Parshas Bamidbar (5768)
Do you remember the old riddle we used to tell as
kids?
Q. Why did the ketchup close the refrigerator door?
A. Because it didn't want to see the salad dressing!
Well, I found a similar idea in the last words in this
week's Torah portion, which wasn't so funny.
The Torah talks about the Tabernacle that the Jews
erected in the desert and is giving specific orders as
to how the various vessels are to be carried and
transported when the Jews journey to a different
place. And the Torah commands the Levites who were
to carry the Holy Ark with the Two Tablets inside it on
their shoulders, "But they shall not come and look as
the holy is inserted, lest they die" (Numbers 4:20).
This means that only after the Ark had been fully
covered were the Levites to take it, but they were
forbidden from gazing upon the "uncovered" Ark.
Now what is that supposed to mean? Does the Ark (or
the salad, for that matter) get embarrassed when
people see it without clothing on? What is so bad
about gazing at the Holy Ark in its uncovered state?
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, a leader of German
Jewry in the mid-19th Century and the author of a
wonderful commentary on the Torah, explains as
follows: The effect of this prohibition is that the Ark and
other holy objects remain to their bearers as symbolic
objects, subjects for the mind, for thoughts, not so
much as actual tangible objects, and so all the more
fill their minds with thoughts of their meaning. And this
keeping constantly in their minds the true meaning of
the holy objects entrusted to them would be an
essential factor of their duty to which gazing at them in
their uncovered, tangible state would have a
disturbing effect.
In plain English, what the Rabbi is saying is that there
is much more to the Holy Ark than meets the eye. It
has tremendous symbolism, and represents the word
of G-d and the great message of His holy Torah. So
that if we were to see it uncovered, we might take it for
a physical object of beauty and magnificence, losing
sight of the depth that it truly represents. This is why G-
d commanded the Levites not to gaze upon the Ark in
the Taberancle in its "naked" state, and why, till the
present day, we "cover" the Torah scroll with a velvet
mantle, so as not to see it as a purely physical object
of beauty.
This concept - the idea of defocusing the superficial in
order to focus on the inner essence of the subject,
thereby revealing its true essence, has a Hebrew
name. We call it tznius (or tzniut, depending on
whether you use the Ashkenazic or Sephardic
pronunciation.)
Tznius is generally translated into English as - I don't
know, should I say it, oh, what the heck, I'll say it -
modesty.
There, I said the "m-word"! Whew! It wasn't easy for
me, but I did it! I said the m-word, modesty. As
unpopular as that English word sounds to the
Western mind, it happens to be one of the
cornerstones of the Torah, and - as we have shown
from the end of this week's Torah portion - applies to
Arks and Torah Scrolls, as well as to men, women,
etc. The prophet Micah wrote (Micah 6:8): "What does
G-d require of you but to do justice, to love kindness,
and to walk modestly with your G-d". So we see that
modesty is one of the "big three", and applies to each
and every one of us.
Tznius, or modesty, applies to any situation where the
external and internal dimensions of the subject are at
odds with each other. We thus cover up the external
so that we and those around us can focus on the
internal, which is its true essence.
For example, in the Western world, what a person
does as a career, to a large extent defines the person.
If we meet two people, and the one says that he is the
CEO of a company and the second says that he is a
male secretary, we naturally relate to the first person
as being a person of greater worth, likely to make a
greater contribution to the world. Yet, the CEO may
have a temper, five divorces to his name, may go
home and be horrible to his wife, and in spite of all
that, generally commands more respect in the
Western world than the other guy who, for all we know,
controls his temper, is happily married, and is
sensitive and caring to everyone he meets. (Ogden
Nash once wrote that we really should have called
America "Columbia" after its discoverer, Christopher
Columbus; instead, we call it after the guy who made
the maps, Amerigo Vespucci - the one who gave it
publicity and prominence. That's the way it
goes ...).
It seems that in Western society, it's the external and
superficial that counts more than what's on the inside.
And that's where modesty comes in. Modesty reminds
us of our true self-worth, ensuring that we don't relate
to ourselves and to others superficially, cheapening
our true value by defining ourselves as less than we
truly are. Modesty is empowering, not degrading;
liberating, not oppressive..
Each and every one of us - man, woman and child -
has such a deep and precious neshamah, or soul.
Our personalities are so complex, our potential to
change ourselves and the world around us is infinite,
the depth of our connection to G-d is there inside us -
yet we tragically sell ourselves short. We tend to focus
and emphasize those parts of us that do not truly
represent who we really are. Sure, we take care of our
bodies, and should take pride in how we look. Sure
we should aspire to great careers and to financial
security. But make no mistake - we will always be so
much more than a great body and a promising career -
and tznius is the concept that serves to remind us of
this truth at all times.
Tznius is not merely a set of rules as to how to dress
and carry oneself. Tznius is an attitude towards what
we do in life and how we truly see ourselves, and how
we want others to perceive us. The salad in the fridge
might not need it ... but the Ark does, the Torah scroll
does, and we all need it too.
A MODEST SUGGESTION
To learn more about this much-maligned and seldom
understood concept, and how it applies to both men
and women, I would like to suggest a modest, but
important book for you to read. The book is called
OUTSIDE/INSIDE: A Fresh Look at Tzniut by Gila
Manolson (published by Targum Press) and is
available at your local Jewish bookstore. The author of
this wonderful book is a star lecturer in Jerusalem,
and she presents the information in a straightforward
and fascinating way. I believe that both men and
women will enjoy this fresh look at a topic that many
find quite difficult to even mention in polite company,
let alone discuss!
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=5