought it. Looking back, Rabbi Sacks tells readers, he is embarrassed to even think that he did such a cheesy thing. He is embarrassed that his younger self could somehow think that an inexpensive piece of plastic could be an expression of love. An expression of gratitude. But do you know what happened? Sacks the elder thanked his son, and he put that plastic trophy on his nightstand by his bed. And after his father died, Sacks returned home and found that that little trophy was still right there by his father’s bedside. What does this story have to do with our parsha this week, parsha Terumah? I think it’s key to understanding the parsha. In the Sedra, we will hear all the instructions that God will give Moshe and that Moshe will give to the people, instructions to build a Mishkan, a portable schul. A home for God. Now let me ask you all:
Like the elder Sacks, God knows that the Israelites could never really give him something God needs. God has everything. But, like the elder Sacks, God allows the people to express their love and devotion. God allows the relationship to be reciprocal. Let’s think about that, not only when we GIVE gifts, but also when we RECEIVE them. The opening sentence in Parshat Mishpatim is V’Ayla Hamishpatim asher tasim lifnayhem. Translated to: "AND, these are the rules that you should set before them." The Vav, and, connects this parshah to the previous one, Yitro, wherein we have the giving of the Ten Commandments.
Mishpatim serves to TEACH US THAT the statutes given after the "Ten Big Ones" are just as important and were also given to all of us at Sinai. In fact, the Decalogue is bracketed by more seemingly mundane laws, before and after. The Rabbis liken this to a Queen being protected by bodyguards in front and in back. The matters discussed in Mishpatim are crucial to the establishment of a moral society. A saying goes: Three things hold up the world, Truth, Justice and Peace. Moses’s merit is that He is enjoined to arrange these laws, that YOU should set forth before them, likened to a table fully set for the diners. The medieval compendium of Halacha is therefore appropriately entitle the Shulchan Aruch, the Set Table. Among the matters covered in the Parshah are: Treatment of Hebrew Slaves Unintentional murder Premeditated murder Cursing parents and judges Lex Talionis -- an eye for an eye Witchcraft Treatment of strangers, enemy’s animals, widows and orphans Bribery of officials Bailments Also, monetary transactions, being a good creditor, that is, not acting like a creditor. Many stories are told of good Jews avoiding those they have lent money to in order not to embarrass them! The prohibition of charging any interest at all to fellow Jews. I remember my father, alawv hashalom, an accountant, would head the Free Loan Society for his schul. Every schul had one and many still do. He would do business at our apartment and not allow us kids to see who was at the door. The Hebrew word for interest neshech is likened by Rashi to Kinsheechat, the bite of a snake. The snake bites someone’s foot and the wound goes unnoticed until the venom reaches the person’s head. Suddenly, the entire body is swollen and overburdened. Anyone who gets a monthly Mastercard statement can relate! One more interesting instruction is the taking of collateral for a loan-permitted, but we are told, If you take your fellow’s garment as security, before sunset shall you return it to him. For it is his clothing, it is his garment for his skin –in what should he lie down? So it will be that if he cries out to me, I shall listen, for I am compassionate. A commentary likens the creditor’s actions to God’s. He must continue to return the collateral daily to the debtor. God is in effect asking, how much do you owe me? And see for yourself that your soul ascends to me each AND EVERY NIGHT AND GIVES AN ACCOUNTING OF ITSELF AND YET I RETURN IT TO YOU every morning-as we thank God in the morning, sheh hehchezarta lee nishmati, that you have returned my soul to me. This same mitzvah is discussed in D’varim and the description there is: That he may sleep in his cloth and bless you and it will be for your merit before God. Because God is compassionate, we are commanded to be compassionate, even and especially in our business dealings. May we all strive to fulfill these mitzvot. There are many ways to interpret Torah, as we’ve discussed in various contexts.
One is the obvious one—the interpretation focuses on what is or what seems to be the literal message of the passage. That’s called PSHAT. And there are other ways, too. There is also gematria, where we count words or passages based on assigning a number to each letter of the Hebrew alphabet. When we know what the number is, we can often draw connections to other ideas or mitzvot in the Torah. But in this dvar I want to focus on another method of interpretation—a technique called GEZERA SHAVA. In gezera shava, we look at how often a phrase or a word appears in the Torah; if a phrase or a word occurs only once in the entire Torah, for example, that may mean that there’s something significant about the phrase or word. And if a word or a phrase appears frequently, it doesn’t seem to have as much interpretive weight. And if identical phrases, or sentences, or terms appear INFREQUENTLY, we look for what meaning they might share. Everyone with me so far? So, here’s a gezera shava for parsha Yitro, which we will soon read in its entirety. Moshe’s father-in-law advises him to delegate some of the work he’s been doing. Yitro points out that Moshe is the only person the Israelites rely on, and that dependence is ultimately going to exhaust Moshe. It’s good advice, something that all of us can learn from. That we can’t do it all. But when Yitro observes Moshe, he is quick to pronounce judgment. According to Yitro, the situation is NOT GOOD. Simple words. LO TOV. Not good. And Moshe, wise man that he was, knows that he’s got to change his approach to ruling. So, what about that phrase LO TOV? It’s so simple that you might think that it appears repeatedly in the Torah. Nope. Believe it or not, it appears only one other time in the entire bible. You can probably guess where it appears. Well, the answer is that LO TOV appears in Breishit—when God sees that Adam is alone, God declares that that situation is LO TOV, not good. So this is a perfect opportunity for GEZERA SHAVA. What might these two examples share? What can we learn from bringing them together? We might notice that, in the first case, God the FATHER is pronouncing judgment; in the second case, Yitro the FATHER-IN-LAW is pronouncing judgment. But I think we can also go beyond that. God makes clear that it is not good for a person to be alone. And he creates Chava, Eve. He is making a statement about the value of family, about the value of intimate partnerships, of love. A partner can provide balance, can help one to shift perspective, can pick you up when you’re down. When Yitro exclaims LO TOV, he is declaring that it is NOT GOOD for rulers to rule alone, for rulers to BE alone. That every ruler needs partners, people with whom she or he can share not only the responsibility but also the weight of leadership. Yitro makes clear that justice cannot be the sole province of one person, even someone as wise as Moshe. So here in these two LO TOVs we see the mirroring of family and community, of the personal and of the political, of the private and the public. It is NOT GOOD to be alone, NOT GOOD for the state and not good for the individual. And we know that, for Judaism, the line between family and community is never absolutely delineated. Never clear-cut. Here GEZERA SHAVA teaches us that it is NOT GOOD to be alone, and that we are NOT ALONE as long as we have each other. |
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