יום רביעי, 4 במרץ 2015

Clothes Make The Work, Clothes Make The Man - Tetzaveh 5775

I would like to share with you today the Chakira, the insight of Rav Yosef Engel (1859 - 1910) both in his Sefer Asfan D'oraissa in Siman 19 and his Sefer Bais Ha'otzer where he has a Chakira, he has a question regarding the Bigdei Kehunah, the clothing that the Kohen wore at the time that he did Avodah. His Chakira is whether Bigdei Kehuna is a Halacha in the Kohanim (a Halacha in the people) or is it a Halacha in the Avoda that has to be done. I will explain. 

The first Tzad that it is a Din in the Kohanim is based on a Gemara in Maseches Zevachim 17b (7 lines from the bottom) where the Gemara uses the expression (בזמן שבגדיהם עליהם כהונתם עליהם) when they are wearing the Bigdei Kehuna than they are considered Kohanim. Later on Daf 24b (9 lines from the bottom) the Gemara uses the expression (בכיהונו) and Rashi uses the expression (בבגדי כהונה) a Kohen when he is a Kohen means he is wearing the Bigdei Kehuna. In other words, a Kohen who is not wearing Bigdei Kehuna does not have the status of a Kohen that can do the Avoda in the Bais Hamikdash. Part of the definition of a Kohen is that he is dressed as a Kohen. That is one way to understand it. 

The second way to understand is that it is a Din in the Avoda. That every bit of Avoda in the Bais Hamikdash whether it is the burning of the Korbanos or the burning of the Ketores whatever it is, the Avoda requires a person to be wearing the Bigdei Kehuna. The Raya to this is on Daf 88b (21 lines from the top) in Zevachim where it says that (בגדי כהונה מכפרין) the Bigdei Kehuna as is well known brings Kaparah. That is a Din in the Avoda. Avoda is something that is Mechapeir. A Raya to this is that a Kohen who is doing other Kohen jobs not related to Avoda, like for example being a Kohen for a Pidyon Haben, Duchaning, eating Teruma, or accepting Terumah, none of these things requires wearing Bigdei Kehuna. So you can't say that it is a Din in the Kohen so it must be a Din in the Avoda of the Bais Hamikdash, the Avoda requires Bigdei Kehuna. 

Nafka Mina. What is the difference if the Begadim are a Din in the person (a Din in the Gavra) or a Din in the Avoda? The Nafka Mina is if a Kohen Hedyot did the Avoda on Yom Kippur wearing the four Begadim he normally wears. If the Kohen Hedyot did the Avoda on Yom Hakkipurim certainly that is a violation of Halacha, which violation is it? If you learn that Bigdei Kehuna is a Din in the Kohen so the Kohen Hedyot was wearing the right Begadim but doing the wrong Avoda because it says Aharon Hakohen and we Darshun that not a Kohen Hedyot, so then he is Over a Mitzvas Asei. Then the Kohen Hedyot who does the Avoda of Yom Kippur is Over a Mitzvas Asei of Aharon Hakohen and not a Kohen Hedyot. However, if you learn that Bigdei Kehuna is a Din in the Avoda, that would mean that Avoda of Yom Kippurim needs 8 Begadim, it is a Din in the Avoda that you need a Kohen who wear 8 Begadim. If a Kohen Hedyot does the Avoda on Yom Hakkipurim then he would be violating the Issur of Mechusar Begadim as he is doing an Avoda which requires 8 Begadim and he is wearing four which is much more serious. Doing Avoda while a Michusar Begadim is Chayuv Misah Bidai Shamayim. So this is the Kler of Rav Yosef Engel, are the Bigdei Kehuna a Din in the person or is it a Din in the Avoda itself. 

Rav Pam in mentioning this Chakira would point to the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh in this week's Parsha 28:2. The Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh Teitches the Posuk. (וְעָשִׂיתָ בִגְדֵי-קֹדֶשׁ, לְאַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ, לְכָבוֹד, וּלְתִפְאָרֶת). The Bigdei Kohen the Torah says are made (לְכָבוֹד, וּלְתִפְאָרֶת). According to the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh "Lo Tach'shov Ki Habigadim L'tzorchei Avodah L'vad." Don't think that it is a Din in the Avoda. He says "Lo Chain, Hu Ainam Ela L'kovaod." Certainly it is a Din in the person. Does he mean that it is a Din of both? The Nafka Mina is when Moshe Rabbeinu did the Avoda in the Shivas Yimai Hamiluim if it is a Din in the Avoda then he had to have Bigdei Kehuna and if it is a Din in the Kohen then it is a Shaila if Moshe had a Din of a Kohen on those days.

And so, in a short synopsis of what really is a long topic, there are two possibilities in the defining job or defining identity of the Mitzvah of Bigdei Kehuna. Either it is the image of a Kohen, if the Kohen is wearing Bigdei Kehuna, or the Kohen Gadol wearing Bigdei Kohen Gadol, or it is defined by the Avoda and the Avoda in the Bais Hamikdash has many rules and one of the rules is that it needs Bigdei Kehuna. 

This is a Lomdishe Kler, however, there is a lesson as always in every single Chakira. Here the lesson is a very important one. When we put on clothing there are two things that we take into consideration when choosing clothing to wear. One of course is the Avoda, what is it we are going to do? If we are going to a wedding we wear certain clothing, if we are going to build a Sukkah we wear other clothing, if we are going to sleep we wear other clothing. Certainly we choose clothing based on the work that is being done. We also choose clothing based on the Gavra, based on the person. There is a certain identifying characteristic in a person wearing certain clothing it projects a certain image of himself. So that when someone wears clothing it is a defining characteristic of a person the way he chooses to project himself and it is an aspect of what is being done. 

When Bnei Torah are in Yeshiva, Bnei Torah dress a certain way. It is hard to know, is it the costume for this particular work, a Ben Torah that requires a certain dress code or is it the Gavra, is it the person who is a Ben Torah who is the person and the clothing he wears defines the person or both. Well then he goes to work. I Imagine when you go to work you dress based on the dress code of where you go to work. The question is when a person goes to work are the clothing he wears changing because suddenly he has a different job and therefore, a different uniform is needed. Or, is the person himself changing. Is he changing now to a non-Ben Torah, someone who is a working person. What we see from here is that the Begadim are something that defines the person. It may not define the person to other people but it certainly defines him in the eyes of the person himself. It is an important thing to recognize when a person dresses a certain way because he has a job, that is for the job, the person is a person. A policeman, a fireman, a sanitation worker doesn't wear his work clothes when he is in his private life, the same thing should be true of a Ben Torah.

אין תגובות:

הוסף רשומת תגובה