Likavod U'Litifares

שושנת יעקב צהלה ושמחה בראותם יחד תכלת מרדכי. The Jews were joyous and glad when they jointly saw the techeiles of Mordechai. The Jews rejoiced most when they saw the techeiles of their leader. This was what brought them the highest level of happiness. The war victory and the annulment of the decree issuing their death are put to the side. The victory of garb takes precedence.  The megillah is filled with complex and descriptive portrayal of color and cloth. The first situation where this is the case is when the megillah describes the grandeur of Achashveirosh’s party. The Midrash tells us that Achashveirosh stole the bigdei Kehunah. The megillah describes the beauty of the setting of Achashveirosh’s party in lengthy details. Those terms are similarly paralleled when the megillah recounts the story of Mordechai being paraded through the streets of Shushan. There is another incident regarding garb which is told on a less happy note. When Mordechai heard of the decree that had been issued, he tore his garments and adorned sackcloth. Queen Esther attempted to send him new clothing, but he declined.

ועשית בגדי קדש לאהרן אחיך לכבוד ולתפארת. You shall make vestment of sanctity for Aaron your brother, for glory and for splendor. Truly spectacular garments made out of exquisite materials of all colors, befitting for a king. The Ramban, Sforno, and the Sefer HaChinuch explain that someone of such a high stature as a Kohen, a priest of God Himself, must have a presence of awe. An aura of kingliness and respect. The Sefer HaChinuch goes further and explains that when one has an outer impression of being kingly and respectable; it affects him on the inside. He supports this with the fact that if a Kohen were to perform the avodah without the proper garments worn, his avodah would be invalid. The Kohen’s appearance of awe and prestige are an integral part to his service in the Temple.

Adam Harishon was the first man to be gifted with clothing. The Midrash Yalkut Shimoni tells us that his garments were similar to that of the Kohen’s in their grandeur. The Midrash tells us that Nimrod stole these garments, and then had them subsequently stolen from him by Eisav. Yaakov Avinu adorned his brother’s garments when he went to receive the blessings from Yitzchak Avinu, his father. Why was this necessary? His father had bad eyesight, and besides which, Yaakov had to cover them with fur anyways, in order to give his skin the feel of Eisav’s skin! Yaakov knew that despite receiving the blessing which he received from his father, he would also eventually be given the material blessing which Yitzchak gave to Eisav. However, Yaakov knew that whilst in Exile, his descendants would lose those garments. We have lost that outer impression of respect and kingliness. The Jewish nation in our day and age is the most hated and degraded. There are over 1500 resolutions against Israel in the UN. If you Google the word, “Jew,” the majority of hits on the first page will be anti-Semitic. (However, Google became aware of this issue and fixed the problem.) The average media reporter regards Jews, especially religious ones, with distaste. We seem to have lost our ability to have an outer clothing of being servants of God.

            King Achashveirosh stole the bigdei Kehunah and took the respect of the world away from the Jews and onto his own kingdom. The Jews, after losing our Beis Hamikdash and seeing its spoils being abused by Achashveirosh, not only lost our outer appearance of kingship, but also lost our inner sense of importance as servants of God. They therefore felt it inconsequential to attend the party. Mordechai tore his clothing when he realized that our place in the eyes of the world had been lowered, and it was no longer befitting for us to adorn our presence of glory. When things started turning around, it was Mordechai who emerged parading through the streets in robes of glory and kingship. This symbolized that the Jews were on their way back up and that their redemption was imminent. שושנת יעקב צהלה ושמחה בראותם יחד תכלת מרדכי. Winning the war and saving or lives were immensely valuable and necessary events, but the Jews were more concerned with how they would be viewed by the nations. Gaining outer respect as servants of God affects our inner service of God as well. They therefore rejoiced the most when they saw their leader re-adorn his vestments of kingliness and prestige.

            Perhaps this can offer insight as to why we dress up on Purim. The story of Purim is symbolized by the back-and-forth battle of outer clothing and appearance. May we all strive to be looked at as a Kiddush Hashem in the way we dress, speak and most importantly, act; whether it be on the street, in school, or in the workplace. And hopefully soon the Jewish nation as a whole will be respected as true examples of servants of God, במהרה בימינו אמן. Have a Good Shabbos and a Freilichin Purim.

Im saying this in front of my entire shul. :/