We Wear the Holiness of Shabbat

After completing the weekly haftarah, the reader chants four berachot, the last of which begins with the words, “al HaTorah, v’al haAvoda v’al ha’Nevi’im v’al Yom HaShabbat ha’zeh.... [the Torah, the divine worship, the prophets, and this Sabbath day], continues with our gratitude for “sanctity and rest” [l’kedusha v’li’menucha] and concludes with the remarkable and curious, l’kavod u’ltiferet [for glory and beauty]. Why are these concluding words so remarkable? Consider the phrasing of the rest of the beracha – the language is entirely consistent with our general understanding of Shabbat blessings (a day of sanctity and rest) until we get to l’kavod u’ltiferet. Here, we are introduced to language that rarely appears in Torah. In fact, this phrase – “for glory and beauty” – only appears in reference to the sacred garments worn by Aaron, the Kohen Gadol, and the kohanim serving in the Mikdash.

“You are to make garments of holiness for Aaron, your brother [l’kavod u’ltiferet]…” (Shemot 28:2), and not only for Aaron but for all the kohanim doing the Godly service – “And for the sons of Aaron you are to make coats... sashes and caps l’kavod u’ltiferet…” (28:40)

What could these references, specific to the garments of the kohanim in the Torah, have to do with our understanding of Shabbat? 

The Lekah Tov explains u’ltiferet to suggest that, “…in the eyes of all of Israel, to make it known that God chose him [Aaron].” In other words, these garments would help all those who looked upon Aaron and the kohanim realize that there is something special and unique about those so dressed; that the kohanim would, simply by wearing these beautiful garments, stand out not simply as beautiful or imposing but as God-like in their appearance.

That is, these unique garments actually create the feeling and aura of holiness that is to be understood about the Avodah in the Mikdash. Bottom line? The bigdei kehuna are synonymous with the kedusha! That’s a pretty powerful observation.

The question is, why did this same description l’kavod u’ltiferet become part of a blessing recited after the haftarah on Shabbat and Yom Tov? (See Rabbi Peretz Rodman’s insightful analysis “Shabbat Clothes Replace the Priestly Garments” in The Torah. Com)

After a period of mourning following the death of Aaron, the people realized that they confronted a new vulnerability – when they resumed their journey to the Promised Land they discovered that the “pillar of cloud” that had guided and protected them was gone too.

Israel was not alone in recognizing this new vulnerability. Sensing weakness, one of the Canaanite kings launched an attack against Am Yisrael. “The Canaanite king of Arad, who dwelled in the South, heard that Israel had come by route of the spies, and he warred against Israel” (Bamidbar 21:1)

But who was this king? Was he truly a Canaanite? The Torah is clear that the south is the habitat of Amalek (13:29). Indeed, the Midrash tells us that the attacker was in fact an Amalekite who sought to confuse the Jews. Why? Confused as to their enemy, the people would be stymied in praying for God’s assistance. To accomplish his strategy, the king ordered his soldiers to speak the Canaanite language. He believed that the Jews would mistakenly seek redemption from the Canaanites not the Amalekites. But, as the expression has it – A yid git sich a’lemol an eitza [A Jew can always figure it out]. Though they spoke Canaanite they dressed as Amalekites! Their clothing gave them away! So, recognizing their enemy for who they were, the people prayed to God for salvation and victory without specifying a particular nation by name. “If He will deliver this people into my hand...” (21:2)

If the Amalekites had really wanted to outsmart the Jews, wouldn’t it have been smarter if their language and dress aligned? That they had not changed their uniforms to match the language they spoke suggests something deeper than just the confrontation described in parashat Chukat (Bamidbar 21:1-3).

The deep lesson here is that one’s clothing is fundamental to one’s identity!

Perhaps it is true, clothes really do “make the man”!

When the Talmud discusses clothing and honor it is almost always in the context of Shabbat, that day that focuses on the uniqueness of the Jew. On Shabbat, we are imbued with an additional soul, vayinafash. On Shabbat, we are invited to exist just a bit closer to the fullness of the holy. Isaiah (58:13) suggests that we should not squander that opportunity; he tells us to infuse Shabbat with “a delight” of good food and the like; to v’chibadeto (related to mechabdutai!) me’asos d’rachecha – and you honor it by not engaging in your own affairs.

The Talmud teaches that this exhortation is telling us to be sure our Shabbat attire is not the same as our weekday attire. After all, we would not wear our everyday clothes to a wedding how much more should we dress for the Shabbat!

To infuse the Shabbat with delight, according to the Talmud, equates with elevating every aspect of our daily lives, specifically our lives relating to our clothing. The Etz Yosef takes Isaiah’s words – v’chibadeto me’asos d’rachecha – to mean, “…glorify it with clean clothing, for your Shabbat clothing should not be the same as your weekday clothing.” The Etz Yosef draws a direct line between Shabbat clothing and tiferet [beauty/splendor] by referencing another verse in Isaiah (52:1), one which depicts Jerusalem’s future beauty and splendor – Uri livshi bigdei tifartech Yerushalaim Ir Hakodesh.

