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Move over, Joseph and your amazing technicolor dream coat… This week, it’s Aaron and his sons getting a fashion upgrade! As Israel’s newly consecrated priests, they cannot help but impress, thanks to some ornate sacral vestments for “dignity and adornment,” complete with a colorful robe, tunic, headdress, and sash. As high priest, Aaron’s garments are topped off with a breastplate, ephod, precious stones—even engraved lazuli. Every last stitch and thread of the priestly clothing has some distinct meaning or purpose, often connected to the 12 tribes of Israel and “remembrance before the Eternal.” Looking good, boys! Loving the new priestly chic!

Perhaps the most intriguing accessory included in this week’s Torah portion, T’tzaveh, is Aaron’s “frontlet of pure gold,” inscribed with the words “Holy to the Eternal.” The frontlet is to be affixed in the center of a headdress using a blue cord, so that “Aaron may take away any sins arising from the holy things that the Israelites consecrate,” perhaps a kind of talisman to ensure that, once expunged of their sins, the Israelites can go back to their daily lives mindful of their innate goodness as creatures made in the image of the Eternal. Ki tov.

How might the world change if each of us walked around all day with a visible reminder that we are holy to the Eternal? Are we holy? What does holiness even mean? Do we have to be perfect, flawless beings to be considered holy? Do we have to be set apart from all that is unholy? Removed from the world, so to speak? Is it enough to be mindful of mitzvot? Kind to everyone we encounter? Perhaps holiness is a permanent state, an underlying truth that we forget sometimes when we get wrapped up in our daily drama, our feelings of guilt, our projections of guilt onto other people?

Each of us probably has a different response to these questions, but the subject is worth considering, as it sits at the center of our perception of our own worth and purpose. If we were to place a beautiful golden frontlet on our foreheads today, what might the message say? Is every human alive in possession of some holy connection, some unsullied piece of the divine? How might this week be different if every single person we encountered was wearing the same message as Aaron: Holy to the Eternal? What differences might we see across the globe in the days ahead if we had a visible reminder that every person contained a spark of the divine and the potential for holiness? How might we treat ourselves and move through the world if we truly felt holy to the Eternal?

I leave you with nothing but questions, but hopefully, they are intriguing ones…

Shabbat Shalom, you gorgeous fashion plates!

Rebecca Abbate