TA Titzaveh - Robes of Splendor

How could that be? I’ll tell you how it happens. There’s something to wearing clothing; there’s something profound in a uniform.

Because Mankind; black, white, brown, yellow, any color, it doesn’t matter, all of Mankind is innately endowed with profound emotions. And very often, it’s clothing that will bring them out to the fore. The uniform changes them! Because any decent person is affected by a uniform. It makes them feel that it’s their responsibility; they stand for something important now.

That outward demonstration means something, and we shouldn’t disdain it. And that’s the great principle that we spoke about here many times. The Mesillas Yesharim expresses this important idea with the following words: החיצוניות מעוררת את הפנימיות – If you dress like a frum Jew, like a mentch – even though you’re not – then in the course of time, you’re going to change. You’re going to start becoming a decent person.

Absolutely, it’s going to have an effect on you. Because by putting on the uniform you already assume in your mind a certain responsibility, certain attitudes. You identify with the uniform you wear, and your clothing elicits from deep in your soul the innate greatness; it evokes profound ideals and attitudes that are laying there dormant. It’s something that we have to know; it’s actually a fact that people are changed by their garments; clothes make the man

And don’t think that bigdei kehuna are only for kohanim. Because we’re learning here that even by a superficial exterior demonstration that you’re an eved Hashem, you have already achieved something for yourself and for your nation forever and ever. אלמלא בגדי כהונה – “If not for the bigdei kehunah, לא נשתיירו מישראל שריד ופליט – nothing would have remained of us.”

When we wear our clothing, it’s not merely a superficial act that means nothing; it’s the preservation of the Am Yisroel. When we walk among the gentiles, and even among ourselves, wearing our yarmulkehs, our hats, our sheitelech, our long sleeves, our long skirts, our tzitzis, our long jackets or short jackets, our white shirts, our kapotehs – whatever it is that you wear to show that you’re an eved Hashem – you’re a walking kiddush Hashem! Because what are we saying with our clothes? We’re saying to the world, no matter how dark it gets, no matter how much foolishness and apikorsis (heresy) fill the world, and no matter how much you try to entice us, we’re still standing proud and we’re here to stay. We’re a stubborn people – we’re the עם קשי עורף – and we’re not going anywhere.

And therefore, we dress the part of the stubborn nation. We’re proudly showing that we belong to Hashem and that it will be that way forever and ever. We’re stubborn about it too! We’re proud of our dress; we’re demonstrating strength of character and loyalty, and that’s what preserves us forever. Of course, some might go lost. It’s a tragedy, but you’ll always have some weaklings in a great nation who don’t stand strong for their ideals, who get cut off from our people. But on a national scale, we’re here forever. And we know that Hashem will keep us around forever, because we’re here only for Him. And that’s why we’re dressing for Him!

We’re learning here a tremendous lesson, the lesson of chitzoniyus (externalities), how important the outwardliness that a person displays is. Let’s say we’re talking about what it means to put on a black hat. So you’ll say, “What difference does it make? I’m a frum Jew and my head is full of Torah. Who cares what I put on my head?! A gray hat? A blue hat? No hat? Who cares about the hat? It’s just superficialities! I’m not that way; I’m real!”

“Oh no!”we tell you. A black hat makes a difference, all the difference in the world. It’s not the color black that matters, it’s who you are identifying with. If the roshei yeshiva wore yellow hats, then we’d wear yellow hats. If they wore sombreros, that's what we’d wear as well. When a Jew puts on a black hat, you have to know that it’s not just a minhag. A black hat means something; you’re identifying with the Torah community; it’s an ateres tiferes, a crown of glory. You’re identifying with the roshei yeshivos, with the mekomos HaTorah, with all the people who are shlomei emunai Yisroel. And that’s a tremendous demonstration.

Now, once we understand this, that dressing like a servant Hashem, is actually an eternal preservation for the Am Yisroel, that should cause us to appreciate the importance of our dress much more than we ever did before.

