New Clothes, New Perspective - Acharei/Kedoshim 5786

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The High Priest - the Kohen Gadol - wore stunning clothes when he was performing the service in the Holy Temple. Garments made of multicolored materials interwoven with gold, precious stones in golden settings, a golden plate on his forehead and a unique turban. This was the case 364 days a year. 


On Yom Kippur, however, the holiest day of the year when he would go into the Holy of Holies to burn incense, he wore simple white garments. No colors, no gold, just white linen. To appear in the holiest place on earth on the holiest day, the holiest person came with simplicity to connect with Hashem on behalf of the people. 


There was another difference between the daily garments and those of Yom Kippur. He would wear the daily garments for as long as they were usable. The simple Yom Kippur garments, however, were worn for only one day. As the Torah says (Vayikra 23:16): “Aaron must enter the Tent of Meeting. He must remove the linen garments that he wore when he entered the Holy of Holies, and leave them there.”  Rashi explains: “‘And leave them there,’ This teaches us that they must be hidden away, and he may not use these four garments for another Yom Kippur.”



I read a beautiful commentary about this by Rabbi Avrohom Jacks. An encounter with the Infinite cannot happen in yesterday’s clothes. We tend to stagnate spiritually. We become complacent and satisfied with our level of connection with Hashem and Torah life. We “wear the same clothes” and just do the same thing again and again. 


The message from Yom Kippur is that in order to really encounter the Divine, we have to constantly add excitement and growth to our spiritual lives. We can’t show up in the same clothes and expect something different. Whether it is in our learning, our relationships, our connection to Hashem. We need to commit to something new, to bring a fresh perspective, and then we can approach the holy and be uplifted.

 

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