Commentaire de citation sur Les Psaumes 45:15

שאת או ספחת או בהרת, different skin afflictions, the common denominator being that they are of different shades of white. We base ourselves on the oral tradition as spelled out in Nega-im 1,1. None of these phenomena correspond to the skin diseases we read about in medical text books. Such phenomena as are mentioned in these textbooks do not result in the afflicted person being considered ritually impure, nor are they subject to the priest deciding if indeed the symptoms require isolation of the afflicted person and when such symptoms can be declared as having disappeared. According to Berachot 5 the only skin afflictions which may be viewed as G’d’s reminder to improve our lifestyle are the four kinds mentioned in our chapter. While they are not classified as afflictions revealing G’d’s love for the person thus afflicted, they are however, described as מזבח כפרה, as “an altar serving as stepping stone to atonement for the character weakness that the afflicted person has to overcome.” G’d does not employ any other medically well known skin diseases as His instrument to call us to order for various sins committed. והובא, anyone who goes to a place to be attended to is not referred to as “coming,” בא, but as being brought, i.e. הובא. Compare Psalms 45,15. The passive mode of the transitive form והגישו אדוניו in Exodus 21,6 is ונגשו אל המשפט, “he his being brought to.”

A Midrashic approach (Tanchuma 11): Betzalel, Oholiov, and all the artisans were endeavouring to erect the Tabernacle but were unable to do do so. This is the meaning of the words in 39,33: “they brought the Tabernacle to Moses.” The reason they brought it to Moses was their inability to erect it so that it would remain standing. Moses felt very badly about all this, seeing he had not had a personal share in working on the Tabernacle. G’d consoled him telling him that no other human being would be able to put up the Tabernacle, whereas as soon as Moses would begin to busy himself with erecting it, it would erect itself. This would teach the Jewish people that if Moses would be unable to erect the Tabernacle it would never become functional. G’d told him that He would record in the Torah that the Tabernacle had been erected by Moses personally, unassisted. This is the meaning of our verse in which Moses is instructed to erect the Tabernacle on the date mentioned. After hearing this, Moses said to G’d: “I do not know how to put it up.” G’d answered him: “you begin to busy yourself with it, and seeing that you have been shown it when it stood, it will stand by itself corresponding to the vision you have had.” This is the meaning of the words הוקם המשכן, “the Tabernacle was erected” (verse 17). G’d added further that He would write that the erection of the Tabernacle was credited to Moses. This is why the Torah also wrote: “Moses put up the Tabernacle” (verse 18). This is also what Psalms 45,15 may have had in mind when the sons of Korach wrote “the princess wearing an embroidered dress is led inside to the king;” this is a reference to the Tabernacle which contained many colours as we know from Exodus 35,35: “and embroider it with blue wool, purple wool and red wool.” The words תובל למלך in our verse from Psalms are a reference to Moses of whom the Torah says in Deut. 33,5 “he was king in Yeshurun.” The words בתולות אחריה “maidens in her train” in the same verse, refer to the Jewish people who are referred to as maidens in Song of Songs 4,12, seeing they are also defined as companions to the Lord, based on Psalms 122,8 where they are described: “for the sake of my kin and friends;” in each instance the Hebrew word for “my friends” being ריע. Finally, the last words in that verse in Psalms 45,15 are מובאות לך “brought to you,” a reference to Moses to whom the Tabernacle was brought in order for him to erect it.

לכבוד ולתפארת, “for glory and splendour.” Nachmanides writes that this means that by wearing the garments described forthwith the wearer would enjoy glory and splendour in the eyes of those who saw him wearing these garments. The reason was that the garments that will be described now were all of the type worn by Royalty only. Already when Yaakov had a tunic, כתנת, made for Joseph, this was meant to distinguish the wearer, to set him apart from less distinguished peers. The מעיל, robe, was similarly a garment worn only by Royalty or other highly distinguished individuals. This is why the sages decreed that after the collapse of the independent Jewish state, grooms under the wedding canopy were no longer allowed to adorn themselves with turbans, and the brides were not wearing crowns on their heads. (compare Maimonides Taanit, based on Ezekiel 21,32). The headgear of the priests is also referred to as פארי מגבעות, as the kind of hat conferring distinction on the wearer. The breastplate too is a garment worn by Royalty. They were usually made from blue wool, gold threads, as we know from Daniel 5,7 (et al) והמונכא די דהבא על צואריה, “will wear purple and a golden chain around his neck.” The ציץ, the golden headband, corresponds to the crown worn by kings. Their crowns are made of a combination of blue and red, purple wool and gold. In Psalms 45,15 we are told כל כבודה בת מלך פנימה ממשבצות זהב לבושה, “the royal princess, her dress embroidered with golden mountings,” etc. Finally, תכלת, the wool dyed a royal blue, was also the colour worn only by Royalty. It is also possible that the meaning of the words לכבוד ולתפארת is a way of saying that seeing that the High Priest is to perform service of the Lord, he is to do so while clad in suitably decorative attire, all in honour of Hashem. [the problem with this interpretation is that the High Priest was not allowed to wear these vestments inside the Temple, only outside of it. Ed.] The Biblical verse supporting such an interpretation would be Psalms 69,19 כי תפארת עוזמו אתה, “for You are the glory of its strength.”