And the way the servant dresses, affects his behavior, and in the course of time, he becomes different. And therefore, when the kohen puts on the bigdei kehunah, when he dresses like a kohen, he’s actually changing himself. It’s very important that he should know that he’s dressed l’kavod u’lisiferes. He has to be dressed in these glorious garments because they make him feel like he is a servant of Hashem. And therefore a kohen can only rise to the heights required of him when he is dressed in the bigdei s’rad. By wearing the bigdei avodah, he becomes a servant of Hashem.

TA Tetzaveh 5779 – Robes of Splendor

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THE KOHEN WHO IS NOT A KOHEN

Now that’s a remarkable thing to say. Because we know that he is a kohen. He’s from the seed of Aharon HaKohen.

It’s a difficult thing to understand. That the begadim should be so important?! Wearing the garments, after all, is a superficial thing. It’s a kosher avodah!

So we see that it’s just the perfunctory and external act of wearing the garments that matters. And that’s a big question: Why is the superficial act of putting on a uniform so important? Why do the garments make him a kohen?

THE SECRET OF THE POLICE ACADEMY

So we’ll explain it like this. You know, when you see a policeman in a blue uniform, to some extent you think that this man is standing on the right side of the law. That’s what you believe instinctively. But really why should that be?

We know that many times the policemen are recruited from the alleys of Bensonhurst; and if you would have known him back then, you would have seen that he was on the other side of the law. But today he puts on a blue vest, blue pants and a funny looking cap, and now this former troublemaker becomes an upholder of law and order. He even gets angry when someone is breaking the law!

How could that be? I’ll tell you how it happens. There’s something to wearing clothing; there’s something profound in a uniform.

Because Mankind; black, white, brown, yellow, any color, it doesn’t matter, all of Mankind is innately endowed with profound emotions. And very often, it’s clothing that will bring them out to the fore. The uniform changes them! Because any decent person is affected by a uniform. It makes them feel that it’s their responsibility; they stand for something important now.

That outward demonstration means something, and we shouldn’t disdain it. And that’s the great principle that we spoke about here many times. The Mesillas Yesharim expresses this important idea with the following words: החיצוניות מעוררת את הפנימיות – If you dress like a frum Jew, like a mentch – even though you’re not – then in the course of time, you’re going to change. You’re going to start becoming a decent person.

Absolutely, it’s going to have an effect on you. Because by putting on the uniform you already assume in your mind a certain responsibility, certain attitudes. You identify with the uniform you wear, and your clothing elicits from deep in your soul the innate greatness; it evokes profound ideals and attitudes that are laying there dormant. It’s something that we have to know; it’s actually a fact that people are changed by their garments; clothes make the man.

Now it’s important to take note of the fact that it works just as well the other way too. If you take a pair of ragged jeans and you put them on a human being, he becomes a bum. I’m not saying only that he looks like a bum; inwardly he becomes a bum. When people dress like bums, they are bums. It’s a principle that human beings are what their garments are.

I’ll give you another example. A person who dresses with dignity, he’s identifying himself with the self-respecting element of society. He keeps his body covered because he identifies with the dignity of tzelem Elokim (the image of G-d). Because a half-naked person is like a horse. You see all of his limbs, just like a horse trotting down the street. A horse is naked, and although you can see the difference between a human being and a horse, nevertheless the comparison is overwhelming.

Because it’s how you behave on the outside, how you dress, that becomes the foundation of what’s really important, your pnimiyus.

The Am Yisroel has survived a long golus in the midst of our enemies.

There’s still a sarid, a remnant, of the Am Yisroel left. And chazal are telling us here that it’s because of the bigdei s’rad, because there was a time when kohanim wore bigdei kehuna in the Beis Hamikdash, at that time in our history they earned for our nation the right to exist forever.

What we’re learning here is that the mere fact that the kohen dressed like a servant of Hashem, was such a tremendous success for him, that he accomplished something that would last forever and ever for the Am Yisroel.

Now, once we understand this, that dressing like a servant Hashem, is actually an eternal preservation for the Am Yisroel, that should cause us to appreciate the importance of our dress much more than we ever did before.

