The motif of clothing in the mishkan

 Sometimes, when I read the Torah I struggle to understand whether something seems strange to me because of contemporary societal norms, or whether, even today, we have some form, or expression of a biblical mannerism, or behavioral pattern in the fabric of our own everyday lives. 

I am referring to the dressing of Aharon and his sons on the part of Moshe Rabbeinu. Moshe, as Yitro, his father in law, himself, says, was no less than a king. A king is someone who is on a pedestal over all others. And thus, it seemed strange to me that in the Parsha of Tetzaveh, Moshe was commanded to dress his brother, Aharon, the high priest, and not just Aharon, but his sons as well. Perhaps one could say that it was an inaugural, one-time process, yet even leaving my anachronistic suspicions aside, it would seem that even at the time of the mishkan it was a dramatic act for a king to be dressing the high priest. Granted, Aharon was his older brother and there was great affection between them, but for Moshe Rabbeinu to have to dress not only Aharon, but also his sons, even in light of biblical cultural norms would seem to have been a dramatic act. 

We do have certain behavioral modalities that are simply diametrically different today than they were in the time of the bible. Avraham Avinu, upon asking Eliezer to swear to find a life partner for Yitzhak tells the former to place his hand on the place of his circumcision, and swear, symbolizing the holy brit or covenant Avraham was party to, i.e. Avraham had Eliezer invoke the brit in the most physically symbolic way, and at the time, i.e. the time of the bible, no one would have batted an eyelash. Likewise, Tamar, after she's spurned by her father-in-law, who refuses to give her yet another one of his sons, goes on to seduce him in the guise of a prostitute. Nowadays, no one could imagine a daughter-in-law engaging in such legerdemain; it would violate our sense of propriety, societally. 

And thus, even in light of the above, I think there is symbolic value to Moshe dressing Aharon, and his kin. Moshe was the monarch but he was subservient to the religious leader; this is in fact a motif we often see in the Christian church, papal powers versus monarchal primacy. But here, and even though we see Moshe scolding Aharon after the sin of the golden calf, there is a presumption that each, both Moshe and Aharon served in parallel and had distinct societal functionalities. 

Over and beyond that, though, I would like to take a gander that perhaps Moshe's dressing Aharon also served as a redemptive act in light of the atrocity Yaakov's sons committed against Joseph. They undressed him, and then sat down to eat; here, Moshe is lowering himself in a manner of speaking and dressing his older brother, and not only him, but his sons as well, signifying the unity, the oneness of purpose and humility needed for God's presence to rest among us - and likewise, when Aharon dies, it's Moshe, again, who brings us full circle, by undressing Aharon, and carrying on the torch, by then dressing his son, Elazar. 

Dressing someone can be an act of humiliation; Haman dressing Mordechai connoted Haman's inferiority. In the Masters Golf Tournament, a previous champion helps the new champion don his new green coat, a highly sought after possession and symbol of honor, and it would seem that in the mishkan Moshe's dressing Aharon likewise resonated in the same way, honor passed from one onto another, but intermingled with a redemptive national consciousness of errors past, and tears mended.