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THE DAFYOMI DISCUSSION LIST
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Rosh Kollel: Rabbi Mordecai Kornfeld
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Yoma 072: Urim v'Tumim
Michoel Friedman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> asked:
Dear R' Kornfeld,
I hope all is well with you and your family.
I have been looking around for some sources regarding the yesod of the urim
v'tumim, and I thought that perhaps you would be able to share some of them
with me.
Some of the points that need clarification:
(a)What were they? Stones? Shaimos? Shitas Rashi, Ramban, Rambam. Are there
any other fundamentally different approaches?
(b)When were they used? For what matters were they consulted? It would seem
that most often they were used in the context of battle--is there
significance to that?
(c)Acc. to the Ramban, it seems that this type of "communication" with
H-shem was neither nevuah, nor was it a bas kol, but rather a type of ruach
hakodesh. Why did we need them during the tekufah of neviim--were they not
enough? After the churban, there was no nevuah--and also no urim vetumim.
Why did they work at the same time and what was their ultimate purpose?
Thank you for your time.
Gut Shabbos,
Michoel Friedman, Baltimore MD
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The Kollel replies:
Based on the Ramban and Rabeinu Bachye, the Urim ve'Tumim were Names of
Hashem (the Ba'al ha'Turim refers to the seventy-two letter Name of Hashem,
and the Targum Yonasan, to the Name with which Hashem created Heaven and
Earth). Presumably written on parchment, they were placed inside the folds
of the Choshen, which was specially made double and folded for this
purpose. The reason in fact, that the Torah declines to describe them, is
because of their Divine Character. Moshe was taught about them and how to
prepare them discreetly, it seems, and nothing was publicized.
As you comment, they encompassed a specific level of Ru'ach ha'Kodesh,
lower that that of Nevu'ah, but higher than Bas Kol, which was still used
in the second Beis-ha'Mikdash, when Ru'ach ha'Kodesh was already disfunctional.
Here is the Rambam's description of how they were used (Hilchos K'lei
Mikdash 10:11:12): The Kohen (Gadol) stood facing the Aron, and the
questioner, who stood behind him but facing in his direction, would then
ask (for example) 'Shall I go up or not'? He would ask neither in a loud
voice, nor would he just think his question, but he posed it, vocally but
quietly, to himself, as one Davens the Amidah.
Immediately, Ru'ach ha'Kodesh would envelop the Kohen, and he would look at
the Choshen and perceive the answer 'Go up!' or 'Don't go up!' in the
letters (that were engraved on the stones of the Choshen and that now
protruded from them before his eyes. Whatever the answer, he would pass it
on to the questioner.
One only asks the Urim ve'Tumim on behalf of a king, Beis-Din or someone
whom the community needs, says the Rambam (and he gives as an example, the
Kohen Gadol for war).
You remark that they seem to have been consulted mainly in the context of
battle. This is not surprising, as the Gemara in B'rachos 3b. implies that
they would not go to war without first consulting the Urim ve'Tumim.
There is a famous explanation of the G'ra, according to which Eli ha'Kohen
consulted the Urim ve'Tumim about Chanah, whose lips he saw moving in
prayer but no sound coming from her mouth. In response, the letters
'Kesheirah' or 'ke'Sarah' lit up (according to the Rambam, they would have
protruded), but Eli misread the letters as 'Shikorah'. I am not sure in
what capacity Eli consulted the Urim ve'Tumim for something so trivial, but
in any event, it wasn't for war.
Finally, you ask why it was necessary to have the Urim ve'Tumim and Nevi'im
simultaneously. I suggest that a. the Navi's main function was not to
answer questions (the same Gemara in B'rachos says nothing about consulting
the Navi before going to war), though he may have done that as well,
whereas the Urim ve'Tumim's was; and b. the Urim ve'Tumim was meant to
enhance the prestige of the Kohen Gadol, which will explain its being part
of the Bigdei Kehudah. It may well also be because the Nevi'im were often
sent on errands, and were not always available to answer question; the
Kohen Gadol on the other hand, was always on hand.
Incidentally, according to the Rambam (Halachah 10), the Urim ve'Tumim
existed in the second Beis ha'Mikdash, in order to complement the eight
Bigdei Kehunah, only it was not used because Ru'ach ha'Kodesh was missing
during that period.
Be'Virchas Kol Tuv
Eliezer Chrysler.
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