Tetzaveh - 2nd Portion

Join as we learn the second Torah reading for parasa Monday parasa chapter 28 verse3 the Torah tells us yesterday we started telling us about the garments of the that were made for the high priest we started with the aphod today we're going to continue with the breastplate verse 13 continuing first and concluding with the aphot and then starting with the breastplate as they were both connected as we discussed yesterday and we'll discuss today at length and you shall make gold settings where these stones were going to be set as we mentioned they were going to be in gold settings. The very fact that he tells us a number here when he talks about the idea of the inserts that the gold was going to be put in, he takes the smallest number which is a plural. Over here in this part of the section, he only mentions partially of what they're going to be used for. But later on when he talks about the breastplate, he continues to explain in verse 25, as we'll soon see, he tells us about what these squares will be used for. Verse 14. Besides having the settings, where are you going to have the stones? You will also have you'll have to make two braided chains of pure gold. They will be on the edges. You should make them and they should be braided. And you're going to take these braided chains and you'll attach them to the gold settings. Rashi shares of what does the word shares mean? Like chains mig what does the word migb mean? The root word of the word migbis means like the edge to the edge of the breastplate. That's where you will make these braided strands. The word means is that you're going to take them and they're going to be woven together, braided together. It's not that you're going to put them in rings and then with holes in them, fold them over. Is like those that they make for the chains that are for um for wells that they want to pick up the water and how they pick up the buckets and they put a hook in it and then they lift it with it. I'm making knots. or adjusted should be like the ones that were made for sacks which are interwoven within the item. That means that they take the head of the rope and it's woven in with a bunch of strings, a bunch of strands and it's made into one piece. And what are you going to do with these woven strands? you're going to put them. The ones that were woven, those that were made out of a out of this woven type of material where you braided them together, you'll put them on these squares. This is actually Rashi explains that this is not telling us we are how the commandment of how to make them and it's not telling us the Torah is not yet telling us where they should be placed or how they should be made. What is it saying? And therefore, when the Torah uses the terminology, you shall make or you shall put. It's not part of the commandment. It's talking about in the future when you will have this breastplate and you will have the a and you're going to put these two items together. This is the way it should be placed. The reason is because we're going to see later on in verse 25 when the Torah enumerates and tells us the details of the breastplate there. The Torah will tell us exactly the commandment of where they should be placed, how they should be placed, and the commandment of doing them. Over here, it's telling us of what we're going to need in the future. The reason why the Torah is telling us over here is to let me know that in the future when I tell you with the word and I talk to you about and God tells him about the commandment about the about the breastplate, you will know what he's referring to. And therefore he says when you will make those braided um ropes which are going to be on the edge of the breastplate you're going to attach them to these square gold inserts that have the sham stones which is on the aphot. With that we continue into the laws pertaining in the commandments of the breastplate. Verse 15. And you will make a breastplate of judgment. a woven design. You shall make it like the same fabric that you made the aphot. What was the fabric that was in the aphot? As we mentioned, it's going to be gold, turquoise wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and linen twined. You should make it. As we mentioned, this had the 28 strand fabric. Four, five of each one with another one of the gold in it. So, it was six. And therefore you had the 28 strands as we discussed when we came to the aphod rashi. But why was it called? Rashi's question here is why is the breastplate called? The breastplate of judgment. What kind of judgment is going on here? So the breastplate forgives and atones on the corruption of judgment. Meaning that means this is things which people are corrupt in judgment. The breastplate will atone for it. Another way of explaining it is why is it called a judgment? It clarifies the words of the cohain and what it promises it guarantees truth. Meaning when they would ask the kosh was used to ask the kohhane what god's will is of the Jewish people they would be clarified through the words of the kosh through the koshin through the breastplate. The ideas the word mishbat in Hebrew can be used in three different ways. It's said concerning the people who come to judgment in front of a court. When the people when the plaintiff and defendant give their exc give their case and present their case in front of the judge, we find the word mishbut used as God says as it says in