One of the special garments that the kohen gadol wore in the Mishkan was the me’il techeiles. It was a garment, kulo techeiles, made completely out of royal blue (Shemos 28:31) that added an aura of nobility to his service in the Mishkan. And on the bottom edge of this robe was a unique apparatus, an arrangement of golden bells that emitted sounds as the kohen gadol walked (ibid. 33-34).
Now, the possuk in our sidrah says about these bells: venishma kolo bevo el hakodesh lifnei Hashem u’betzeiso – and its sounds shall be heard when he comes to the holy place before Hashem, and when he goes out (ibid.), and so we have a question. Considering that the bells made sounds when the kohen gadol walked, it’s obvious that it will be heard when he leaves just as when he comes. And therefore it pays to understand why the Torah goes out of its way to tell us that the kohen gadol should be conscious of the sounds also when he is leaving.
I’ve said the following before but I’ll repeat it here because it’s important: The brother of the Vilna Gaon in his sefer Ma’alos HaTorah teaches us a very important rule. He says it in the name of the Gra but it’s found in the Rishonim as well and it’s an idea that opens up for us a panorama of opportunities. He says there that although the six hundred and thirteen mitzvos of the Torah are commandments on their own, yet they are also intended to be much more. Actually they are six hundred and thirteen general principles that serve as models that should guide us in our everyday lives; we gain direction and motivation by studying the details of these mitzvah-principles.
Until the End
And so the Torah is teaching us something here, not only for the kohen gadol and not only for the Mishkan but for each one of us who wants levo el avodas Hashem (ibid.). When Hashem tells the kohen gadol that upon the completion of the service in the Sanctuary, he must depart with the same trepidation as when he entered, that he has to be mindful of the greatness of Hashem from beginning to end, He’s talking to us too.
Because it’s one of the weaknesses of human nature that even when a person invests energy and thought into a mitzvah or any service of Hashem, when he comes to the end and is about to return to his regular self, his idealism is lessened; he doesn’t keep his previous enthusiasm burning. But the Torah here is teaching us that it’s not the way of ‘serving in holiness’. u’betzeiso lifnei Hashem – Even when going out he must retain the same enthusiasm and respect for the mitzvah that he had when he went in.
Hopscotch in Shul
We’ll give an example just to introduce the subject: You know if you walk into a shul today and look around at the end of davening you’ll notice that there are very many people who when they finish Shemoneh Esrei they skip back three steps and then skip forward three steps. It looks like a hop, skip and jump game. Watch them – three steps back, bend the head this way, that way, and then back again. It’s a common sight, people playing hopscotch before chazaras hashatz.
So listen to what the Sages say about that. If a person takes three steps back after Shemoneh Esrei and then immediately he takes three steps forward or he walks away, lo yispallel klal – it’s better to have not davened (Yuma 53b). You hear such a psak? It would have been better if he hadn't davened Shemoneh Esrei at all! To daven such an irreverent Shemoneh Esrei, he should have just stayed home.
So you’ll say, who said it was an irreverent davening? Maybe he davened very nicely, only that at the end he rushed a little bit. A little bit at the end wasn’t so good but what does that have to do with his davening?
Finish With a Bang
The answer is that the end is too important for that. Nothing is little when you’re serving Hakadosh Boruch Hu. There’s no such thing as ‘Well, at least the beginning was good.’ When it comes to serving the Creator nothing is ‘just’ an end. When you’re standing in front of a King there’s no room for slacking off.
That’s why the Gemara there teaches us how to finish Shemoneh Esrei properly; even the end has a certain procedure. It says there that when you walk back three steps, you should remain standing there for a little bit; don't hurry back. End with a reverence; wait a little while then walk back. Even the very end, the way you walk away, has to be measured with the same seriousness as the way you walked in.
That’s what Hashem wants from us, to accomplish in our service of Him u’betzeiso u’bevo. It’s a big lesson you’re hearing now. Avodas Hashem requires a person’s dedication and enthusiasm from beginning to end.
Leaving the Shabbos
That’s why when it comes to Shabbos the Chachomim go out of their way to teach us how to leave the Shabbos. Everyone knows that when Shabbos comes in we begin with a bang; the Am Yisroel is busy all day Friday preparing for the Shabbos. And Shabbos itself, of course; we go to the synagogue and we daven. We have big seudos. We sing zemiros.
But all that is not enough because the end matters very much. It’s a tragedy how people, observant Jews, end the Shabbos. Here’s a pious observant Jew. On Shabbos he wouldn't do a thing. He would never think of violating the Shabbos. But he sits there Saturday, late afternoon, as it's getting dark, and he's looking through the window waiting for three stars. Or he’s looking at the clock; is it time yet? Can we say maariv now? He's waiting for Shabbos to be over.
