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A Change of Clothing
The Hebrew word "avoda" (literally, "work"), used so
often in this week's Torah portion to refer to the service of the High Priest on
Yom Kippur also has implications for our day-to-day work. It reminds us that
each Jew is a miniature Temple and that every aspect of our lives,
even the unspectacular and mundane, have a holy and spiritual purpose.
Similarly, each task in the Temple was important. If so, why
were the priests commanded to wear certain clothing during most of their
service, but lesser clothes when they removed the ash from the altar to outside
of the Temple area (see Lev. 6:4)? Rashi gives two explanations: First,
so that they should not dirty their priestly garments, and second, that "The
clothing with which you cook for your master, should not be the same garments
worn when pouring his cup."
There are a number of Temple activities during which a priest
would soil his clothing: slaughtering the offering, the passing of the blood,
the throwing of the blood, etc. Why was removing the ash singled out? For this
quandary, Rashi provides the second explanation. Stains accumulated by
service performed in the presence of the Master are not considered dirt, but
rather part of the service. On the other hand, the grime derived from preparing
for eventual service (like cooking the food), and not in the Master's presence
is considered filth, and thus the requirement to change clothes.  | | " A Jew serves G-d not only with obviously holy actions like Kiddush...." | | |
However, if the removal of the ash was so much less than the
other services, why was it a requirement of the priest on duty? Why not let
another less qualified priest do it? This is exactly the point. The Torah
teaches us that a Jew serves G-d not only with obviously holy actions like
Kiddush or the Passover Seder, but also with all of the actions that help us
get there, like taking out the garbage or cleaning the house for Pesach.
There is another important lesson here. A person might think,
"Fine, I am like a priest spending my time in the Temple. What work should I be
doing to change the world for the better? I can do the work that is connected to
my immediate surroundings, that is usually within my scope, but to go outside is
not for me; I'll leave it for others who are not on my same level." Here comes
the commandment for the same priest to take the ash outside. Even though it
required leaving the protection of the Temple and was so lowly as to require
changing clothes, that same priest was commanded to do it. In exactly the same
way, through the proper attitude and actions, we will cause the Holy One Blessed
Be He to take each and every Jew by the hand out of the exile and bring us to
the final redemption.
Shabbat Shalom and a Kosher and Happy Pesach
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