Dear Friends;

I hope that you will enjoy the following Parsha summary followed by a Dvar Torah;

” Parsha in a Nutshell ”

G-d tells Moshe to command the Jewish People to supply pure olive oil for the menorah in the Mishkan(Tent of Meeting). He also tells Moshe to organize the making of the bigdei kehuna(priestly garments): A breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a checkered tunic, a turban, a sash, a forehead-plate, and linen trousers. Upon their completion, Moshe is to perform a ceremony for seven days to consecrate Aharon and his sons. This includes offering sacrifices, dressing Aharon and his sons in their respective garments, and anointing Aharon with oil. G-d commands that every morning and afternoon a sheep be offered on the altar in the Mishkan. G-d commands that an altar for incense be built from acacia wood and covered with gold. Aharon and his descendants should burn incense on this altar every day.

” Dvar Torah ”

“Clothes”, they say, ” makes the man”! They cover our body but reveal our soul! They enhance our character, beautify our body, camouflage our deficiencies, and even tailor us to a whole new identity. Jobs have been won and lost, relationships have established and ended, all based on the clothes they wear. From a nurse’s outfit to a soldier’s uniform, from the Chassid’s long black coat to the bride’s long white dress; clothes play an important role in people’s character and identity.

In this week’s Parsha, the Torah also talks about the importance of “clothes” and the purpose of wearing them. It discusses the priestly garments worn in the Temple by both the common kohen (priest) and the Kohen Gadol (High Priest), but the main topic of discussion is about the clothes worn by the High Priest. The garments of the High Priest consisted of eight different vestments and were very complex. They needed highly skilled artisans to make them. They included, among others, a jewel-studded breastplate, a honeycomb-woven tunic, an apron-like garment and a specially designed overcoat that was adorned with gold bells and woven pomegranates. The Kohen Gadol wore these clothes once a year to perform the Yom Kippur services for the entire congregation. With all these glamorous clothing, he had to enter the “Holy of the Holies”, which is the holiest place in the Temple that no one else was ever allowed to enter.

And the Torah gives us the following reason for all these glamorous and expensive garments worn by the Kohen Gadol: “And you shall make garments of sanctity for Aaron your brother, for honor and for glory.”

Wow, did I understand this correctly? The clothes that was worn by the Highest Priest on the holiest day of the year, in the holiest place on earth, was for prestige and self-respect?! Doesn’t Judaism, particularly in a ritual sense, usually focus on the inner qualities and promote humility, rather than to encourage glory and splendor?! Shouldn’t the Torah at least say that these clothes were to bring holiness to the Kohen and the entire congregation?

Rabbi Kamenetzky gives the following interesting explanation: The glory and splendor actually helped the Kohen Gadol to feel the holiness! When the Kohen Gadol wore these beautiful and glamorous clothes, he felt the importance of his job and he stood up to his task. By dressing in special garments, the High Priest is constantly reminded of his special role, and the sanctity of his calling. The glorious garments makes the High Priest realize that he is standing on holy grounds and he should act accordingly!

But the Kohen has to remember that all the glamour and the attention that he gets is not for his own honor, but rather, its all for honoring the Almighty. As later on in the Parsha, Hashem says to Moshe, “You shall speak to the wise-hearted people whom I have invested a spirit of wisdom with them, to make for them holy vestments to sanctify and minister for ME.”!!! Which means that all the glory and splendor is ultimately for honoring the Almighty and not the Kohen Gadol.

Yes my friends, clothes may or may not make the man, but it sure makes him stand up to his task. A surgeon wearing a surgical outfit, when entering the operating room realizes the importance of his job and understands that a person’s life is depended on him. A Chassid wearing his long black outfit when goes out to the streets realizes that he’s been looked upon as G-d’s Chosen people and needs to act accordingly. The nine US Supreme Court judges wearing their black ropes, sitting in plush leather seats, are constantly reminded that they are presiding over the highest court in the land and they have to make extremely important decisions. And the bride wearing her white dress standing next to her groom under the Chupah, realizes how important of a commitment she is about to make and vows to try her best to make this union work, till death do them apart!

So my friends, when you go to Kanissas on Shabbats, put on your best clothes, because it will help you feel the sanctity of the day and the holiness of Shabbat. Yes, we do put on our best clothes for honor and glory, but we have to constantly remind ourselves that we are not honoring ourselves, but rather, we are honoring the G-d Almighty. When we enter a G-d’s sanctuary, we also have to remember that it’s a holy place and although we are encouraged to wear our best clothes, we still have to dress modestly since it’s a house of G-d. If the Kohen Gadol can wear eight layers of clothing when entering the “Holy of the Holies”, we should at least be able to wear a layer or two of modest clothing when we enter a Holy Sanctuary!

Unlike the western society which believes that the body is part of nature’s beauty, with slogans such as — If you have a nice body, why not show it off to everybody?–, we think of it as more of a holy entity, which has to be covered in modesty and respect, and with glory and splendor! When the rest of the world think of “clothes” as a tool to enhance their bodies, we, the Children of G-d, think of it as a tool to enhance our souls!

Shabath Shalom, Purim Sameach and Regards;

Martin