Tetzaveh 5774: Get Real

                               By Rabbi Joshua (sincerely known as The Hoffer) Hoffman

Among the priestly garments worn by Aharon in his capacity as high priest, or kohen gadol, was the chosen mishpat, the breast plate of judgment, which was to lay on his heart (Shemos 28:15).  Rashi on Parshas Shemos (24:14) cites a midrash which says that Aharon merited to wear this priestly garment on his heart because he greeted Moshe with joy in his heart when he returned to Egypt and became the leader of the Israelites, a position that Aharon had held until then.  Another midrash says that had Aharon known that G-d would have written about him with regard to that meeting in the Torah, that he would rejoice in his heart at that moment, he would have gone out to greet Moshe with drums and dances.  Rav Henoch Lebowitz, in his Chidushei Haleiv, notes that what emerges from this second midrash is that Aharon would have exhibited greater joy than he actually did when he greeted Moshe.  Why didn't he?  Rav Henoch answers that had he done more, it would not have reflected what he really felt in his heart, and that would have diminished that value of the joy that he actually did show. 

This comment of Rav Henoch brings to mind a comment made by Rashi to parshas Tzav in regard to the trumas hadeshen, the removal of ashes from the altar. The Torah first says that the kohein should don a set of his garments, remove the ashes, and place them next to the altar. He then removes that set of clothes and dons another set, and removes the ashes to the outside of the camp (Vayikra 6:4).  Rashi says that this change of clothing was not an obligation, but derech eretz, or proper conduct, so as not to dirty, through taking out the ashes, the clothing which he served in constantly.  One may ask, why, if this was proper conduct, it was not, in fact, obligatory?  The answer, I believe, is that the kohen needed to feel on his own, that this was the proper way to act when serving G-d.  If he did not have this feeling in his own, the change of clothes would have little intrinsic value, because if it did not reflect his true inner self, in the same way that, as Rav Henoch explained, any additional display of joy by Aharon would not have reflected an internal process.  Both of these instances highlight the importance of the kohen, and especially the kohein gadol, acting in a sincere way that represented what he actually felt in his heart. We need to understand, then, why sincerity was so important for the kohein.

The rabbis tell us that Aharon was a lover and pursuer of peace.  When he saw that two people had a quarrel and were not talking to each other, he would approach each one separately and tell him that the other one wanted to reconcile.  In this way, he brought people back together, and increased love and friendship among them.  To serve in this role as a reconciliator, Aharon need to be sincere in his efforts.  People can detect insincerity, and resist the efforts of insincere people to effect reconciliations.  This sense of sincerity had to derive from the manner in which Aharon served G-d, in his role as representative of the people before G-d in the Beis Hamikdash. His service of the Jewish people had to reflect his service of G-d, and both had to be done with the utmost sincerity. 

            In this way, he would be able to unite the Jewish people as they reached the highest level of serving G-d with love on the holiest place on earth, the Beis Hamikdash. 

We thank you for your tefillos on behalf of Rabbi Hoffman, Yehoshua ben Yonina, and ask you to continue to have him in mind, as he hopefully, with G-d's help, recovers.