Parashat Tetzaveh 5786 l The Power of the Priestly Garments

Shalom. This week's Torah portion is Parat, meaning you shall command.

Beginning in chapter 27 and verse 20 of Sephote, the book of Exodus. Our portion

deals with matters pertaining to the Kohanim, the priestly descendants of Aaron, whom God chose to serve him in the sanctuary.

One of the main topics in para tit in fact the entirety of chapter 28 are the priestly garments with a special focus on the garments of the high priest.

Moshe is a top mount si receiving all of the Torah. And now God gives over to him

the Torah. And now God gives over to him instructions for the specific materials and colors and designs that are to be used in the making of these sacred garments. And thus the many details all

garments. And thus the many details all with great spiritual significance are expressions of God's will. The clothing

of the ordinary priests consists of four garments. Three of these, the tunic,

garments. Three of these, the tunic, turban, and breaches. The pants are to be made from white linen. While the sash is made of fine twisted linen and also sky blue, purple and scarlet wool. The

high priest is commanded to wear eight garments. These garments are the tunic,

garments. These garments are the tunic, the blue robe, the aphod, the breastplate, the turban, the sash, the gold head plate, and the breaches. The

sacred status of the kohanim is so intrinsically bound up with these garments. They are so much a part of the

garments. They are so much a part of the priestly identity that the service in the temple is invalid if the kohhane is missing even one of these garments. It's

not that the garments add holiness, but rather they turn these men into valid channelers for the entire nation and the world to receive blessing. Garved in

their sacred clothing, they are the nation's emissaries. For the garments

nation's emissaries. For the garments are paid for from communal funds and thus they actually belong to everyone.

And like the temple vessels themselves, the garments effect great rectification.

So these clothes are not simply items of apparel that make up a uniform.

They become metaphysical instruments of blessing and light. So start to open up your heart. The sages share a profound

your heart. The sages share a profound teaching in trackctates and of the Talmud where they state explicitly that just as the offerings in the temple

atone, so too the priestly garments atone. The tunic atones for sins of

atone. The tunic atones for sins of bloodshed. The breaches atone for sins

bloodshed. The breaches atone for sins of sexual immorality. The turban for arrogance. The sash for impure thoughts.

arrogance. The sash for impure thoughts.

The breastplate for the miscarriage of justice. The aphod for idolatry. And the

justice. The aphod for idolatry. And the

robe for lashon harah evil speech. And

it sits the golden head plate for brazeness.

But what does this even mean? How can

clothing affect atonement? And to be honest, so for that matter, don't we first need to ask what is atonement?

What is atonement? Kapara in Hebrew really mean even more basic, a starting point for our discussion actually is the question as to what is sin and what is

the damage that it causes. We struggle

over the meaning of sin due to the conditioning that we've received and the limitations of our contemporary language. The cphra on vayikra 16

language. The cphra on vayikra 16 Leviticus 16 describes impurity and sin as creating a pagam a blemish. Likewise

the zohor speaks of sin as producing a blockage in the spiritual channels through which shea meaning divine vitality flows. So when a person acts in

vitality flows. So when a person acts in a way that's not aligned with truth, something in the circuitry of the soul becomes distorted and the flow of divine benevolence is interrupted. But it's

vital to understand that this distortion does not destroy his essence. And thus

the prophet Isaiah in chapter 59:2 declares, "Your iniquities have separated between you and your God." His

language is separation. Sin does not destroy neither your essence nor the essence of your relationship with God.

But it separates us temporarily from Hashem, which is pretty horrible. And so

the first step in our understanding of atonement is that it restores closeness.

And thus the midashu raba says great is tshoua great is the power of repentance for it reaches to the throne of glory.

What does this expression reach? Why

does it reach? Because sin creates distance and capara atonement closes the distance. So open up your heart. There's

distance. So open up your heart. There's

a very important principle in Torah study that we've mentioned in the past taught by the holy sad kohhane in his work with cisa and elsewhere that the first appearance of a word or concept in

the Torah reveals its inner root and spiritual source in creation and all later occurrences unfold from that first revelation.

The root of the word capara atonement perish first appears in a surprising place. It's in Genesis 6:14 in God's

place. It's in Genesis 6:14 in God's instructions to Noah for building the ark.

You shall cover the ark inside and outside with kare with pitch. Vapor

means covering in this case sealing any crack or breach in the ark so the waters of the flood cannot enter. So already

back in Genesis Torah is teaching us something deep through this first usage.

Capara is not erasing or deleting history but repairing a rupture.