the Torah mishb and Moshe brought their judgment in front of God. Judgment also can refer to the verdict as it we learned in the previous Torah readings. Do not allow your verdict to be swayed or as it says also in uh the book of Deuteronomy. And it also refers to it also refers to the actual judgment not only the verdict that the judge says but the verdict and the punishment that happens to the person who then is found guilty of whether it's a punishment of death or punishment of lashes or a financial uh penalization as we find the terminology is used as we found previously in the book of uh in the Torah reading of kamishbot as the verdict Whereas the judgment which is adjudicated to this individual, this is what happens. So you see the word mishbut can be either the actual complaint, the verdict or the actual execution of the verdict. But over here when we talk about the breastplate of judgment over here, it's talking about clarifying and explaining the words that are being said. What does it mean that it should be made like the aphod using the same materials and the same tapestry? Verse 16. It will be a square which is folded over a span long a span long and a span wide. Raji this we're talking about over here the measurement that we're referring to over here is a half is anywhere between 8 19 and 20 in. So this is what the zerus is referred to over here. That's the span that we're talking about. It's going to be folded in front of him against this archive that will be on the heart of so you can have it hanging by the strands over the shoulder wraps shoulder straps of the aphod that are coming from the back and they come in front of him as we explained and they're folded a bit. Then then the actual breastplate hangs from it are hanging by strands and rings and as will be explained later when it talks about the details of the breastplate. So it was an actual item that this material was had one part and the back was folded behind and as we're going to see theim was then placed in between this actual breastplate in the front will then have you will then set with gems mounted on it in four rows four rows of stone pit of you're going to have one row which is going to have containing different stones emerald carnelian emerald and topaz and that will be the first row which is going to be the first row verse 17 why does he say that you're going to fill them I'll shame because the stones are going to fill these gold little inserts inlets that settings that the that the stones will sit in. So therefore they're called filling stones. Therefore he calls them by the name of to fill mountains. Verse 18, and the second row sappir, the second row will be carbuncle, sapphire, and diamond. If I pronounce the names incorrectly, I apologize. The third, the third row, and the third row, zaren, agate, and amethyst. Different kinds of names of stones. And there are different colors as well. And the fourth row is going to be and are going to be of stones of quagmarine, onx, and jasper. These are the 12 different kinds of stone that were used in the actual of actual breastplate of the holy temp that the high priest would wear in the holy temple as well as in the tabernacle. All these stones had to be encased in a gold mounting had were filled from the sides with this gold mounting around it. So it had a gold frame where in it the stone would sit inside and that's why as we mentioned previously they were called because they filled the actual gold spot. All these rows will be filled with gold. They will be surrounded by gold frames. The gold will be as deep as the size of the stone. And therefore, as we mentioned, it will be filled. They will be the size of the thickness of the stone should be the depth of the of the inserts of the setting, not more and not less. It should be exactly fitted to the stone. Verse 21. And on these stones, what are you going to do with these stones? The names of the Jewish people, the names of the tribes of the sons of Israel will be on them, which is 12. All their names by their name. Each one should have his name engraved. Each person according to his name. It will go according to the 12 tribes. They'll go according to their birth. So too will be the order of the stones. For example, the first stone that we mentioned previously would be for ruin pa for shim. So too, each one will go according to their birth. The interesting thing that you'll notice that over here as well as on the show stones the went according to the birth of the tribes, not according to their mothers. The Reb points out this is a symbol of unity, showing that they're all the children of Jacob, regardless of who their mother is. the unity of the Jewish people that was carried by the high priest. Verse 22. And you shall then make on the table of two gold chains, two gold rings, I'm sorry. Start again to make two pure gold chain. You should make two pure gold chains braided like cords and they will be attached to the side gless to the side of the breastplate. That means coming from the top of the breastplate. There were two gold chains that were coming from it on their edge. Rashi explains what does it mean on the breastplate because it's going to hold the breastplate to set them according to their rings like will be explained in the next verse. The word comes from like the root of a tree. The same way the root of a tree they hold the tree is to make sure it stays firm in the ground. So