Shabbos Parashas Tetzaveh - 5778

Shabbos Parashas Tetzaveh - 5778

Rabbi Hal Miller

Into the breastplate of judgment you shall place the Urim and the Thummim, and

they shall be on Aharon's heart when he comes before Hashem. [Shemos 28:30]

Our parsha describes in detail the making of the clothing of the high priest. Included,

it says to place the Urim and Thummim. Nowhere does it describe how to make these,

nowhere does it discuss what they are made of, nowhere does it command anyone to

actually make them. What are the Urim and Thummim?

Ibn Ezra says that they were silver or gold figurines. Ramban blasts this as idolatry.

He compares these items with other items in the Torah's description, and concludes

that they were made based on some secret that God gave to Moshe. He also notes

that the names of all the other major utensils are given the indefinite article, such as

to make an item, but that with the Urim and Thummim, they are referred to by the

definite article, the Urim and the Thummim, as though they were already in existence

at the time, thus not actually made by Moshe and the people, rather by God.

Rashi says they were writings that were placed into the folds of the breastplate and

contained the engraved Ineffable Name of God. According to Ramban, various letters

within that Name would light up, and the priest would be presented with an anagram,

a jumble of letters that would require his Ruach HaKodesh, the Divine spirit, for him

to sort out and understand. It operated along with the stones representing tribes, set

in the breastplate.

Rambam seems to indicate that the stones themselves were the Urim and Thummim.

Abarbanel rejects this because the stones required work to shape and install, and no

work was associated with the Urim and Thummim. He also rejects Rambam's view

that they were a step below prophecy, since Joshua used them and was himself a

prophet, therefore would have no need of them. He says that there is a lot of

preparation required for prophecy, but the priest was able to consult the Urim and

Thummim any time without any preparation.

Kli Yakar says that the Urim and Thummim represent the Beit Din, the court system.

He says that the judges bring light to the world, which is what the Urim and Thummim

accomplished. Sforno seems to concur with this.

It seems that these items were written documents of some sort of construction,

bearing the Divine Name. They were either written by Moshe at the directive, outside

of the Torah, from God, or they were fashioned by God Himself and given to Moshe.