'וְעָשִׂיתָ צִּיץ זָהָב טָהוֹר וּפִתַּחְתָּ עָלָיו פִּתּוּחֵי חֹתָם קֹדֶשׁ לַד

You shall make a frontlet of pure gold and engrave on it the seal inscription: “Holy to Hashem.” (28:36)

Why of all the Priestly garments did the Tzitz (the frontlet) carry the words “Holy to Hashem”? The Talmud (Sukkah 5a) teaches us something very peculiar about these words. According to one opinion cited there, the letters of Hashem’s name were “above” and the Hebrew word kodesh (holy) followed by the Hebrew letter lamed (which means to) were below, i.e. on the line below. Looking at this in this way you would read it as. “Hashem, holy to.” Why was this done?

Rabbi Shmuel Strashun (1794-1872) known as Rashash in his comments to Tractate Sukkah answers that the words "Holy to Hashem" were not referring to the Tzitz upon which they were engraved. Rather they were related to a different garment worn by the Kohen Gadol. The Choshen (see 28:15) had twelve stones set into it. Each stone had a name of one of the Twelve Tribes engraved upon it. It was regarding these stones with the names of the tribes that the words, ”holy to Hashem” were referring to. The Tribes of Israel are holy to Hashem!

If so, continues Rashash, one was meant to read the names on the stones together with the words “Holy to Hashem,” of the Tztitz. The first stone had the name of the tribe of Reuvain engraved on it . The reading went, "Reuvain (is) holy to Hashem." And so on for the rest of the stones.

That meant that the reading was going from down to up since the Choshen was over the Kohen Gadol’s heart and the Tzitz was on his forehead. In order to make that clear the words "holy to Hashem" were divided in the way for them to be read from bottom up- Kodesh and the letter Lamed below and the name of Hashem above them.

Another insight regarding the names engraved on the stones comes from Kedushat Levi (written by Rabbi Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev (1740-1809)). The Torah tells us about the names:

וְנָשָׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת־שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּחֹשֶׁן הַמִּשְׁפָּט עַל־לִבּוֹ בְּבֹאוֹ אֶל־הַקֹּדֶשׁ לְזִכָּרֹן לִפְנֵי־ה' תָּמִיד׃

Aharon shall carry the names of the sons of Israel on the Breastpiece of Judgement over his heart, when he enters the sanctuary, for remembrance before Hashem at all times. (28:29)

The commentary of Seforno explains that the names are meant to evoke the merits of the twelve sons of Yaakov and in their merits bring peace upon their tribes. Kedushat Levi points out that we typically find the merits of the Avot (Patriarchs) being evoked for their descendants. Now the Midrash does state that the names of the Avot were also engraved on the stones of the Choshen. But there’s no explicit mention of that in the Torah. Why is the Torah focused on the names of the Tribes?

He answers that very often when a person or group is singled out from others it means that they have been chosen over those others with the unchosen being rejected to some degree. The Kohanim who were chosen to perform the Divine Service were not chosen over the rest of the Jewish people. Rather they were chosen from the Jewish People as stated in this week’s parsha (28:1):

וְאַתָּה הַקְרֵב אֵלֶיךָ אֶת־אַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ וְאֶת־בָּנָיו אִתּוֹ מִתּוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְכַהֲנוֹ־לִי

You shall bring forward your brother Aaron, with his sons, from among the Children of Israel, to serve Me as Kohanim.

They were not chosen instead of the Jewish People rather as their representatives. Therefore the Torah wants to be focused on the names of the Tribes particularly regarding the garments of the Kohen Gadol to show how the tribes remain beloved to Hashem and the service of the Kohanim in the Divine Service is an expression of that love.

Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak