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Rabbi Arnie Singer
In Parsha Tetzaveh, the Torah commands us to create clothing, special clothing, for Aaron and his sons, for the Kohanim. And the Torah says the reason for that clothing is l’kavod, for honor, or litifaret, and for beauty. Now, there’s no other mitzvah in the Torah that requires wearing special garments other than the garments of the Kohanim, the priestly garments.
So why do we need special clothing to perform a mitzvah? There’s something interesting about clothing — it’s really a dichotomy — because there are two Hebrew words for clothing, beged and malbush. Both of these words have derogatory connotations. Beged is the word for “boged”, for traitor, and malbush is same root as “busha”, embarrassment.
When was the first time we had clothing? It was after the sin of Adam and Eve. After they sinned, God made them these clothing, these pieces of clothing to cover their nakedness. Therefore, clothing represents the rebellion of man against God because of the sin, that original sin.
The words representing clothing are derogatory., while the clothing we are commanded to make for the Kohanim are for honor and beauty.
So there’s a big difference.
What are the lessons we can learn from this?
Well, first of all, most things in the world can be used for good or bad. So we have this clothing, which initially had a negative connotation, but we can take that clothing, elevate it into something holy, into a mitzvah, which is what the Kohanim do.
The Kohanim are taking clothing, which was used to rebel against God, and are elevating that clothing and making it into something holy, into a tool, into a vehicle of holiness, of connecting with God. Now, one of the reasons we said for the clothing was honor. And we know that clothing represents honor.
A judge wears a judicial robe, and that gives him honor in the eyes of those in the courtroom. An officer wears a dignified uniform, and that gives him honor. And as the saying goes, “clothing makes the man.”
So we know that clothing can give people honor. The purpose of the clothing for the Kohanim was not to give honor to the Kohanim per se, but it was to give honor to God, because the Kohanim were the channel which took the prayers and the sacrifices of the Jewish people and channeled them to God. They were like the pipe that brings water from one place to another.
That’s not to say that every person doesn’t have a direct connection to God, because every person does. But for some reason, God wanted to create these sort of conduits which would give more power to the Jewish people and help them elevate themselves and their prayers and their offerings to an even greater extent. So the first reason for the clothing of the Kohanim was for honor, for honor of God and honor of the Jewish people.
And the second reason was for beauty. And a lot of times, especially in modern days, we think of beauty as something just very superficial. And even in the negative context, like if you were going to describe someone and they might get insulted if you only call them beautiful, like, what about my intellect? What about my emotions, my spirituality? Don’t just focus on my beauty.
But the Torah is saying there is value, there’s great value in beauty. It’s important for a person to look their best. Yes, appearances are important in the Torah.
The Torah wants every person to look beautiful, because as we know, we were all created in the image of God. And so we want to project a beautiful image. And in fact, the Kohanim in the Beit HaMikdash were supposed to project that, an aura of beauty.
If a Kohen had a visible blemish, he was not allowed to serve in the temple service, because the Kohanim need to project beauty.
It’s an important lesson for all of us, because like being spiritual, being religious, is not a contradiction with taking care of your physical appearance and being beautiful. There’s no mitzvah in castigating yourself and looking poor and disheveled. That doesn’t bring glory to God. What brings glory to God is when we can look beautiful on our outside, but more importantly, on our inside, that we can project this aura of tiferet, of beauty, which is a combination of inner and outer beauty. And the Kohanim represented the best in us, the honor and the beauty.
That’s why we have to make special clothing for them, to help them represent this honor and beauty, to help elevate the Jewish people in their service to God.
So we all have a choice. We can use clothing as a form of rebellion, as a way of embarrassing ourselves, or even to cover up our embarrassment.
Or we can use clothing as a way to honor ourselves and honor God, and also beautify ourselves, but in a way that we can beautify our connection with God and serve him in the most honorable and the most beautiful way.
We should all merit to be able to be beautiful and honorable on the outside and on the inside.
The post Parshat Tezaveh – The Priestly Garments appeared first on Jewish Wisdom.
A Chassidic story: A wealthy merchant would regularly visit the Baal Shem Tov and would donate large sums of money for the Rebbe’s charitable causes. Eventually his fortune changed and his business failed, leaving him nearly penniless. When he went to visit the Rebbe again the Baal Shem, undoubtedly aware of the man’s dire straits, [...]
