Garden Breezes: Parashat T’tzaveh/Shabbat Zakhor/Purim

Posted on by

0

Parashat T’tzaveh/Shabbat Zakhor/Purim
Exodus 27:20 – 30:10

As often happens, this Torah reading immediately precedes the celebration of Purim. Therefore this Shabbat includes a second reading that includes the commandment to remember Amaleq, the evil people who tried to destroy Israel. The prophetic reading for this Shabbat tells of the failure of King Saul to obliterate Amaleq and this links us to the Purim story, in which a surviving descendant of Amaleq, Haman, tries to continue the mission of his evil ancestors. And he almost succeeds. But, guess what? The descendants of King Saul, Mordekhai and Esther, save the day, thus thwarting Haman’s plans and partially fulfilling their own ancestor’s mission.

All these connections can be made regarding the supplementary readings of this Shabbat. But Nachmanides (Ramban) discerned a surprising and unsettling connection between the Purim story and our Torah portion, itself.

Our reading describes the various vestments that had to be worn by the priests whenever they performed their functions in the Tabernacle. One detail of the High Priest’s clothing was that he had to have a hem of cloth pomegranates and metal bells at the bottom of his robe. “So that its sound would be heard when he entered the Holiness before the Eternal and he will not die.” (Ex. 28:35) Nachmanides understands this to mean that God supplied the priestly garments with an accessory that would create a muffled sound (- the cloth pomegranates softened the jingling of the bells), signifying that the priest was entering the sanctuary with God’s permission, “for entrance before royalty, suddenly, without prior permission, would result in death, as with Ahasuerus.”

Nachmanides makes a somewhat shocking comparison between the capricious Persian king of the Purim story and the Holy Blessed One. Esther was afraid to appear before Ahasuerus without prior permission, lest she be executed by that foolish tyrant. Ramban has us remember that moment as we read about the dangers confronting the High Priest when he ministered in the Tabernacle. Does this mean that God’s demand for respect is just as arbitrary as Ahasuerus’? Is God just as insecure about the size of the crowds adoring him as Ahasuerus was? Although, for us, sometimes God’s awesome power does seem to be applied too unpredictably, I do not believe that Nachmanides saw it that way. For Ramban the lesson is about the reality of power. Power must be respected. It may be used wisely or recklessly, compassionately or cruelly, but it always requires respectful recognition. To enter into the personal chambers of the Almighty is not to be done casually. One can only enter by invitation.

Here we come to two differences between the Esther’s entrance into the presence of King Ahasuerus and the entry of the priest into God’s private rooms. One difference is that, while Ahasuerus is caught off-guard, God prepares the sign of invitation for the priest ahead of time. God hands the priest the special gift of those bells as a symbol that the priest’s presence is desired.

By why should the bells constitute that sign? There are two aspects to their symbolic requirement. Let us recall what happened to Queen Esther. Thankfully, she risked danger and entered the king’s throne room. Thus she was able to save the Jewish people. But, when she entered without permission, what saved her? Her beauty. Just as Esther’s beauty gained her the royal office to begin with, her beautiful appearance charmed the unstable ruler again.

In contrast, from God’s requirement of bells we learn that visual beauty is not the key to salvation. The priest has been clothed with gorgeous vestments. But those beautiful vestments, without the bells, will not save the priest from the crime of unlawful entry. God requires that a sound be made. But who will hear that soft sound? There will be no one else there when the High Priest enters the Holy of Holies! Only God will be able to hear that gentle sound of a human being walking in God’s own home. Can it be that this is what God wishes – to return to that last moment of innocence experienced between God and humans back in the Garden? It was there that the humans “heard the sound of God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day.“ (Gen. 3:8) The humans hid in fear for their lives. Now God says: “Walk in My house and make a gentle sound so that I can hear you take your steps. And, I promise, you will not die.”

Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi David Greenstein


Subscribe to Rabbi Greenstein’s weekly d’var Torah

Video:  “Grass Blowing in the Wind” by Martin Versluis made available via standard YouTube.com license.

Latest posts by Rabbi David Greenstein (see all)

What do you think?