Pikeudei: Ridvaz: Aharon’s Clothes
“The knitted investments to serve in the Sanctuary, the sacred vestments of Aharon the Cohen, and the vestments of his sons to minister (Exodus 39:41).” In this verse regarding the manufacture of the clothes, the verse adds, “for the Cohen.” This was also true earlier in the Torah, when the verse said, “And you shall speak to all the wise hearted people whom I have invested with a spirit of wisdom, and they shall make the vestments of Aharon, to sanctify him to minister to Me (28:3).”
However when the commandment was given directly to Moshe, the verse says, “And you shall make holy vestments for Aharon your brother for glory and for beauty,” without any mention of the, “for the Cohen.” Why?
Rashi explains that when the verse says, “to sanctify him to minister to Me,” it means to sanctify him, and to dress in in the clothes of the Cehuna so he can become a Cohen to Me. This means to say, that the clothes prepared Aharon and his sons for the Cehuna.
In that generation, Aharon and his sons were sanctified because they were anointed with the Anointing Oil by Moshe, and not by being dressed in their special clothes. Therefore, when the verse describes the instructions to Moshe regarding the clothes, he could not say to dress Aharon in the clothes to make him a Cohen, for it was not the clothes that initiated Aharon, but the Anointing Oil.
However, in future generations, when there was no longer the Anointing Oil, and the cohanim were sanctified by dressing in their clothes and performing the service, the fverse describes dressing in their special vestments as a means of entering the Cehuna.
How did the clothes sanctify their wearers? At the time they were manufactured, the weavers imbued each spin of the wool, each thread, and each stitch, with a sense of sanctity. (Nimmukei Ridvaz; Titzaveh)
The Ridvaz is teaching us that our intention can change the spiritual quality of our clothing and their effect on us: For example; our Kavanah when winding Tzitzit, buying clothes for a spouse or child, or even our Shabbat clothes.