Tezaveh 5784 ~ Feb. 23, 2024

It is often said that clothes make the person. The most beautiful looking individual can dress down and look like a chimney sweep, while a person who is less than glamorous can take on the role of belle of the ball, simply by the clothes, the makeup, and the hair she chooses to wear.

Men find themselves at a crossroads in fashion as well. When I was a kid, we wore suits to special events, including to Maple Leaf Garden to watch an NHL hockey game, or even on a plane. Today, the question of what clothing is considered in vogue has completely changed. For example, the donning of a necktie is necessary for only certain functions, such as a funeral or a wedding. At other times, ties may not only be optional, but may make one look like one is a grandfather.

We visited with our five-year-old grandson this past Sunday. At one point, Lisa turned to Mason and remarked that he had holes in his jeans, to which Mason turned to Lisa and replied: “don’t they make me look cool!” Needless to say, Lisa chuckled and responded in the affirmative. I am not sure that I would ever wear jeans with holes in them. But then again, I am in a different generation than Mason. My adult kids would definitely let me know that I didn’t look cool in them. On the other hand, they would tell their mother that she fits right in. I guess you just have to play the part. Then again, when they see me with a tallit on or tallit and tefillin, then they see me fitting into their picture of my role as their father. That is the perception they have of me: I’m the father in the Progressive Insurance commercials, whether I want to be or not!

In our Torah reading for this Shabbat, the high priest’s vestments were designed to portray the dignity and glory of his role. The robes themselves were created to suggest purity. One of the items that the Kohen Hagadol wore was a breastplate. Within the breastplate there was a rather unique item known as the Urim and Tumim. The Urim and Tumim contained twelve different stones; each stone representing one of the twelve tribes.  The breastplate itself was also known as the breastplate of decision.  For those of us who remember Ouija Boards, one might wonder how this instrument of decision might have provided the answer. According to Rashi, the Urim and Tumim would light up in a certain fashion to provide Aaron with the answers to the difficult questions he may have brought within the Holy of Holies.

According to Nachmanides, the Urim and Tumim were of such holiness that they contained the names of God in its most sacred of lettering. When Aaron would see the display of lit color stones, in a certain pattern, he would then be able to discern the message and the answer to the query. The real authenticity of the experience was not that the stones lit up. Rather it was that Aaron had the children of Israel within his heart, and he was, therefore, able to form an answer based on his love of the people, guided by the fact that the letters of Hashem, would keep him mindful of his need to reflect in a holy manner.  The stones were simply a means of directing Aaron, as the High Priest, to that love and a decision that was best for the situation of the query.

According to Rabbeinu Bahya, “the words Urim ve-Tumim are the description of the names of holy beings by means of whom the High Priest was able to divine certain events in the future and to announce them to the people who had inquired about them. The two names Urim, Tumim, represent two different parts of such divine messages. The first refers to the lighting up of letters on the breastplate which were visible to the High Priest and enabled him to place the respective letters into sequences which formed an intelligible message. The flashing of the respective letters on the breastplate was called Urim, whereas the combining of these letters into an intelligent message by properly arranging the letters in question was called Tumim.”

Often, we find ourselves at moments when we are asked to make decisions. We frequently consult with professionals who guide us. Today, many are beginning to use AI to scour the internet to find the answers of life.  When we want to know more about a medical procedure or diagnosis, there are certain sites we look at. When we want to know whether an item actually works, we look at others for recommendations. As a medical professional once told me, if you keep on reading into your My Chart and Quest information, you most probably are going to come up with an incorrect finding and personal diagnosis.

And that is where the Urim and Tumim not only directed Aaron in the Holy of Holies, but also in our own personal quest for knowledge, personal growth, and the intimacy of what is found in our own hearts. For it is not simply seeing the stones glowing on the breastplate of life, but how, as Nachmanides states, we add the human factor into the decisions we arrive at.

It is the human heart and the soul, despite all of the new technological advances, that hopefully will continue to guide us to the correct interpretation.  And just as the Urim and Tumim contained the names of God in their sacred lettering, perhaps protecting our thoughts by reflecting upon those letters, will continue to lead us upon the path that God intended when he created not only Adam and Eve, but each and every one of us in our own unique way.

Shabbat Shalom.

Am Yisrael Chai.

Rabbi K