לכהנו לי, “to serve Me as priests;” the letter ו at the end of the word: לכהנו, is superfluous, just as in Psalms 104 11, or in Numbers 24,3, or in Numbers 23,18. (Compare Ibn Ezra’s short commentary)

ועשית בגדי קדש, “you are to make holy garments;” after G-d had taught Moses how to construct the Tabernacle, he now proceeds to teach him about the priestly vestments to be worn when the priests perform their duties in the Tabernacle.

ואלה הבגדים, “and these are the vestments “ Our author is stymied by the omission in this list of the “golden headband,” ציץ, listed in verse 36 of this chapter.

חשן ואפוד, “a breastplate attached to an ephod.” At this point, linen trousers are not mentioned, as they were not constructed as a sign of distinction of the individual who wore them.

ועשו בגדי קדש, “they (the artisans) shall make holy garments.” Other garments, such as the headband for Aaron and the trousers for his sons, are not mentioned at this stage.

והם, “and they,” the artisans, יקחו את הזהב, “will take the gold; gold which has been discussed elsewhere, i.e. the donations of gold listed in Parshat T’rumah. G-d tells Moses that just as He wishes that Moses should use these donations of gold in the construction of the Tabernacle, so He also wishes that some of it be used for making the priestly vestments. People will not say that Aaron uses this in order to flatter himself, or to enrich himself, as they are aware that it is he who facilitates their obtaining forgiveness for their sins. This will all be spelled out later on.

ועשו את האפוד, “they are to make the ephod.” Apparently only a single ephod was to be made. When we read in Samuel I 23,6: “he brought down an ephod with him,” and in Samuel I 22,18: “he killed eighty five men on that day wearing a linen ephod,” this is no contradiction to what the Torah wrote, as none of these eighty five men also wore a breastplate attached to their ephod. The Jewish High Priests, when consulting G-d, did so only by means of the breastplate which had the urim and tumim folded in the pocket at the back of the breastplate. When in Samuel I 23,9, David told the High Priest Evyatar to bring forth the ephod, he referred to the one attached to the breastplate that was attached to it. The artisans constructed the ephod, according to what is written in the Torah, and as explained by Rashi. There is proof that the ephod was a vestment, as we are told in Samuel II 6,14, that David was girded with an ephod. We also have proof that the daughters of the king would wear such a garment so as to be identified of their rank as princesses. (Compare Samuel II 13,18.)

שתי כתפות, “two epaulettes;” these have been mentioned first in verse 7. They looked like short belts joined to one another, and they would be attached to both the front and the back of the ephod. They would rest both over his right shoulder and over his left shoulder. They bore the name “shoulderpieces,” as they stood upright forming a kind of collar around the High Priest’s neck.

According to a different opinion, these epaulettes were very wide, hence they were compared to shoulders. According to that opinion, this is why they were described as חוברות, for if they had been narrow like thin belts, they could not have been properly attached to the breastplate which would have been in danger of falling down.

וחבר, this word from the end of verse 7, means that the shoulder pieces were joined to the ephod by means of pins (like safety pins).

וחשב אפדתו, “and its skillfully woven band;” this was an integral part of the ephod, looking like a belt; this is why it was described in Leviticus 8,7: ויחגור אותו בחשב האפד, “he girded him with the girdle.”

אשר עליו, “which is upon it;” all around the circumference of the ephod this woven band was visible and protruding as if a single belt looking (its woven pattern) like the cloth parts of the ephod. It looked similar to the workmanship of the robe over which it was worn. In other words: the word עליו, refers to the ephod.

ממנו יהיה, “it shall be of the same piece.” (verse 8) Compare my explanation on verse 25, this chapter, until the word: ויורדות, “and hanging down slightly on both sides of his neck, facing the front of the ephod. ”You are to make two additional rings which you will attach to the two lower extremities of the breastplate pointing to the inner part of the ephod, underneath in its forepart of, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that they were on a level with the lower edge of the breastplate. כמעשהו ממנו יהיה, “it shall be of one piece with it.” This is a reference to the woven patterns of the ephod. It shall not be woven as a separate piece of cloth. Afterwards it will be attached to the edge of the ephod. The ephod would have two epaulettes at its two extreme edges and these would be joined, (tied). They would be joined by means of a pin or needle (type of safety pin) so that they would be seen to protrude as if standing, this being the reason why the Torah called them כתפות, “shoulder pieces,” prominent like shoulders. According to a different opinion, these epaulettes were very wide, hence they were compared to shoulders. According to that opinion, this is why they were described as חוברות, for if they had been narrow like thin belts, they could not have been properly attached to the breastplate which would have been in danger of falling down.

