Shemot 28:31-35 records that one part of the clothing of the high priest was the me`il, a robe. The me`il was woven completely from tekhelet, with an opening for the head and it had golden bells and pomegranates hanging from its bottom hem. Rashi (on 28:33) quoting from the Talmud (Zevachim 88b) explains that there were clappers within each bell. Note, pairs of clappers have been found in Egypt from approximately 1640-1900 BCE. However, the Rashbam (on 28:35) writes that the sound of the bells was from their ringing against each other, which implies that they did not have clappers within the bells. The pomegranates were yarn that was shaped in the form of pomegranates. Apparently the bells and pomegranates completely encircled the me`il, and Vayikra Rabbah 21:7 quotes R. Judah b. Eleazar that there 36 bells and 36 pomegranates while the Rabbis (see Zevachim 88b) stated that there were 72 bells and 72 pomegranates. Rashi (on 28:33) writes that the pomegranates were in between each set of bells, while Ramban (on 28:31) argues that the bells were inside the pomegranates.
Why were there pomegranates on the me`il? Ramban (on 28:31) writes that if one believes that the pomegranates were in between the bells, then they must have been for decoration. Ramban did not like this idea since he believed the pomegranates were to encase the bells. Benno Jacob (1992, p. 927) writes that as the pomegranate is a symbol of plenty, they symbolized the numerous descendants of the priests.
My guess is that the ringing of the bells was very difficult for the high priest since he would constantly be hearing bells ringing. Thus, the pomegranates, either placed in between the bells or encasing the bells, would serve to soften the sounds of the bells. The idea would be that it was desired that there would be sounds of bells ringing but it should not be so loud as to make the high priest go crazy from the noise.
Why did the high priest need to have bells on the bottom of the me`il? 28:35 records "Aharon shall wear it (the me`il) while officiating, so that the sound of it is heard when he comes into the sanctuary before G-d and when he goes out that he may not die" (JPS translation in Sarna, 1991, p. 183). The sound of the me`il would be the bells, and it is important since apparently Aharon is threatened with death if he would not hear the sounds. Yet, no reason is provided in the Torah for what the sound was supposed to accomplish, and this has prompted commentators to suggest different reasons for the ringing of the bells.
One, Rashbam (on 28:35) suggests that the sound of the bells was to tell other priests to leave the mishkan/ ohel moed proper when the high priest was entering it. The proof for this idea is Vayikra 16:6,7 which records that on Yom Kippur no priest could be in the mishkan/ ohel moed proper when the high priest was performing his service. This explanation is appealing, but it implies that the threat of death in 28:35 would be to the priest who would not vacate the mishkan/ ohel moed, not Aharon. Why were the regular priests unable to be in the mishkan/ ohel moed with the high priest? Finally, Aharon had different clothing on Yom Kippur which did not include the bells, so why on Yom Kippur where the bells not needed to tell people to leave the mishkan/ ohel moed?
Two, Cassuto (1967, p. 383, also see Bekhor Shor and Ramban) suggests that the bells were part of standard protocol that "propriety demands that the entry should be preceded by an announcement… and when he would come out… the sound of the bells would constitute a kind of blessing on leaving the sanctuary." The problem here again is that on Yom Kippur the high priest did not have the bells, even as he entered the inner room with the aron. Why did he not have to announce his entrance and exit on Yom Kippur?
Three, Hizkuni (on 28:35, also see Hertz, 1960, p. 343) suggests that the sounds of the bells were to inform the people when Aharon would be performing his duties and hence they would know when to pray. This approach assumes that the people prayed when the high priest was in the mishkan proper and stopped when he left. In addition, was Aharon responsible for their prayer that he could be threatened with death? Also, were the bells loud enough that they could be heard by the people outside the mishkan?
Four, Hizkuni also suggests that the bells were to differentiate the high priest from the other priests, and on Yom Kippur this differentiation was not needed as it occurred through the high priest's special duties. This idea leaves unexplained why the bells are specifically related to entering and exiting the mishkan proper. Also, it would seem that all the clothing of the high priest differentiated the high priest from the common priests and not just the bells.
Five, Benno Jacob (1992, p. 926) writes that the sounds of the bells were to remind Aharon "before whom he was about to enter and from whom he was about to leave." However, again why then did Aharon not need the bells on Yom Kippur and what about the common priest who entered the mishkan without bells?
Maybe there is another reason for the bells. Kaufmann (1972, pp. 303,304) notes that the work in the mishkan/ ohel moed was done silently since there is almost no mention of prayers that accompany the work of the priests. Yet, there are some exceptions to this silence, such as by the confession on Yom Kippur (Vayikra 16:21) and the curse by the accused adulterous women (Bemidbar 5:19-23). However, all the exceptions were in the courtyard of the mishkan/ ohel moed. Within the mishkan proper, there was only the ringing of the bells. In addition, as many people worked in the courtyard of the mishkan/ ohel moed doing the sacrifices on the outer altar, there must inevitably have been discussions about the work. (Maybe there was also trivial conversation in the courtyard as to the best of my knowledge there is no prohibition in the Torah for talking in the courtyard.) Thus, there was a contrast between the noise of the courtyard and the silence of the mishkan/ ohel moed proper.
Most likely the noise from the courtyard entered the mishkan through the curtain that separated the mishkan proper from the courtyard. Maybe then the noise of the bells was to block out the noise coming from the courtyard since Aharon would concentrate on hearing the bells. The Torah states that Aharon was to hear the sounds of the bells on entering and leaving the mishkan since that was the time when the noise from the courtyard was most likely to be heard. Aharon was threatened with death since he had to make this sound separation between the courtyard and the mishkan proper. On Yom Kippur the bells would not have been necessary since the only service that was occurring in the courtyard was also done by Aharon, and hence the courtyard would have been silent when he entered the mishkan.
Why could the common priests enter the mishkan/ ohel moed proper without the bells? My guess is that common priests only performed the service in the mishkan/ ohel moed proper when there was an emergency that the high priest was temporarily physically unable to perform his duties and on those times the sounds of the courtyard were not blocked. The situation was sub-optimal but was better than no work being done at all, and bells could not be temporarily attached to the clothing of the common priest. (The Mishnah, Tamid 3:9, implies that common priests entered the mishkan/ ohel moed proper regularly, but from the Torah it seems that the high priest was responsible for lighting the menorah and burning the incense in the mishkan. ohel moed.)
No comments:
Post a Comment