Rabbi Zvi Teichman
The eight vestments of the Kohen Gadol, we are taught, had the power to atone for various sins.
The כתונת תשבץ — the Tunic of a box-like knit, atones for the sin of bloodshed.
Although the brothers originally intended to murder Yosef, when they deferred to Yehuda’s suggestion to sell him instead, they nevertheless stripped Yosef from the כתונת פסים — the tunic of many colors his father awarded him, dipping it in goat’s blood, disguising their misdeed by displaying it to Yaakov as evidence that Yosef was killed by a wild animal. The bloody cover-up was tainted with murderous intentions and thus a symbol of bloodshed. It was regarding this sin and similar acts of bloodshed we would succumb to, that the tunic of the Kohen Gadol was meant to atone for. (טז.
There would seem to be nothing inherent within the nature of a tunic that relates to this sin specifically, and it is only by the association with the bloodied ‘tunic’ of Yosef that the Kohen’s tunic plays a role in addressing this sin.
When Shaul HaMelech was mortally wounded in his final battle, prior to his impending death he asks the Amalekite to kill him because אחזני השבץ — I am gripped with convulsions.
The Midrash points out that the similarity of the word השבץ — convulsions, and the word used to describe the unique knitted box design on the tunic of the Kohanim — כתונת תשבץ, is meant to conjure the earlier tragic decimation of the Kohanim of the city of Nov — who wore priestly tunics — at the behest of Shaul who was infuriated by their harboring of David, suspecting them of rebellion — that Shaul is now being held accountable for.
The Kohanim wore several vestments. Why is this one specifically emphasized as representing the family of Kohanim more than any other of their other special garments?
There are varying opinions as to the exact description of this special woven pattern, varying from simple depressions like settings for precious stones, to diamond or hexagonal shapes.
Rav Saadyah Gaon as quoted by the Ibn Ezra makes an intriguing claim that it was מרובע עשוי מתוך העגול — a series of box-like patterns within a circle.
The Jerusalem Talmud makes an astonishing observation. אין מרובע מששת ימי בראשית — There is nothing within the six days of creation that is square.
Every natural item in creation is curved, from atoms to the planets and their circuits, and everything in between. Man-made items however are identified by the angles of their structures.
In the realm of nature, a circle represents all points in its circumference equidistant to its center. This is the imprint of G-d who is central to every facet within the natural world, all items equally related to its life force — G-d.
But there is a danger in this fact of nature. Man can delude himself to think that the world is a self-contained entity for man to master and shackle to his needs and wants, without consequence or purpose.
The defined entities man creates and places his personal stamp upon, viewing his world from his personal ‘angle’ can be man’s delusion of improving on nature creating his own expression of power and standing.
The true greatness of man though lays within a consciousness of a Creator who is at the center of all endeavor, that fuels our ability to assert our personality through our accomplishments and pursuits.
The placement of a square within a circle exclaims our devotion and allegiance to the will of G-d in all our expressions of existence.
The Akeidas Yitzchok asserts that the very nature of the construction of the Tunic of the Kohen — a long shirt that reached down to one’s heels — restricts swift movement that is critical for a criminal seeking to flee a crime scene or chase after his victim. This garment symbolizes restraint, and contemplative deliberate steps taken in man’s quest for thoughtful ambition and accomplishment.
Additionally, he adds, that whatever nature the depressions in the tunic were, each individual cell indicates a withholding and containment of sort.
This is perhaps the deeper sentiment conveyed by having boxes placed within a circle. It is testament to our placing our defined selves mindfully within the circle of our Creator.
It is for this reason all objects of Mitzvah are squared: Tefillin, Tzitzis, Mizbeach and so many more.
Even if we pay tribute to G-d’s centrality, it can mislead us to pursue that truth but invalidate others who may see the world from a different angle and perspective, yet be equally devoted to G-d.
One not mindful of this relationship to the ‘wider world’ around us will dangerously lapse in the consciousness of others, and the limitations that exist in discovering our own identities, and trample upon others, developing ‘murderous’ tendencies of intolerance or worse, towards those different than us.
The focus on G-d’s will must be tethered to a belief that we each are permitted to create our own box and perspective, all of course within the framework of Torah.
Perhaps it was the brothers’ denial of the right of Yosef to create his own ‘box’ within the greater circle of G-d’s centrality, that lead them to be intolerant of him and plot to kill him.
Shaul HaMelech was blinded by his personal ambition and belief, fueled by his fear of David.
In his last moments he contemplates the message of the כתונת תשבץ — the boxed tunic.
The Radak in his Sefer HaSharashim, quoting Rabbeinu Yonah, interprets Shaul’s last words כי אחזני השבץ, as: ‘he grasped the situation and realized he was boxed in and unable to escape’.
Perhaps he realized his failure in absorbing the message of the כתונת תשבץ, that man must limit his perception to his own self and permit others to ‘think within their own box’ if we are all to fit into the greater circle of G-d’s will.
It was thus no coincidence that the image of the Tunic of the Kohen is used to identify the Kohanim of the city of Nov.
We must don ‘clothing’ whose very nature limits our impulsive movement, and which possess a pattern that reminds us to mindfully construct our personal boxes within the greater circle of G-d’s reality, that also reminds us to respect and encourage others to ‘think inside their box’ too!
