The Urim and the Tumim were the holy
Names of God, and it was by virtue of
the power residing in those Names that
the letters inscribed upon the stones of
the breastplate would light up before
the eyes of the priests who inquired of
their judgment. For example, when they
inquired, ‘Who shall go up for us first
against the Canaanites to fight against
them?’ the priest fixed his thoughts on
the Divine Name which was the Urim
[literally: lights], and the letters
forming the name ‘Yehudah’ lit up before
his eyes… But then there were other
sacred Divine Names [in the fold of the
breastplate] called Tumim [literally:
perfection] through whose power, the
priest’s heart was made perfect to
understand the meaning of the letters
which had lit up before his eyes; that
is, he was able to read the letters as
‘Yehudah Ya’aleh,’ instead of some other
combination of those letters.
Me’il
According to the Ramban, the Me’il is a
garment in which one wraps oneself, just
as Scripture says, “and he (Shmuel) is
covered with a ‘me’il’ ” (I Shmuel
28:14) The ‘me’il’ is a garment with
which one enwraps the whole body from
the neck downwards to the feet of the
person, and has no sleeves at all.
Pa’amonim Ve-Rimonim
I will attempt to explain the function
of the bells according to the Ramban’s
understanding of the Midrash describing
the entry of the Kohen Gadol to the
Kodesh HaKodoshim on Yom Kippur.
“And that which is said above is in my
opinion an explanation for the
commandment of the bells [upon the
robe], since there was no need to wear
them, nor are they customary amongst
dignitaries. Therefore He said that He
commanded that they be made in order
that the sound thereof be heard in the
Sanctuary, that the Priest enter before
his Master as if with permission. For he
who comes into the king’s palace
suddenly, incurs the penalty of death
according to the court ceremonial, just
as we find in the case of Ahasuerus. It
thus alludes to what the Rabbis have
said in Yerushalmi Tractate Yoma: “And
there shall be no man in the Tent of
Meeting when he goes in to make
atonement in the holy place (Vayikra
16:17) – even those heavenly beings
of whom it is written, ”As for the
likeness of their faces they had the
face of a man” (Yechezkel 1:10),
they too are not to be then in the Tent
of Meeting.”
“Therefore He commanded that the
ministering High Priest make a sound to
be heard, as if crying out (as Yosef
HaTzaddik had done before revealing
himself to his brothers), ‘Cause
everyone to go out from before me’
(Bereshis 45:1) so that he can come
to minister before the King alone.
Similarly, when going out from the
Sanctuary, his sound is heard, that he
might leave with permission, and that
the matter be known, so that the King’s
ministers can go out before Him. In the
Chapters of the Palaces this subject is
known. Thus the reason [for the bells
upon the robe of the High Priest] is
that he should not be encountered and
harmed by the angels of God…”
L’Illuy Nishmas Beni, Aharon Baruch
Mordechai ben Pinchas Menachem
