(20th Parsha of 54 Parshiyos of Torah) By Avraham David, numerical interpretation of Torah with aid of Gematria. Grandson of the Strettyner Rebbe, Rabbi Solomon Langner. Questions/Comments 908-907-0953.
In this week’s Parsha, G-d gives detailed instructions regarding the lighting of the Menorah and of the clothing of the High Priest or Kohen Gadol. According to Rabbi Moses Feinstein, the Menorah represents the Wisdom of Torah. The first pasuk says that the oil of the Menorah must be pressed. The Torah says, שמן זית זך, Shemen Zayis Zach, “pressed olive oil” (Exodus 27:20). If we take the acronym of the encircled letters rearranged, it spells תנ"ך, Tanach, which stands for Torah, Neviim and Cesuvim, or Torah, Prophets and Writings, respectively. Hence we see an allusion to the words of Rabbi Feinstein. If we take the Gematria of the above three words, it is 834. Another word with the same number is משפחות, family. This teaches us that G-d’s wisdom is not just for the parent or child, but for the entire family. With aid of the codes, we see a further reference to wisdom. The Torah goes on to say that you should make holy garments for Aharon for honor and distinction. Was that all the clothing did for him? Perhaps there is more. The Torah says,ועשית בגדי קדש לאהרן אחיך
, “You shall make garments of sanctity for Aharon your brother”(Exodus 28:2) If we take the acronym of the encircled letters, it spells the term שכנתי, shachanti, meaning I dwell. We saw this word in last weeks Parsha where it says, ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם, “They shall make me a sanctuary so that I may dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8)The clothing of Aharon brought down G-d’s divine presence to rest on him. Moreover, the term Shochanti is mentioned by the person who had the most wisdom, King Solomon, who stated in Proverbs the following, אני חכמה שכנתי ערמה ודעת מזמות אמצא, “I am wisdom; I dwell in cleverness; I provide knowledge of designs” (Proverbs 8:12). As such, we see that the clothing of Aharon the priest actually imbued him with the wisdom of the Torah. Is that all the clothing did for him? There’s more. We know that Aharon stood and lived for peace. In fact, the stones which were a part of his clothing promoted peace as well. The Torah says in last week’s Parsha,אבני שהם ואבני מלאים לאפד ולחשן , “Shoham stones and filling stones, for the eiphod and the choshen”(Exodus 25:7). If we take the acronym of the encircled letters, it spells the term שלום, Shalom. , meaning peace. Hence, we see that not only was Aharon felt at ease by the breastplate and apron but also someone who would simply look at Aharon with his priestly vestments would become calm and peaceful after looking at the stone filled Ephod and Choshen. Indeed, there is a story in Talmud Yoma of Alexander the Great who came to conquer Jerusalem, but when he saw the high priest, Shimon Hatzadik, he bowed to him. Alexander said that before he went to battle, he would see a vision of this person dressed in the uniform of the High Priest. Such were the powers of these holy garments. Let us not forget that these were not simply garments or clothing fashioned by humans without any meaning. These were garments fashioned by the One Above who knows the nature of all physical products. The garments not only elevated the High Priest but the nation of Israel as well. We learned above about the lighting of the Menorah by Aharon and his sons. With the aid of the codes, we see that his clothing were literally and figuratively a Menorah as well. The Torah says the following ואלה הבגדים אשר יעשו חשן, And these are the garments that they should make, a Choshen …(Exodus 28:4). If we take the acronym of the encircled letters, it spells the term vrubn Menorah. The encircled letters also circled the Choshen. Why the Choshen or breastplate? The breastplate held the Urim Vetumim, which the Talmud translates as enlighten (urim-ohr) and complete (vetumim-tam) as the High Priest would consult it when there would be a question posed to it and the letters of the stones would lighten up. The Cohen would decode and connect the letters and give an answer. According to the Talmud (Yoma 73b) “their predictions always come true. Where is there a reference to prophecy about the Urim Vetumim in the Torah ? With the aid of the codes, we do see an allusion to prophecy. The Torah says, והיו על לב אהרןבבאו לפניה' ונשאAnd they (the Urim Vetumim) shall be on the heart of Aharon when he comes before G-d…and he shall bear the judgment…(Exodus 28:30) If we take the acronym of the encircled letters, it spells the term והנביא, v’hanavi, and the prophet. Hence we see that the garments of the High Priest were like a Menorah, spreading the wisdom of Torah for the Children of Israel. The purpose of the clothing is to put us in a frame of mind. We must concentrate on the awesome power of the Holy One and of all the kindness He always does for us. The closest we get to this level is on the Sabbath, where we change our clothing and dress our best so that we can live up to our potential and connect to the One Above.
A refuah shlaima to my father, Yaakov Zev Ben Malka Blima.
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