It is asked in the Talmud why the passage describing the priestly garments is juxtaposed to the passage detailing the various sacrificial offerings brought at the inauguration of the Mishkan. The answer provided is to teach that, just as the sacrificial offerings atone for various sins or misdeeds, so do the priestly garments worn by the kohanim who perform their service for all of Israel (Arachin 16a). The discussion continues with a description of the connection between the eight garments of the Kohen Gadol and the sins that they atone for. For each one, the Talmud provides a verse showing the connection. The priestly garments and the sacrifices brought at the inauguration of the Mishkan are described in Parshat Tetzaveh. (Rashi in a different comment in the tractate of Zevachim (88b) finds a similar juxtaposition between the priestly garments and the sacrifices in the Torah portion of Tzav). Here is a brief list of each particular garment and what it atones for:
Tunic – Ketonet – Bloodshed: this garment comes to atone for the brothers dipping Yosef’s tunic in the blood of a goat in order to deceive their father Yaakov.
Trousers – Michnasayim – Immorality: Underwear that covers the sexual organ comes to atone for sexual immorality.
Turban – Mitznefet – Arrogance: As Rabbi Chanina said – “Let something worn high on the head come to atone for haughtiness.”
Sash – Avnet – Unrectified thoughts of the heart: The sash was worn right below the heart, thus it atones for improper musings of the heart. The sash was also thirty-two amot long, the gematria of lev, “heart.”
Breastplate – Choshen – Judgment: The Breastplate was actually called the Breastplate of Judgment.
Apron – Ephod – Idolatry: A verse in Hoshea (3:4) juxtaposed the ephod next to teraphim, a type of idol worship.
Robe – Meil – Evil speech: Since the bottom of the robe had bells hanging and would thus ring as the Kohen Gadol moved, it came to atone for the sound of evil speech.
Head-plate – Titz – Brazenness: The head-plate was worn on the forehead, the symbolic part of the body associated with brazenness.
To better understand how clothing can atone for one’s misdeeds, it behooves us to touch briefly on the role of clothing in general, and specifically in a spiritual context. The sanctified garments of the kohanim, the Torah informs us, were made for “glory and splendor” (Shemot 28:2). The kohanim, who served simultaneously as the people’s representatives to God and as God’s representatives to the people, were commanded to dress in a manner worthy of their position and spiritual task. The atonement they effected on behalf of the people came about through the focused intention and service of those who wore the garments for the sake of all Israel.
The Torah spends so much time describing every detail of the sacred vestments because garments, in general, signify a much deeper level of meaning. Upon deeper reflection, we see that garments simultaneously conceal and reveal, as described in the events of the Garden of Eden where clothes are first mentioned.
The first clothes were worn by Adam and Eve after they ate from the Tree of Knowledge; before that they were described as being naked and unashamed. However, the first clothes were not just a consequence of Adam and Eve’s sin and accompanying sense of shame, they become a potent symbol and practical vehicle for a spiritually uplifting modesty. The physical body and all its potential for enslavement to baser desires is concealed underneath clothing in order to reveal and express the soul within the body, the real essence of the individual.
Indeed, this explains what the verse means when it states that the kohanim are to wear their garments for “glory and splendor.” These garments concealed a lower physical reality, while simultaneously and paradoxically revealing God’s glory shining into the physical dimension through the souls of those representing both God and His people. In this light, we can begin to appreciate the symbolic nature of clothing in general, as well as the deep connections between each particular garment and their corresponding human faults and misdeeds, revealing how they can be uplifted, rectified and atoned for. Ultimately these teachings apply to each person: the way we dress and carry ourselves reflects our sense of inner self-worth and essence.
