Jewish Life Digital Edition October 2015 | Page 45
your skin for it to influence your psychological processes.” Or to
put it another way: “Clothes invade the body and brain, putting
the wearer into a different psychological state.”
And the clothing we wear not only affects us, but it affects the
people around us as well: “Other experiments have shown that
women who dress in a masculine fashion during a job interview
are more likely to be hired, and a teaching assistant who wears
formal clothes is perceived as more intelligent than one who
dresses more casually.”
The Torah tells us2 the detailed requirements for the clothing
that was to be worn by the Kohanim (the priests), as well as the
special garments that were to be worn exclusively by the Kohein
Gadol, while serving in the Mishkan (the Tabernacle – the mobile Temple that Hashem commanded us to build).
So important were these clothes that the gemara teaches3 if a
Kohein performed the avodah (service) without wearing the proper garments, not only was his service disqualified, but he was actually deserving of death. The gemara derives this from a verse in the
Torah which states: “You shall gird them – Aaron and his sons – with
a sash….and the Kehuna (priesthood) will be theirs for an everlasting
law.”4 The gemara explains this verse to mean that at the time that
the clothes are being worn by the Kohanim – so too their special
status as Kohanim is considered to be upon them as well. But, if
the clothes are not on the Kohanim, then their special status as
Kohanim is also not considered to be upon them – to the point
that they are actually regarded as not being Kohanim at all, with
the result being that it’s as if a non-Kohein performed the service
in the Mishkan – and hence the severe penalty previously noted.
The clothes the Kohanim wore went beyond being merely an
adornment; they literally made the Kohanim who they were, profoundly affecting the people who wore them.
To read the explanation offered for this mitzvah given by the
Sefer HaChinuch5, the Book of Mitzvah Education anonymously
authored by a father for the purpose of educating his son, is like
reading from the journal article previously cited – except the
Chinuch wrote his book in the 13th century!
The Chinuch states: “At the root of this mitzvah is a principle that
has been firmly established for us, that man is influenced according
to his actions, and after those actions, his thoughts and intentions
follow. And the agent who brings atonement (ie, the Kohein) needs
to focus all of his thoughts and intentions on the service at hand.
Therefore, it’s fit for him to be clothed in special garments that when
he will look at any place on his body, immediately, he will be reminded and arouse his heart before the One who he serves (ie, Hashem).
“And for this reason, it was said that the length of the tunic
was required to be on his entire body, until a bit above the heel
and the length of the sleeve until the edge of his hand (ie, the
wrist). And the length of the [Kohen Gadol’s] turban was 16
amos6– just shy of 10 metres long – and it surrounded his head
in order that he would see it whenever he looked up. And the
sash, with which he girded his hips, its length was 32 amos – almost 20 metres long – and it went round and round his body,
wrapping upon wrapping, until we find that the Kohein would
feel it at all times with his arms because of its thickness which
resulted from the many wrappings.”
Clothes invade the body
and brain, putting the
wearer into a different
psychological state.
And it wasn’t enough that the Kohein wore these clothes; the
Chinuch emphasises just how important it was that the Kohein
was actually cognizant – at all times – that he was wearing them,
to the point that Hashem actually designed them so the Kohein’s
body would be constantly rubbing up against the various pieces,
as well as be seen by the Kohein from every angle that he gazed.
But amazingly, the Chinuch continues that all of this was in addition to the matter of the honour that these garments provided for
the Mishkan and for the service performed by the Kohanim, because, as a consequence of the Kohanim wearing these garments,
the Mishkan would become magnified in people’s estimation, which
would, in turn, soften the hearts of those who beheld the Kohanim
in these garments, prompting those people to return to Hashem.
In other words, the clothes weren’t designed only having in mind
the influence they would have on the people who wore them, but for
the effect they would have on the people who saw them being worn!
And we see this also by other clothing that we are commanded
by Hashem to wear. Regarding the four-cornered garment, which
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