T'tzaveh
Headdress for Aaron
With "Holy to Adonai"
Engraved upon it
Exodus 28:36-37You shall make a frontlet of pure gold and engrave on it the seal inscription: “Holy to Adonai". Suspend it on a cord of blue, so that it may remain on the headdress; it shall remain on the front of the headdress.
For whom is the inscription intended? Was it for the Israelites, that they would recognize the sacred nature of Aaron's position? Or was it for Aaron, to remind him that he was serving God as the representative of a holy people?
According to the JPS Commentary:
The Hebrew inscription most likely signified the sacred nature of the office and person of the High Priest, the one who is consecrated and committed to the service of God all his life. Several biblical texts testify to this understanding. Additionally, “Holy to the Lord” may also refer to Israel, who is explicitly so referred to by this term in Jeremiah 2:3, as Rashbam notes. The role of the High Priest as Israel’s representative before God is visibly projected by his vestments.