And the way the servant dresses, affects his behavior, and in the course of time, he becomes different. And therefore, when the kohen puts on the bigdei kehunah, when he dresses like a kohen, he’s actually changing himself. It’s very important that he should know that he’s dressed l’kavod u’lisiferes. He has to be dressed in these glorious garments because they make him feel like he is a servant of Hashem. And therefore a kohen can only rise to the heights required of him when he is dressed in the bigdei s’rad. By wearing the bigdei avodah, he becomes a servant of Hashem.

Part III. Modern Day Bigdei Kehuna

TAILORED ITALIAN SUITS

And don’t think that bigdei kehuna are only for kohanim. Because we’re learning here that even by a superficial exterior demonstration that you’re an eved Hashem, you have already achieved something for yourself and for your nation forever and ever. אלמלא בגדי כהונה – “If not for the bigdei kehunah, לא נשתיירו מישראל שריד ופליט – nothing would have remained of us.”

When we wear our clothing, it’s not merely a superficial act that means nothing; it’s the preservation of the Am Yisroel. You don’t wear clothing the same way that Mr. Giavano, your Italian neighbor, wears clothing. Oh no! The clothes that we wear mean more than you ever imagined. When we walk among the gentiles, and even among ourselves, wearing our yarmulkehs, our hats, our sheitelech, our long sleeves, our long skirts, our tzitzis, our long jackets or short jackets, our white shirts, our kapotehs – whatever it is that you wear to show that you’re an eved Hashem – you’re a walking kiddush Hashem (sanctification of the name of Hashem)! Because what are we saying with our clothes? We’re saying to the world, no matter how dark it gets, no matter how much foolishness and apikorsis (heresy) fill the world, and no matter how much you try to entice us, we’re still standing proud and we’re here to stay. We’re a stubborn people – we’re the עם קשי עורף – and we’re not going anywhere.

And therefore, we dress the part of the stubborn nation. We’re proudly showing that we belong to Hashem and that it will be that way forever and ever. We’re stubborn about it too! We’re proud of our dress; we’re demonstrating strength of character and loyalty, and that’s what preserves us forever. Of course, some might go lost. It’s a tragedy, but you’ll always have some weaklings in a great nation who don’t stand strong for their ideals, who get cut off from our people. But on a national scale, we’re here forever. And we know that Hashem will keep us around forever, because we’re here only for Him. And that’s why we’re dressing for Him!

THE MAN IN THE YELLOW HAT

We’re learning here a tremendous lesson, the lesson of chitzoniyus (externalities), how important the outwardliness that a person displays is. Let’s say we’re talking about what it means to put on a black hat. So you’ll say, “What difference does it make? I’m a frum Jew and my head is full of Torah. Who cares what I put on my head?! A gray hat? A blue hat? No hat? Who cares about the hat? It’s just superficialities! I’m not that way; I’m real!”

“Oh no!”we tell you. A black hat makes a difference, all the difference in the world. It’s not the color black that matters, it’s who you are identifying with. If the roshei yeshiva wore yellow hats, then we’d wear yellow hats. If they wore sombreros, that's what we’d wear as well. When a Jew puts on a black hat, you have to know that it’s not just a minhag. A black hat means something; you’re identifying with the Torah community; it’s an ateres tiferes, a crown of glory. You’re identifying with the roshei yeshivos, with the mekomos HaTorah, with all the people who are shlomei emunai Yisroel. And that’s a tremendous demonstration.

A BLACK HAT IS NOT EVERYTHING…

And it’s not only the hat. A yarmulkeh is also something. Your tzitzis hanging out of your pants. Your white shirt, your peyos. Whatever it is, you’re identifying with the Am Hashem. It’s such an achievement, that the entire world should be jealous of you. And once a person demonstrates outwardly that he belongs to Hakodosh Boruch Hu, that man has succeeded in one of the biggest achievements in life. That man is wearing bigdei kehunah and he has come close to Hashem in exteriority. And in this function he is succeeding as much as the kohanim did in the Beis Hamikdash .

THE BIGDEI KEHUNAH OF BAIS YAAKOV GIRLS

You have to know what it means, how much of a kiddush Hashem it is when the Jewish nation shows an allegiance to Hashem in their chitzoniyus (exteriority).