ושמת את שתי האבנים על כתפות האפוד, “you are to place the two gemstones firmly on the two epaulettes;” this was to be done at the highest point of the High Priest’s shoulders.

ועשית משבצות זהב, “you are to make frames for settings of the gemstones, out of gold;” these were indentations; like miniature frames surrounding a picture which is inset. They would form the place to which the braided chains of which the Torah speaks in verse 14 and 22, could be fastened.

ושתי שרשרות, “and two chains etc.;” the chains mentioned here are to be worn by the High Priest as is explained later in this chapter; the reason why they are mentioned here is that they were fastened also at the epaulettes, as we know from verses 22-25.

אדם, a “carnelian;”

פתדה, a “chrysolite;”

ברקת “emerald;”

נפך, “a turquoise;”

ספיר, “a sapphire;”

יהלם, an “amethyst"

לשם, “a jacinth;”

שבו, "an agate;"

אחלמה, “a crystal;”

תרשיש, "a beryl";

שהם, "a lapis lazuli";

ישפה, "jasper."

איש על שמו, each jewel symbolised the name of the tribe in whose row it was placed and engraved.. According to Rashi, the order in which these jewels have been named here corresponded to the order in which the names of the twelve tribes had been arranged on the breastplate, in order of their ages. If Rashi were correct, then the jewel leshem should not have been the one symbolising the tribe of Dan, as is clear from Joshua 19,47. We would have to say therefore that the order followed the ages of their respective mothers, i.e. Leah, Bilhah, Zilpah, Rachel. When we accept this then the jewel leshem corresponds to the position of Dan on the breastplate. There is an argument between Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish if the respective letters of the name of the tribe stood out, as for instance the letter ע of the name שמעון, and the letter ל in the name לוי, and no letter would move from its place to be joined to its counterpart, so that the whole name would not appear arranged consecutively, or that each name appeared on its jewel completely spelled out consecutively. [We must remember that according to tradition there were a total of 72 letters but seeing that they did not represent each letter in the alphabet, another verse had to be inscribed on the breastplate. [The significance of the number 72 is that it is the number of letters in the longest version of G-d’s name. Ed.]

ועשית על החשן שרשות, “you shall make chains on the breastplate, etc.;” this is a reference to the two chains that had been mentioned already in verse fourteen.

ועשית על החשן שתי טבעות זהב, ונתת את שתי הטבעות האלה על שני קצות החושן, “you shall attach two rings to the two edges of the breastplate;” to the upper edges of the breastplate.

ונתת את שתי העבותות הזהב, “you shall attach two wreathen chains made of gold;” these are the golden chains of which we said that they were attached to the breastplate as a permanent fixture.

ואת שתי קצות העבותות, “and the other two ends of the wreathen chains, etc.;” this somewhat cumbersome formulation is also found in Exodus 15,16, where we read: עד יעבור עמך ה', עד יעבור עם זו קנית, “until Your people of Hashem has passed, until this people You have acquired has passed;” a similar construction is also found in Psalms 93,3: נשאו נהרות ה' נשאו נהרות קולם, “the ocean raises its voice o Lord, the oceans sound their thunder.” These are just a few examples of this type of construction. The meaning of the verse is as follows: the two ends of the two wreathen chains shall be attached to the two golden frames, משבצות, mentioned in verse 13, between the ephod and spread across the breastplate.

ונתת, you are to place these two golden frames at the edge of the epaulettes of the ephod which are folded over and hanging down on either side of the High Priest’s neck, slightly protruding forward towards the face of it, i.e. opposite the upper edge which was at his back. It will be partially folded at the front of the High Priests due to the belt and the decorated band which he is tightening with his belt. In the earlier part of this paragraph the construction of these garments was described, whereas here the Torah describes how they were to be worn. [At the end of volume 4, I hope to attach illustrations of all this. Ed.]

