February 26, 2021
Don’t Bow Down
Tetzaveh/Purim, 5781
“These are the garments you shall make. A breast plate, an efod….” (28:4).
The greatest commentator on the chumash in our history is Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 1040-1105). But when it came to interpreting this pasuk, Rashi was at a loss. He didn’t know how to describe the efod –the garment of the kohen gadol.
Rashi lived in the small French city of Troyes, in the Champagne region of France. Rashi lived a little earlier than, but in the same city as, Chretien de Troyes (1135-1185), a very popular French writer known for his vivid descriptions of noble society and chivalry, and their regal horses and elaborate garments.
One time, Rashi was walking out on the streets of Troyes, when he encountered a beautiful woman in her noble attire. Rashi could not help but notice her beauty and her brilliant clothing. Afterwards he was deeply distressed. How could it have happened that he gazed at a woman? All his life he had worked hard not to put his eyes in the wrong place. For what reason had this happened?
When Rashi came home he returned to work on his beloved commentary on the parasha, and he came to the verse, “These are the garments you shall make. A breast plate, an efod….” (28:4). Suddenly, he realized, why he had noticed the noblewoman and her clothing. He picked up his quill and wrote regarding the efod: “I have never heard and I have never seen an explicit source in the Talmud describing the efod. But my heart tells me that it was tied on behind him, on the breadth of his back, like an apron which is called pourceint in our current language. The noblewomen tie on this apron when they ride on horses.” (Adapted from Maayanah shel Torah, 132.)
Why did Rashi assume that the efod was like a noblewoman’s clothing?
The Torah states: “Make holy garments for your brother Aaron, for dignity and adornment, le-khavod u-letifaret” (28:2).
The purpose for making the holy garments was le-khavod u-letifaret, thus Rashi associated it with the clothing of the noble class.
Rashi’s interpretation that these garments must be the garments of a noblewoman is similar to Ramban’s explanation of this commandment.
Ramban writes that the purpose behind the elaborate and ornate clothing of the Kohen Gadol is to mimic the clothing of royalty:
“That he should be honored and glorious with honorable and glorious clothing, as the verse states (Isaiah 61:10), "as a groom who ministers in glory" - as these clothes were the clothes of royalty. Their likeness was worn by kings during the time of the Torah” (28:2).
Indeed, the Talmud states that King Achashverosh absconded with these same garments –the High Priest’s garments--and wore them himself in a perverse manner:
“The verse states: ‘When he showed the riches of his glorious [kevod] kingdom and the honor of his majestic [tiferet] greatness’ (Esther 1:4). Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina said: This teaches that Achashverosh wore the priestly vestments. Proof for this assertion may be adduced from the fact that the same terms are written with regard to the priestly vestments, as it is written here: “The riches of his glorious [kevod] kingdom and the honor of his majestic [tiferet] greatness.” And it is written there, with regard to the priestly garments: ‘For glory [kavod] and for majesty [tiferet]’” (Megillah, 12a).
Why was it so important for the Kohen Gadol to dress like royalty?
While it is true that our tradition is highly suspicious of kings and ostentatious wealth, it is also the case that our tradition teaches we must have pride in our faith and our mission in this world to be a “nation of priests” (Exodus, 19:6). By the Kohen Gadol dressing in the manner of a king, it reminds all of us in the congregation of our spiritual responsibilities and that we must take them extraordinary seriously.
We are all put on this earth for a reason: to be servants of Hashem in spreading good in the world. We are not allowed for one second to forget this fact or minimize our important mission.
Our portion begins with the words, veatah tetzaveh, You shall further instruct the Israelites” (27:20). The commentators discuss why the portion begins with the word “veatah,” as opposed to the typical formulation of mentioning Moshe’s name when issuing a commandment.
Baal Haturim writes that Moshe’s name is absent from the portion as a punishment for an inappropriate utterance of Moshe. After the Israelites sinned with the Golden Calf, Hashem threatened to destroy them. Moshe begged Hashem not to do that, and said that if Hashem will destroy the Israelites, then Hashem should, “wipe me out of your book” (32:32). As a punishment for that disrespectful utterance, Moshe’s name does not appear in our portion.
Siftei Kohen expands on this idea:
“From here we learn that a person is not allowed to curse one’s own self. For Moshe only uttered these words for the sake of the Israelites and nevertheless it made a mark, as for this reason his name is not mentioned in the portion. How much more so must a person never denigrate oneself out of anger or without any salutary purpose. This is what the verse means when it states, ‘You shall instruct the Israelites.’ Teach them what happened to you as a result of your self-denigrating utterance and warn them never to curse themselves” (Siftei Kohen, cited in Maayana Shel Torah, vol. 2, 126).