There’s nothing more beautiful than a Jewish frum neighborhood that’s crowded with the Am Hashem; crowded with people who are demonstrating through their dress that they are proud of who they are. I was in the street yesterday and I saw a pack of twenty, maybe thirty girls walking down the street – walking home from the Beis Yaakov. Thirty girls wearing long skirts. All wearing tzniyusdigeh (modest, refined) uniforms. But I didn’t see Beis Yaakov uniforms – I saw bigdei kehuna! Because that was the greatness of the garments that a kohen wore. He was proudly identifying himself with those who understand that their purpose in this world is to serve Hashem.

“I AM FOR HASHEM!”

And what I’m telling you now applies to every Jewish woman as well. She’s wearing a sheitel, or a tichel or snood, it doesn’t matter what it is, because as she walks down the street she’s an aristocrat. A woman who covers her hair, she covers her arms and her legs, it’s not merely a superficial act of following some “rules” of modesty. No; it’s much much more than that. She’s identifying with the Am Yisroel! She’s demonstrating that she’s an eved Hashem.

HASHEM WANTS YOUR MIND!

We’re talking now about the person who demonstrates that he belongs to Hashem, that’s the point. You show you belong to Hashem. And even though it’s superficial it’s a tremendous achievement. Externalities are also prized by Hashem. And it’s written down to your record that you are a servant of Hashem, that you have achieved the greatness of the nobility of exteriority. You’re not embarrassed; you’re proud to stand out, to be different, and you’re walking around all day proclaiming, “I am for Hashem.” And that makes all the difference in the world. Because when a person demonstrates outwardly that he belongs to Hakodosh Boruch Hu, that person has succeeded in one of the biggest achievements that life offers. He has come close to Hashem in chitzoniyus, in exteriority.

Now, make no mistake. It’s not pnimiyus (interiority). You’re not gaining all the greatness of the qualities and attitudes that you earn only by years of study and thinking. And I’m not going to say that this is all you need to do; by no means. רחמנא ליבא בעי, Hashem wants your pnimiyus (interiority), your mind; certainly that’s what He wants from you. Hashem puts a great emphasis on the mind, no question about it. How valuable it is to learn and to fill your mind with noble concepts! Learn seforim, agadata, yiras shamayim; there’s no end to the thoughts that are necessary for you to fill your mind with.

But despite the great virtue of becoming a man of interiority, of pnimiyus, we should not underestimate the value of the superficial demonstration of being a frum Jew. It’s so precious! Even though you’re not thinking about anything, no philosophy, no deep thoughts; you’re not thinking about the Mesillas Yesharim or the Chovos Halevavos. You’re just thinking, “I’m a frum Jew; I’m proud, I’m happy that I can demonstrate my loyalty to Hashem by means of my bigdei kehunah.” The man who is happy that he is a frum Jew, and he dresses like a frum Jew, that itself is a tremendous achievement for the servant of Hashem, and it’s a terrible mistake to begrudge that greatness. Because even by a superficial exterior demonstration that you’re an eved Hashem, you should know that you have achieved something great for yourself.

Part IV. Putting It Into Practice

WE’RE JUST AT THE BEGINNING

But I must tell you that everything we spoke about tonight is actually only the beginning of the avodah of wearing the begadim of a servant of Hashem. Because even in this superficial avodah, the avodah of chitzoniyus, there are higher and higher levels on the ladder of coming close to Hashem. And so we’ll take the little time we have left to try to step off the first rung, and to continue climbing higher. We’ll start by quoting words from the Chovos Halevavos, words that I’ve said here many times before. המחשבה נמשכת אחר הדיבור – “Your thoughts, your pnimiyus, will pattern themselves after the words that you say”. And that idea introduces us to another level of opportunity in growing great from the chitzoniyus of begadim.

Because when we consider these two aspects, the chitzoniyus and the pnimiyus; as much as possible let us combine them, and endeavor to use our chitzoniyus as a building block for pnimiyus. The exteriority of dressing like a frum Jew can be utilized to achieve even greater perfection when it is amalgamated with thinking and speaking.

