Parashat Tetzaveh

You might find it strange to read this excerpt from Parashat Noah (9-15) in February, but the connection to Parashat Tetzaveh seems clear. The first sighting of a rainbow occurs at the end of Parashat Noah when Hashem creates a multicolored image in the heavens to reveal God’s covenant between God and the Earth. It is a dramatic moment in the text: the sky is brilliant with color and the renewal of Earth can begin. This is Torah in HD. Fast forward to Parashat Tetzaveh.

The Mishkan has been built, and now it is time to “dress” the priesthood. The directions for creating  vestments are quite specific: There is to be a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a fringed tunic, a headdress, and a sash made to consecrate Aaron as the Kohen Gadol and his sons as priests. Gold, blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and fine linen shall be used to fabricate the ephod and the tunic. There will even be bells attached to the clothing. In our mind’s eye, we see the sewing, the embroidery, and the weaving that must go on; the artisans are hard at work for the consecration ceremony.

Two lazuli stones will contain the names of the twelve tribes, six on each stone. Those stones will be fastened to the shoulder pieces of the ephod with golden cords “for remembrance of the Israelite people” and “for remembrance before the Lord.”

Now, it is “the breastpiece of decision that is to be worked into a design.” Not only will the gold, blue, purple, and crimson yarns be used, but four rows of multi-colored stones will be added: carnelian, chrysolite, emerald, turquoise, sapphire, amethyst, jacinth, agate, crystal, beryl, lapis lazuli, and 

jasper. Twelve stones for the twelve tribes designed with the twelve names of the sons of Israel. This “breastpiece of decision” will be a veritable “rainbow” of colored gems which Aaron will wear “over his heart before the Lord at all times.” The inside of the breastpiece will be fitted with the oracular “Urim and Thummim so that they are over Aaron’s heart when he comes before the Lord.”

Considering that the Israelites are in the desert with its dusty brown sand and scrub bushes, the artistry of the creation of the Mishkan and the clothing of the priests seems almost miraculous. Think of a Broadway production and all of the workers laboring away backstage to put on a great show. The consecration of the priesthood, of Aaron and his sons, will indeed be “the greatest show on earth”; the heavenly Stage Manager has empowered the Israelites, indeed, commanded  the Israelites to produce the finest garments fit for worship in the Holy of Holies. There will be sacrifices and ceremonies to consecrate the priesthood, and “once a year Aaron will perform purification rites, which will continue once a year throughout the ages.”

Freedom is never free. Though the Israelites have been liberated from Egyptian bondage, their journey through the wilderness is hot, dusty, and plodding. The brown soil gets in everywhere; their sandals are covered with it. The wind might whip it up leaving grit in their already parched mouths, but the spectacle of the consecration of the priesthood provides colorful beauty, a remembrance to the Israelites from whence they have journeyed and where they are going. 

In a way, it is a reminder of the rainbow after the flood; Aaron will wear the breastpiece of decision over his heart. The Israelites will have a concrete artifact of God’s covenant with the Jewish people. And the artisans who fulfilled God’s commands will observe, participate, and contribute to the Israelites’ worship in one of the “greatest shows on Earth.”

Shabbat Shalom