Going Where the Climate Suits My Clothes - "Going Down the Road Feeling Bad"

Well, that great sporting event known as the Super Bowl convened this past Sunday evening. Thankfully, it is a big enough deal throughout the world that I could watch it here in Toronto. Like any sporting event, my six year old son will walk in and immediately ask two profound questions. One deals with identity: Who is playing who?" The other question deals with desire and judgment: "Who do we want to win?". The answer to the identity question is very straightforward. I answer in terms of the uniforms. So -and- so is in the white shirts and black helmets, and so and so is in the green shirts and yellow helmets. The answer to the second question can be a bit trickier. However it is the question of identity, "which team color corresponds to which team?" that is most fascinating. Sometimes my children can figure out where the game might take place just based on the dominant color in the stands. Make no mistake, color and uniforms are powerful symbols of identity. Just ask the people of Green Bay who love kelly green and yellow of the Packers; or Pittsburgh who loves the black and gold of the Steelers; or Torontonians who love blue and white of their beloved Maple Leafs; or those in Montreal who love the red and blue of the Habs (see that, I can make Hockey references now!); or those in New York who revere the white with blue pinstripe of the Yankees, or those in Boston who live and die with the white and red of the RedSox. However this notion that team color is only associated with sports fans is naive. On the streets of any large United States city, wearing the color red or blue in the wrong neighborhood could be a signal that you belong to the a certain street gang, the Bloods or the Crips. We are taught to respect certain uniforms like our armed forces, the police uniform and the fireman uniform. Some of us may get uncomfortable if we see someone wearing a khafiya around his head and face or a burka that allows for only eyes to look through. There are those that look at uniforms as signs of authenticity: black hat dark suit, white shirt, long beard and payos. Then again, all these "uniforms" certainly signal something about the person's exterior, but until we get to know the person wearing the swiss cheese head at the superbowl, until we are able to have a conversation with the guy in the khafiya; we are left to assume that the external symbol is indicative of a deep seated passion as opposed to something to wear that seems appropriate for the moment or the event in which the individual participates.

This Shabbat, we read from Parshah Tetzaveh, and in it we learn about the uniform of the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest. Just like last week’s Parshah was a series of instructions on the way in which a physical space becomes beautified and holy, Parshah Tetzaveh offers a series of instructions on the way in which a certain individual’s physical appearance is beautified, and glorious. From head to toe, we are told that each item of the Kohen Gadol’s priestly uniform is made of fine linen, valuable stones, gold, cotton silk turquoise wool to name just a few of the ingredients. Certainly we could understand the parshah from a superficial perspective but to do so would be to misunderstand a deeper and perhaps more powerful message. We live in a society where “clothes make the man”, clothes define who and what we are. However Parshah Tetzaveh teaches us something radically different. Instead of clothing making us look sharper, slimmer, better proportioned; clothes could express our intelligence, our emotional health, our sense of decency, the holiness that exists within our soul and the degree to which that holiness is expressed. What would such clothes look like? Such clothes would have to express the degree to which we have permitted God into our lives. Such clothes would have to express the holy magnificence of God’s presence within our lives.

The Torah is very clear as to the reason for such highly decorative, highly ornate clothing. It is not because we are passionate about a team, or belong to a certain group, or which to express our individual's belief in a certain lifestyle. V’Kidashti et Ohel Mo’Ed v’Et Ha’Mizbeach V’Et Aharon v’Et Banav Akadesh L’Chahen Li – I shall sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the Altar; and Aaron and his sons shall I sanctify to minister to Me (Ex. 29:44). God’s presence will make the Tent of the Meeting holy. In other words, God’s presence will make a particular space holy. Aaron and his son’s, serving on behalf of the people must achieve a higher degree of holiness compared to the rest of the people since Aaron and his sons work on behalf of the people directly dealing with God. This higher level of holiness must exist both inside and outside. Any inconsistency renders the Kohen Gadol impure. If the clothes become physically dirty, then he is momentarily impure. If his heart wanders, if his mind is elsewhere, if he has not completely given of himself to the process and the service to God on our behalf, then he is momentarily impure as well.

Thankfully, we don't need to wait for a Super Bowl or some other event that takes place one a year in which we don certain colors or a uniform that will publicly display our inner dimension. Shabbat becomes a day in which our outside, the clothes we wear to shul, match our inside, the selfless process of prayer and learning. Just like we cover ourselves in nice clothing, we cover our souls in the very beautiful and ornate vestments of prayer and study. Shabbat is the day when our physical world matches the spiritual world. Even in the course of a regular day, we have the opportunity with prayer, Kashrut, study, and Gemilut Chasadim for our internal to dress in the same nice “clothing” as our external bodies. Maybe if we explain that to children, then they will learn that clothes don’t make the person, but the person makes the clothes.

Peace,

Rav Yitz