Now, I’ll give you a practical suggestion. Every morning when you put on your clothing, don’t go through the motions like you’ve been doing for so many years. Don’t spend the rest of your life putting on clothing without thinking anything at all. You know that many people, when they get dressed in the morning, they put in as much thought to their clothes as a horse would if he was getting dressed. Putting on clothing in the morning is a demonstration – a demonstration to others, and more importantly to yourself. And what you should be telling yourself as you put on your clothes is how important you are. I know that this is a new idea to most people and that’s why I’m stressing it: When you put on your shirt, your skirt, your hat, whatever it is, it’s like saying, “I now declare that I am the choicest of all creation. Hashem has chosen me and therefore I am great! Garments declare who I am!” The main gift of garments is the honor they give you. A great man once said, מאני מכבדותא, “Garments are my honor” (Shabbos 113b).

YOU BELONG TO SOMEONE VERY IMPORTANT!

You should practice thinking, “Hashem has made me great. Not only has He clothed me with the garments of a human being, but He has clothed me with garments that signify the greatness of the Jewish people.” Let’s say you’re putting on a chassideshe levush; you’re putting on certain begadim that you’re accustomed to wear in your kehilla. Soyou should do it with a great sense of achievement. It’s an opportunity, a zechus to demonstrate to yourself “I’m an eved Hashem.” That’s what you’re doing it for. Are you putting on these begadim because you want to show that you belong to a certain kehilah? No, that’s not what you’re demonstrating. You want to show that you belong to this and this rebbeh? That’s not the purpose! You belong to Someone much more important than that; you belong to Hashem! And the more thought you add to your kapoteh, to your round hat, and to whatever else you wear to demonstrate that you belong to Him, the greater you become.

You shouldn’t let any opportunity go to waste. You have nice peyos, and you want to hang them around the front of your face. All right, that’s beautiful. Of course, it makes you look good; there’s no question about it. But you should utilize them as a catalyst to think and to say with your mouth, “I’m doing this to show that I belong to Hashem.” Don’t be ashamed; as much as possible, when nobody’s listening say it. And each time you say it, you’re impressing into your mind more and more the perfection of character that you came into this world to achieve.

THE KING OF ENGLAND’S DUNCE CAP

Now there’s not much labor involved there. But it’s still a tremendous achievement just to think these thoughts. If during the day you take a nap or you took off your hat for some other reason, you’re wearing something else, a yarmulkeh, and later you put on your hat again, utilize that opportunity. “I am putting a crown on my head. Even if it would be a crown that is made of gold and diamonds, it would be nothing when compared to my sixty or eighty dollar black hat.” Your black hat is a crown that is more precious than the crown of the King of England. He keeps his crown in a special place, locked up in a safe, with guards around it. But it’s nothing! It’s a dunce cap compared to your hat. Your hat is an ateres tiferes, a crown of glory for you.

And suppose you don’t own a black hat. But you have a yarmulkeh; that also is a crown of glory. A yarmulkeh is worth more than all the crowns of all the emperors that ever reigned. Let’s say somebody walked in here tonight and sat down and on his head was a diadem, a crown made of gold with diamonds and rubies set into it. We wouldn’t take our eyes off of it. We’d stare at him. But it’s a waste of time. It’s a dunce cap. It’s a piece of paper, it’s nothing. Look at Jew with a yarmulkeh, or with a black hat, and you’ll see a person who is crowned with what Hashem considers a crown! A crown of tiferes – of beauty and glory – the crown of someone who is proud to belong to the Am Yisroel, proud to belong to Hashem. That’s what a Jewish head covering is.

THE GLORIOUS TICHEL

And it doesn’t have to be a hat. A woman who is going to put on a sheitel or tichel, or even a snood – it doesn’t matter; whatever she’s wearing that’s what she’s doing; she’s demonstrating that she’s an eved Hashem. The holy women who wear their hair covered at all times; their arms are covered, and they wear dresses that are proper lengths, you have to know that they’re doing a service to Hashem. Hakodosh Baruch Hu considers them like kohanim wearing the bigdei kehunah. And they should be thinking that. And if you want to be really great, then don’t just think the words. When nobody is listening you can say, “I’m so lucky that I have the good fortune to be part of the Am Yisroel and to wear this glory on my head, the glory of demonstrating that I am an eved Hashem.”

