And You Shall Love

They shall make those sacral vestments for your brother Aaron and his sons, for priestly service to Me; ⁵ they, therefore, shall receive the gold, the blue, purple, and crimson yarns, and the fine linen. -Exodus 28:4-5

This is a fascinating parsha to me.  The entire parsha outlines how to create beautiful things.  Works of beauty as a means of honoring HaShem.  It reminds me of the incredible heritage of art, craft, dance, music, writing, and judaic art that is imbedded in our people’s history.  It’s an honor to be a part of that lineage and a huge responsibility to carry it on.  

The clothes HaShem instructs Aaron and the other priests to wear are so decadent and vibrant.  The language includes descriptions of yarn in the colors of gold, blue, crimson, and purple (Exodus 28:6).  We read of such luscious sensory details as acacia wood, oil, fine linen and wool, gems of turquoise and amethyst (amongst others).  These are the most explicit details of beauty I’ve ever encountered in the Torah.  Mind you, I am not very well-read in the Torah, so perhaps this is the beginning of a new experience for me. 

It seems so much more textured and decadent than other portions I’ve read.  It’s incredibly inspiring and uplifting for me to imagine the creation of beautiful things as a testament to HaShem’s miracles.  

Reading commentary on this portion, I was struck by one Orthodox approach I read on Aishcafe, a wonderful website with varied commentary. It is worth noting that there is not a single woman on the team that manages the site.  I’m not sure I’ve even read an article that was written by a woman, though I can’t guarantee it.  This portion in particular highlights the lacking of women’s voices in Aish’s content.  I was sincerely disappointed that many of the articles emphasized modest dress and not being duped by external beauty.  

While I’m all for inner beauty and avoiding the distractions and pressure of fulfilling some societal demand of beauty…I am also hesitant to ignore or scold beauty.  One commentary on Aish explains that 

in Jewish mysticism, physical appearance is considered reflective of a deeper spiritual makeup.

I want to find sources on this particular perspective.  I recognize that beautifying ourselves, our homes, our cars, or anything else can be the result of many different intents.  However, I feel like if you boil down all of those, it is in order to impress our fellow human beings.  Rather than belittling that intention, maybe we can look at it from another perspective.

Holding true to my belief of God as the unification of the divine sparks within all of us, it is therefore with GOOD intentions that we try to impress our fellow man or woman.  We care about their opinions because we recognize on some level the divine spark within them.  Only that gives them the authority to judge us and guide our choices. 

I’m not saying that our need to impress and compete with each other in the realm of beauty is without saddening complications.  Rather, I’m noting that if we could understand our motives behind these competitive attempts to impress one another, maybe we could find healthier and more honorable outlets for these needs. 

The joy and pleasure I get from seeing someone’s art (whether it be a performance, craft, or other) is built within me the same way I can look at a sunrise and be awed.  That is God’s demonstration of glory.  It is a gift we are given.  We, in turn, have the compulsion to adorn our lives and demonstrate glory.  

If we can hone that instinct, and direct it towards honoring the glory of creation, then I see no problem in styling our hair, wearing clothing that is beautifully crafted, decorating our homes with luscious colors and textures, or indeed creating deliberate objects of Judaica to perform our sacred rituals.