In this week?s parsha, Parshat Tetzaveh, the Torah continues on the topic of the Mishkan. After detailing the Mishkan?s architecture and utensils, Hashem continues with His instruction to Moshe by telling him to appoint Aharon and the sons of Aharon as Kohanim. Since a crucial component of Kohanim?s inauguration was their dressing in priestly garments, bigdei kehuna, the first four aliyot are almost strictly devoted to this topic.
Hashem?s command that Moshe fashion ?vestments of sanctity for Aharon, [his] brother (28:2)? seems surprisingly superficial. As the Torah explains in the next phrase of the posuk, the reason for investing the Kohanim in such elaborate garments was done strictly ?for glory and for splendor.? Hashem does not make it clear whether the bigdei kehuna served to ?glorify? Him or to ?protect? the honor of the Kohanim, but, in either case, the motivation behind investing the Kohanim in elaborate gowns was to foster an atmosphere of impressiveness and awesomeness in the Mishkan.
The superficiality of the commandment is puzzling when viewed in light of Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch?s statement regarding ?Hitkadshut,? ?Self-Sanctification.? In his treatise on the mitzvot, Horeb, Rabbi Hirsch speaks out against the damaging effects of pride and desire in serving Hashem. He asserts that these traits in particular obstruct an individual?s ability to serve Hashem and reach new spiritual levels. In this sense, the Kohanim?s ostentatious wardrobe is paradoxical: on one hand, the Kohanim are the quintessential servants of Hashem, but, on the other hand, their clothes embody the opposite concepts of arrogance and vanity.
The resolution to this contradiction of concepts comes at the end of the Torah?s discussion of the bigdei kehuna. The last, and arguably the most important garment that Hashem commands Moshe to fashion are the michnesei bad, linen breeches. The function of these undergarments is explained in posuk 28:42 when Hashem tells Moshe that the purpose of the linen breeches is to ?cover the nakedness [of the Kohanim], from the hips to the thighs shall they be.? The importance of these garments is emphasized in the next posuk. As Hashem commands, ?[the michnesei bad] shall be on Aharon and his sons when they enter the Tent of Meeting or when they approach the Altar to serve in holiness, and they should not bear a sin and die; it is an eternal decree for him and his offspring after him.?
At first glance, the punishment associated with not wearing the michnesei bad seems incommensurate with the crime. Is it fair for the Kohanim to be subject to the death penalty just because they are missing one garment?! The answer rests in the fact that the michnesei bad function to protect the modesty and humility of the Kohanim and serve to counteract the potentially damaging influences of their other garments while they serve in the Mishkan. The michnesei bad serve as a check on the Kohanim?s sense of self and ensure that the Kohanim are not overcome with haughtiness and vanity. Not wearing these linen breeches, therefore, is a severe transgression, one that runs contrary to idea of ?avodot Hashem,? serving Hashem.
It is difficult to preserve a sense of humility while performing mitzvot. Who does not feel a sense of pride when they are sure that they are doing the right thing? Nevertheless, humility is fundamental to serving Hashem. No group of people understood how difficult it is to preserve a healthy sense of self while serving Hashem better than the Kohanim. Despite their elaborate wardrobe and respected position, the Kohanim realized on a perpetual basis that they were merely servants of Hashem.