The pasuk in Parshas Tetzaveh says, “You shall take the two shoham stones and engrave upon them the names of the sons of Yisrael.” (Shemos 28:9). There were two types of stones, both of which had the names of the shevotim on them. One set were the avnei miluim, which the kohen gadol wore on his chest, and which had the names of each shevet on one of the twelve stones. The other type of stones were the avnei shoham, which the kohen gadol wore on the two shoulder straps of the ephod. The names of the shevotim also appeared on these avnei shoham.
We might ask, once the kohen gadol has the names of the twelve shevotim on the avnei miluim, is it not superfluous to repeat these names on the avnei shoham, which rest on the shoulder straps? The Ramban here in Parshas Tetzaveh says a very interesting thing: The names of the shevotim on the avnei miluim could not be engraved. The name avnei miluim implies that these stones need to be maleh [full]. If they would carve or etch out the names of the shevotim with some kind of tool, it would negate the requirement of them being “avnei miluim.” This is not the case with the avnei shoham, regarding which the Torah specifically commands: “...and engrave upon them...” (ibid). There, in fact, they did etch out the names.
The question is – if they couldn’t etch out the names on the avnei miluim, how did they get the names onto those stones? The Gemara describes a unique creature called a shamir, which somehow ate through the stone following a traced path of the letters, such that the names appear as if etched into the stone, and yet the stones were still considered “avnei miluim” [full stones].
This is the difference between the avnei shoham and the avnei miluim. The former were worn on the shoulders and had the tribal names engraved upon them and the latter were worn on the chest and had the names miraculously created by the shamir.
But the question remains, why the duplication of these two sets of stones? Practically speaking, they could have used a couple of buttons rather than the avnei shoham to keep the shoulder straps of the ephod in place.
The sefer Abir Yaakov brings a very interesting idea from someone named Rav Aharon Willner: The kohen gadol was the spiritual leader of Klal Yisrael. A spiritual leader needs to worry about his flock, the tzibbur. There are two types of problems in life. Some problems in life are solvable, but some problems are beyond the power of man to solve. The most a leader or counselor can do about this second category of problems is to listen, feel, commiserate, and empathize.
R’ Frand related: I have a very fine bochur in my shiur. He came to me this morning with a complaint: He has been going out for well over a year and he can’t find the right shidduch for himself. He is pouring out his heart to me. I don’t think he is being too picky. He has some valid considerations. Trips back and forth to New York from Baltimore are draining. It is debilitating. It is expensive. He is getting very frustrated, and it is obviously having a negative impact on his learning.
He asked, “What can you tell me, Rebbi?” Of course, I can’t solve his problem, other than telling him “Don’t be too picky (which was not applicable in this case).” I can’t find him the perfect shidduch. What am I supposed to do? I am supposed to listen and to offer comfort. I can tell him, “Listen, everyone has some tzores in life. G-d willing you will be yotzai with these tzores, and then you will have a life that goes more smoothly in the future.” The only thing I can do for such a person is to provide a lev shomea [a heart that listens].
On the other hand, there are types of problems which people experience that can be helped and sometimes must be helped. There are situations where a person falls on hard times and can’t pay his mortgage. Perhaps the gas and electric company will shut off his power or he will lose his health insurance. What are we supposed to do? We need to try to raise money for the person. Here there is something to solve, something to do. Likewise, if a person has some kind of medical condition, we can direct him to the right kind of doctor. We can make sure he gets the right kind of medical care. There is something we can do.
The kohen gadol had to deal with both of these types of problems – the type of problem that requires doing and the type of problem that requires feeling. Those are the two types of stones that the kohen gadol wore. The kohen gadol wore the avnei miluim, for which Klal Yisrael did not create the writing on the stones. They put the shamir on the stones and the shamir took care of the rest. The stones were not permitted to be engraved. The stones need to be avnei miluim. Those names sat on the kohen gadol’s heart to represent the kinds of problems regarding which all you can do is give the troubled person your heart.
On the other hand, the avnei shoham were located on the shoulders of the kohen gadol. The shoulders are the place on a person’s body where he bears the burden. Those are stones with which they did something – they engraved them. The problems that the kohen gadol needs to bear on his shoulders – that he can do something about – were represented by those stones to which they did something. They physically engraved the names upon them.
The is why the kohen gadol wore both types of stones, to represent both types of problems. (R’ Frand)
