Height and clothing can be misleading.
In R. Jonathan Sacks’ 2012 Devar Tora for Parashat Tetzaveh, “The Aesthetic in Judaism”, he initially wonders why the Tora pays so much attention to the clothing that the Kohen Gadol, in particular, wears while serving in the Mishkan/Mikdash:
Shemot 28:4
These are the vestments that they shall make: a breastplate, an Ephod, a robe, a knitted tunic, a turban, and a sash. Make them as sacred vestments for Aharon and his sons so that they will be able to be priests to Me.
R. Sacks draws upon God’s Comment to Shmuel regarding which of Yishai’s sons will be the next king of the Jewish people, succeeding Shaul, to conclude that God is more interested in “quality” rather than “quantity”:
I Shmuel 16:7
Do not consider his (Eliav’s) appearance or his height, for I have Rejected him. The Lord does not Look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord Looks at the heart.
In order to demonstrate that outward appearances, aside from height, have the capacity to deceive, and for this reason, the Hebrew term for clothing is “Beged”/”Bagad” (to betray), R. Sacks notes that in Beraishit alone, there are six instances where clothing is used to give others a false impression regarding one’s true identity.
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