So Clothes make the man, right? Or, dress for success. What does this mean? It means that what you wear projects who you are or what you want to be. It’s the outward appearance and manifestation of personality, right? An expression of how we think of ourselves or hold ourselves in this world. In this week’s Torah portion, Tetzaveh, Aaron is clothed in an outfit to make himself more holy. He is preparing to become the High Priest, and there is an elaborate description of the articles of clothing he is meant to wear when he comes into G-d’s presence. He starts with the basics, right. The first layer is unadorned white linen. Each new layer becomes more and more embellished - elaborate, colorful and precious. And each is added in a specific order. Maybe this description is a metaphor for what we are, or should aim to be if we want to communicate with Gd. It’s not really about the articles of clothes but how we behave.
Underneath it all, at our heart’s center, we are pure. If we want to dress for spiritual success we need to
add layers with the intention of making ourselves more beautiful, not necessarily in an aesthetic way but in a way that enhances and brings out our godliness, our divinity, our holiness. We have the choice about how we carry ourselves and what we wear, metaphorically. We can choose to elevate ourselves to a higher plane with magnificent trappings.
BUT… You have to do things in order and get dressed in a certain order or it doesn’t make sense right? If you put on the fancy scarf before you put on your underwear or your shirt, nobody is going to see it. So you gotta do things in the right order in order to see/appreciate the embellishment. I suppose you could wear a fancy bra and underwear but you don’t share that with the world. Or maybe you do, I don’t know.
This parshah reminds me of the physical practice of yoga. When we The definition of Vinyasa is to place in a special way, we have to do things in a certain order to be able to reach the embellishment. We have to “get dressed” in a certain order. We can’t just pop into handstand or flying pigeon. We have to move with intention and start with the basics, warm ourselves up and gently add piece by piece, layer by layer ‘til we put on the final flourishing touches. Just like Aaron didn’t put on his headpiece until his tunic was tied and the breastplate was placed, etc. During the practice I invite you to honor your Gd given structure, and contemplate how you can build upon the basics and create something of beauty, or majesty, and worthiness to co-mingle with god. If we build our structure soundly, layer upon layer starting with the not so fancy basics and build outward, we get to the fancy-schmancy, the end , the flourish, the expansion into magnificence.
Conversely, when we add layers to our most basic we can create something special, elevated, if it is done with the right intention. So, we have the choice about how we carry ourselves and what we wear, metaphorically. We can choose to elevate ourselves to a higher plane with magnificent trappings. We could choose to acknowledge and elevate those around us; as Aaron does wearing his breastplate with the 12 tribes represented and his epaulets, also inscribed with the names of the tribes, as he presents himself to Gd, he brings everyone with him.
Maybe as we practice today we can think about what we are like at our most basic. Right, in the center of everything, underneath it all, all the layers we have added over the years, we at most pure, like the white pants and tunic that Aaron and the priests wear. In some respects the most, the closest of our own expression of Gd. And maybe we can add layers with the intention of making ourselves more beautiful, not necessarily in an aesthetic way but in a way that enhances and brings out that godliness, that divinity, that holiness, that then allows us to walk into the holy of holies and directly communicate with god. And I invite you in the practice today to extend your own unique expression of what you choose to wear in your physical body and how you choose to express it.
You have to do things in order and get dressed in a certain order or it doesn’t make sense right? If you put on the fancy scarf before you put on your underwear or your shirt, nobody is going to see it. So you gotta do things in the right order in order to see/appreciate the embellishment. I suppose you could wear a fancy bra and underwear but you don’t share that with the world. Or maybe you do, I don’t know. Just like when we practice yoga. When we practice vinyasa, to place in a special way, we have to do things in a certain order to be able to reach the embellishment
We can’t just pop into handstand or flying pigeon. We have to move with intention and start with the basics, warm ourselves up and gently add piece by piece, layer by layer ‘til we put on the final flourishing touches. That is to say, I don’t know what the Ephod is or the Urim or Tammim but I know if we layer structure upon structure, beauty upon beauty, ultimately, the structure is what is Gd given. We all have our Gd given structure, and how can we build upon the basics and create something of beauty, or majesty, worthiness to co-mingle with god. And how do we find that co-mingling within ourselves, well, again, if we build our structure soundly, layer upon layer starting with the not so fancy basics and add deeper layers and build outward, we get to the fancy-schmancy, the end , the flourish, the expansion into magnificence.
And over time, we add layers and become more complicated. Perhaps, happily, it is with more flamboyant or more colorful choices. Or maybe sometimes all these layers (foisted upon us or chosen haphazardly) just wear us down and what we really need to do is strip them off and get down to basics and then start again.