In this week’s parashah, after discussing the clothing of the kohanim, the parashah discusses the korbanos that were brought to sanctify the kohanim (during the המלואים ימי שבעת). Also, in parashas Tzav, after discussing the korbanos, the Torah discusses Aharon and his children donning the bigdei kehunah. The Gemara (Zevachim 88:) asks, "Why does the Torah put together the korbanos with the clothing of the kohen gadol? To teach you that just as the korbanos bring atonement, so do the clothes of the kohen gadol. The כתונת, the tunic, atones for murder (see Bereishis 37:31). The מכנסים, pants, atones for adultery (see Shemos 28:42). The מצנפת, turban, atones for arrogance. (Why? Let something worn high on the head atone for someone who feels high.) The אבנט, belt, atones for the heart's bad thoughts (because the אבנט was worn upon the heart). The חשן, breastplate, atones for [the courts'] errors in judgment, as it states (28:15) משפט חשן ועשית. The אפוד atones for avodah zarah. The מעיל, robe, atones for lashon hara. Why? Let a garment that makes sounds (the מעיל had bells along its hem) atone for lashon hara. The ציץ (the gold band worn on the kohen gadol's forehead) atones for chutzpah..."
The Kli Yakar writes, "Perhaps this was the intention of the ger who would say, 'Convert me, but on condition that I can be a kohen gadol, so I can wear the clothes of a kohen gadol' (see Shabbos 31.). Was this convert so foolish that he wanted to convert solely to put on the clothes of the kohen gadol? Certainly, he heard that the clothes of the kohen gadol atone for the aveiros mentioned above, and he wanted these atonements. As a goy, he committed all these aveiros, and if he converted, he wanted a way to attain atonement."
The Gemara (Megillah 12.) says that Achashveirosh wore the clothes of the kohen gadol when he made his party. The Kli Yakar explains that Achashveirosh made the same mistake. He wanted the eight garments of the kohen gadol to atone for the eight primary aveiros.
As we wrote, the me'il atoned for lashon hara. The bells sewn along its hem atoned for the sounds of lashon hara. There were also woolen pomegranates hanging at the edge of the me'il. As it states (28:34) זהב פעמן סביב המעיל שולי על ורמון זהב פעמן ורמון, "A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell, and a pomegranate, on the bottom hem of the robe, all around." Some explain that the pomegranates didn't make any sound, which atoned for the times that one should have spoken – to give chizuk, a kind word, or counsel to his fellow man – but remained silent. Others explain that the silent pomegranates represent the virtue of being quiet, avoiding lashon hara and other forbidden speech.
The bells and the pomegranates were placed as a pattern one after the other, as the Rambam (Kli HaMikdash 9:3-4) writes, "...on the hems of the me'il will hang a bell, a pomegranate, a bell, a pomegranate."
If one would say "the pomegranate was between two bells," it would be true. But for that matter, it is also true to say, "a bell was between two pomegranates."
The Alshich HaKadosh asks, why does the Torah (Shemos 28:33) write בתוכם זהב ופעמני, that the gold bells were in the middle? It could have just as well stated that the pomegranates were in the middle!
The Alshich answers, "This pasuk is mussar from our Father in Heaven, teaching us that nothing is better than silence. The bells which have a tongue clanging inside them signify a tongue that bangs within one's mouth... It alludes to speech. The pomegranates... are hollow with closed mouths. They don’t make any sound and are alluded to silence. Hashem teaches us that we should not look at each pomegranate as being situated between two bells because that would imply that for every time of being silent, there is double the amount of talking. Rather, we should consider it as though each bell was between two pomegranates. This means one must be silent twice and speak only once.
"For this reason, Hashem gave a person one mouth and two eyes, to teach the person that he should speak only half of what he sees with his eyes. This will help him avoid speaking forbidden speech..."
This is also implied by Chazal (Megillah 18.) בתרין משתוקא בסלע מלה, "A word for a sela, and silence for two." This indicates that for every word spoken, be silent twice.
1. Rashi explains the Gemara, "If you want to buy speech for a sela, instead buy silence for two."
It is customary to give drashah geshank, ‘a drashah gift,' to a bar-mitzvah bachur as a reward for the drashah he delivered. The Rebbe of Ruzhin zy’a told his son at his bar-mitzvah, "You received many gifts for your drashah, but you should know that you will receive many more gifts for being silent."
The Imrei Emes zt'l asked someone, “Is it better to speak or to be silent?” The man repeated the Gemara, which teaches that silence is twice as valuable as speaking. The Imrei Emes said, "Eh! You’re not a businessman. When you’re silent, you get two, and when you speak, you get one. But if you speak a lot, you get many “ones”, and many ones are worth more than just being silent and earning two." The implication is that speaking good things, such as Torah and tefillah, is even better than remaining silent.
The Chasam Sofer teaches that we were saved by Mordechai and Esther’s trait of silence, as it states (Esther 2:10) את אסתר הגידה לא תגיד לא אשר עליה צוה מרדכי כי מולדתה ואת עמה, "Esther didn’t reveal her nation or her birthplace because Mordechai told her not to tell." The merit of their silence overcame Haman's lashon hara, and we were saved.
