Parashat Tetzaveh

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is devoted to the exploration of design. Among the different media that are on ever-changing display are exhibits on costumes and attire from across the globe and across the sands of time. What I find most interesting about the exhibits are the write-ups by curators who try to glean an understanding of a people by the clothes that they wore. In a week when our traditions and our traditional texts seem hyper-focused on dress, I can’t help but wonder what a curator from the V and A would say about us. Tonight and tomorrow morning, we will be reading the Book of Esther. Nowhere in the entire Tanakh is there as much space devoted to addressing what people wore (or aspired to wear) as the Megillah. The royal crown is mentioned repeatedly. The king’s garments are described in detail and Haman wants the opportunity to wear them; Mordechai is rewarded by being clothed in them. Mordechai tears his garments and is warned that it is unbecoming for a royal courtier to be seen that way. Our midrashim paint pictures of what the queen wore — or was asked not to wear — such as Haman’s hat, etc. The element of the Purim celebration that kids greet with the most anticipation is dressing up in costumes for the day (or for three days if you are in Jerusalem this year). The story of Purim would be no less compelling without the accounts of the garments, yet they become an integral part of the text and the holiday. 

Parashat Tetzaveh always falls around Purim — and this year in Jerusalem, where Purim is celebrated on Friday, Shabbat, and Sunday, it will be read on Purim. Almost the entire parashah is devoted to describing the outfits that must be fashioned for the High Priest and his assistants and the inauguration ceremony that followed. The description of the outfits alone takes up 43 verses. From the design of the headpieces through the bells attached at the bottom of the garments, no detail seems to be left out. The High Priest’s outfit was designed to make a statement and a lasting impression on anyone who would see it. While clothes are mentioned briefly in other places in the Torah, this is the only example of such a thorough description (Even Joseph’s outfit is described in only two words — [a] striped tunic).

That brings me back to the V and A. If a curator were to accompany me to shul on Purim, follow along with the readings, look at the costumes in the room, and then come back on Shabbat when we read Tetzaveh, what impression might this person get? Are we a colorful group of people who enjoy dressing up? Are we a group of people who recognize that attire creates impressions? Are we defined by the exceptional way in which our attention is given to attire this week? Would we rather the entire world would see us this way, or not? In a year when the fashion industry has shifted its focus from fancy clothes to creating the most comfortable loungewear, let us revel in our own Jewish Fashion Week. 

Shabbat Shalom and Purim Sameach.