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TETZAVEH 5784
Do Clothes Make the Person?
Shakespeare is said to have remarked: “Clothes make the man.” The truth is Shakespeare never said it! What Shakespear had Polonius say in Hamlet was: “For the apparel oft proclaims the man.” It was Mark Twain who actually said, “Clothes make the man.” And he went on to add: “Naked people have little or no influence on society.” It’s hard to argue with that logic, although I’m told several influencers on TikTok are practically naked!
Covid changed our entire way of dressing. We now dress much more casually—especially when we work from home. And when we do, who knows what we are wearing? On Zoom meetings, or the like, the camera blocks out most of our appearance, and as long as we’re wearing a proper shirt, we might as well be in our pajama bottoms and slippers.
For me, when it comes to clothing there are 3 rules:
1. Wear the right colors: No wearing black after Memorial Day; no wearing white after Labor Day; and no turning red when you see the bill—especially with today’s inflation.
2. You’re hip if your clothes are described as “unstructured and baggy.” You’re not hip if your body is described this way!
3. And for Gd sakes, dress appropriately for your age. Don’t do punk, grunge or hip hop if you’re also wearing Depends!
How we dress when we come to shul, does say something about our relationship with Gd. In today’s Torah reading we read about the clothes of the priests in the Temple of old. One of the major disqualifications for a priest to participate in the Temple service was if he wasn’t wearing the proper clothing. We find generally in Jewish life that clothing plays an important role.
Modesty in dress, special clothing for Shabbat and holidays have always been the Jewish norm. But with the exception of Hassidim who always dress in 18th century Polish noblemen garb, Jews always wore clothes from the style of the countries in which they lived. Thus, in the paintings of the 17th century Dutch masters, the Jews of Amsterdam are wearing Dutch style clothing.
On Shabbat and Holidays, Jews always wore fine dress-up clothes from the countries in which they lived in—as long as they were appropriately modest. I don’t want to point fingers, and I hope you’ll forgive me if you are offended by what I’m about to say: I think many of us could dress better on Shabbat in our shul. For example, jeans in some circles may be considered dressy—but they’re simply not shul dressy!
There was a time when some young women in our shul wore short skirts. Thank Gd we don’t have that problem anymore. A couple of weeks ago we read in the Torah (Ex. 20:23) about Gd commanding Moses that when he makes the Mizbeyach Sacrificial Altar, he must build a ramp and not steps for the priests to reach it. Why? Because, explains the Torah, steps might expose their upper legs and private parts. Modesty for a Jew is so important!
I want you to look at the Aron Kodesh behind me. It has doors, and behind the doors, there’s a curtain called a Parochet. Inside the ark are Sefer Torahs—the most holy objects in the world! [ I can’t resist this corny joke. Why do we put a Torah in an ark? To make it a “safer” Torah!] Anyway, every single one of these Sefer Torahs has a beautiful Torah cover on it, often dedicated in memory of relatives who have passed. But why cover it at all? Because a Torah scroll is holy. In fact, as we see from its 3 coverings—the ark, the curtain and the Torah covers—it’s triple holy! And yet, it’s NOT as holy as a human being. You know what the Torah calls sexual immorality? Giluy arayot, which literally means, “uncovering nakedness,” teaching us that to uncover the human body for no moral purpose is sinful.
In the world in which we live today people have lost all sense of modesty and discretion. Today, people say and do things on television that we would never have thought of saying or doing in public just a few years ago—and no one seems to think much about it. And as a result, the sense of holiness that used to characterize the relationship between a man and a woman has been trivialized.
There’s a bracha Jews recite every morning: “Blessed are You, Hashem our Gd, King of the universe, malbish arumim, who clothes the naked.” Rav Kook—the 1st chief rabbi of the modern State of Israel—explained that this blessing gives thanks to Gd for the clothes we wear and for the fact that we are humans who need clothes—and not animals who don’t. Rav Kook explains that we are blessed with a refined soul destined to live a higher life than animals. The message is: don’t behave like an animal—and that includes how we dress!
The clothes of the priests, the Torah tells us, were simple white garments with tunics, sashes, pants, and headdresses—reflecting the purity of their holy service. The clothes of the high priest, on the other hand, were colorful, ornate and luxurious—filled with precious stones. There was a colorful apron called an Ephod, a Breastplate, special robe with bells, and a turban upon which was placed a silver Titz band with the inscription: Kodesh laHashem (Holy to Gd). These garments told everyone the priests were holy and unique and it made the Priests feel that way as well! And so Maimonides, in writing about the priestly clothes (Hilchot Kley HaMikdash 10:4), writes that these special clothes gives the priest a sense of the royalty and majesty of the priestly role. Without these clothes, a kohen is just an ordinary Joe. With the clothing, he becomes a prince!
What Maimonides says is true. What you wear can change you. Wearing a MAGA hat says something about you and what you believe. Just like wearing a black hat and a black suit with tzitzit hanging out also says something about you and what you believe. Even the kind of kipa you wear or don’t wear says something about you. In the ultra-Orthodox and Yeshivish communities, the kipa will generally be large and made of black velvet. The smaller, knitted—often colorful kipot—is a sign of a more Modern Orthodox Jew. For a woman, a sheitel (wig), a tichel (scarf) or a hat and a long dress indicate one is part of the ultra-Orthodox or Yeshivish communities…while a dress or skirt above the knee or pants indicates a more modern approach.
American tradition teaches, “Beauty is only skin deep.” But it was Redd Foxx (Does anyone remember who Redd Fox was?) who said, “Beauty is only skin deep but ugly goes all the way to the bone!” For the Jew, beauty must go all the way to the bone.
When Americans speak about the “beautiful people,” they refer to the Hollywood jet-set types who are noted for their ostentatious and immoral lifestyles. But when Jews refer to someone as being a Sheyner Yid (a beautiful Jew), that refers to what is inside—the beauty of character, their piety and closeness with Gd.
The ark doors behind me and its Parochet curtain behind it…and the covers over the Torah…and the concept of gilui arayot, of not revealing one’s nakedness…teach us that the holier an object is, the more reverently it should be treated and the more it should be covered. Holiness and modesty are inseparably connected.
My friends, today’s world challenges us to teach our children and all those around us by our example … never to degrade ourselves in body or in soul. In a world that’s gone crazy—especially as we saw on October 7th and its aftermath—we must be the ones to bring a message of sanity and holiness of the body and the soul.
Gd challenged us in last week’s parsha (Ex. 25:8): V’asu li mikdash v’shachanti b’tocham, “Make a place for Me, for Gd in your life, a sanctuary, a holy place—where? in your shul, in your home, wherever you go—and then I Gd will dwell in you.” Amen!
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