Parashat Tetzaveh 5786

Gemstones and Judgements

A D’var Torah for Parashat Tetzaveh

By Rabbi Dorit Edut

Although the expression “Carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders” is attributed to the Greek god Atlas, I want to propose that it has a much earlier source: the wearing of the gemstone-studded breastplate by the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, in the biblical Temple and Tabernacle.   It was a physically weighty garment, but that was intentional since the High Priest wore this when turning to God in prayer for the whole Israelite community – a weighty responsibility indeed. It was made also to hold the Urim and Thummim, the special rods which would be used to receive a Divine answer to difficult problems or situations where human decision-making was stuck.  But the Hebrew name for this breastplate – Hoshen Mishpat- refers to not only the importance of making clear decisions but also to atoning for the sin of perverting justice that might have occurred among the judicial leaders (Talmud, Zevahim 88b).

Of course, this was not only a ritual garment with significance for the leadership of B’nei Yisrael, but held meaning for each tribe and each person.  There were twelve different gemstones each assigned to a different tribe with the name of that tribe inscribed on it. These gemstones also corresponded to the colors of the banners used for each tribe as we read about in later midrashic and Rabbinic commentaries on Numbers 2:2. Avraham Ibn Ezra and other midrashic and Kabbalistic writings connect the stones not only to the twelve tribes but also to the12 zodiac signs, and even to the Even HaYesod – the foundation stone of the entire Earth. Modern scientists who researched our vision have found that the basic four colors used in these gemstones (other than black and white), i.e., green, yellow, red, and blue, are those that the retinal ganglion cells can distinguish (Basic Color Terms: Their Universality and Evolution, by Brent Berlin and Paul Kay, 1969). So there are many different aspects to these gemstones that expand their significance.

Yet their symbolic importance for the High Priest and the Israelite nation as a visible reminder of being careful and clear in our decision-making and atoning for any perversion of judgement is one that still speaks to us today.  First, I am reminded of the Nuremberg Trials where my father served as a supervisor of the American translators who had to precisely translate from the German which the Nazi leaders and their lawyers spoke. He had to make sure that the translators were not only keeping pace with the testimony but also doing it accurately.  It must have been difficult for him as a Jewish former Berliner who lost most of his family to these despicable characters to maintain an emotional calmness and focus on the task at hand. Those who have seen the recent movie “Nuremberg” will understand just how the Nazi leaders like Goering tried to pervert the justice system to their own benefit. Ultimately it did not work in their favor, thanks to the clear mindedness of Justice Jackson and others who helped to bring out the truth of the Nazi horrors and twisted mindset and then uphold justice by giving them the death penalty.

In our days there are many attacks being leveled at what constitutes “justice” in our country as well as in Israel.  The Constitution and our federal legal system are being tried in unprecedented ways because there are those who would like to pervert both the understanding of our laws and their application for their own political purposes. Regardless of what political affiliation we have, it is our responsibility as moral leaders with an ancient tradition that underlies both the American and the Israeli legal foundations to point out that we have gone in a perverse direction which is dangerous to our societies.  Let us remember the Hoshen Mishpat which offered us guidance in difficult situations – and know that we can make atonement, change direction, and restore justice to our countries – but we must act sooner rather than later, lest the very Even Ha-Yesod – the symbolic solid underpinning of our world as created by God – be cracked and destroyed. Let our light shine forth like the gemstones of the breastplate of the Kohen Gadol.