Such a man is leaving the Shabbos with a skip and a hop. That’s not the way; that’s not how the Jew walks out of the day of service of Hashem.
Make Havdalah Great Again
The Jewish nation is not only maharim levo; they don’t only hurry to bring in the Shabbos but me’acharim letzeiso but they are sorry to have to let go of Shabbos. They make a special shalashudis; they sing songs. They daven late. Because the way you say farewell to the Shabbos, that counts just like the way you bring it in.
That’s why havdalah is so important. Havdalah is like kiddush; it’s included in the mitzvah of zachor es yom hashabbos lekadsho, of proclaiming the day of Shabbos. It means that it’s a mitzvah to remember the Shabbos not only in the beginning when it comes, but also when it goes out.
When a king comes into the city they stand with bugles and they sound a welcome. It’s a privilege to have the king visit and there’s excitement. But that’s not enough. Because when the king is finally leaving if the city people are not interested, if their enthusiasm waned, it means they don’t appreciate that the king is in town.
And so when it comes time for the king to depart they go through the same procedure again; they sound the salutation again with the bugles because the end has to be as vibrant and reverent as the beginning. That’s the core of genuine service, to stick with it from beginning to end. That’s called dedication.
Havdalah with Challah
And so we are saying goodbye to Shabbos Hamalkah by making havdalah. That’s why when you are saying havdalah you should be thinking of the great principle that the world was created out of nothing. Isn’t that a good idea?
Now, when you were chewing on the first piece of challah on Friday, it was easier to think those thoughts. The beginning of the mitzvah, naturally it’s easier. He takes his first bite and he’s thinking, “This challah tastes so delicious. Who made it so delicious? Who made it so that when the starch mixes with the saliva, with the enzymes in the saliva, that it creates sugars and tastes sweeter? It’s only the One Who made starches out of nothing. The One Who made saliva from nothing. The One Who made sugars from ayin. He’s the One who made this world of kindness, of oneg.
Of course, some people don’t even do that; even the beginning they’re lazy about. But even those who already learned how to make use of Shabbos, the end of the day they sometimes let it slip away.
And therefore havdalah is the time to think about briyas haolam yeish meiayin. I know it’s the last thing a lot of people would think about but it’s a wonderful idea. You pick up the kos and everyone is waiting; but you stop for five seconds – let them think you’re absent-minded, that you’re day-dreaming – and you remind yourself that the world was created out of nothing and that everything is nothing but the will of Hashem; it’s only His imagination. There is no such thing as sky and no such thing as earth; it is only His will that became concretized and changed into these materials. That’s the way to end the Shabbos.
Eight Days
Yom Tov too; same thing. Here’s a good Jewish family making Pesach; a wonderful family. They don’t go to any hotels. They make the Seder only in their home. Chol Hamoed too. They don’t run to amusement parks. They’re in the beis medrash. The women are at home; they’re cooking up delicious things for Chol Hamoed, for Yom Tov.
I admire families like that; we should be proud of such people. I know that today it’s apikorsus to say something like that, that you don’t go to hotels and that you don't have to go on trips on Chol Hamoed, but such apikorsus is something to be proud of; it’s something to aspire too.
But even that is not enough. The great lesson of u’betzeiso u’bevo teaches us that the beginning and the middle is not enough. The end too is important! The last day is important! Don’t let go of the excitement, the mitzvah lessons, as much as you can.
Nine Days
So here is a man who on the day after Yom Tov he has to go to work – his gentile boss is upset he took off so many days for Passover – but before he sets out to go to work in the morning, he puts on his breakfast table a bottle of wine. He doesn’t have time to drink much but he asks his wife, “Where do we keep the whiskey?” and he pours out a little bit just to wet the bottom of the glass in order to celebrate isru chag. And he reviews for one minute in his head the lessons of Yom Tov.
It's a mitzvah. The day after Pesach, the day after Shavuos, the day after Sukkos, eat a little bit more than usual. Put something on the table extra, a little cookie. For lunch take along something extra.
You think it's not so important? It’s very important! The Chachomim say (Sukkah 45b) on that person ke’ilu bana mizbeach ve’he’ela alav korban – it’s as if he built an altar, and he offered on it an offering. Not just he brought a korban; he built a mizbeach and prepared a korban and he brought it up on the mizbeach. He did everything from beginning to end.
And that’s the successful Jew; the Jew who knows that the end is important too. He walks out of Shemoneh Esrei with the same reverence he walked in with. He takes off his tefillin with the same thoughts he put them on with. He ends his Shabbos and Yom Tov like he began them. He has a chavrusa he learns Torah with? The last five minutes are the same as the first. His winter zman in the yeshiva? The last day is the same as the first. And there are thousands of examples like that; opportunities to fulfill the Torah principle of u’betzeiso u’bevo in our lives.
