“Who are you wearing?”
This is the most asked question on the famous Red Carpet walk preceding the Academy Awards.
It is the way the media engages celebrities, the royalty of our culture, to share the names of the fashion designers whose wares they are sporting at the glitzy event.
This obsession with the clothing of luminaries has spawned blogs such as one entitled
“What Kate Wore”, which shares the details of the fashion and style of Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales.
I can relate.
After all, I too often stand before a closet full of clothes and bemoan that I have nothing to wear.
Perhaps I could get some inspiration from Kate?
This week’s Torah portion seems to be so validating.
The portion of Tetzaveh is all about clothes.
It relates the intricacies of fashioning the clothing to be worn by the Priests and the High Priest during their service in the Tabernacle. This apparel was their “uniform” and donning those garments were a prerequisite for service in the Tabernacle.
Why would there be such an emphasis on clothing, something that seems so superficial, in a space dedicated to spirituality?
Our Sages teach us that the role of the garments was to instill sanctity in both the wearer and the beholder.
One of the garments the High Priest wore was a robe. It was adorned with bells placed along the hem. When the High Priest was approaching, his entrance was heralded by the tinkle of the bells.
This serves to teach a number of lessons to both the wearer and the beholder.
For those in the audience, the sound of the bells announced the approach of a holy person. This will afford the opportunity for those in the community to act appropriately in the presence of a holy individual.
This “announcement” is also a subtle message to anyone of us who is about to make an entrance into a private place. It is proper not to enter unannounced, but to knock, give warning, allow those inside to compose themselves and be ready for the encounter.
When a person enters their own home, the bells teach us the lesson not to barge into a room, but to announce themselves first, a lesson in privacy and boundaries.
This is an elevated attitude.
But perhaps the most important reason for the constant sound of the bells is to serve as an alarm for the High Priest himself, to remind him of his ongoing and immense responsibility.
On a deeper level, each of the priestly garments was intended to atone for a particular sin committed by the Jewish people.
Our Sages teach us that the robe was created to expiate the sin of speaking badly about another. As the High Priest walked and the bells rang noisily, it was a reminder to people to refrain from creating the negative noise or static which emanates from gossiping or speaking ill of another.
The hem of the robe was decorated with alternating bells and tassels. These tassels were made of three colors of wool - turquoise, purple and scarlet.
This signified that if gossip is spoken there are three people who are injured:
the subject, the speaker and the listener.
These details deepen the idea that the clothing of the priests were much more than a fashion statement.
It is no coincidence that this Torah portion is read in close proximity to the holiday of Purim.
The Purim story begins with the King of Persia, Ahashverosh, celebrating his newly achieved dominion of 127 provinces.
At the major party he throws in his own honor, he arrives in a unique ensemble.
He wears the clothes of the High Priest that had been stolen from the first Temple.
But Achashverosh totally missed the point.
No one was going to be blogging about his fashion statement!
He did not understand that this set of clothing could only make an impact if worn with spiritual intention, focused on personal and communal growth.
It would only be worth emulating if it was a reflection of his inner growth.
On him, it was just a costume, and the clothing did not make the man.
It is interesting that the clothing in this portion is called a middah, a length, (in modern Hebrew, an IDF army uniform is called Maddim). A middah is also an attribute. Our outer selves, our clothing, should be a reflection of our innate innerness, our continued atttempts to continue improving ourselves.
Indeed, the body itself is the clothing to the soul, and when the body and soul work in consonance, they create a dynamic synergy which is actually worth blogging about.
So while we may not be walking the red carpet anytime soon, it might be worth asking ourselves,
Who are you wearing?
And if we are working on our sensitivity and our soul connections, we will be comfortable in our own skins, and we will know exactly who we are wearing - our connection to our spiritual source.
Happy Purim!
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!