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Version as of 13:55, 9 February 2022
Urim VeTumim
Introduction
What are the Urim and Tummim?
In Shemot 28, at the end of the unit regarding the Choshen, Hashem includes a command about the Urim and Tummim:
(ל) וְנָתַתָּ אֶל חֹשֶׁן הַמִּשְׁפָּט אֶת הָאוּרִים וְאֶת הַתֻּמִּים וְהָיוּ עַל לֵב אַהֲרֹן בְּבֹאוֹ לִפְנֵי י״י וְנָשָׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת מִשְׁפַּט בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל לִבּוֹ לִפְנֵי י״י תָּמִיד.
(30) You shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be on Aaron’s heart, when he goes in before Hashem: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel on his heart before Hashem continually.
The verse mentions that the Urim and Tummim must be put into the Choshen, but it does not state what these are, what they look like, or from what materials they were to be made. We are told only that they were to lie on Aharon's heart in order that he bear the judgment of the Children of Israel before Hashem. What, though, does this mean? What does this verse suggest is the Urim and Tummim's function? Interestingly, this almost exact language is used in the verse right before ours, where Aharon is told that the "names of the Children of Israel" that were on the Choshen stones were to lie on his heart:
וְנָשָׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּחֹשֶׁן הַמִּשְׁפָּט עַל לִבּוֹ בְּבֹאוֹ אֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ לְזִכָּרֹן לִפְנֵי י״י תָּמִיד.
Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment on his heart, when he goes in to the holy place, for a memorial before Hashem continually.
What does this linguistic overlap suggest about the connection between the Choshen stones (and/or the inscribed names) and the Urim and Tummim? What exactly were the Urim and Tummim and what was their purpose?
Placement in the Choshen
Shemot 39 describes the fulfillment of Hashem's command and the making of Aharon's clothing. However, counter to expectation, when describing the creation of the Choshen there is no mention of the Urim and Tummim. They are first placed in the Choshen by Moshe during the days of consecration, as described in Vayikra 8:8:
וַיָּשֶׂם עָלָיו אֶת הַחֹשֶׁן וַיִּתֵּן אֶל הַחֹשֶׁן אֶת הָאוּרִים וְאֶת הַתֻּמִּים.
He placed the breastplate on him; and in the breastplate he put the Urim and the Thummim.
Why do we not hear about the creation of the Urim and Tummim, as we do about the other vestments? Moreover, why is it that Moshe is the one to place them in the Choshen rather than the artisans?
A Tool for Divination?
Two other verses give some insight into the function of the Urim. Bemidbar 27:21 states that before Yehoshua was to go to war, he was to consult the Urim:
וְלִפְנֵי אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן יַעֲמֹד וְשָׁאַל לוֹ בְּמִשְׁפַּט הָאוּרִים לִפְנֵי י״י עַל פִּיו יֵצְאוּ וְעַל פִּיו יָבֹאוּ הוּא וְכׇל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אִתּוֹ וְכׇל הָעֵדָה.
He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before Hashem: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.”
Similarly, in Shemuel I 28:6, Shaul turns to the Urim to ask about his upcoming battle with the Philistines:
וַיִּשְׁאַל שָׁאוּל בַּי״י וְלֹא עָנָהוּ י״י גַּם בַּחֲלֹמוֹת גַּם בָּאוּרִים גַּם בַּנְּבִיאִם.
And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
Both of these verses describe using the Urim to seek advice of God,1 but give little insight into the process and how one was to receive an answer. What about the Urim enabled divination? In addition, in each verse there is mention of the Urim, but not the Tumim. Does this suggest that the two might have served distinct functions? Finally, elsewhere we see leaders turning not to the Urim and Tumim with their questions but to the Efod.2 In these cases, is a different mode of divining being employed, or is it to be assumed that here, too, questions were asked via the Urim (and Tummim)?
Additional Questions
Several additional questions arise from the verses discussing the Urim and Tummim:
- Meaning of the name – What does the name Urim and Tummim mean and how might this shed light on the object's function and nature?
- Definite article – Shemot 28:30 introduces the Urim and Tummim with a definite article, "הָאוּרִים וְאֶת הַתֻּמִּיםי", implying that the object was a known one, yet, they are never mentioned before our verse. Why, then, are they described as "the" Urim and Tummim?
- Last mention – The last time the Urim and Tummim are mentioned in Tanakh is Ezra 2:633. Though the verse is ambiguous, it implies that by this time the Urim and Tummim were no longer in use, suggesting that they were not functional during the second Temple period. When did the nation stop using the Urim and Tummim and why?
