Clothing and the Asylum Seeker Drop In Centre

This week we read Parashat tetzaveh - preoccupation with clothes, specifically the clothing of the priest.

sash headress  tunic  robe     ephod  breastplate

Of course clothing at the heart of the work of the Drop In centre.

Bags of it, arriving, sorting, distributing it.

And perhaps more importantly, more important in terms of how we relate to the destitute more generally.

Asylum seekers, of course, imposed destitution. Not allowed to work, receive a handout from my taxes, your taxes, but not really enough to lift above anything other than destitution.

Poor person on street - have you checked in yourself what makes you more or less likely to stop and say high, or hand out some food, or some cash. What is precisely the right level of destitution made visible in clothing that twangs our heartstrings?

Be absolutely clear, I do this.

Man, white bearded, standing outside the o2 at 7:40am on Thursday, faded and frayed hoodie zipped up against the cold, plastic bags around the shoes, belted with a length of string around his waist was an A4 sheet of paper, ‘Im hungry, please help.’ That twanged my desire to love the stranger in my midst. But the woman, sat on the cardboard sheet, kerchiefed head, hand outstretched with a piteous look on her face less so. Was it the clothing.

Reminded of one of my favourite tales

My first story is a tale told of Eliayhui Hanavi - Elijah the prophet,

Eliyahu appeared in a strange town just in time for the wedding of the daughter of the most wealthy man in the village. But he is traveling in disguise, no-one least of all the host of the wedding knows who he is.

Eliyahu arrives at the wedding dressed, well, how shall we say it, dressed like a tramp.

His shirt is worn and torn and filthy.

His pants are covered in patches

His pocket of the jacket is ripped.

The father takes one look at this bedraggled stranger and insists the tramp is shown to the door. No hospitality, not accepted.

So Eliyahu leaves, only to return but this time dressed as a prince.

The silk ruffle of his shirt lookes resplendent.

The crown on his head glistens in the candle light of the banqueting suite.

His suit, clearly made-to-measure, is styled after the very heights of fashion.

Peeking out from the sleeves of his jacket are cufflinks set with diamonds and sapphires.

The stranger, suitabely attired, is welcomed with grace and honour that would be due a Prince, seated at the top table and served the very finest food.

But Eliyahu takes the soup and dips his crown in it.

He takes the delicate mousse and rubs it into his fine shirt and then smears the main course all over the sleeves of his fine jacket.

The host looks at this mysterious stranger in surprise, unable to get a get a question past his tongue that now seems just too big for his mouth.

But, but ..

Eliyahu responds, ‘You see, it seems that all this respect was not paid to me, but to my clothes. So I thought it only fair that they, not I, should enjoy the menu.’

The twin message of the Eliyahu story are clear – clothes do not ‘maketh the man’ or the woman. But those of us who can afford to dress ourselves with a reasonable degree of splendour are too easily beguiled into thinking they do.

Too easy to allow ourselves to be beguiled by the clothes that people wear, especially too easy to think that other people don’t deserve our love because they are not dressed like us -

Not to say that clothes aren’t important, whole parasha.

sash headress  tunic  robe     ephod  brestplate

Actually I’ve seen all these.

Not on a priest, of course, but on a Meit, on a dead person.

One of the most powerful of all Jewish rituals Taharah and Tachrichim. A little dark, my apologies,

The dead body is undressed and covered with a large sheet to preserve modesty and say verses from Zekhariah

---

3:4): And [the angel of God] raised his voice and spoke to those standing before him, saying: “Remove the soiled garments from him”; and said to [the High Priest]   

“Behold, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you in fine garments.”

And after a process of cleaning, all done with utmost consideration for the dignity of the deceased begin to clothe in Tachrichim.

Might look simple, indeed coarse linen, unfinished. Death isn’t a fancy business.

And by the way everyone - man and woman, sinner and Tzaddik alike, wears the same Tachrichim - everyone is equal before death.

But here’s the single most remarkable thing about this whole remarkable ritual.

As put on the Ktonet - headress

As put on the  tunic

As put on the belt

As finish

These are the garments of the holy service. Go to death dressed as the high Priest went to do holy service. Just not fancy, at all.

The honour and the dignity we would wish to endow our beloved departed is embodied in the ways we dress them.

If we care about someone we wish to dress them well.

It’s always been this way, when I say always I mean from the Garden of Eden.

When God expels Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, does something extraordinary - Kotonet Or - a garment of skin, or maybe a garden for the skin.

In Midrashic imagination this garment serves to keep Adam and Eve safe in the dangerous world they encounter outside the paradisical garden.

And fig leaves because they were ashamed. Because we feel ashamed if we can’t dress appropriately. And that kind of embarrassment drives us away from being able to leave a full, purposeful life.

Clothes to keep up safe, and clothes to prevent our shame.

It’s always been this way.

Talmud Sotah - how can you be godly, after all God is an all consuming fire. Don’t worry, says Rabbi Chana Bar Hanina in Tractate Sotah[1] just do the simple decent things God did. “Just as God clothes the naked, as it is written, 'And Adonai, God, made coats of skin for Adam and his wife'  (Genesis 3:21) so should you also clothe the naked.”

It’s definitely NOT the case that clothes are not important.

Especially if you don’t have clothing, the sort of clothing that keeps you safe and allows you a sense of dignity.

The Drop In takes place this Sunday. I don’t know if still looking for volunteers. And the clothes for this weekend are, I think, all bagged and sorted and ready to go.

But it’s going to be cold in the coming week. As we plan our Purim costumes it’s a good time to be aware of the blessing of having clothing - a blessing we are commanded to say every morning.

Baruch Atah … Malbish Arumim.

And it’s a good time to remember that God’s provision of clothing for the naked and the destitute of our day will only be made manifest if we make it manifest.

That’s the miracle of the work of the Drop In centre, a privilege to honour that work today,

Shabbat shalom

[1] 14b