Throughout the book of Leviticus, for example, in chapter 4:20, we find expressions such as the cohen shall provide atonement relating to various aspects of his service with the offerings and other circumstances as

well. But if kapora, if atonement is

well. But if kapora, if atonement is about sealing. So here in relation to

about sealing. So here in relation to the function of the coing, what's being sealed? What is being repaired?

sealed? What is being repaired?

The sealing of Noah's ark with kofair with pitch back in Genesis was for protection against the destructive floodwaters. And thus kapar seals and

floodwaters. And thus kapar seals and stabilizes. It prevents destructive

stabilizes. It prevents destructive consequences from severing a covenant.

Like raging floodwaters, sin can cause a breach that creates vulnerability.

Atonement is the rebinding, the protective sealing, restoring stability as well as clearing the obstruction in the soul's channel. Just as pitch provides a ceiling that prevents the

flood from destroying the ark, capara, atonement from the same root word prevents the flood of consequences from destroying the bond between man and God.

Atonement essentially is the realignment of the human being with his source and the closing of the artificial distance and exposed vulnerability that sin

created. It's the moment when the person

created. It's the moment when the person who has drifted out of alignment with truth is returned to the harmony for which he was created. The Torah's vision

is breathtakingly hopeful. No fracture

is final. No distortion is irreversible.

And that not guilt and not fear is the deepest meaning of atonement. Another

dimension of understanding is provided by a teaching in the midash. When Israel

sinned with a golden calf, we are taught the divine presence withdrew and the tabernacle restored it by providing atonement. In this light, capara

atonement. In this light, capara atonement is ultimately about restoring presence. It's the restoration of our

presence. It's the restoration of our original alignment, the removal of the barrier created by sin, allowing the relationship between the human being and Hashem to flow freely again. Sin is a

moment of spiritual misalignment, temporary spiritual disorientation. And

in that moment we forget who we are and what true reality is. This lapse in clarity causes a person to act against his own deepest truth. Clouds perception

and kapar clears the cloud and suddenly the divine nearness that was always there becomes perceptible again.

Now that we understand a little bit and it's only a little bit about the Torah's concept of atonement and there's so much more. But let's examine now how each

more. But let's examine now how each garment plays a role in this realignment. As the great Maharal

realignment. As the great Maharal explains, each garment corresponds to a faculty, a faculty of the human being.

The atonement or tunic corresponds to the faculty of blood and vitality. And

it's an atonement for bloodshed.

Bloodshed is not only violence. It's the

corruption of the life force itself.

This garment, the is worn closest to the body. It covers the flesh. In Genesis

body. It covers the flesh. In Genesis

9:6, spilling blood is described as an assault on the divine image. The verse

says, "For in the image of God, he made man." The tunic represents the sanctity

man." The tunic represents the sanctity of the body as vessel of the soul. It

envelops the body in white, the color of restored life and innocence. And when

the coen stands wrapped in the katonet at the altar, the place from which Adam was formed, the birthplace of human life, he restores the original sanctity of life. Murder is a violation of

of life. Murder is a violation of embodied divine life. And the konet restores reverence for the holiness of life at its spiritual root. Sages of the

midash also connect the word catonet with Yseph Katonet pim, the special garment that Jacob made for him. What is

the connection between the Cohen's tunic and Yseph's tunic? Yseph's tunic was dipped in blood and it became the garment through which deception and near

frat side unfolded. In that narrative, blood and tunic were linked. The

brothers stained Yoseph's katonet with blood. And now in the holy temple, the

blood. And now in the holy temple, the konet becomes the garment that atones for blood. Bloodshed destroys human

for blood. Bloodshed destroys human life. And the cohain wearing this tunic

life. And the cohain wearing this tunic stands at the altar and in his pure state, he reinstates the sanctity of life restoring human restoring honor to

the human body as a vessel of the divine image. Where bloodshed tears life open,

image. Where bloodshed tears life open, the konet re reinclos it in dignity.

The breaches in Hebrew, the pants cover the erva, the sight of genet generative generative power, signifying the faculty of sexual morality which has to be

safeguarded by modesty. This power can somethings be used for holiness, an imitation of godliness even, but it can also be contorted through selfishness.

Isode the attribute of foundation is the channel through which divine energy becomes life. It can be totally

becomes life. It can be totally distorted through selfish gratification.

Sexual sin is the distortion of creative energy. When the cohen covers that place

energy. When the cohen covers that place with deliberately deliberate sanctity, he embodies disciplined creative power.

He reasserts that desire serves the purpose of holiness. The mitznet, the turban crowns the head and corresponds to the faculty of intellect. It atones

for arrogance and it's all about correcting hottiness and a swollen sense of self an inflated ego. The mitznet the turban wraps and constrains the head.

