Zekharya 3 | Yehoshua the High Priest

Chapter 3 presents a heavenly trial, where Yehoshua the High Priest is brought to judgment. He stands clothed in filthy clothes, while the Adversary stands to accuse him. Yet God rebukes the accuser and commands that Yehoshua’s clothes be replaced with clean ones.

Commentators, both ancient and modern, have long debated the symbolism of these filthy clothes. What was the Adversary’s accusation? And what does the entire vision truly represent? Some see it having to do with a sin, while others suggest a different readings.  Ibn Ezra, for instance, explains that the filthy clothes do not signify wrongdoing, but rather reflect the degraded state of the priesthood as a whole. Dr. Michael Kochman, in Olam HaTanakh, proposes an even broader interpretation (based on Chaggai 2:14): the people are offering sacrifices on the altar even before the Temple has been rebuilt, meaning, in effect, that they are serving God in a state of impurity. While it is commendable that the people continue to bring offerings rather than postponing sacrificial worship until after the Temple’s completion, the implication is that during this period, the service remains lacking. In particular, the priests are serving in a state of impurity, as they lack the chambers necessary for purification. According to these interpretations, the changing of Yehoshua’s clothes symbolizes a promise of redemption and an improvement of the current state. Another approach is to understand the filthy clothes as symbolic of sins, and their removal is not redemption, but rather forgiveness. Rashi explains that the filthy clothes represent a personal sin on Yehoshua the High Priest’s part – his sons had married inappropriate women (see Ezra 10:18), and he did not protest their actions (compare to Shmuel I 3:14). Harav Medan (see attached) offers a different interpretation: the sin lies in the tension between Yehoshua the High Priest, the spiritual leadership, and Zerubavel the governor, the political leadership descended from the House of David. In chapter 6, we will read a prophecy that promises peace between the two (verse 13), which clearly suggests that a serious conflict existed. Historically, this tension is well known from later during the Second Temple period as well — the ongoing tension between the priesthood and political leadership. Rav Medan explains that this prophecy, as well as the next one in the next chapter, is directed toward both leaders, urging each to acknowledge the legitimacy of the other. Yehoshua the High Priest, as the spiritual authority, must make room for the Davidic line to lead the people of Israel politically, to watch over them and protect them. In the next chapter, Zerubavel too will receive his rebuke, but each side is expected to hear the rebuke as though unity depends solely on them, as though only they can bring about the necessary change. Yehoshua is called upon to give due honor to Zerubavel and to recognize the significance of his leadership, and from this partnership, the 'Tzemach David' will flourish – the messiah.

The vision does not reveal what the Adversary’s accusation was. Unlike the heavenly court scene in the Book of Iyov, where God listens to the Adversary’s argument, here God silences him outright and immediately orders the filthy clothes removed. This is a redemption of “a firebrand saved from the fire” (3:7) – God has chosen Jerusalem, and in His compassion for a people who have already suffered so much, He wishes to redeem them, even if stains remain. Still, God’s desire to redeem does not release the people, or Yehoshua himself, from the responsibility of improvement. Zekharya emphasizes this in his message to Yehoshua: “If you walk in My ways, if you keep My watch” (3:7). Yet this trial is not fair, but in the end, the Judge seeks our good. Harav Mosheh Lichtenstein, in his book 'A Glimpse at the Haftarot', in his commentary to the haftara of Chanuka and Behaalotekha, notes that there are two paths to redemption: In one, we are unworthy, and redemption comes only through God’s mercy. In the other, we are redeemed in merit, after having corrected our ways.