Beit Midrash
- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Shmot
- Tetzave
all the clothes of the Kohen Gadol. He wore a
breastplate made of gold thread, blue, red &
crimson wool & linen tied together (normally
forbidden shaatnez!). 12 precious stones were set
in it inscribed with the names of the shvatim (as
well as the Avot & "Shivtei Yeshurun" to cover
the Alef-Bet). In the folds of the Choshen was a
slip of parchment on which either a 42 or 72
letter name of Hashem (or both) was written. The
power of this name caused the letters in the
stones to light up in answer to questions posed
by the Kohen Gadol. "Urim" connects to "meirim,"
or "illuminated;" "tumim" can connect to "tamim,
perfect," indicating that the answer was
flawless. But – the letters that lit up were
scrambled & had to be put in the right order.
This tested whether or not the Kohen Gadol had
true Ruach HaKodesh. An example of this was when
the Urim & Tumim were consulted as to whether
Shaul was worthy of being anointed king (he was).
Rabbi Stewart Weiss
Was ordained at the Hebrew Theological College in Skokie, Illinois, and led congregations in Chicago and Dallas prior to making Aliyah in 1992. He directs the Jewish Outreach Center in Ra'anana, helping to facilitate the spiritual absorption of new olim.
Parsha Summary: Shmot
An Overview of the Torah Portion
What Is the Connection Between Jews and Almonds?
Sivan 29 5781
Shul “etiquette:” can we honor Hashem while respecting our fellow congregants?
Iyar 5783
