Thursday, February 18, 2016
Parshas Titzaveh: Does what we wear matter?
9:51 PM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
"You shall make the garments of sanctity for Aharon your brother for glory and splendor" (Exodus 28:2).
The simple explanation of this verse would seem to mean that the purpose of the clothing are for Aharon's glory and splendor. This would show the importance of what he wears which adds to his honor. Is it really true that Aharon needed the honor by the clothing that he wore? Do we honor ourselves by the way we dress?
The answer is that what we wear says something about ourselves. Everyone would agree that we look at ourselves differently by how we dress. Do we really feel the same if we wear a three piece double breasted suit and when when we wear shorts and a t-shirt? Obviously not but then what do clothes tell us about ourselves?
This reminds me of a conversation that I once had with someone who told me that they were offended by the way I dressed. I asked them that the only difference between the way we dress is that I have a kippah (skull cap) on my head and I wear tzitzis, so how radically different do we dress anyway? I then asked this person (who by the way wore a three piece suit for work everyday) why they dressed in such a fashion. The answer was because that was the uniform they had to wear for work.
"Don't get me wrong, the first thing I do when I get home is change my clothes!" he told me. I then asked if that was true then the only reason for dressing up would be for the sake of money right? As I saw the smoke come out of his ears, he responded by asking me why I dress the way I do.
I answered very simply that we have a uniform to wear as well as part of the laws of modesty but the difference is that I dress up for G-d's honor and don't change my clothes after my "work" is done. These clothes are who I am and what community I identify with. At the same time, what we wear may be just something that is external.
This means that we could wear the right clothes, walk the walk and talk the talk but inside of us we are not that committed to G-d's law. Externals really don't mean that much but if we want to identify with a community then we need to have a dress code. The dress code is for us to adhere to a certain standard which elevates ourselves and honors G-d.
Aharon didn't need special clothing but because he was serving in G-d's house so to speak they had to be honorable for G-d and distinguish himself as well. In this case it was able to accomplish two things: showing the importance of the clothing for Aharon and honoring G-d.
We are not defined by what we wear but at the same time we identify with the community we want to be associated with by what we wear.
Shabbat Shalom
The simple explanation of this verse would seem to mean that the purpose of the clothing are for Aharon's glory and splendor. This would show the importance of what he wears which adds to his honor. Is it really true that Aharon needed the honor by the clothing that he wore? Do we honor ourselves by the way we dress?
The answer is that what we wear says something about ourselves. Everyone would agree that we look at ourselves differently by how we dress. Do we really feel the same if we wear a three piece double breasted suit and when when we wear shorts and a t-shirt? Obviously not but then what do clothes tell us about ourselves?
This reminds me of a conversation that I once had with someone who told me that they were offended by the way I dressed. I asked them that the only difference between the way we dress is that I have a kippah (skull cap) on my head and I wear tzitzis, so how radically different do we dress anyway? I then asked this person (who by the way wore a three piece suit for work everyday) why they dressed in such a fashion. The answer was because that was the uniform they had to wear for work.
"Don't get me wrong, the first thing I do when I get home is change my clothes!" he told me. I then asked if that was true then the only reason for dressing up would be for the sake of money right? As I saw the smoke come out of his ears, he responded by asking me why I dress the way I do.
I answered very simply that we have a uniform to wear as well as part of the laws of modesty but the difference is that I dress up for G-d's honor and don't change my clothes after my "work" is done. These clothes are who I am and what community I identify with. At the same time, what we wear may be just something that is external.
This means that we could wear the right clothes, walk the walk and talk the talk but inside of us we are not that committed to G-d's law. Externals really don't mean that much but if we want to identify with a community then we need to have a dress code. The dress code is for us to adhere to a certain standard which elevates ourselves and honors G-d.
Aharon didn't need special clothing but because he was serving in G-d's house so to speak they had to be honorable for G-d and distinguish himself as well. In this case it was able to accomplish two things: showing the importance of the clothing for Aharon and honoring G-d.
We are not defined by what we wear but at the same time we identify with the community we want to be associated with by what we wear.
Shabbat Shalom
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