| ב"ה וּפָשַׁט אֶת בְּגָדָיו וְלָבַשׁ בְּגָדִים אֲחֵרִים וְהוֹצִיא אֶת הַדֶּשֶׁן אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה (ויקרא ו, ד) He shall then take off his garments and put on other garments, and he shall remove the ashes to outside the camp. (Vayikra 6:4) Dare to Prepare The task of clearing the ashes from the altar was not an actual part of the Temple service; its purpose was simply to create more space for fresh wood on the altar. For this reason, the Torah obligates the kohanim to change into garments of lesser value while removing the ashes, so as not to soil their priestly garments. Rashi explains, "The clothes worn by a servant while cooking a pot of food for his master, he should not wear when he mixes a glass of wine for his master." Just as cooking takes place behind the scenes, in preparation for actually serving the meal, clearing the ash was only a preliminary task, not on par with the other services in the Temple, it would not be appropriate to wear garments dirtied by this preliminary task when you are actually serving "before the master." Interestingly, the chore of clearing the ash from the altar, which preceded the actual service in the Temple, required only a different set of clothing, not a different servant. The very same kohanim who performed the rest of the service would clear the ash too, for as true servants of G-d, their primary concern—and likewise, that of every Jew, members of the "kingdom of kohanim" (Shemos 19:6)—was for G-d's desire to be fulfilled. With that focus, they made no distinction between roles that complete the mitzvah and those that merely facilitate its fulfillment, applying themselves equally to the preparative tasks and the mitzvah itself. —Likutei Sichos vol. 37, pp. 4-5 | |
