From: Netvort@aol.com

Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 3:04 AM

To: JoshHoff@aol.com

Subject: Netvort : parshas Tetzaveh, 5768

                                                 Of  the People


                    By Rabbi Joshua (majestically known as The Hoffer) Hoffman


  This week's parsha is primarily devoted to a description of the bigdei kehunah, or priestly garments. Why were these garments so important, to the extent that if a kohein did his service in the Temple without the bigdei kehunah, his service was invalid? One explanation given by the Sefer haChinuch is that the kohein's garments were part of the aura of holiness that existed in the Temple. The Ramban, in his commentary to parshas Tetzaveh, says that the bigdei kehunah were akin to bigdei malchus, or royal garments, as worn by kings in the time of the Torah, and proceeds to marshal evidence from Biblical verses to show that this is true. One may ask, why did the kohein need to wear royal garments? What did royalty have to do with his service in the mishkan, whose primary feature was, ostensibly, holiness?  Moreover, Ramban, in his commentary to parshas Vayechi, writes at length that the Chashmonaim sinned by serving as kings, in violation of Yaakov's adjuring his sons that the kingship should not depart from Yehudah. Why, then, does the Ramban also say that the kohanim were to wear clothing that would reflect the glory of a position that was forbidden to them? To answer these questions, we need to understand the significance of the bigdei kehunah reflecting the holiness of the mishkan, and then try to understand how these two elements, holiness and royalty, work together in the work of the kohanim and the functioning of the mishkan.

  The section on the bigdei kehunah begins with God telling Moshe,"Now you, bring near to yourself Aharon your brother and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel... to make him a kohein unto Me" (Shemos 28:1). We have often mentioned, in the past, the observation  of Rav Mordechai Gifter, in his Pirkei Torah, on thisverse.He asks,why did  God tell Moshe to choose Aharon and his children from among the bnei Yisroel. Isn't this obvious? Would Moshe, then, choose the kohanim from among the Egyptians, or some other nation? Rather,says Rav Gifter, the message is that Aharon drew his spiritual distinction from the nation itself. He writes further that this is true of any position of leadership over the Jewish people.  Whatever special attribute is needed to fulfill the task that the  leader is appointed to  is drawn from the people in general, and he serves as their representative in fulfilling his duties.The English writer, Thomas Carlysle, wrote a book dealing with the question of whether great leaders make the nation, or the  nation creates great leaders. Carlysle, studying various leaders throughout history, came to the conclusion that it is the leaders who make the nation. According to Rav Gifter, however, the Torah teaches us that it is the nation that creates its great leaders.

  With Rav Gifter's observation in mind, we can suggest that the kohanim, in performing the holy service in the mishkan, were serving as representatives of the Jewish people, who were charged at Mt. Sinai to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Shemos 19:6). The fact that they were charged with this goal indicates that they have the ability to fulfill it, and, thus, have within them the potential to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. As Rav Kook explained, this dual task involves   exhibiting holiness in all areas of life, which requires a 'mamalacha', a kingdom, with all the elements of a living society and active government. The element of holiness in the mishkan is obvious, but where do we find the element of mamlacha, as explained by Rav Kook? I believe this element is reflected in the fact that the thirty-nine forbidden labors of Shabbos are derived from the thirty-nine categories of labor that were used in constructing the mishkan. These types of labor are referred to in the Torah as 'meleches machsheves', These types of labor are referred to in the Torah  as 'meleches machhsheves,' which many commentators explain to mean creative,professional work.The message being conveyed here, I believe, is that these categories of labor, which incorporate all of constructive human activity, should be geared toward goals that are compatible with, and ultimately lead to, holiness. Thus, the fact that these labors were used in the construction of the mishkan reflects the motif of being a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Interestingly, there is an opinion that not only were  the labors performed in the construction of the mishkan  counted among the thirty-nine categories of labor on Shabbos, but,also, the labors performed in the service itself were counted,as well. According to this opinion,the service of the kohein in the Temple is even more reflective of the dual nature of the nation's task of being a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.In any case,  the clothing that the kohein wears in fulfilling his task must reflect the nature of his representative role, and, thus, must reflect both holiness, as the Sefer HaChinuch says, and kingship, as the Ramban says. The king, too, acts as a representative of the people, who, as the Talmud tells us, are all considered to be 'sons of kings.' Although the specific roles of kohein and king are restricted to certain families, on a wider scale, the two positions are reflections of the attributes of the nation as a whole, and it is in this sense, too, that the clothes of the kohanim represent royal garments, without compromising the restriction that, according to the Ramban, Yaakov issued before he died.


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