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    Dressing up – Acharei Mot

    The high priest had special garments to wear on Yom Kippur in Temple times – a linen shirt, linen trousers, a linen belt and a linen headcovering (Lev. 16:4). On other days he had a more elaborate set of garments that were far more ornate.

    Rashi points out the contrast. One would expect the opposite phenomenon – simple wear on ordinary days and ornate garments on Yom Kippur. But the holy day required humility, not show. When facing the Supreme Judge, the gold in elaborate garments would testify to the wrong set of values. From this we learn that sometimes simpler is better.

    These days the lesson is the same: face Divine scrutiny in clean but unostentatious wear. What a pity it is when people dress up to impress others and forget that there is a Judge On High who looks into our hearts and minds.

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