In this week’s parsha, we learn about the Choshen, a breastplate worn by the Kohain Gadol. The Choshen had twelve stones in it and contained the names of the twelve tribes on them. The Midrash points out that in addition to the twelve tribes, the names Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, and Shivtei Yisrael, were also written on the twelve stones. The way it worked was each stone had six letters on it: it would contain the name of one of the tribes (i.e. Ruvain, Shimon, Levi, etc.) and then if the name was less than six letters, the appropriate amount of letters from the other names was added to that stone. For example, the name Ruvain is only 5 letters in Hebrew, so the “alef” from Avraham was also on the first stone. Shimon is also only 5 letters long, so the “beis” from Avraham was added to that stone. For a small name, like Dan which is only 2 letters, then 4 letters from the other names were added on that stone. Only one name did not include any extra letters from the other names: Binyamin. Binyamin, which was the last stone, was 6 letters long, so no letters were added to it. Why of all of the tribes did Binyamin not get any extra letters added to it?

Last week, I celebrated my newest son’s Bris. Although I follow Ashkenazic customs, the Bris was held in a Sephardic shul, so many people asked me why I held it there. At the Bris, I said the following story: About ten years ago when I lived in Boston, there was an article in the newspaper about a Chassidic Jew who got lost walking in the woods in New Hampshire. The article explained that hundreds of Chassidim from New York came up by busloads to look for this man. One of the non-Jewish woman in my office came to me and said, “I see that one of your people is in the newspaper.” I thought about her comment and wanted to respond, “What do you mean ‘one of my people?’ He is nothing like me. He is Chassidic and I am a Litvak. He wears a streimel and I wear a black hat. He has a long coat while I have a short jacket.” Then I thought more about it and realized this woman was a hundred percent correct. It does not matter what someone else looks like nor the customs they have; if they are Jewish, they are my brother or sister. It does not matter if one is Ashkenazic or Sephardic or Chassidic or Yeshivish or any other term, they are all Jews and we are all the same people. Therefore, I did not have a problem celebrating my son’s Bris (or maybe I should say Brit) at a Sephardic shul.

Eleven of the twelve tribes were involved in Sinas Chinam, baseless hatred. Yosef spoke Lashon Hara about his brothers and the ten brothers sold him as a slave. The only brother not involved in these acts of hatred was Binyamin. Binyamin was the beloved one because he acted with love towards all of his brothers, although they were different from him. Therefore, on the Choshen, Binyamin’s name is the only one that does not require any extra letters. A person who respects all other Jews does not need any extra merits.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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