Parsha_Push, Parshat Tetzave

During the days I spent in hospital after giving birth to my children, people were surprised to discover that I was walking around the corridors in regular clothing, to the point where I had to convince them that I had indeed given birth. Admittedly, my case is somewhat unique, as the exhaustion and mind-numbing weakness were intense specifically during pregnancies; after giving birth, I felt my strength returning.

But that’s not why I didn’t walk around all day in a robe. The primary reason was morning prayer. I was raised, and we similarly strive to raise our children, that when standing before God, one comes dressed appropriately. One stands before God in clothes, not pajamas, wearing shoes, neat and organized. And once you wake up in the morning and get ready (particularly if you’ll also need to be dressed for afternoon and evening prayers), then you remain dressed. And between us, this is a positive influence on the soul, because you walk in the world (or in the hospital) ‘like a human being’ and not like a ‘patient’.
Beyond the maternity ward, during the COVID period, one could distinguish between children who woke up in the morning, got dressed and prayed, and those who spent all day on their Zoom sessions in bed, wearing at best a half-decent shirt when they were forced to keep their cameras on.
These insights – that clothing matters when coming to stand before God and that clothing defines a person even in parts that no one sees (when praying alone, or not being visible on Zoom) – are a central part of our weekly Torah portion. The priests are required to wear clothes ‘for honor and splendor’. They must appear dignified when standing before God. Their uniforms define their service and define the quality of their standing before God. A person is not a priest just because his father was a priest; part of what turns a person into a priest is dressing like a priest. This sends a message to the outside world that through their clothes, the priests are both honored and honoring the occasion, but also a message to the priests themselves, connecting them to their priestly consciousness.
Here one can notice that the clothing begins with an item that no one sees: the priestly pants. Because they are unseen, no one from the outside can hold the priests accountable for wearing or not wearing these pants, but they are part of the priestly uniform. They are important to the priests’ self-awareness. Unlike a TV presenter who wears the top part of a suit with sweatpants, the priest is aware of his priesthood and ‘enters the role’ both from the inside (in the inner heart) and from the inside of the outside, in clothes that are underneath the clothes. Honor and splendor begin from within and are projected outwards.