Parshas Tetzaveh: The Nature and Purpose of Bigdei Kehuna

Full Summary

The shiur begins by addressing why the Torah (תורה) divides the Mishkan material into two separate parshiyos - Terumah and Tetzaveh - when they seem to deal with related topics. The speaker suggests that 'V'ata Tetzaveh' represents a fundamentally different concept (geder) than everything preceding it, as indicated by the Zohar's comment that this represents a turning point involving the Shechinah. The main focus shifts to analyzing a machlokes between Rashi (רש"י) and the Ramban (רמב"ן) regarding the laws of a kohen who serves while missing priestly garments (mechusar begadim). Rashi learns from multiple pesukim (28:35 and 28:43) that such a kohen is liable to death by Heaven, while the Ramban challenges Rashi's interpretation on several grounds: why the Torah mentions this law after only the third garment, how there can be a prohibition on exiting (since leaving is not an avodah), and why two separate pesukim are needed. The Ramban offers his own interpretation based on the Gemara (גמרא) in Sanhedrin, which derives the law from a different pasuk (29:9) stating that the garments confer kehuna status - without them, the kohen becomes a zar (non-kohen) who is forbidden to perform the service. According to the Ramban, one pasuk deals with lacking pants (michnasayim) and another with the other seven garments. The shiur then delves into the fundamental dispute about the nature of bigdei kehuna itself. The Ramban (following the Behag) views the priestly garments as a uniform of servitude - technical requirements for performing the divine service, similar to how any job has uniform requirements. In contrast, the Rambam (רמב"ם) sees the garments as an investiture or appointment - a decoration that confers honor and status upon the kohen, making him into something greater. This philosophical difference has practical ramifications for understanding when the laws apply and how they function. The speaker explains that according to Rashi (following the Rambam's approach), the garments create an intrinsic change in the person wearing them, which is why there could potentially be restrictions even on entering the sanctuary while lacking garments, not just on performing service. The Gemara's teaching that lacking garments makes one a 'zar' serves to limit this restriction to actual service. According to the Ramban's approach, the garments only matter during service itself, so there's no potential restriction on merely entering. This dispute also explains their different understandings of Yom Kippur service, where the Kohen Gadol wears only four white garments when entering the Holy of Holies. Rashi maintains that the eight golden garments worn during the outer service serve as an 'announcement' for the subsequent inner service, while the Ramban sees no connection between the outer garments and inner service. The shiur concludes by suggesting that this fundamental dispute about bigdei kehuna reflects the broader difference between Parshas Terumah and Tetzaveh. According to the Ramban, Terumah deals with hashraas haShechinah (dwelling of the Divine Presence) while Tetzaveh deals with technical aspects of divine service. According to the Rambam, the division is reversed: Terumah deals with the mechanics of service while Tetzaveh represents God's investiture of honor upon Israel through the priesthood.