So how could we waste such an opportunity? Why shouldn’t we utilize that? When you cover your head, when you put on your tzitzis, your belt, your jacket, your white shirt, you can combine these two great principles, the avodah of the mind, and the avodah of chitzoniyus, of malbushim. And if you do that every time, you should know that you’re living a rich and successful life. I say “every time;” even once in a while is a tremendous achievement! And if you do it always then ashreichem!

CITY OF EMPERORS

And once you understand what bigdei kehunah mean, so it’s not only your clothing that becomes an opportunity for greatness. When you see any Jewish man with a black hat, you understand that he is a prince wearing a crown. You should practice that on the street. “That man is crowned with ateres tiferes – a crown of glory – a crown that is more important that the most expensive diadem.” Imagine you decide right now, you’re thinking, “From now on whenever I put on my black hat, or I see my children, my little boys putting on their bar mitzvah black hats, or if I’ll see people wearing black hats in the street, so I’ll teach myself to understand that they are crowns of gold and diamonds.” It’s glorious! It’s more than the ermine cloaks and the golden necklaces of the emperors. They are nothing – absolutely worthless – when compared to the garments of a plain frum man or woman who are dressed in the way that the Torah requires. And once you’ve learned this lesson, you can do the same when you see the Satmerer chossid wearing his hat, your neighbor wearing tzitzis, or your wife wearing her sheitel. Now you’re already living a life of success! You’re combining the greatness of chitzoniyus with the perfection of pnimiyus, and achieving the true greatness of the bigdei kehunah even without the Beis Hamikdash.

And therefore, we begin to understand what a great loss it is to live our lives without thought, מצות אנשים מלומדה, doing things only out of habit. Of course, it’s very good to be externally a frum Jew. Of course it’s a merit – it’s a great zechus to look like a frum Jew. We learned that tonight: אלמלא בגדי כהונה, if not for the bigdei kehunah, לא נשתייר מישראל שריד ופליט, we wouldn’t be around anymore. And it’s true; we’re only around because of our dedication to Hashem in chitzoniyus. But when you live a life of understanding how to utilize the chitzoniyus, you’ll see that there’s no end of opportunities for greatness. And when people live that way, when they train themselves to react to the external stimuli, that’s a life of great success. Even for those who never filled their minds with any thoughts of copious Torah knowledge, even if you didn’t get the pnimiyus that you can get from seforim, you can utilize all of your externalities to stimulate your mind to live a rich and successful life.

WE WALK THE SAME PATH AS THE KOHANIM

And it’s an accomplishment that is so precious that it was considered an accomplishment that would last forever and ever for the Am Yisroel. אלמלא בגדי כהונה לא נשתיירו מישראל שריד ופליט. The merit of the bigdei kehunah, of wearing the uniform of the servant of Hashem, stands forever as a merit to protect the Am Yisroel, because we’re doing the same today. The fact that we are here today, is in no small part due to those days when the kohanim stood in the Beis Hamikdash, wearing the bigdei kehunah, teaching us the important lesson of utilizing the exteriority to dedicate ourselves to Hashem.

The more the frum Jews show their frumkeit, even externally, the more of a zechus we have to remain around forever. Frum men, frum women, frum boys and girls who by means of their dress, demonstrate that they belong to Hashem, are participating in the great k’vod shamayim of teaching ourselves and proclaiming to the world as well, that there is one Hashem and that we are forever dedicated to Him. And He gives us, just for that alone, the merit of continuing to exist in this world forever and ever. אלמלא בגדי כהונה לא נשתייר מישראל שריר ופליט. It’s the great achievement of demonstrating our loyalty to Hashem with our clothing, our externalities, that has given the Am Yisroel the merit to continue to exist. And therefore, the more we use our clothing and externalities to serve Hashem, and to become profoundly influenced by the lessons of the bigdei kehunah, the more we preserve the existence of the Am Yisroel forever and ever.