The head is the headquarters of dot of conscious identity but arrogance separates the self from its source. The

wrapped head symbolizes containment intellect subordinated to transcendence.

The cohen's covered head signifies that true greatness comes from submission.

The atonement here is the rechaning of pride into dignified humility.

The anet the belt or sash was extraordinarily long 32 amote or cubits which would translate to something between 15 and 18 meters long. Thus it

was wound times around the body. 32 is

the numerical value of live the heart.

The sash corresponds to the faculty of the heart and thoughts. It wraps around the torso dividing upper and lower body.

The heart is the seat of desire, thought, and intention. The sash atones for improper thoughts, not sinful action, but inner stirring. This garment

addresses the the issue of inner fragmentation. Improper thoughts are a

fragmentation. Improper thoughts are a manifestation of internal disorder, scattered desire, fragmented imagination. The sash wrapped tightly

imagination. The sash wrapped tightly around the body symbolizes containment and alignment of our inner life. It

literally girds the heart. If sin is misalignment and kapar is realignment, then the anetate the sash represents binding the scattered heart back into

order. When the coen winds the 32 cubits

order. When the coen winds the 32 cubits around himself, it's as if the heart is being encircled, stabilized, disciplined, the sash doesn't suppress the heart, it contains it. And that is a

class a classic example of capara. Not

eraser of thought, but reordering it for holy purpose.

The koshen, the breastplate, atones for a miscarriage of justice. Corrupt

justice is not only a courtroom problem.

It's a moral imbalance. The koshen

breastplate rests over the heart, the seat of integration between intellect and emotion. And it carries the names in

and emotion. And it carries the names in the of the tribes of Israel. And the

koshin stones represent plurality unified in judgment. Corrupt judgment is not merely a legal failure. It's a

rupture in the heart's clarity. Justice

fails when ego clouds perception and twists discernment. And also the

twists discernment. And also the breastplate contains the urim vetim and the ramban explains that the uram vet brings prophetic illumination into the judicial process. And thus justice is

judicial process. And thus justice is not cold legality. It's divine light within human discernment. And when the cohen gador wears the koshin over his heart the collective heart of Israel is

aligned with truth. Corrupt judgment

fractures communal harmony. The

illuminated breastplate worn before Hashem restores clarity at the heart center of the nation, restoring justice to true compassion. The aphod

corresponds to loyalty and it atones for idolatry, which is a sin of misplaced allegiance and devotion. The aphod

restores rightful allegiance. In the

book of judges, aphodess are made for idolatrous shrines. The very garment

idolatrous shrines. The very garment that can become a tool of false worship in the sanctuary becomes the instrument that restores true worship. It's a

vest-like garment that's worn over the tunic fastened on the shoulders with two onx stones set upon those shoulders. The

shoulders are the place of burdenbearing as we read in Isaiah 9:5. The dominion

shall be upon his shoulder. To carry

something on one's shoulders is to claim responsibility and loyalty. The priest

carries the names of the 12 tribes of Israel engraved upon his shoulder stones before Hashem as the verse says. And

Aaron shall bear their names before Hashem upon his two shoulders for remembrance. And thus the ephod is a

remembrance. And thus the ephod is a garment that bears. It carries identity and allegiance. Idolatry is carrying the

and allegiance. Idolatry is carrying the wrong master, giving misplaced allegiance to something unworthy. The

kohhane literally carries Israel towards the divine. The Epho teaches that

the divine. The Epho teaches that atonement for idolatry begins when we shift what we carry on our shoulders.

When our ultimate loyalty returns to its rightful place, the miel, the blue robe, corresponds to voice and repairs the sin of lashon

harra, weaponized speech. This garment

features bells along its hem whose sound announces the cohane's entrance to the holy place. As the verse states, its

holy place. As the verse states, its sound shall be heard when he enters the holy. Evil speech wounds. The male

holy. Evil speech wounds. The male

produces sound that's ordered and rhythmic and holy. And thus it repairs destructive sound with sanctified sound.

It rectifies speech by transforming sound from harm into harmony, shifting the energetic field of speech. Sound can

distort reality and destroy or harmonize. The bells produce measured

harmonize. The bells produce measured sanctified sound as the cohen walks gently announcing his approach to the holy place, signaling respect and order.

And thus the male restores the sanctity of sound which respects boundaries and heals what invasive speech destroys.

The golden headplate sits in Hebrew rests on the Cohen's forehead and is engraved with the words holy to Hashem.

