Tetzaveh 5766
The Bells of the Kohen Gadol
One of Bigdei Kehuna (priestly vestments) described in Parashat Tetzaveh is the Me'il, or robe, worn by the Kohen Gadol (high priest) in the Temple. As the Torah describes, the robe's hem was lined with metal bells that rang as the Kohen Gadol walked. The Rabbis extracted several important lessons from these bells on the Kohen Gadol's robe:
1) The Talmud Yerushalmi explains that the bells were necessary for the Kohen Gadol to announce himself, so-to-speak, before entering G-d's "home." Of course, G-d does not require any advanced notice of the Kohen Gadol's entry; He does not need to prepare Himself before receiving a visitor. But the Torah wanted to teach us an important lesson of Derech Eretz, that one should not enter somebody's home unannounced. In fact, the Talmud Yerushalmi says that Rabbi Yochanan would not even walk into his own home without first knocking or announcing himself. Parents must be vigilant in training their children to abide by this simple rule of Derech Eretz; if they walk into their parents' room without knocking, they should be instructed to leave and then knock before entering.
2) Rabbi Mordechai Gifter (of the Telshe Yeshiva in Cleveland, 20th century) derives an additional lesson from these bells. While wearing these bells, the Kohen Gadol produced a sound with even the slightest movement or action. Even if he would ever so slightly move one foot several inches, his motion would be heard. This teaches that everything we do, even the seemingly insignificant Mitzvot that we perform, have an impact and repercussions in the heavens. We must never underestimate the value and significance of any Mitzva we perform, and we should therefore cherish the opportunity to perform every Mitzva that comes our way.
3) Finally, Rabbi Moshe Alshich (Israel, 1508-1593) finds significance in the way the Torah describes the arrangement of the bells and cloth pomegranates that ran along the hem of the Me'il. The bells and pomegranates were placed in alternating fashion: a bell, followed by a pomegranate, followed by a bell, followed by a pomegranate, and so on. Yet, the Torah speaks of the bells as being placed in between the pomegranates. Even though each pomegranate was surrounded by two bells just as each bell was surrounded by two pomegranates, the Torah nevertheless chooses to specifically describe the bells as being surrounded by pomegranates.
The Alshich explains that the Torah here alludes to the great value of silence. As the Talmud teaches, for every measure of speech one should have two measures of silence. The Torah thus emphasizes that each bell – each sound that a person makes – must be surrounded by two silent pomegranates. "Seyag La'chochma Shetika" – reticence is the safeguard of wisdom. A person who wishes to be truly wise should remain silent so he can listen and learn, rather than constantly speaking.
The Talmud comments that a charity box containing just a single coin makes lots of noise, while a full charity box hardly makes any noise. Those who "make noise," who always talk, are usually the ones with very little in the "box," with little wisdom. Those with a full "box," with abundant wisdom and knowledge, make little noise; they prefer remaining silent and listening to increase their knowledge, and therefore spend more time silently listening than they do speaking.
