During the first Temple times the service in the Temple as performed by the Priests and the Levites was done in the name of the entire community of Israel. Only later after the destruction of the first Temple and the Babylonian exile did the Men of the Great Assembly begin to formulate prayers, blessings and rituals for individuals and smaller communities to, at first, augment the service of the Priests and Levites in the second Temple, and then to replace them altogether with the destruction of the second Temple.
As a result of the destruction of the second Temple the Sages totally transformed the basic service of the Temple and its spiritual underpinnings into the synagogue service of today (see the previous Torah portion of Teruma for a more in depth explanation of exactly how that was accomplished.)
The practical implications for all of Israel was that instead of one service being performed in the Temple, now each individual and community would perform that very same service, albeit in a different, but spiritually similar form. Each person was now the Priest performing the entire service and in a sense carry the responsibility on his shoulders for continuing the tradition.
A beautiful allusion to how the High Priest carried the responsibility of all of Israel on his shoulders is found in this week’s Torah portion in relation to the clothing of the High Priest. All the priests wore four basic garments during their service in the Temple, while the high Priest had an additional four garments.
Two of those garments were a Breastplate of Judgment placed on an apron like garment. Set into the breastplate were twelve precious stones, placed in rows of three, four rows in all. Two golden chains attached the breastplate to the apron, upon which two additional stones were placed on the shoulders. Upon each of the twelve stones on the breastplate were engraved the name of one of the tribes, while on each of the two shoulder stones were engraved six of the tribes.
Symbolically the High Priest did the service with the names of the tribes close to his heart and upon his shoulders in order to teach him the importance of his service for all of Israel, as well as the responsibility he bore for each and every Jew. It is this lesson we need to understand when we pray each day.
In addition to tefellin, phylacteries, which are placed on our heads and our arms to remind us to channel our intellectual and emotional energies to positive and Godly purposes, we should also remember to wear on our hearts and our shoulders the sense of responsibility we have to be partners with God in caring for every Jew and every human being.
A beautiful connection to the above teaching of the symbolism of these two clothings of the High Priest is found in the Shema, the cardinal declaration of faith of a Jew: “Listen [understand] Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is One.” This statement is followed by: ”Blessed is the Name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity.”
The verse of the Shema contains six words and twenty five letters, while the second verse contains six words and twenty four letters. This mathematical construct mirrors exactly the amount of words and letters on each of the shoulder stones – on one stone there were six names of the tribes and twenty five letters and on the other stone there were six tribes and twenty four letters!!
What follows from this is a beautiful intention for saying the daily Shema. When we say “Listen Israel,” we can imagine that just as the high Priest carried all of Israel on his heart and shoulders, so too we have this very same privilege and responsibility. The Arizal, the master Kabbalaist of Safed in the 16th century, would proclaim each day before his prayers that he was taking upon himself the mitzvah of loving each and every Jew. His prayer then became dedicated to all of Israel, as was the service of the high Priest in the Temple.
This concept instills in us the importance of not only our prayers, but our basic purpose in life – to be partners with God in the rectification of the world. This is an awesome responsibility, but it is the mission of the Jewish people as individuals and as a nation to do just that. May God bless us with strength and inspiration to fulfill this holy task.
