The Good Life Depends on You

The vestments of the Kohen Hagadol, the High Priest, received just as much attention from the Torah as the Mishkan’s (the Sanctuary) implements. The Torah itself regards this special garb as a means for establishing the uncommon significance of the one charged with wearing them:

Make sacral vestments for your brother Aharon, for dignity and adornment. (Exodus 28:2)

As Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra (Spain – 12^th century) states succinctly:

That they (the kohanim hagadolim) should glory in them, for no one else among the Israelites wears the likes of them.

In the rabbinic period, there were those among the sages who assigned these special garments an even greater role. [There are many versions of this teaching, both in the Eretz Yisrael and in the Babylonian traditions, but I have purposely chosen to present the Bavli’s version because it grants these garments the greatest expiative powers.]:

Doesn’t Rabbi Anani bar Sason say: Why was the passage [in the Torah that discusses] the priestly vestments (Exodus 28) juxtaposed to the passage that discusses sacrificial offerings (Exodus 29)? To tell you that just as sacrificial offerings atone, so, too, the priestly vestments atone. The tunic [ketonet] atones for bloodshed, as it is written [with regard to Joseph’s brothers after they plotted to kill him]: “And they killed a goat, and dipped the coat [ketonet] in the blood” (Genesis 37:31). The trousers [mikhnasaim] atone for forbidden sexual relations, as it is written [with regard to the priestly vestments]: “And you shall make them linen trousers to cover the flesh of their nakedness” (Exodus 28:42). The mitre [mitznefet] atones for the arrogant, in accordance with Rabbi Ḥanina, as Rabbi Ḥanina says: It is logical that an item placed at an elevation, [i.e., on the head of a priest], should come and atone for the matter of arrogance [haughtiness]. The belt [avnet] atones for [naughty] thoughts of the heart…  The breastplate [hoshen] of the High Priest atones for improper judgments, as it is written: “And you shall make a breastplate of judgment” (Exodus 28:15). The ephod of the High Priest atones for idol worship, as it is written: “And without ephod or teraphim.” (Hosea 3:4), [This indicates that if there is an ephod, there is no sin of idol worship.] The robe [me’il] of the High Priest atones for malicious speech. Said the Holy One, Blessed be He: Let an item that produces sound, [i.e., the bells of the robe], come and atone for an act of malicious sound, [i.e., lashon hara -malicious speech]. The front-plate [tzitz] of the High Priest atones for an act of brazenness… (Adapted from Arakhin 16a)

It should come as no surprise that the tradition should seek out deeper meaning and elevated significance in the special costumery of the Kohen Hagadol. These garments were seen as more than a just a status symbol and so this teaching comes to learn out from the juxtaposition of two passages in the Torah, one describing the garments of the Kohen Gadol and the other concerned with the sacrificial order that these special garments played an integral role in the sacrificial atonement of the sins of the people. Rabbi Anani goes on to outline the role of each garment and its role in the atonement for particular sins, some of them quite serious, including murder and serious sexual crimes! [Interesting, in other versions of this teaching murder play down the types of transgression which were atoned for.]

Later interpreters of this teaching likely thought its literal meaning was exaggerated, and attempted to downgrade exactly what sort of sins these garments atoned for.

Rashi maintained that the garments were effective only in atoning for the communal responsibility for the sins of individuals. Individuals, he asserted could only atone through sacrifices and teshuva (repentance). Rabbi Asher ben Yehiel (Germany, Spain, 13^th century) held that these garments would only be effective for the individual sinner if he/she repented while the Tosafot, held that the Kohen Hagadol’s garments only offered atonement for thoughts of carrying out sins but not for the sins themselves.

We have here a very interesting religious phenomenon. Clearly, the rabbinic sages were interested in infusing the sacred garb of the Kohen Hagadol with ritual significance above and beyond the Torah’s stated goal of establishing his communal status and so, they claimed for the garments the power to atone. The medieval sages, however, sought to “walk back” and delimit their expiative role, reemphasizing both the serious nature of sin and the human necessity to take responsibility and to repent. This focus illustrates Judaism’s emphasis on people’s making the most out of life. Obviously, human beings need to able to “come clean” through atonement but the real challenge is in leading the good life.