Divrei Simcha on Parshas Tetzaveh

This week’s parsha is all about clothing, but not just any clothing. It is about the special garments that the Cohen Gadol (High Priest) would wear. The Gemara in Zevachim tells us that the ma’il, the robe, which the Cohen Gadol wore, atoned for the sin of Lashon Hara. On the robe were little bells that would make noise when the Cohen Gadol would walk. Our Sages say that the sin using noise is atoned by the robe that makes noise. Sometimes the best thing to do is to make no noise at all.

Since this week is Purim, I’d like to share an insight from Rav Zev Leff. We learn in the Megillah that Esther hid her Jewishness from King Achaverosh for years. He had no idea what nation she came from nor what religion she was. Someone once asked Rav Leff the obvious question: the Jewish people in Shushan at that time knew who Esther was. They knew that she was Jewish. How is it that none of them told the king who she is? The answer is that every Jewish person kept this a secret also. No one told the king that his wife (Esther) was Jewish. This is the true miracle of Purim and it might be the real reason why the Jews were saved.

It says in Pirkei Avos (1:17), Shimon says, “All of my days I have been raised among the Sages and I found nothing better for one’s body than silence. The question is asked why the mishna mentions the word Gof, which means body. The answer is that we have two parts, our soul (the spiritual) and our body (the physical). Of course by remaining silent we do great things for our soul (we don’t speak Lashon Hara). But it is also great for our physical life. The key to our physical survival is remaining silent.

Rav Nachman of Breslov quotes a verse in Tehillim 148, verse 8. It literally reads, “The stormy wind carries out His command”, but Rav Nachman interprets it a different way. He says the words can also be read: “the stormy wind is made by a word”. What we say makes a big difference in the world. Let’s work our hardest to remain silent whenever we can.

Good Shabbos and Freilichen Purim!

-yes

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By Rabbi Yaacov Seltzer
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