“You shall make a blossom-shaped ornament of pure gold and engrave on it the seal inscription ‘Holy to Adonai.’ It should hang on a cord of blue so that it should be part of the headdress. It should remain in front of the headdress. It shall be on Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may take away any sin arising from the holy things that the Israelites consecrate, from any of their sacred donations. It shall be on his forehead at all times, to win acceptance for them in the presence of Adonai.” [Exodus 28:36-28]
Our portion describes in detail the special clothing worn by the kohanim, the priests, when they served in the ancient Sanctuary. The kohen gadol or High Priest wore an especially elaborate outfit, including the headpiece described here. A priest could serve only while wearing the vestments; he also had to remove the vestments as soon as he completed his ritual work.
Many readers of these verses have wondered about the inscription, “Holy to Adonai.” Does it refer to the headdress, or to the priest? Is the headdress declared holy? Or could it be the priest himself? That raises for us the further question of what makes the priest, a human being, “holy to God” in a way that other people are not.
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook has an interesting discussion of this passage. He takes the position that it is, indeed, the kohen who is “holy to Adonai.” In ancient times, the priest acted as a go-between for human beings in their efforts to reach out to God. Kook argues that today the tzaddik, the righteous person, can become a channel for God’s holiness. Everything the true tzaddik does brings a hint of God’s sanctity into the world.
Knowing that we are created in the divine image, we ought to think about the consequences of everything we do. Human beings potentially can act in such a way as to sanctify God’s Name by bringing it into good repute in the world. Every action can lead to holiness. Every place we go can become a holy of holies.