פרשת תצוה
This week’s Parsha deals primarily with the elaborate clothing the Kohanim were commanded to wear and the differences between the vestiges of the regular Kohanim and the Kohen Gadol. There is an interesting verse which says that Hashem commanded the production of these garments, “For splendor and for glory.” However, the second verse which discusses Moshe overseeing the manufacturing of the Kohen’s garb, states that the reason Hashem commanded the production of the Kohen’s sophisticated clothing is to sanctify him, and to designate him as Hashem’s servant. R’ Yosef Bloch in his famous work “Shire Da’as” points out this obvious discrepancy. He explains that in truth, there are actually two purposes for the intricate details of the Kohen’s garments. First, their goal was to bring holiness down onto the Kohen through means known only to Hashem who was the “designer” of these clothes. These divine vestiges were capable of generating true holiness, thereby allowing the Kohen to enter the holiest place on earth. This is why in the second verse, when Moshe when talking to the manufacturers, he only mentioned the importance of their sanctity, and the holy places that these garments were going to allow the Kohen to enter. He didn’t want their intentions to be tainted with the ulterior motives of the grandeur and splendor that the finished product would ultimately produce. But there was another aspect involved in the design of these clothes which Hashem intended and which couldn’t be ignored. They were to be physically appealing and needed to be sown in a way which reflected their inner beauty on the outside. Moshe made sure this came about. This is what the first verse meant when Hashem said that the garments were for splendor and glory. But Moshe kept this information to himself because he wanted to ensure the purity of the motivations of all those involved with the manufacturing of the garments as we mentioned.
For us, there is a very practical lesson to draw from Moshe’s actions. Every Yeshiva student, and indeed, every religious Jew is involved constantly with good deeds and virtuous activities. Often, these good deeds involve a great deal of beauty and splendor. For example, when we build a synagogue or a Yeshiva, it must be done with great attention to detail so as to give honor to the Torah and those who study Torah, which will in turn spur greater learning because everyone will want to learn in such a respectable place. Or a Torah Scholar must dress neatly and respectably in order that people will not scorn him and they will listen to his words. Yet we learn from how Moshe Rabenu acted that even though this is true, our primary focus should be on the spiritual aspect of the Mitzvah, and not on the incidental glory and splendor that this Mitzvah will generate, and we should be careful that the Mitzvah does not give us personal honor, and rather the honor is primarily for Hashem.
The Sefer Hachinuch gives another reason for the outward beauty which is required in performing a Mitzvah. In addition to the more effective outward nature of something which is physically appealing, it has the ability to affect our inner being as well. When we dress a certain way or present something a certain way, it affects us very deeply, both positively and negatively. There was a famous incident involving a certain Ba’al Teshuva who was a reformed criminal who had completely mended his ways and was entirely committed to the laws of the Torah. One day, he was walking by a shop which sold precious stones, and the owner of the shop had stepped out of his store for a few minutes. The temptation was too great for him to pass up such a “golden” opportunity, and he decided to rob the store. On his way in to pick the lock, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the glass of the store, and he saw a man dressed in the typical, religious uniform with a handsome suit and a pressed shirt. When he saw this man, he said to himself, “A man dressed like this doesn’t do things like that,” and he called the whole heist off. We see how important the “external” is in effecting the “internal” and when our self-perception changes, it can have a drastic impact on the way we act.
R’ Mordechai Gifter adds another critical facet to the importance of our physical appearance. The way we dress essentially expresses which crowd we belong to. Just like a soldier in the army wears a uniform which indicates to both his friends and his enemies which side he is on, and this serves an essential function in the army, similarly we express a lot about ourselves with the garb we choose. Bnei Torah have a very distinct garb and are easily identifiable, even from a great distance. With this distinctive dress comes a great responsibility, because we essentially represent Hashem. If we dress in an appealing manner, people associate Hashem with things which are pleasing and attractive. However, if, Heaven forefend, we present ourselves in an obnoxious, and unkempt manner, this is the way Hashem gets represented. It comes out that the combination of choosing to dress in the religious “uniform”, and dressing nicely, ends up causing great honor and glory for Hashem’s name, just as the Kohanim in the Beis Hamikdash constantly aggrandized Hashem’s honor.
I would like to conclude with one more aspect of the importance of nice dress. We know that after Adam Harishon sinned, Hashem fashioned for him clothing made from leather. The Midrash Rabba explains that there were three basic functions these garments served. Firstly, they were there in honor of Shabbos. We know that Adam sinned on Friday, so Hashem created a handsome Shabbos suit for him. Secondly, because he was a first-born, he was in charge of bringing the animal sacrifices. As such, he was required to dress in the clothes of a Kohen, and so Hashem made him clothing suitable for the Kehuna. And finally, the Midrash in this week’s Parsha says that Aharon merited wearing the clothing of the Kohen Gadol because he studied Torah. We see from this Midrash two points. Firstly, we see how seriously Hashem took clothing in that He Himself fashioned them, and one can imagine that He probably did a pretty good job and took that job seriously. Secondly, we see how important it is to dress appropriately when performing a mitzvah. Each one of the three examples we brought, Torah, Avoda, and Shabbos are all critical activities in Judaism, and therefore warrant a very formal attire to match the significance of their stature. When a person goes to mine coal, he doesn’t generally go in a suit and tie. We too, who are involved with the critical job of Torah study and Mitzvah observance, must dress in a way which reflects our feelings for these activities and give them the honor they deserve. The Rashba says that when a person washes his hands in the morning, he should picture himself getting ready to go about the holiness involved in his day, similar to a Kohen who washes his hands to prepare for the holy service in the Temple. Perhaps we could suggest that one have a similar intention when he dresses himself in the morning. He should picture himself as a Kohen Gadol, donning the exquisite and sparkly garments before he enters the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur. Just as the Kohen was required to don these special articles of clothing for all the reasons we discussed, our garments are just as essential in our personal service, and therefore reflect the holiness of their service as the verse says, “I have made you a kingdom of Kohanim and a holy nation,” and when we consider this, our morning rituals of dressing ourselves may take on a whole new meaning!
May we all merit to display outwardly to what we truly feel inwardly!