ועשית שתי טבעות זהב, “you will construct two golden rings;” additional ones. ושמת אותם על שתי כתפות מלמטה ממול פניו, ”attach them to the two ends of the breastplate at its edge, at its inner edge which faces the ephod”. In other words: these rings were attached to the inside of the breastplate so as to be in contact with the ephod. This is the meaning of the word:.ביתה

ועשית (עוד) שתי טבעות זהב ונתת אותם על שתי כתפות למטה ממול פניו. “You are to make still another two rings and you shall put them on the two epaulettes of the ephod underneath on the front part thereof, close to the coupling thereof. This was at the rear of the High Priest’s back, at the lower end of where it was joined to the decorated band of the ephod. Some commentators claim that the ephod covered both the High Priest’s front and his back, similar to a short skirt known as korshit? They could not imagine that a garment worn beneath one’s loins could be described as “decorative.” We never find such garments except those designed to cover one’s private parts. Furthermore according to Rashi, the yarns used in these garments consisted of 28 threads each, and no one would have worn such heavy underwear. If the High Priest had had to wear such underwear it would have impeded him in carrying out some parts of his priestly duties. When he bent down they would have fallen off his shoulders. Therefore some commentators believe that they could only have covered the upper part of his torso. They would reach up to shoulder height.

וירכסו את החשן מטבעותיו, “They shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with the thread of blue wool so that it will be above the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and so that the breastplate will be prevented from moving around on top of the ephod.” Rashi has explained this in detail in his commentary of Kedoshim (Leviticus 19,16.).

בחשן המשפט, “on the breastplate of judgment;” the term “judgment” here refers to the High Priest being able to receive answers to queries on Jewish law from G-d when these require to be clarified.

ונשא אהרן את משפט בני ישראל, “Aaron will bear the judgment of the Children of Israel on his heart;” i.e. he will inform G-d of the needs of the Jewish people so that he can give them guidance; we have encountered the term משפט in this sense Deuteronomy 18,3, as well as in Kings I 8,59 in Solomon’s blessing of the people after the consecration of the Temple he had built in Jerusalem.

בתוכו “inside it,” i.e. in its center. Compare to what the Torah wrote in Genesis 2,9, about the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

מעשה אורג, woven work; the Torah means that it was continuous along the entire neck of the garment. The garment had been woven from the neck down to its hem. At the top it was reinforced so as not to tear easily.

פעמון זהב ורמון, “with a golden bell and a pomegranate alternating along its lower rim.” The purpose of the pomegranate was to produce sound when the bell hit it while the High Priest was walking.

ונשמע קולו, “its sound would be audible;” [the High Priest did not wear these garments inside the Tabernacle on the Day of Atonement. Ed.] The sound was meant to alert the people that the time for him to perform the service in the Tabernacle had arrived. According to another interpretation, the sound was necessary to warn the other priests not to enter the Holy of Holies. On the Day of Atonement there was no need for it, seeing that only the High Priest performed sacrificial service on that day.

ועשית ציץ, “you are to make a frontlet; (of gold),” a sparkling kind of jewelry. We find that term in such a connection in Ezekiel 1,7: ונוצצים כעין נחשת קלל, “they were sparkling like the luster of burnished copper or in Psalms 132,18: “and his crown will sparkle on him;”ועליו יציץ נזרו.

אל מול פני המצנפת יהיה, “upon the forefront of the mitre (liturgical, pointed headdress) on his forehead it shall be.”

והיה על מצחו תמיד, “it shall always be on his forehead.” Whenever he wears the mitre (turban) on his head he must also wear the crown of holiness, i.e. the Tzitz headband. It had the tetragram engraved on the golden band.

ועשית להם אבנטים ומגבעות, “you will make for them sashes and turbans.” According to Rashi, the word מגבעות is an alternate for the word מצנפת, “headgear.” When worn by an ordinary priest it is called מגבעת, whereas the headgear worn by the High Priest is called מצנפת. Actually, the headgear of the ordinary priest was not as high as that of the High Priest, in order to allow for space where he could wear his phylacteries between the tzitz and the mitznefet.

וקדשת אותם, “you will sanctify them.” This refers to an oral sanctification. (Ibn Ezra) It is comparable to the oral declaration of someone being declared ritually impure by the priest when with the skin disease tzoraat, in Leviticus 13,44.

. מכנסי בד, “linen trousers;” we know that these were trousers, as their purpose is described as covering their private parts, and the Torah does not add the words: לכבוד ולתפארת, “for splendour and for beauty.”

ולא ישאו עוון ומתו, “so that they do not incur guilt and die.” Rashi comments on this phrase: “from this verse we learn that appearing in the Temple without the appropriate garments is a capital offence.” The Talmud in Sanhedrin folio 83 explains it simply: when a priest wears the priestly garments (in the Temple) he is considered as a priest. When he does not, he is considered as a nonpriest who is forbidden to enter the Temple on pain of death. Even omitting his belt, avnet, is considered as being disrobed. There is a dissenting view which limits the death penalty only to priests appearing without trousers.