Next week is New York’s Fashion Week, but this week the fashion week is in the Torah. Parashat Tetzaveh depicts and describes all of the garments worn by the priests in times preceding the ancient temple, but that would eventually carry over into the temple ritual. Aaron and his sons wore garments that today remain centerpieces in our tradition. You see them every week, for they are in the ark dressing the Torah. These include the choshen, the breastplate on the Torah. It can be designed with carvings of silver depicting the hands of the priests, the tablets of the 10 commandments, or it is sometimes adorned with 12 different stones, each for a different tribe. These stones are specifically mentioned in this portion. And, I love the multitude of color in the symbol of those stones. There is even a belief that the 12 stones for the 12 tribes is the source for the idea of today’s modern birthstones. Fashionable, or what?
The other garments worn include the ephod, today’s modern Torah cover, and in the past, a sort of tunic worn by the priest. The priests also wore a blue robe called a m’eel which had images of pomegranates on it and carried bells -- today the crowns of the Torah are called rimonim -- pomegranates, and sometimes are even designed to look like pomegranates, and almost all crowns have numerous bells. Our connection to hearing a Torah move around the sanctuary toward us is one that is sometimes heard before it is seen. One can imagine in the ancient temple that they heard a priest approaching before they saw him, expecting and perhaps being able to prepare themselves for his presence.
Now today, as a cantor, I rarely don garments that mark me so opposedly different from the congregation. Yes, all Jewish clergy wear tallitot at all services, but it is mainly us being in front of the congregation that marks us as the leaders. My weekly Shabbat fashion is no different from what most people would wear to a business meeting. Once a year, during the High Holidays, we don white robes, and it is perhaps at that time that we look most different and offset from the regular service attendee.
I have often had the experience, however, when I am at temple for a casual gathering when someone says to me, “Oh, I didn’t recognize you, Cantor! You aren’t dressed up.” This person likely got used to my “Shabbat clothes,” and suddenly I appeared different to them. I always find this to be funny, because clothes clearly do not create cantors or leaders -- but they surely create an impression. And, this is what this week’s portion is about– how we set ourselves apart. Judaism has so many elements of setting things apart-- the most prime example is Shabbat as a day set apart from the rest.
Here in this week’s Torah portion, clothes set apart the clan of the priests from the rest. Comparably, think about how what a bride and her wedding party wears elevates their stature in a ceremony. One does not need to ask any questions in identifying who is who. Yet, I challenge us to ask if the Torah wants us to think of the priests as holier than the rest or just ones who needed to be reminded that they were consistently doing holy work? What they wore stood as a reminder to everyone, including to themselves, of the commitment they had made to the bold requirements of their position. Today, each and every one of us can do holy work of our own choosing and we have various visual reminders of this, from tallitot to mezzuzot, and also from the experiential things that point us in this direction, for example prayer, attending services, Torah study, and devoting ourselves to mitzvot and acts of social justice. So, how do we mark the actual work we do as holy and how do we offset the way we approach it? Perhaps, we could always start with a blessing that allows us to step into these moments with meaning and value.
Within the choshen, the breastplate, the priests had another garment-- the umim and tumim, believed to be a piece of parchment that had the name of God written on it. Placed within the choshen over the priest’s heart, this seems to represent that secret, mystical power, encompassed deep within us, felt in our heart and soul--the ultimate connection to the divine. When we have moments of doubt or questioning, but also in our great spiritual highs, we may find answers in this mystical calling and connection to God. It is neither rational nor explainable. It is a gut feeling. It is knowing what is right or wrong for ourselves. It just … is.