The post Elul – Preparing Ourselves for the Day of Judgement appeared first on Jewish Wisdom.
A Yartzeit is the yearly anniversary (on the Hebrew calendar) of a person’s death. The day is commemorated by the recitation of the Kaddish prayer by the children of the deceased, and by giving charity, performing good deeds and studying Torah. We commemorate the Yartzeits of parents, spouses, family members and great spiritual leaders. As [...]
The post Commemorating a Yartzeit [A Brief Insight] appeared first on Jewish Wisdom.
The first prayer in the Jewish siddur is recited when we wake up in the morning, while we’re still in bed. Here is my translation of the prayer, from the original Hebrew: Thank you, oh living and eternal God, for mercifully returning my soul to me, great is your faithfulness. Let’s break down the prayer [...]
The post Modeh Ani – The Jewish prayer of thanks first thing in the morning appeared first on Jewish Wisdom.
In this podcast episode Rabbi Singer discusses the weekly torah portion (parsha) of Vayakhel and explains a couple of major topics discussed in it. You can apply the important lesson you’ll learn from this teaching to your daily life.
The post Weekly Parsha: Vayakhel [Podcast] appeared first on Jewish Wisdom.
In this podcast episode Rabbi Singer discusses the famous song Dayenu that we sing at the Passover Seder and explains the true meaning behind it. You can apply the important lesson you’ll learn from this teaching to your daily life.
The post Passover Seder: The Meaning of Dayenu [Podcast] appeared first on Jewish Wisdom.
In this podcast episode Rabbi Singer discusses the fundamental theme of the holiday of Purim: Hiddenness. It is reflected in the absence of God’s name in the Book of Esther and the reason we dress up in costumes. You can apply the important lesson you’ll learn from this teaching to your daily life.
The post The Hidden Lesson of Purim [Podcast] appeared first on Jewish Wisdom.
In this podcast episode Rabbi Singer discusses the idea of focus. Based on a personal story, he explores the tension we all face when our thoughts are torn between focusing on trivial manner and important things like God, family and relationships. You can apply the important lessons you’ll learn from this teaching to your daily [...]
The post Focusing on the Important [Podcast] appeared first on Jewish Wisdom.
In this podcast episode Rabbi Singer discusses the weekly Parsha (Torah portion) of Vayikra. The subject of this teaching revolves around the true meaning of the sacrificial service — Giving. You can apply the important lessons you’ll learn from this teaching to your daily life.
The post Weekly Torah Portion – Vayikra [Podcast] appeared first on Jewish Wisdom.
In this podcast episode Rabbi Singer discusses the weekly Parsha (Torah portion) of Pekuday. The subject of this teaching revolves around accounting and taking stock, as well as fulfilling our own unique destiny. You can apply the important lessons you’ll learn from this teaching to your daily life.
The post Weekly Torah Portion – Pekuday [Podcast] appeared first on Jewish Wisdom.
Kosher is the Hebrew term used to refer to foods permitted according to Jewish dietary laws. These laws are based on various verses in the Five Books of Moses (Torah), which are interpreted and expounded upon in great detail in the Talmud and Jewish legal codes. The only reason that the Torah gives for the [...]
The post What is Kosher? appeared first on Jewish Wisdom.
In this podcast episode Rabbi Singer discusses the weekly Torah portion of Vayakhel. The subject of this teaching delves into the essence of the sin of the golden calf and how the commandments address in this week’s and last week’s parsha serve as an atonement that sin. You can apply the important lesson you’ll learn [...]
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In this podcast episode Rabbi Singer discusses the weekly Torah portion of Ki Tisah. The subject of this teaching revolves around the balance between expressing our individuality and being part of a community. You can apply the important lesson you’ll learn from this teaching to your daily life.
The post Weekly Torah Portion – Ki Tisah [Podcast] appeared first on Jewish Wisdom.
In this podcast episode Rabbi Singer discusses the weekly Torah portion of Tezaveh, which relates primarily to clothing worn by the High Priest in the Tabernacle or Mishkan and in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. The subject of this teaching revolves around the omission of the name of Moses and the important lesson we can [...]
The post Weekly Torah Portion – Tezaveh [Podcast] appeared first on Jewish Wisdom.