The forehead represents raton willpower that sits atones for brazeness which is misdirected willpower called by our sages aut literally the brazeness of the

forehead. The association of braziness

forehead. The association of braziness with the forehead is already rooted in Tanakh itself as reflected in the verse in Jeremiah chapter 3. You had the for the forehead of a harlot. You refuse to

be ashamed. Here the prophet equates

be ashamed. Here the prophet equates brazeness with the forehead. And in

Ezekiel chapter 3 we find for the house of Israel are strong of forehead and a heart of hearts. And immediately

afterwards the verse I have made your forehead strong against their foreheads.

In these ver verses, the forehead represents defiant will, stubborn resistance. The forehead represents

resistance. The forehead represents public-f facing identity. It faces

outward and is the point that leads the body forward. But brazeness is shameless

body forward. But brazeness is shameless projection of the self outward. Not

confidence, but the loss of sensitivity, the hardening of the face against shame.

The opposite of brazeness is healthy shame. And the holy balmtov taught that

shame. And the holy balmtov taught that when willpower serves ego, it becomes defiance. But the same power that's used

defiance. But the same power that's used to rebel can be sanctified to become courage for holiness. When engraved with holiness, brazeness becomes holy

boldness. The courage to stand up for

boldness. The courage to stand up for the truth. So the head plate does not

the truth. So the head plate does not erase or disqualify boldness. It

sanctifies it. So open up your heart in the deepest way. The Zohar describes the Cohen as the man of kindness, a man who stands entirely for others. He risks his

life by entering sacred space, carrying the names of his brethren on his shoulders and on his heart before the presence of the creator. What we have seen now is that sin fractures a faculty

of the human being. The corresponding

priestly garment embodies its healed state. But the atonement provided by the

state. But the atonement provided by the Cohen's garments is not magic. He's not

a magician. He's a spiritual engineer as representative of the collective soul repairing distorted human faculties at their spiritual source affecting

spiritual surgery of the human blueprint at its root location. Because when he stands in proper alignment, body, garments, and intention, he becomes a

conduit. Our holy sages teach that

conduit. Our holy sages teach that clothing represents spiritual garments of consciousness that either conceal or reveal the divine image within a person.

The priestly garments therefore function as a tikun, a fixing of the garments of Adam, representing restored humanity.

Just as a physical garment enclosed the body, so the midote, the attributes and the thoughts of a person clothe the soul. When these are damaged, the

soul. When these are damaged, the spiritual channels constrict. When worn

in this holiest place, in purity and with proper intention, the priestly garments help restore alignment between inner essence and outer expression. When

the Cohen performs the service properly clothed, he's enacting the possibility that humanity can be whole. And when one human being stands fully aligned with

heaven at the place of man's creation in the name of all mankind, the fractures of humanity can begin to mend.

Currently, for the moment only, we don't have the garments, but we still have the faculties. our body, our desire, our

faculties. our body, our desire, our thoughts, our speech, our judgment, our loyalty, and our will. And when each of these is aligned with truth, we become a

generation ready and worthy to rebuild the holy temple ourselves, ready to welcome the Cohen in his garments once more. Perhaps this is a deeper meaning

more. Perhaps this is a deeper meaning of parat zakur, which we will be reading this special Shabbat as the additional Torah reading. A malik strikes when

Torah reading. A malik strikes when those faculties fall out of alignment.

When when courage turns to cruelty when speech turns to mockery when loyalty shifts away from truth. To remember a male is to remember what happens when

misalignment goes unchecked.

And so too next week we will be celebrating the hidden victory of Purim.

Akash's feast was a celebration of what he believed was the permanent failure of the temple. Our sages even teach that he

the temple. Our sages even teach that he dawned the garments of the Coen Gadole of the high priest himself, arrogantly wearing the sacred vestments as if to say, "Holiness has been emptied,

stripped of its power. The temple will not return. The divine presence has

not return. The divine presence has departed from the world forever."

As everyone knows, the scroll of Esther never once mentions the name of Hashem.

But Purim teaches us that concealment is not absence. The divine presence may be

not absence. The divine presence may be hidden, but it's never gone. Behind

political intrigue, behind coincidence, behind exile itself, Hashem is weaving alignment back into the world. Akash

could put on the garments, but he could not become the cohen. He could mock holiness, but he could not extinguish it. The garments are not fabric. They

it. The garments are not fabric. They

are sacred covenant, the word of Hashem and that cannot be worn as a costume.

Pur reveals what the pries reveal that even when holiness appears mocked, even when the temple seems distant, the structure of redemption is already

unfolding beneath the surface.

May this purm open our eyes to the presence within the hiddenness. May it

give us the courage of Mori and the resolve of Esther to realign our speech, our loyalty, and our will with truth.

And may we merit very soon to see what is now concealed become revealed. The

garments restored to their rightful bearer, the coin standing in service once more, and the house of Hashem rebuilt in joy.