The Siftei Kohen is referring to the sin of low self-esteem; of not recognizing our own inherent greatness and as a result of this defect being unable to fulfill our divine potential.
The idea of self-worth is also a key message of the Purim story. The Book of Esther states:
All the king’s courtiers in the palace gate knelt and bowed low to Haman, for such was the king’s order concerning him; but Mordecai would not kneel or bow low. Then the king’s courtiers who were in the palace gate said to Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s order?” When they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai’s resolve would prevail; for he had explained to them that he was a Jew. When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel or bow low to him, Haman was filled with rage (Esther 2:3-5).
Why does Mordechai refuse to bow down to Haman?
Recently I have been posing the question to friends – “Who in your mind is the hero of the Purim story?” Not an insignificant number of them are horrified by Mordechai’s behavior. They wonder if by not bowing down to Haman, Mordechai actually provoked Haman. Technically speaking there isn’t a specific law against bowing down to a ruler and for this reason Mordechai’s actions are controversial. Some justify Mordechai’s refusal by suggesting that Haman was wearing an idol around his neck (Esther Rabbah, 6:2). The Talmud offers an opinion that Haman declared that he was a deity and for this reason Mordechai refused to bow down (Megillah, 10b).
Neither of these explanations are explicit in the text and they seem to be apologetic defenses for Mordechai’s brazenness which aroused the wrath of Haman. In fact, the Talmud itself records a debate as to whether Mordechai is the hero of the story or the reason for the mess in the first place.
Rabbah bar bar Chanah cited Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: His father was of Benjamin; his mother was of Judah. And the Sages said: The families quarreled with each other: Judah said, “I caused Mordechai to be born, as David did not kill Shimi ben Gera (see Shemuel II 16).” And Benjamin said, “[Mordechai] came from me!” Rava said: The Jews said the opposite – See what the Judahite did to me, and how the Benjaminite paid me! What the Judahite did to me in that David did not kill Shimi, from whom was born Mordechai, who angered Haman. And how the Benjaminite paid me in that Shaul did not kill Agag, from whom was born Haman, who pained Israel! (Megillah, 12b).
According to Rava, the tribe of Judah was embarrassed about their relationship with Mordechai because of his reckless behavior. While, in contrast, according to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, the tribe of Judah was boastful about their connection to Mordechai because of his brave behavior.
The question of whether or not Mordechai acted bravely or recklessly is a matter of nuance that defies an easy answer. But what is clear is that Mordechai did not suffer from low esteem. He placed a high value on himself personally, and also on the mission of the Jewish people. His high opinion of his responsibility might have caused him to refuse to bow down, but it also certainly caused him to inspire Esther to see her own self-worth and her own greatness.
Faced with the reality that her own people are about to be destroyed by Haman and Achashverosh, Esther still begs off and claims that she is unable to alter the course of history. Mordechai accepts none of this. He tells her that this is why she was created in the first place.
Mordecai had this message delivered to Esther: “Do not imagine that you, of all the Jews, will escape with your life by being in the king’s palace. On the contrary, if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter, while you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows, perhaps you have attained to royal position for just such a crisis.” Then Esther sent back this answer to Mordecai: “Go, assemble all the Jews who live in Shushan, and fast in my behalf; do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maidens will observe the same fast. Then I shall go to the king, though it is contrary to the law; and if I am to perish, I shall perish!” (Esther 4:13-16).
Mordechai’s greatest act—and the turning point in the story—is when he is able to inspire Esther to see her own self-worth, to realize that she was created for the purpose of saving the Jewish people.
Esther was Queen of Persia and therefore she had more resources. But we are all also called “priests” and as kohanim we have been given a responsibility by Hashem to alter the world for good.
The Kohen Gadol was given special garments in order to make this point. Our ancestors were not some shleppy tribe in the desert. They were THE CHOSEN PEOPLE with a direct mandate from Gd to do holy work.
The clothing we ourselves wear today is not the point. Obviously during these days of “zoom life” some of us dress casually and comfortably when we can get away with it. If that works for you and for your life, there is nothing wrong with that. But there is something very wrong about not believing in ourselves and about Gd forbid, not recognizing that each and every one of us was created with greatness inside of us and that it is our job to use our talents to bring redemption to the world.
Shmuel Herzfeld
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You can now watch a Youtube recording of Rabbi Herzfeld’s D'var Torah:
https://youtu.be/pYqy4VJKljE
