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1. Garments as the "Character Traits" of the Soul
Just as physical clothes cover and express the body, a person's character traits (Middot) are the "garments" of their soul. A person can have a holy soul, but if their "garments" (their patience, emotional reactions, etc.) are flawed, their inner light is distorted. Therefore, spiritual growth requires changing one's spiritual clothes.
"מוכרחים לפעמים להסיר ממנו לגמרי את ההרגשות הנמוכות אף על פי שהן משמשות בקדושה לאחרים."
"One is sometimes forced to completely remove from himself the lower feelings [garments], even though they may serve a holy purpose for others."
2. The Danger of "Lowly Garments" for Great People
Why must the High Priest (and Mordechai in Megillat Esther) must wear garments of "Honor and Glory" (Kavod and Tiferet)? Sometimes, truly great people fail because they dress their souls in inappropriate "garments" of extreme, misplaced humility or smallness. A great soul must wear majestic spiritual garments, not lowly ones.
Quote:
"בקטנות אמונה בעצמם הבאה מתוך שפלות קיצונית שהיא חוץ מאורח אמת של אור תורה דלעילא."
"[They fall due to] a smallness of faith in themselves, coming from an extreme lowliness [false humility] which is outside the true path of the higher light of Torah."
3. Human Ideologies vs. Divine Truth (Muddy Water vs. Pure Water)
There is a sharp distinction between the "garments" (ideologies, laws, and moral systems) invented by human beings, and those derived from the Divine. Human morality is inherently tainted by human flaws, whereas Divine morality is pure.
"כהבדל שבין מים עכורים ודלוחים שאינם ראויים רק לשתיית בהמה... לבין אותו העידון של אוויר זך וצח מים קרים נוזלים צלולים מתוקים מצינור מים חיים... כן הוא ההבדל שבין ההשפעה הנפשית ההולכת מכל אשר יהגה לב האדם... ואשר מוכרח הוא בטומאת הבשר להטמא... לעומת ההשפעה הבאה מן הרוח האלהי העליון."
"Like the difference between murky, muddy water fit only for an animal to drink... and the refinement of pure, clear air and sweet, clear, flowing cold water from a living spring... So is the difference between the psychological influence that comes from whatever the human heart invents... which is inevitably tainted by the impurity of the flesh... as opposed to the influence that comes from the Supreme Divine Spirit."
4. The National Garments of the State of Israel
When a nation creates laws and societal norms based purely on human intellect ("what they invent from their own hearts"), it is a form of idolatry (Avodat Elilim), because man is essentially worshipping his own mind. Israel's national "garments" (its statehood, laws, and culture) must be Bigdei Kehuna—garments drawn from the pure, Divine source.
However, Chazal offer a profound defense of the secular or rebellious elements of the Jewish nation. Playing on the Hebrew words for garments (Begadim / בגדים) and traitors/rebels (Bogdim / בוגדים), Chazal note even those who rebel against the Torah in Israel are still fundamentally different from the nations of the world, because their root is holy.
"אשר גם ריח בגדיו, אשר גם ריח בוגדיו הוא כריח שדה אשר ברכו ה'."
"That even the smell of his garments [begadav]—which can be read as the smell of his traitors/rebels [bogdav]—is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed."
Even the rebellious 'traitors' of Israel emit a holy scent, because beneath their secular 'garments' lies an inner drive to build the nation, which stems from a holy, Divine source, unlike the self-serving humanism of other nations.
Conclusion
The commandment to make "Garments of Holiness" (Bigdei Kodesh) is not just an ancient ritual instruction for the Priests. It is a modern, national directive for the Jewish people. The State of Israel must strive to clothe its national life, laws, and society not in the "muddy waters" of human-invented morality, but in the "royal, priestly garments" of Divine light and truth.
