Aaron poured a measure of oil into the Ner Ma’aravi, the middle stem of the Menorah, sufficient for the light to burn twelve hours, “from evening to the morning” (Shemos 27:1). But miraculously, it became a Ner Tamid, burning for twenty-four hours.
The Ner Ma’aravi, being closest to the Shechinah, symbolizes the Torah. The Torah was given to humans, not to angels. As humans, we cannot study Torah twenty-four hours a day. We need time off to sleep, eat, and earn a living. The phrase “from evening to morning” symbolizes this down time. If we use downtime to equip ourselves with the strength and means to study Torah, we will miraculously become a Ner Tamid, alight with the brilliance of the Torah twenty-four hours a day.
“You shall make garments of sanctity for Aaron your brother for glory and splendor” (Shemos 28:2). Clothes do not make a man. It is the man who must make the clothes. Merely donning the priestly garments does make the kohen holy, just as something as little as being born a kohen, an accident of birth, makes the kohen holy. Glory, kavod, can be inherited. But splendor, tiferes, is something the kohen has to work on himself.
We are told that the Ephod, the apron one of the priestly garments, atoned for avodah zarah (Zevachim 88b).
The Choshen Mishpat, the breastplate, symbolized judgment. It was tied fast to the Ephod so that it would not stray from it. Jewish judges are only qualified to judge if they adhere to the fundamental belief that G-d is the only divine power in the world.
The Choshen Misphat was embedded with twelve precious stones, each representing the names of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
In the back of the Choshen Mishpat there was a slip of parchment, known as the Urim Ve’tumim, containing G-d’s ineffable name. G-d was behind every decision the judges rendered. Even those decisions, which in hindsight appeared wrong, were right, because G-d was behind them. So if the court acquitted a man who was in fact guilty of murder, it was because for whatever reason G-d wanted him to live (Sanhedrin 37b). Similarly, Joseph’s brothers who unjustly condemned him to death issued the judgment that G-d wanted. Without it, Joseph would never have been sold into Egypt, and the condition precedent to Matan Torah, the exodus from Egypt, would never have come about. That is why the stones of Choshen Mishpat carried the names of the twelve tribes. It was to demonstrate that they were forgiven for their error of judgment in convicting Joseph, because that was part of G-d’s plan.
Aaron was the first kohen to wear the Choshen Mishpat. He earned this privilege because he showed generosity of spirit. When he saw that G-d had appointed Moshe as the leader of Israel, he was happy for his younger brother and rejoiced in his heart (Shemos 4:14, Shabbat 139a). Someone whose compassion for fellow humans overcomes the natural urge of jealousy is worthy of being G-d’s purveyor of justice.
Under the Ephod, the kohen wore a robe, called the Me’il, which covered him from head to toe.
The Me’il was made entirely of sky-blue wool. We are told that the Me’il atoned for the sin of lashon harah (Zevachim 88b). The heavenly color of the Me’il reminded one that each person is created in G-d’s image. When a person slanders another, he denigrates the Creator. Each one of us is endowed with the unique qualities that G-d has given us. It is futile to attempt to lift oneself up by putting another down.
G-d cannot live under the same roof with haughty people who slander each other (Sotah 5a). If one wants to get close to the Shechinah, one has to refrain from slander. We are told that the Me’il had a sealed woven border all around it, like a coat of armor (Shemos 28:32). It shielded the kohen from the poisoned arrows of slander (Yirmiyahu 9:7) so that he could achieve his mission of procuring atonement for all of the people of Israel.
The Me’il was adorned on its hem with golden bells and pomegranates made of wool. The way to drown out voices of slander is to ring out like a bell with words of Torah and to busy oneself with as many mitzvot as there are seeds in a pomegranate (Arachin 16a).