When do we regularly hear this verse? When we welcome the Shabbat bride, with the soulful singing of Lecha Dodi.

Tiferet – beauty/splendor – is Shabbat, is Jerusalem, is the priestly garments, is the Mishkan/ Mikdash itself. The bond between Shabbat and Mishkan is so powerful and true. Indeed, the command to rest on Shabbat refers to our refraining from engaging in the 39 categories of labor [melacha] employed in the Mishkan.

In order to view and experience Shabbat as a truly holy day, a day set apart from the other days of the week, we must first rise above an everyday mindset and elevate ourselves to a place of kavod and tiferet. And where is that place? It is the Mishkan itself, a sanctified place where God resides, a place where we are invited to partake, to share and communicate on a higher level, a more spiritual level, one separate from the secular.

In the Mishkan, the avodah, could only be performed with Aaron and the kohanim being clothed in splendor [l’kavod u’ltiferet]. Likewise, our engagement with Shabbat also demands our being clothed in splendor. Do we really believe we can engage in the holiness of Shabbat in jeans and a tee shirt? The argument that one’s spiritual self is not dependent on one’s outer appearance falls short.

None of us step out into public without knowing exactly how we dress. Even those who choose to wear torn jeans and untucked shirts do so intentionally. And why do we do that? Because we know that not only are we judged by our appearance, but our outer appearance really does reflect who we are! One who wants to be perceived as a renegade, dresses like a renegade. One who dresses in a slovenly manner shouts to the world his lack of self-regard. One who dresses modestly and neatly, makes clear he is a thoughtful person.

The priestly garments made clear that the kohanim were chosen by God.

We Jews are a community of kohanim [mamlechet kohanim v’goy kadosh]. How could that status not be conveyed by our clothing? It is true that there exists no physical Mishkan or Mikdash in our day but as a community of kohanim, we are invited into God’s permanent sanctuary in this world – the Sabbath day; on the Sabbath day, we are called and challenged to reconnect with God, to elevate ourselves. We do this in a number of ways, initially by adjusting our outward appearance appropriately – making our clothing Shabbosdik. By adjusting our clothing, we honor [v’chibadeto] ourselves before we are able to honor Him.

Shabbat is our Mishkan. That is the message and challenge of the haftarah’s closing blessing – l’kavod u’ltiferet. To fully embrace and observe Shabbat, we need to transport ourselves to another “place”, to another “world”, to a state of tiferet!

In order to enter that place, we must see ourselves as worthy to occupy that place; we must gird ourselves in l’kavod u’ltiferet. On Sunday through Friday, we are our everyday selves; on Shabbat, we are kohanim. And that cannot happen lest we dress appropriately.

Of course, there are those who rebel against this truth. Why can’t we be comfortable on Shabbat? Why not a simple polo and pants? Good jeans? Isn’t that “nice enough”? After all, we’re not “crazy frum,” our rabbi doesn’t mind…

Polo and pants? Good jeans? To do the work of the Mishkan? Imagine a kohen performing the avodah in non-bigdei kahuna! That avodah is posul. That wouldn’t be a service to God; it would be a barbecue! Without Shabbat attire, we are lacking and therefore our Shabbat experience is lacking.

We fall short. We do not elevate ourselves.

Who among us, when we observe our Chassidic friends and neighbors in their Shabbat attire, their bekeshe and shtreimel, do not feel in a powerful and wonderful way that it is Shabbat?

When we return from shul Friday night, we sing Shalom Aleichem and welcome the angels who have accompanied us, hoping the good angels who see and experience the beauty and glory of our Shabbat table will return to our home again next Shabbat. After we sing Shalom Aleichem and before we sing Aishet Chayil, we utter a most moving prayer to the Ruler of All Worlds – Ribon kol ha’Olamim. In that prayer, we thank God for all He has provided, beseech him for the blessings of a good life, that he might find favor in His eyes with “me and my entire household”. There are few more moving bakashot in all the Siddur. And then, almost at the conclusion, we add, “Please, King Who reigns over kings, instruct Your angels... that they consider me with mercy and bless me when they enter my home on our holy day...”

I speak these words while I ask God to look down from on high and see for Himself that, “…I have kindled my lights, spread my bed, and changed my clothes in honor of the Sabbath day...”

I ask God to see me as I see myself – through my outer presentation. I ask God to see that by paying attention to my garments, I have put myself in a different, better place. I ask God to see that I am an authentic kohen, having put on my “priestly garments”, my Shabbos clothes.

In those clothes, I feel God’s holiness; I feel the power of the moment. I feel that I have entered the Mishkan.