Tetzaveh 5771 The trap(pings) of power Rabbi Aaron Goldstein 12 February 2011

Last night I presented a paradox. It is suggested by our Torah portion, of the elaborate nature of the dress that High Priest, Aaron and all his descendants to that post should don. There was to be an ephod, an apron of gold, blue, purple and crimson yarns and fine linen, with a belt around the middle and two shoulder straps, each containing a lazuli stone inscribed with six names of the twelve sons of Jacob. The breastplate of judgement, a square-shaped container decorated on the front with four rows of precious stones, each framed and mounted in gold, and each bearing the name of the twelve sons of Jacob. The breastplate is attached by gold chains to the shoulder straps of the ephod.. The Urim and Thummim, a small box through which it was believed that God spoke. It was worn by the priest inside the breastplate of judgement. The blue robe embroidered with a hem of pomegranates of blue, purple and crimson yarns with bells of gold. The gold plate engraved with the words, “Holy to the Lord” and attached to Aaron’s headdress so that it hung on his forehead like a tefillin. A fringed linen tunic, a linen headdress and an embroidered sash. Eight specifically described articles of clothing to adorn the High Priest.

Commentators have provided various interpretations of the garments, generally divided into two categories of thought. Those, like Pinchas Peli who suggest that the garments were to remind the High Priest of their responsibility of leadership to all the people. The names of the twelve tribes weighing on the priest’s shoulders as if they were carrying the burden of responsibility of the whole people on their shoulders. Others, such as Nehama Leibowitz, note that the priestly costume was designed to remind the people themselves of their duty to be holy, to lead distinct moral lives, challenged by the epitaph on the gold plate, “Holy to the Lord.”

They all agree that the priestly garments set the High Priest aside, separated the mystique and magic of the cult. It is therefore a paradox that we dress-up, not our Rabbi but the sifrei Torah, our Torah scrolls. Although the design is now somewhat different, the elements of the priests garb are maintained in the core adornments to the scrolls. Separating the scrolls from ourselves and yet we surely want the words of the Torah, what is inside, to be inside us. We want to do, as we model in our Tot’s Shabbat services, for the Torah scrolls to be special and distinct but also core to the lives of our young children. The word is core to educating our young and old alike.

Although we may find no dissonance in the paradox, it is there for us to consider. To my mind there is a warning in the priests’ garments. Do not get caught in the trap of focussing on the trappings of power, for power lies within, inside the beautiful fashion statements, the decorative garnish, the lavish, precious stones.

This morning, many Jews will be waking-up to a paradox in their thinking. We share in the joy and jubilation of the Egyptian people at their freedom. A new dawn is rising in the land of the Pharaohs, one in which each individual Egyptian can be their own Pharaoh and have free will in a fashion that has not been granted them for years. They have freed themselves of the trappings of power and right now can focus on the core of their existence, the essence of their lives. And yet the question on the lips of very Jew I have spoken to during these past 18 days, is how will the new reality in Egypt affect Israel? It is perfectly natural as we resort to our concern for our personal circles of familiarity, to focus not on those who are central to the story unfolding but to how it affects us. If there is a focus on the core of existence and the essence of how every human being would wish to live their lives, we have no fear. For Egyptians have the right to a good, healthy and educated upbringing for their children, occupations that satisfy the body and mind, a private life of belief in whatever brings them spiritual wellbeing and the gift of leisure time to enrich their lives. If that is the focus and we pray that it will be, we and Israel will not have to worry and indeed there is the opportunity to gift something of the core of Israeli achievement to the Egyptians.

Often overlooked in these times, are the immense advancements for humanity that Israeli institutes and organisations have provided. Many of these have originated from the scientific endeavours supported by the Weizmann Institute, named after Chaim Weizmann, the scientist and first President of the State of Israel. The Weizmann Institute celebrates and channels the abilities of the human mind to stretch understanding in the sciences and what might be achieved through them. This curiosity-fuelled journey leads Institute scientists to discoveries and inventions that improve our quality of life: drugs to treat cancer and other diseases, technology that forms the basis of the polymer industry, improved visual displays for pilots’ headsets and surgeons, amniocentesis for testing foetal genetics, a method of growing seeds that protects them from various pests. These and so many more unique discoveries and innovations make Israel one of the leading exporters of good to the world. I have focussed on the Weizmann Institute but there are numerous other organisations in Israel that benefit humanity.

The Weizmann Institute is a glorious home. Its facilities are outstanding, even luxurious. Yet there is still the focus on the core inside, the essence of the endeavour. That is what is truly important. Now think, an Israel that exports goodness to Egypt and the Egyptian people is going to be a friend. Israel has the ability to export goodness to all its neighbours if only they would accept these gifts. I truly believe that the Egyptian people will know a good thing when they see it. An Egypt that takes pride in its national identity but does not place it at the centre of their being; an Egypt that celebrates its Muslim identity but does not deny the rights of others to exercise their own private beliefs; an Egypt that derives from the Quran its core of universal truth and does not get caught in its trappings of particularism; an Egypt that understands that being a friend is a benefit to themselves and all those around them.

A dream? Let us hope not. We and Israel will support their attainment of this dream, not by meddling negatively and shouting at every news item or individual we do not personally like; but by exporting goodness, the goodness that is produced every day in the institutes and organisations of the State of Israel that focus on the essence of humanity, of existence and progression.

“Holy is the Lord,” pronounces the High Priest’s gold plate on his chest. I would buy the t-shirt that to my mind translates the trappings into its essence, an essence of universal truth found in the Holy Scripture of all religions: “God’s presence is revealed in the triumph of good over evil, in the flawed but ultimately responsible actions of human beings.” (Lisa D. Grant qu. in The Torah, A Woman’s Commentary, 492).

Isn’t that a t-shirt we would all like buy?

Amen