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    TETZAVEH: A TALE OF TWO POTS

    DEALING
    WITH THE
    TENSION OF
    THE HUMAN
    PERSONALITY
    Linking the apron and the
    breastplate
    There is an intriguing mitzvah
    (commandment) recorded in this week’s
    Torah portion: “And they shall bind the
    choshen (breastplate) by its rings to the
    rings of the ephod (apron) … so that the
    choshen shall not budge from the
    ephod.”
    The meaning of these words is this:
    The choshen (breastplate) and the ephod
    (apron) were two of the eight special
    garments worn by the High Priest
    (Kohen Gadol) while performing the
    services in the Tabernacle. The choshen
    was a breastplate set with twelve
    precious stones, each inscribed with the
    name of one of the twelve tribes of

    Israel. It was worn on the breast, over
    the heart. The ephod was an apron-like
    garment, covering the lower back of the
    body, from the waist to the ankles, with
    a belt that tied in the front.
    Two gold rings sewn on the ephod’s
    belt lined up with two gold rings sewn
    to the bottom corners of the choshen;
    these were bound together with ribbons
    of blue wool. It is of vital importance,
    the Torah stresses, that the two should
    remain securely fastened at all times
    that the priestly garments are worn.
    “The choshen shall not budge from the
    ephod.”
    But why? Why the insistence that the
    breastplate and apron must be tightly
    linked at all times? Why bother if they
    are disconnected or only loosely
    connected?
    A tale of two garments
    One answer, presented in the mystical
    tradition, is deeply moving.

    The two garments – the
    breastplate seated atop the heart
    and the apron hanging on the
    lower back – represent the
    “upper” and “lower” dimensions
    of life, or the “forward” and
    “backward” aspects of human
    existence. The breast-plate
    represented those individuals
    whose hearts were aflame with
    spiritual passion and ecstasy,
    while the apron symbolized the people
    who struggled with backward
    temptations, the crass and lowly
    impulses and dispositions.
    This is not merely a distinction
    between two types of people; it is rather
    a distinction between two aspects
    existing in each of our lives.
    Few are the people who can be defined
    as “breastplates” or “aprons”
    exclusively. Most of us vacillate
    between backward and frontward
    tendencies, between lower and higher
    aspirations. We celebrate moments of
    light but we must also quarrel with
    darkness, trauma, addiction, and
    emotional prisons. At times life is a
    cruise through a tranquil seabed, yet
    at other times it consists of navigation
    through turbulent waves, battle fields
    and war zones. There are moments
    we sense our calling, yet at other
    times we yearn to discover our true
    selves, we struggle to find our place
    in the world. Crudeness, superficiality
    and lowliness may at any moment
    consume our multi-dimensional
    personalities.
    Hence, the Torah instructs us to
    tightly link the breastplate to the
    apron, “so that the choshen shall not
    budge from the ephod.” We must
    somehow learn to integrate the two
    parts of the self, without escaping
    into either element. Do not retreat,
    the Torah is saying, into your “higher”
    self and forget about your “lower”

    self, for when the lower self re-
    surfaces you might fall hard. On the

    other hand, do not allow yourself to
    be swept away by your lower self and
    ignore your transcendental
    aspirations, for such a life is likely to
    leave you deeply thirsty and anxious.
    You must learn the art of integration.
    You must come to terms with the

    truth that the “breastplate” and the
    “apron” together constitute the very
    objective of existence, to confront
    darkness and transform it into light, to
    create harmony out of the building
    blocks of diversity.
    Do you have holes in your life?
    A story is told about an elderly Chinese
    woman who owned two large pots.
    Each hung on the ends of a pole, which
    she carried every day on her shoulders
    to fill with water from the stream located
    at the end of the village. One of the pots
    was complete and always delivered a
    full portion of water; the other pot was
    cracked and arrived home each day only
    half full.
    Of course, the complete pot was proud
    of its accomplishments. It felt really
    good about itself. The poor cracked pot,
    on the other hand, was ashamed of its
    own imperfections; it was miserable
    that it could only do half of what it had
    been made to do.
    After six years of what it perceived to
    be bitter failure, the humbled broken pot
    finally opened its heart to the woman at
    the stream. “I hate myself,” the cracked
    pot cried, “I am so useless and valueless.
    What purpose does my existence have
    when each day I leak out half of my
    water? I am such a loser!”
    The old woman smiled and said,”Did
    you notice that there are flowers on your
    side of the path, but not on the other
    pot’s side? I have always known about
    your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on
    your side of the path. Every day while
    we walk back from the stream, you have
    the opportunity to water them.
    “For six years I have been able to pick
    these beautiful flowers to decorate our
    home. Without you being just the way
    you are, we would have never created
    this beauty together.”).