Parshas Tetzaveh
Get A Grip
“With them you shall dress Aharon your brother and his sons with him.
You shall anoint them, and fill their
hands…” (28:41)
The Torah relates that Moshe is instructed to anoint Aharon and his sons
and to “fill their hands”.
Rashi explains that the expression “fill their hands” refers to the act of
inauguration. Rashi adds that in
medieval times, a newly inaugurated official had a gauntlet placed in his
hand
to symbolize his new position of authority.
Similarly, explains Rashi, the Torah uses the
expression “filling the hands” to indicate the
conferring of a new authority.[1]
The Ramban questions the fact that Rashi
associates a medieval custom with the usage of
the expression in the Torah. What bearing should
this medieval practice have on the definition of a
Torah expression?[2]
A person’s hands reflect his state of
mind. If a person fidgets he is revealing that he is
nervous and insecure, traits which are usually
present in an unfulfilled individual. Placing
something within a person’s hand for him to
grasp, stabilizes his hand. By placing the gauntlet
into the official’s hands we indicate our desire
for him to be fulfilled. In the vernacular we use
the expression “having a grip on things” to
indicate competency.
Rashi is not mentioning a historical
custom to explain the definition of the word.
Rather, Rashi is explaining that the psychological and emotional reason
behind
this medieval custom offers an insight into the human condition. This
insight
can be used to explain why the Torah refers to the inauguration process as
“filling the hands”. We are expressing our confidence that the newly
appointed
individual will perform his responsibilities competently and will find his
fulfillment through this service.
1.28:41
2.Ibid
Clost to the Chest
“and the fourth row: tarshish, shoham, and yashfeh…” (28:20)
Aharon wore an ornament on his chest called the “Choshen”; it had gold
settings into which twelve precious gems
were placed. Each gem represented one of the twelve sons of Yaakov. The
last of the Choshen’s gems was the “yashpeh”.
Rabbeinu Bechaya cites a Midrash which connects the yashpeh stone with the
Tribe of Binyamin. Yashpeh, explains the
Midrash, is a contraction of the words “yesh” and “peh” - “has a mouth”;
it was chosen to represent Binyamin because its name
reflects a praiseworthy trait displayed by him. Although Binyamin was
aware that his brothers sold Yoseif into slavery, he did
not reveal their actions to his father.[1] If Binyamin was being lauded
for his silence, why was the gem called “yashpeh” - “has a
mouth”? Should the more appropriate name not be “ainpeh” - “has no mouth”?
What trait did Binyamin exhibit through his
silence?
The Talmud relates that Yaakov suspected that Lavan may attempt to
substitute Leah for Rachel. Therefore, as a
preventative measure he gave Rachel a secret password which would identify
her to him on their wedding night. At the thought
of her sister’s public humiliation Rachel revealed to Leah the password
which enabled Lavan’s subterfuge to be successful. The
Talmud identifies Rachel’s behavior as an example of “tznius” – “modesty”
and states that because of her exceptional display
of tznius she merited to have great descendants who too would display
exemplary acts of tznius: Shaul HaMelech, after being
anointed by Shmuel as the Sovereign of Israel, did not reveal his status
to his family members.The Talmud states that Queen
Esther, a decedent of King Shaul, exhibited the same characteristic by not
revealing her lineage.[2] What new definition of
tznius is the Talmud revealing?
Tznius is generally defined as a code of modesty which determines our mode
of dress and behavior. We approach this
obligation as “bein adam lamakom”, a responsibility that we have to our
Creator. The Talmud is teaching us that the
requirement to be modest is also “bein adam lachaveiro”, a social
responsibility. The laws of tznius require that we act in a
manner which does not invade the space of others. Our actions must be
measured in terms of how they will impact upon the
sensitivities of our fellow man. The manner of dress required is not
dictated by how much of the body must be covered alone,
but by the awareness that dressing in a provocative manner may be an
attack upon the senses of another as well. An outfit that
meets the Halachic specifications in terms of its length may still violate
the laws of tznius if it is designed in a manner which
draws public attention.
Staying within our own space and not invading the space of others is not
only relegated to attire. Speech is the area
through which we have the greatest difficulty in focusing upon the
sensitivities of others. All too often we speak up because of
the benefit we derive from what we are saying, but fail to realize the
damage we do to others with the content, decibel level and
even verbosity of our speech.
All of the examples of tznius ascribed to the descendants of Rachel
involve mastery over the spoken word. In Rachel’s
situation, the fact that she discerned the appropriate time to divulge
sensitive information is highlighted. In the scenarios
involving her descendants their ability to abstain from divulging
information at personal cost is highlighted. The commentaries
explain that Esther did not refrained from revealing her Jewish ancestry
as instructed by Mordechai because it would have been
detrimental to her to be identified as a Jew. Rather, while in the pageant
which would determine the next queen of Persia, she
did not reveal her regal ancestry for fear that it would place the other
girls at a disadvantage.[3]
Binyamin is the son of Rachel and it is this specific trait which is being
heralded. A person who has endured a terribly
traumatic experience very often is unable to discuss it for fear that
discussing it will cause him to relive the experience.
Overcoming this fear and conversing with a person who cares about him
helps ease the burden of the trauma. Binyamin’s loss
of his only maternal brother at the hands of his paternal brothers must
have been a highly traumatic experience. The only one to
whom he could convey his feelings was his father, yet he refrained from
doing so. By assigning the yashpeh as the gem to
represent Binyamin the Torah is attesting to the fact that his abstinence
from discussing his brother’s fate was not a result of his
inability to divulge the information due to his trauma. On the
contrary, “yesh peh”, his ability to converse about the issue was
intact. Although it might have been of great emotional benefit for
Binyamin to discuss the matter with his father, the
knowledge that the pain his father would receive when enlightened as to
his sons’ actions would not permit Binyamin to speak.
This acute sensitivity to protecting others from pain, even at great
personal sacrifice, stems from Binyamin’s perfection of his
inherited trait of tzinus.
1. 28:20
2. Megilla 13b
3. Ibid, See Rashi Megillas Esther 2:10