to these they will be holding the breastplate because it will be hung by the aphod by the shoulder straps of the aphot. This is the two chains that we mentioned earlier that were attached to the settings that were on the aphod on the shoulder straps of the aphod. There were two gold chains that would hang down and they would then be the ones holding the breastplate in in its place. Rashi now brings the opinion of where he many times when it comes to translations and grammatical Hebrew he mentions him and over here he says that these to two words as well and and are rooted in the same word they all come from the word root the extra that we had earlier when it was called shares and over here it's called shar is because that there's sometimes an extra word in the actual uh word which is that we find in other words as well where for example something that's empty but you can also say three and it can put but says however I do not see and I don't agree with him because if you look in Hebrew the word share that has the extra r means a chain like in the word of the however or it comes from the word shesh root and that's why over here rashi says it's like the root of a tree while previously he called it a chain gavl as we mentioned earlier the word gavlus comes from the word like border it's the same word as migb like we said before you'll put these rings on the edge of the breastplate. Anytime it says border, it means an edge meaning braided. You're going to take the gold and you're going to braid it and make it into a chain. Verse 23. And then you're going to make on the actual breastplate two golden rings. These two rings will be at the two upper corners of the breastplate which in them the chains will go connecting them to the set gold setting which is on the aphod hanging down in front of the cohen for the need of the he says that they should be there doesn't seem right that you should put the actual rings on it to begin with. Why then does the Torah repeat it again and say and you'll put these two rings on two rings on the edge of the if you're ready said that you made it part of the breastplate. So why do you have to say it again and you'll put these two rings there? Then it should have said in the beginning of the verse you'll make on the edge of the two rings. Why does it only say afterwards? Even when he talks about making these braided chains, you have to explain that it's talking about that it was made because of the breastplate and then you will attach it later on the two edges of the through its two corners towards the neck of that means on the top of you have the actual that sits on the uh breast of the cohen. You have the top part of it which is facing his head, the bottom part of it which is facing the bottom. These two rings will be on the top facing the neck of the actual cohane. The two gold chains will be coming out of it connecting to the shoulder straps and the settings which was of the aphot. And you're going to have them on the two corners to the right and to the left which are going to be parallel and meet up with those shoulder straps of the verse 24. And you're going to take these two, you'll take those two gold braids that we mentioned earlier and they're going to put them through the rings which those rings are on the corner in the corner of the breastplate. Verse 25 uh verse 24. These are the chains that we mentioned earlier. He didn't say where you going to place them. So now the Torah tells us where are you going to put them in those rings? Where are they going to place? These are the same chains that he mentioned previously. How does Rashi know that? Because if you look later on the par when Moshe then dresses the Cohen and talks about the items that were made, it only mentions it once. That means these two chains are the same two chains that the Torah mentioned previously that will be made on the edge of that will be placed in the rings which were on the corners of the breastplate. Verse 25 and then you'll have you'll attach the two ends of the two braids. They will go onto the two gold settings. Those are going to go and attach to the front of the shoulder straps of the aphot as we mentioned previously. And over here the Torah enumerates it clearly where the two chains attach to the shoulder straps underneath the gold settings which were on the front of the aphot because the straps came from the back towards the front over his shoulder holding the breastplate on those two braids of gold. Each one will be each head will be attached to another one. They will be placed in those gold settings. And this is where Rashi says back to where we mentioned before that later on it will be explained clearly. These two gold settings that I told you were mentioned previously. This is what it's talking about. We spoke about the two settings that were mentioned between the first verse that we learned today between the aphot and the and he didn't explain clearly where what its purpose is going to be. Now the Torah tells us and its place. Now the Torah explains now that I told you that you made a you made rings in the you made these braided chains where are they going to be placed on those gold settings that I mentioned earlier that are going to be on the shoulder straps of the aphot. Now he tells us where we're going to put these gold chains which are going to be in the gold settings which were coming out of the rings from the breastplate to the right