24 Feb BIGDEI MALCHUS 2026

In this week’s parsha, Tetzaveh, we learn of
the special garments worn by the Kohein
Gadol, and the Kohanim. Elaborate clothes
worn while they did their avoda, sacred
work in the Mishkan, and in later years, the
Beis HaMikdash.
The Kohein Gadol merited to wear the
choshen, the breastplate. Upon it were
gemstones, on for each of the twelve
shevatim. The choshen, worn over the heart
of the Kohein Gadol, signified his deep love
and devotion for all of Am Yisroel, his
ability to be nosei b’ol im chaveiro, to carry
another’s burden. To be one with his people.
Rabbeinu Bechaya refers to the bigdei
kehunah, the Kohein’s garments, as bigdei
malchus, clothes of royalty.
This coming week, we will celebrate Purim.
We read the Megillah, and learn of Esther
donning clothes of royalty. Coincidence or
connection?
When Esther was first taken to the palace of
Achashverosh, Mordechai instructed her to
keep her identity, her background and

birthplace, a secret. He believed that
although he didn’t understand, HaShem has
His ways, and in due time it will all play out.
Mordechai didn’t want to jeopardize
HaShem’s ultimate plan. Esther heeded his
advice, and no matter how many times
Achashverosh asked, Esther kept her
identity hidden.
When Achashverosh enacted Haman’s plan,
“L’hashmid, la’harog u’le’abed, To destroy,
to kill and annihilate…” the Jews throughout
the Persian Empire. (Megillas Esther 3:13),
it became clear to Mordechai why HaShem
planted Esther in the palace.
Mordechai told Esther to approach
Achashverosh. She is apprehensive and
filled with fear. After all, as she relayed to
Mordechai, “If anyone, man or woman,
approaches the king in the inner court
without being summoned, there is but one
law – to be put to death, except for the
person to whom the king shall extend the
gold scepter.” (Megillas Esther 4:10)
Mordechai responds with a question that
was a wake-up call to Esther, and speaks to
each of us to this very day. “U’mee yodea’ah,
and who knows, im l’eis kazos, if it was for

this moment in time,
hee’gata l’malchus, that
you attained a royal
position.” (Megillas
Esther 4:14) And so,
Esther put herself in
HaShem’s hands. She let
Mordechai’s words
penetrate her neshama…
“Who knows, if it was for
this moment in time…” A
question we must ask
ourselves. What is my
mission, my purpose,
where am I going with my
life? What is my raison d’être?
Esther knew the answer. It was with a
powerful love for her people that she rose
above her fears and stood before
Achashverosh. Like the Kohein Gadol who
wore the choshen, and felt the pain of others,
Esther felt the pain of Am Yisroel. She
fasted for three days, and on the third day,
mentally and spiritually prepared, she stood
before Achashverosh.
The Megillah tells us, “Vatilbash Esther
malchus, Esther donned royalty…”
(Megillas Esther 5:1). The word “clothes”
is glaringly absent. The Talmud asks why
the Megillah says she put on “royalty”
rather than “royal garments”. The sages
interpreted this to mean that the Shechina,
the Divine Spirit of holiness clothed her,
guiding her to act with Divine inspiration.
Esther didn’t approach Achashverosh
alone, but HaShem was with her, every
step of the way. Like Moshe, who answered
HaShem’s call of “Bo el Pharaoh, Come to
Pharaoh” (and not “go” to Pharaoh),
HaShem was saying, don’t be afraid, come
with me. I will be with you. As HaShem
was with Moshe and Esther, so He is with
all of us.
On my recent trip to Israel with the Agudah
Yarchei Kallah, our group spent an
afternoon in Efrat, where we were fortunate
to hear words of chizuk from Rabbanit
Noa Lewis, the director of the women’s
division of the IDF Chevra Kadisha. She
spoke of her experiences, specifically of
the post-October 7 period, and the feeling
of loneliness and abandonment that
frequently accompanies her holy work.
She said that what keeps her going, despite
the trauma and pain she often encounters,
is a Kabbalistic teaching that “the essence
of understanding is that we don’t
understand”.
Reading the Megillah, these words come
alive. At first, Mordechai, Esther, and the
Jewish community of the Persian Empire

didn’t understand why Esther was taken,
why Haman’s decrees were enacted. The
first step is to accept that we don’t
understand. Only then can we truly place
our full trust in HaShem, and say, it’s all in
Your hands.
Following Noa’s words, our group
participated in several activities with Just
One Chesed, an organization that provides
help, food, and other assistance to soldiers,
their families and the needy. We divided into
three smaller groups, one packing mishloach
manos to be distributed on Purim, another
making pizza to be delivered to various IDF
bases as well as to families of reservists who
were called up to active duty. A third group
took drills into their hands and became
carpenters for a day, building bed frames for
needy families. Each activity was a chesed
that filled a need. From Claire, who initiated
Just One Chesed’s Build-A-Bed project, we
learned of so many children sleeping on the
floor, either on blankets, or thin mattresses,
because of their families’ state of poverty.
Interestingly, Claire, an interior decorator,
wanted to construct a bed frame for her own
child, and in the course of researching
“how-to” instructions, she learned of the
many thousands of Israeli children who
went to sleep at night without a bed. This
motivated her to create Build-A-Bed.
We also heard from Jerry about the families
of reservists who could use an extra dinner,
and of the soldiers who appreciated the
pizzas. That led him to start Meals for
Heroes. All acts of chesed for Am Yisroel.
I chose Meals for Heroes, and surprised
myself with making six pies. By the end of
the day, my hands – and even a good part of
my clothing – were covered with flour, but I
had a glow within my heart.
We were given aprons, emblazoned with the
logos of the various chesed projects we
participated in. Perhaps bigdei malchus are
not merely garments of gold and precious
stones, but whatever clothes we wear when
we rise above ourselves for the sake of
helping another.