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Why is Binyamin's stone on the Choshen called "Yishpeh"—he has a mouth? The Midrash links it to his silence about Mechiras Yosef. Rabbi Zweig develops a fundamental yesod: tznius is not merely modest dress but the overarching principle of not invading another person's space—physically, emotionally, or socially. This principle unifies seemingly disparate cases: Shaul's bathroom privacy, Esther's concealment of her lineage, and Binyamin's refusal to cause his father pain.
Rabbi Zweig begins with a Midrash Rabbah on Parshas Vayeitzei that addresses the Yishpeh stone on the Kohen Gadol's breastplate, which corresponds to Shevet Binyamin. The Midrash explains that "Yishpeh" means "he has a mouth," yet Binyamin did not speak—he knew about Mechiras Yosef but did not tell his father Yaakov. This silence earned him the merit represented by this stone. Rabbi Zweig asks three fundamental questions: First, why is the stone called "Yishpeh" (suggesting speech) rather than "Einpeh" (no mouth)? Second, why does the Yerushalmi specifically identify the Yishpeh as the stone that Dama ben Nesina possessed when the Chachamim came to purchase it? Third, what is the deeper meaning of tznius, given that the Gemara (גמרא) in Megillah identifies tznius as the unifying trait of Rochel, Shaul, and Esther—yet in most cases this tznius manifests as "not speaking"? The shiur traces the Gemara in Berachos that discusses Dovid's encounter with Shaul in the cave. The pasuk states "ve'omar lehorgicha, v'tachas alecha"—literally "and he said to kill you, and he had mercy on you." The Gemara questions why it doesn't say "ve'omarti" (I said) and "v'tachasti" (I had mercy). The Gemara answers that Hashem (ה׳) said to kill Shaul because he was a rodef (pursuer), as the halacha (הלכה) states "haba l'horgecha hashkeim l'horgo"—preemptively kill one who comes to kill you. Yet "tznius she'hayah bach"—the tznius that was in Shaul—caused Dovid to have mercy. The Gemara identifies this tznius: when Shaul went to the bathroom, he would go to a fence behind a fence, a cave within a cave, distancing himself completely from others.
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Parshas Tetzaveh - Choshen stones; Parshas Vayeitzei - Midrash Rabbah
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