Shabbos Parashas Tetzaveh - 5779

Shabbos Parashas Tetzaveh - 5779

Rabbi Hal Miller

You shall make a breastplate of judgment of a woven design, like the craftsmanship of the Ephod shall you make it, of gold, turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and linen. [Shemos 25:18]

As part of the commandments regarding the special articles of clothing for the Kohen Gadol, our verse commands the making of the choshen mishpat, the breastplate of judgment. What is this thing? What purpose does it serve?

Rashi cites the Gemora in Zevachim [88b] that it is given this name because it "atones for miscarriage of justice". Akeidas Yitzchak then shows that there are four fundamental causes for miscarriages of justice, and how the choshen relates to each of them. First is favoritism, which occurs where one litigant is an important or wealthy person or scholar. Since all the tribes are listed on the stones in birth order, this shows that none was granted special status. The second cause is where a judge feels that a case is not important enough to warrant his time, such as over a very small amount of money. For that, the choshen includes very valuable stones, but also some that are not considered precious at all, each of which holds an equal place on the choshen. Third is where a judge may feel intimidated by one of the litigants. The choshen reminds the judge that the Torah says, "Fear no man, for justice belongs to God."

The fourth cause of miscarriage of justice is error on the part of the judge. For this, the choshen carries the urim and tumim in furtherance of Moshe's statement when he appointed judges that they should bring to him any matter too difficult for them.

Akeidah understands the choshen mishpat to be a roadmap for how Jewish justice is to be administered. Each row of stones contained three, indicating that there must be three judges in a court. Some stones were precious, others not, indicating that both rich and poor are alike in the scales of justice and that small cases are as important as large ones. The sons of Yaakov were listed in birth order to teach that younger judges have a voice alongside of the elders.

Rav Yosef Soloveitchik compares the tzitz and the choshen mishpat. The tzitz atoned for sins regarding impurity. It was placed on Aharon's forehead opposite the center of intellect and knowledge, and ruled on halachic decisions such as permitted and forbidden, pure and impure, liability or lack thereof, kashrut, and agunot. The choshen was placed over Aharon's heart, the center of love and affection for Israel, and answered questions such as whether to enter the land or not, what enemy to fight and which to avoid, how to react to a specific event, how a Jew should act in public, in essence, how Israel should act.

We have been without the urim and tumim of the choshen mishpat since the destruction of the First Temple. We have been unable to apply their light to our lives, and been forced to find those answers in personal and congregational prayer instead, but the answers are never as clear. May we have this returned soon.