The Royalty of Oneness

This week’s Torah portion is Tetzavah, which means, “you will command.” It gives the commandment for the Ner Tamid, the continual light, shining forth from the golden Menorah that the priests were to light within the Tabernacle. This commandment is the reason every synagogue has a light above the ark. Most of the rest of this portion describes the clothing the priests were to wear. Briefly: a robe and a sash, a breastplate, and a turban that looked like a crown, with a golden plate at the forehead, very similar to the way our Torahs are dressed today. The breastplate of the High Priest had twelve jewels arranged in four rows, to symbolize each of the twelve tribes of Israel, and it was attached by golden chains to a kind of apron. The breastplate and apron were made out of a special woven material containing red, blue, and purple wool, white linen, and real gold thread. An outfit of royalty – fit for a king! In the Torah (Levit. 19) there is a prohibition against wearing mixed fibers, such as wool and linen, yet the Priest was commanded to do so: to be elevated above all others. But it was not to aggrandize the Priest himself, the man who served as Kohen Gadol or High Priest. For the High Priest represented the people. He expressed the royalty and elevation of the people, joined together in holiness, who came before him to elevate themselves: to worship God, express their gratitude, and become finer human beings by atoning for their sins. Tonight, Jewish people across the United States and Canada – Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform, and others – have come together to celebrate Shabbat for the same purpose: to pray; to thank God, and to ascend in goodness. By joining together we are greater than the sum of our parts, our individual selves. Abraham Joshua Heschel’s book, The Sabbath, speaks of Shabbat as holiness in time. Tonight, Tetzaveh also shows us that this Shabbat is royalty in time: an expansion of who we are, through our solidarity and participation. Both the gold in the High Priest’s vestments and also the eternal light reflect our holy souls, given to us by God, which shine forth on Shabbat like the brightness of the ancient Menorah. When we transcend our differences and join together for a holy purpose we express a royal unity, where the Oneness of God’s Presence can dwell. The Psalmist said, “Hineh matov umanayim shevet achim gam yachad: How good and pleasant if is when brothers and sisters dwell together.” May our souls shine forth on this Shabbat, allowing us to experience how good and pleasant Oneness is; and may this feeling allow us to elevate ourselves and express our royalty, our innate goodness, and our beaming inner light.