Tetzaveh 5770 - Man Makes The Clothing
I was in Kindergarten, sitting on the floor Indian Style, listening to short, dark Israeli Rocheil tell the story of a poor man in shabby clothes who goes to a fancy dinner party and is thrown out as soon as they see his appearance. I vividly recall Rocheil describing how weeks later after having found a job and saved cash the man returns well groomed and finely dressed. He’s presented with a great meal. He proceeds to pour the soup, meat, potatoes, etc. all over his head and body. He explains that as he was not given the food when sloppily groomed, and the only difference now was in that department, he figured the food was for the clothes. So he gave it to them.
I’d like to try to balance the equation with the following true anecdote from the book MASTERPLAN by Rabbi Aryeh Carmel. There was a London woman who married a man with an African heritage. He inherited the kingdom and they moved back to his country where he ruled as the new king. His wife took to the role but it pained her to find that the town’s women were depressed and listless. She presented them with colorful clothing made from fabric that was aesthetically alive. In a very short span of time the women came to life and were full of a new-found energy.
There is truth to both sides of clothing. On the one hand clothing cannot make the man. Ultimately it is up to a man to make himself. The fanciest of suits can’t do the job for him. On the other hand there is a place in life for uniforms that are appropriate for people in specific contexts.
The Ibn Ezra comments on the words “Lekavod U’Letifaret” that “they can be glorified by them because no one else in Israel wears clothing like this.” He’s fine tuning the point that how we dress is important. If everyone dresses like a Kohein then what is special might be lost.
How we dress is one of those personal things that include multiple messages that we may not think about as much as we should. Our clothing can lift us up or pull us down. Our clothing can pull others in or push them away. Our clothing can state that we feel like an image of G-d, or that we feel that we are something else.
The truth is that the person wearing the clothing need to remember who he is via what he wears; "Af im katan atah ne'einechah rosh shivtei Tisrael atah." The people who view the clothing also need it as a reminder of who the man is. A Kohein Gadol who was mechusar begadim - lacking any of his prescribed ornaments or garb was pasul - unfit to do his avodah - holy service. The man needed the clothing. On a similar note one of the requirements to be Kohein Gadol was to be handsome! This relates to the idea that a koheim with a mum - blemish was unfit to serve. Whether we like to admit it or not (and we don't) we are affected by externals.
May we be blessed to dress and be the the part we are assigned in life. Hopefully it's a speaking part, an active part, a holy part.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Neil Fleischmann
Le'ilui nishmat Freida Maryam bat Binyamin Manaleh- zichronah livrachah
posted by rabbi neil fleischmann @ 5:09 PM
5 Comments:
I see what you are saying about the clothes not making the person yet the clothes being able to signal something special about a role played in society. I agree that a person with an important role in a community needs to encourage respect for that role, that position, starting with his/her behavior and clothing.
But I get lost in the part about the women in Africa who were listless and depressed. I mean, was the listlessness and depression due only to drab clothing and did they really need the "enlightened" (white? smarter?) woman from foreign lands to bring them the "right" clothes to improve their mood? I'm lost on that one. Seems way too simplistic, so I assume that there is a deeper message but it's not clear, unless it is that a community of depressed women are easily made happy by pretty, bright clothes. Sorry, I don't mean to sound bitchy, just wondering.
At seudat shlishit I gave a d'var Torah that talked about the parsha, tied in to Purim, and also talked about my father, whose 1st Yahrzeit was on Friday, and my husband's father, whom I never knew, and whose Yahrzeit will be on Thursday. I, too, talked about the Kohein Hagadol, his fine clothing and what it represents in life, and how clothing is highly represented in Megillat Esther, as well.
I learned -- or at least, refreshed my knowledge -- via my research.
OK, the easier one response first:
Pearl, why don't you post on your blog (or share here what you said, I'd like to hear it).
Miss Trudy, sometimes I use analogies, examples, stories, they are never perfect, and sometimes less so than others. It is too simple, and was not meant to offens sophisticated sensibilities. It was meant as the other side of the soup on the clothes story which was to represent (imperfectly) the idea that clothes, to some extent,don't matter. It was meant to represent (imperfectly) the extent that clothes can matter a great deal. That was thetruth I was trying toi convey, without having thought through the details of the story. Sorry if it was over simplified and/or offended you.
No, please, didn't offend me. I was just trying to see the connection and wasn't seeing it. Moreover, I meant that the original author was oversimplifying the situation, not you. I suspect there was more to the women's depression than just sad clothes, and the author you were quoting had simplified it. I think that clothes are contextual. They are complex. They do not make us better people per se, of course, but as you point out, they can make us be perceived by others--and ourselves--in a variety of lights.
Neil, I had decided to post it on the blog, but it's somewhat lengthy. Forewarned is forearmed...hopefully. :)
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