Garments Forever
And the answer is what we’re talking about here tonight. Because that ideal, that principle that we learn from the bigdei kehunah, that the clothing makes the man, was an eternal salvation for the Jewish nation. And it’s especially for us because everything we said till now about the clothing of mankind – that it is intended to elicit an awareness of man’s infinite greatness – that’s only an introduction to the subject of a Jew’s clothing.
Because it’s true that ם∆ל∆ˆ¿ב ‡ָר¿בƒּנ∆ׁ ̆ םָ„ָ‡ יבƒבָח – Mankind must be aware always of that special gift, the special responsibility, that we are created in the image of Hashem (Avos 3:14). It’s a great skyscraper of greatness! But when we come to Am Yisroel it’s another much greater skyscraper on top of that one. Because the mishnah doesn’t stop there; it goes on and concludes: Yes, man is beloved because he’s created in Hashem’s image, but ל≈‡ָר¿ׂ ̆ƒי יןƒיבƒבֲח – Yisroel are more beloved, much more than Adam, םֹו ָּ̃מַל יםƒנָּבּו‡¿ר¿ ̃ƒּנ∆ׁ ̆ – because they are called the children of Hashem (ibid.). And that means the Am Yisroel have a much greater obligation to listen to what their garments are trying to tell them.
