This Thursday evening, I found myself in a difficult situation. The trash needed to be brought down, but I had already changed into my pajama pants. It\u2019s true, I don\u2019t always wear a suit and tie while walking through my building, but the rabbinate is a 24-hour job, and there was the potential embarrassment of seeing someone from the shul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, someone from the shul joined me in the elevator, and I returned minutes later to sheepishly share my story with my wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She assured me that he probably didn\u2019t even notice I was wearing pajamas; he probably was too distracted trying to figure out why I had a sticker on my forehead! (My daughter put that sticker on my head two hours early!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aharon HaKohen was cognizant of what was on his forehead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u05d5\u05b0\u05e2\u05b8\u05e9\u05b4\u05c2\u05a5\u05d9\u05ea\u05b8 \u05e6\u05b4\u05bc\u0596\u05d9\u05e5 \u05d6\u05b8\u05d4\u05b8\u05a3\u05d1 \u05d8\u05b8\u05d4\u0591\u05d5\u05b9\u05e8 \u05d5\u05bc\u05e4\u05b4\u05ea\u05b7\u05bc\u05d7\u05b0\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05a4 \u05e2\u05b8\u05dc\u05b8\u05d9\u05d5\u0599 \u05e4\u05b4\u05bc\u05ea\u05bc\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7\u05b5\u05a3\u05d9 \u05d7\u05b9\u05ea\u05b8\u0594\u05dd \u05e7\u05b9\u0596\u05d3\u05b6\u05e9\u05c1 \u05dc\u05b7\u05bd\u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05bd\u05d4\u05c3 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e9\u05b7\u05c2\u05de\u05b0\u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05a4 \u05d0\u05b9\u05ea\u05d5\u05b9\u0599 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05e4\u05b0\u05bc\u05ea\u05b4\u05a3\u05d9\u05dc \u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05db\u05b5\u0594\u05dc\u05b6\u05ea \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b8\u0596\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05d4\u05b7\u05de\u05b4\u05bc\u05e6\u05b0\u05e0\u05b8\u0591\u05e4\u05b6\u05ea \u05d0\u05b6\u05dc\u05be\u05de\u05a5\u05d5\u05bc\u05dc \u05e4\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05b5\u05bd\u05d9\u05be\u05d4\u05b7\u05de\u05b4\u05bc\u05e6\u05b0\u05e0\u05b6\u0596\u05e4\u05b6\u05ea \u05d9\u05b4\u05d4\u05b0\u05d9\u05b6\u05bd\u05d4\u05c3 \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b8\u05d4\u05ae \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05de\u05b5\u05a3\u05e6\u05b7\u05d7 \u05d0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b2\u05e8\u05b9\u05df\u0592 \u05d5\u05b0\u05e0\u05b8\u05e9\u05b8\u05c2\u05a8\u05d0 \u05d0\u05b7\u05d4\u05b2\u05e8\u05b9\u059c\u05df \u05d0\u05b6\u05ea\u05be\u05e2\u05b2\u05d5\u05ba\u05a3\u05df \u05d4\u05b7\u05e7\u05b3\u05bc\u05d3\u05b8\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u0597\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05b2\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05a4\u05e8 \u05d9\u05b7\u05e7\u05b0\u05d3\u05b4\u05bc\u0599\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05bc\u0599 \u05d1\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05b5\u05a3\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b4\u05e9\u05b0\u05c2\u05e8\u05b8\u05d0\u05b5\u0594\u05dc \u05dc\u05b0\u05db\u05b8\u05bd\u05dc\u05be\u05de\u05b7\u05ea\u05b0\u05bc\u05e0\u05b9\u0596\u05ea \u05e7\u05b8\u05d3\u05b0\u05e9\u05b5\u05c1\u05d9\u05d4\u05b6\u0591\u05dd \u05d5\u05b0\u05d4\u05b8\u05d9\u05b8\u05a4\u05d4 \u05e2\u05b7\u05dc\u05be\u05de\u05b4\u05e6\u05b0\u05d7\u05d5\u05b9\u0599 \u05ea\u05b8\u05bc\u05de\u05b4\u0594\u05d9\u05d3 \u05dc\u05b0\u05e8\u05b8\u05e6\u05a5\u05d5\u05b9\u05df \u05dc\u05b8\u05d4\u05b6\u0596\u05dd \u05dc\u05b4\u05e4\u05b0\u05e0\u05b5\u05a5\u05d9 \u05d9\u05b0\u05d4\u05d5\u05b8\u05bd\u05d4\u05c3<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou shall make a frontlet of pure gold and engrave on it the seal inscription: \u201cHoly to the LORD.\u201d Suspend it on a cord of blue, so that it may remain on the headdress; it shall remain on the front of the headdress. It shall be on Aaron\u2019s forehead, that Aaron may take away any sin arising from the holy things that the Israelites consecrate, from any of their sacred donations; it shall be on his forehead at all times, to win acceptance for them before the LORD. (Shemot 28:36-38)\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What does the Torah mean that the tzitz should be on his forehead at all times? Must he wear it in the shower? Should he wear it taking out the garbage?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The gemara in Yuma 7b explains that in truth, the Kohen Gadol did not wear the tzitz at all times. The word \u201cTamid,\u201d that the tzitz should always be on his forehead, is interpreted to mean that he must not deviate his mind from the tztiz while it is on his forehead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kodesh LaHashem- the Kohen Gadol must not allow his mind to wander from the message inscribed on the tzitz. As he performs the service in the Beit Hamikdash, he must focus on its purpose: Kodesh LaHashem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his sefer Imrei Baruch, Rav Baruch Simon questions why the Kohen Gadol must wear this reminder to focus. Would we need to remind Tom Brady to focus during the Super Bowl? The Kohen Gadol is the highest of the Kohanim; he is the holiest person serving Hashem from the holiest place. Are we really concerned that his mind will wander to the point that he will forget the foundational principle of the service- Kodesh LaHashem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his classic Tanya, the first Lubavitcher Rebbe writes extensively about concentration during prayer. He points out that people mistakenly feel that because they became distracted during their prayers, their prayers must be worthless. He suggests that the opposite is true: because a person\u2019s tefillot can be so poignant and powerful, there is a counterforce, that is the Yetzer Hara, pushing back and attempting to distract the person from having proper kavana. The greater a person is and the harder he or she tries to concentrate, the greater that counterpressure is trying to dissuade him or her from having the proper kavana. (See Tanya, chapter 28)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In light of this comment in Tanya, I would suggest that the service of the Kohen Gadol, the holiest person in the holiest place, has the greatest force pushing him away from the proper intentions. Kodesh LaHashem- the Kohen Gadol must battle to keep the proper mindset and remember the fundamental point of his service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We each have values and sometimes are guilty of not prioritizing them, not giving them the attention or time they deserve. The lesson from the tzitz is to remind us all that at times, the things we value most require the most chizuk. Let us learn from the Kohen Gadol a lesson of mindfulness as we try to live lives Kodesh LaHashem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This Thursday evening, I found myself in a difficult situation. The trash needed to be brought down, but I had already changed into my pajama pants. It\u2019s true, I don\u2019t always wear a suit and tie while walking through my building, but the rabbinate is a 24-hour job, and there was the potential embarrassment of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,10,26,34],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=319"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":320,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions\/320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/remoteshul.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}