and to the left towards the top meaning towards the neck of the cohain. You have the two chains going into the right into the square send setting on the right. So you have the two chains. The way it worked, you had an actual chain that went through the ring. You have the two ends. The two ends would then connect into the gold setting that was on the aphold that was sitting on the shoulder of the cohine ven. This is not referring to the ropes. This is referring to mishpetses to the gold settings. Where would these gold settings be? On the shoulder straps on the Rashi continues. You're going to have one gold setting to hold the chains on one shoulder strap and one on the other shoulder strap. What do we have from here? The shoulder straps of the aphod are actually supporting and holding the breastplate in place that it should not fall and that's the way it was hanging. You still have the bottom of the can still bang because on the top it was connected but it was still loose on the bottom would be banging on the stomach of the and it's not connected properly. Therefore, therefore, as we're soon going to learn in the verse, there were another two rings that were on the bottom that fastened it on the bottom that would hold it tight that it wouldn't bang around while he was walking. It doesn't mean that it was by the face of the cohen because usually the word pov means face. Over here it's referring to the face of the front of the you're not going to put the gold settings in the back where the shoulder straps are coming but they're going to be on the front clap where the shirt will where the robe will eventually be worn. It's going to be in the top four towards the the front of the and therefore he calls it The back is not seen. So therefore, it's not called the face of. The part that you see is called the face of. So therefore, it's folded over onto the shoulder in the face that you will be able to see it from the front. Verse 26, continuing with the laws pertaining to the breastplate. As we mentioned, Rashi mentioned about the bottom two rings. Now you're going to make another two rings. You're going to put them on the attach them to the corners of the breastplate which it's edge of the face uh attached them to the lower corners of the apha of the breastplate and which of its edge that faces the aphod. meaning because the lower edge of the brace breastplate faces the aphold which is the the apron part which goes to the bottom of the cohane. So therefore that's the way it relates to that part because it's facing the bottom as Rashi explains. Rashi says this is the two corners the bottom two corners. Remember the top two corners had the golden chains which were connected to their breastplate to the aphoid straps. Now these are referring to the bottom ones to the right and the left. What does it mean? So when the Torah over here is giving us two clues to be able to give us an understand where these two rings are going because I already put two rings on top. So now the Torah enumerates and tells me where am I putting these two rings now? What are the two signs? Number one that it has to be at the bottom edge. How do I know it's the bottom edge? because it has to be parallel towards the it has to be towards the the part of the apron because the top of the top of the press plate is not against the aphod because the aphod wasn't worn on the top. The aphod was only worn on the bottom because it was closer to the neck and the actual apron itself was on the hips of the coen. Another sign he gave that these rings should not be on the outside. These rings were now placed on the inside. That means the rings on top you were able to see on the outside and the chains were then connected to the shoulder straps. These rings were on the inside of the kosher. So you were not able to see the rings when you're facing the apho when you're facing the breastplate. It was behind it. As you recall, it was folded. So in that part, that's where the rings were. As Rashi continues to explain, that side was towards the apron because then you had the actual strap of the aphot that the coe would wear. And this strap was then the apron was then closed and and uh through this strap on the hips of the Cohen. a little bit above our stomach also on both from both sides. This was reached the exact part of the So if you had the apron, you had the strap of the apron, you had the bottom part of the breastplate would be right on top of that apron and right by the strap of the apron connecting them all together. Verse 27. And you'll make two golden rings and you'll place them on the two shoulders of the aphod mata on the bottom towards the lower edge mimov towards the front. We're next to where is going to be joined by the apho's back as the Torah continues. You're going to make them at the edge toward the two shoulder straps of the aphot next to where they are joined above the belt of the aphot. So we're talking about the two straps now which came from the back. Where did the two straps come from? They were right by the part of where the strap of the aphot of the apron went up. as Rashi explains as follows. Verse 27, going back to these squares um settings, they were placed on top of the shoulder straps of the on the top of it that were opposite or parallel the throat of the coin. They would then be folded and come down before him. And now these rings that we're talking about here, these rings that we're referring to were put at the bottom of these shoulder straps. So you had the shoulder straps coming from the back of the coen coming towards the front where the front of them had the settings that the cholen chains were hang on the bottom of those straps. the bottom of it meaning where it would be connected by the apron of the strap of the apron over there you would put two rings that would be connected to the aphot and that's why it says meaning that those rings should be next to the place of where it's connected the place where you connect the apron and the sash and the and the strap of the apron are connected right below the strap but connected to the shoulder straps that are connected because that connection was right parallel to where the strap was. These were put a little bit higher where the shoulder straps would be coming out from. So if you have the picture, the picture would be you have the apron on the bottom which is sitting on the hips of the cohane. Around it was a strap which would connect and hold the apron in place. Above it from the back would be coming out two shoulder straps that would go on top of the shoulders of the cohane. On the bottom of those shoulders, right above the strap which was connected to the apron. That's where those two rings would be placed which would be exactly parallel to the end of the which was in the front. Then he would put a turquoise thread through those rings and it would go through the rings of the as well and and connect them with that thread to the right and to the left. The purpose of this was so that the bottom of the kosh shouldn't be flapping back and forth on the stomach of the so would be sitting nicely on the robe which was underneath the kosh because it was tied to the back of the apron. So it would be fastened well so it wouldn't move while the cohen would walk. What does mim meaning on the outside part of the so you'd be able to see it. it wasn't on the inside. It would be facing the robe. Verse 28. The point is that they shall now link the bottom of the of the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the apron with this turquoise string that we mentioned that Rashi spoke about. So this way it should be remained situated on the belt of the aphot and the kosha the breastplate should never be removed should never come loose from the aphot. And this is actually a negative commandment that the raumerates one of the 365 negative commandments that the kosh always has to be attached to the aphoti. The word means should be attached. We find us in other places when it talks about the mountains that were next to the valley after one was not able to go into the valley between them because very difficult because the mountains were very close to one another. Therefore, because however, when the Jewish people went back that way, it was a very smooth land and it was easier for them to go. So, you see the word means connected close to the valley proving his point that the word means to connect that should always be connected to the belt of the aphot should never be disconnected. This is from an Arabic language. Dunes who dunes. This interpretation is according to the commentator the fellow dunes. There were as we mentioned there were two people who Rashi refers to with the grammatical and translations which was and that we mentioned previously. Verse verse 29 and Aaron will then carry the names of the Jewish people with the breastplate of judgment on his heart at all times when he enters into the tabernacle. So this should be a constant remembrance constantly in front of God. verse 30. And now you're going to place into the kosh into that fold. If you recall, we mentioned that the kosh was made of an woven tapestry where it was a front and then it was folded in the back. What are you going to place into that fold theim and this will always be on Aaron's heart when he comes before God will carry the judgment of Isl of the Jewish people. on his heart in front of God constantly. What does this mean? The itself was not was the name of God, God's holy name that was written on that was placed in that fold of the breastplate. The reason why it was called comes from the word mayor would enlighten his words and they would uh make his words real, sincere, pure. This was why it was called because it would make the words complete and illuminate the words that were needed. However, Rashi tells us that in the second holy temple where the was the breastplate. However, it's impossible. A cohen is not allowed to wear a one of not not allowed to wear only some of the garments. He has to wear all the garments. Though he had the breastplate and he was wearing the breastplate, the actual was missing in the second temple. But because of the writing that was inside, because of the god's name that was written in there, that's why it was called the of judgment because we find that they would ask in the judgment of the which was when Moshe needed something or Yeshua went out to war, they said he asked the judgment of the urum. That's why it was called some what does it mean the judgment of the Jewish people something that they are judged about something which is current a question and they need to know should they or shouldn't they do any of the following according to the medish because the breastplate would forgive on those who corrupt judgment was called judgment because it would forgive those who pervert or corrupt the judgment.