On a daily basis, the Kohein scooped the ashes off the Mizbei’ach and stored them in a small crevice next to the ramp. On those days when the ashes filled the crevice, the Kohein would remove the regular clothing he wore for Avoda, dressed in less expensive clothing, and carried the ashes outside of the Mishkan. The gemara in Yoma (23b) infers from the Torah’s explicit requirement that the Kohein remove his regular clothing, a superfluous command since the pasuk only needed to say “put on less expensive clothing,” that the less expensive clothing was comparable to the regular clothing, namely were fit for the Avoda.
Of course, one might then wonder why the Kohein had to change his clothes altogether if he was just going to change into more Bigdei Kehuna. Rashi provides an explanation:
“U’Fashat Es Bigadav,” he should undress, this is not obligatory but rather Derech Eretz, so that he not dirty his [regular clothing] while carrying out the ashes, for he would serve in these clothes regularly. Clothes [a servant wears when he] cooks a pot for his master should not [be worn] when he pours his master a cup. Therefore, he dresses in less expensive clothing.
Rashi, VaYikra 6:4
Rashi answers that the Kohein does not have to change his clothing; after all, he is only changing into more Bigdei Kehuna. Rather, it is polite that he reserves the fancier clothing for the service he performs in front of his master Hashem, and dons the plain Begadim so as to protect the fancy clothes.
The Gur Aryeh explains that Rashi may in fact believe that the Torah requires any Kohein with dirty Begadim to change. However, the change of clothes in this pasuk precedes the Hotza’as HaDeshen and therefore cannot be a matter of obligation. This indeed is implicit from the gemara’s parable of the attendant who may not serve his master in clothes he used to cook a pot. In other words, the gemara acknowledges that the Kohein cannot work with dirty clothes, but this alone does not explain why the Kohein must change before getting dirty. Instead, the Kohein must have one nice pair of clothes and not want to dirty it; therefore, he changes so as not to dirty his usual Begadim, and then they will be fresh for the real service.
But by the Gur Aryeh’s understanding, does the second pair of clothes have to be of lesser value? If both changes are of equal value, has the Kohein fulfilled the task described in this pasuk? If one looks closely at Rashi’s words, he will see that there are two considerations within this pasuk. The first consideration is that the Kohein change his clothes, so as not to dirty his regular Begadim. The second consideration is that he dress in less expensive clothing when removing the ashes. By Rashi’s understanding, the need for less expensive clothing must be a matter of practicality, not a matter of obligation or of Derech Eretz. For instance, if the Kohanim were rich and owned several changes of clothing, they could presumably do away with the need for Begadim Pechusim. But this is problematic, for if the pasuk’s requirement were conditional, one would expect Rashi to tell us so. Clearly all Kohanim must be subject to this expression of Derech Eretz equally.
Looking deeper into Rashi’s words, we see that the reason the Kohein must wear less expensive clothing when performing the Hotza’as HaDeshen is because a servant wears nicer clothing when he serves his master. In other words, Rashi has two concerns. Rashi’s first concern is that the Kohein might dirty his nice pair of clothes. Therefore, the Kohein, if he has only one nice pair of clothes, must change into a less expensive pair. However, if the Kohein has several nice pairs of Begadim, then Rashi informs us that he need not change. Rashi’s use of the (seemingly unnecessary) word “Tamid,” regularly, suggests that this first concern applies only to those Kohanim that have a single change of Begadim, a change they must ear on a regular basis. But there is another concern. Rashi’s second concern is that the Kohein should wear nicer garment for the more dignifying services he performs. Even if he owns several changes of nice clothing, he still should establish some differentiation between the services he performs in front of his Master and those he performs in the background. Therefore, by this second concern, even the Kohein with multiple changes of expensive Begadim must change and must own a less expensive pair of Begadim for the more menial tasks.
The Derech Eretz of our pasuk is twofold. On a simple level, one must show Derech Eretz to others; if a master gives a servant two changes of clothes, a nice pair and a dull pair, then the servant should take care to keep the nicer one as clean as possible. But even a servant with several nice pairs should show Derech Erretz to himself and behave in a disciplined manner even behind closed doors. No master would ever know whether his servant wears fancy clothes when cooking a pot, so it is impossible to say that the servant shows respect to his master by changing into less expensive clothes. Rather, the servant changes to express reverence to the jobs he performs in front of his master, thereby affecting his own perspective of the jobs he performs. It is a Derech Eretz he performs for himself, a matter of discipline that he differentiate between those instances he stands in the kitchen and those instances he stands in front of his master.
With this short introduction, I would like to resolve a glaring contradiction created by the medrashim on Megilas Esteir. The gemara in Meseches Megila (16a) says that after Haman HaRashah rode Mordechai around on the King’s horse, Mordechai returned to the palace gate in his sackcloth and continued fasting. The problem is that the Megila stated earlier (4:2) that when Mordechai first donned sackcloth, he stopped in front of the palace gates for one could not enter the gates dressed in such a fashion. Why all of a sudden did Mordechai disregard the decree?
The Malbim proposes that when Mordechai returned from his horse ride, it is obvious that he did not enter the gates. The pasuk uses a vague lashon (as opposed to the earlier pasuk) and leaves us to figure out the rest. Other mefarshim suggest that Haman dressed Mordechai with the royal garb on top of his sackcloth, so when Mordechai returned to the gate, he was wearing both the fancy clothes and the sackcloth underneath; therefore, there was no issue of entering the gate. Rashi takes an alternative and rather fascinating approach:
For one could not enter, [meaning,] it is not Derech Eretz to enter the palace gates donning sackcloth.
Rashi, Esteir 4:2
Rashi’s use of Derech Eretz in this context implies that there existed no such decree against entering the gate with sackcloth. The Alshich explains that Mordechai refused to enter because he wanted Klal Yisrael to take action at this time and not count on him to save them. The Jews were counting on him to inform Esteir of the tragedy, but when they saw him standing outside the gate in sack, royal decree or not, they immediately assumed he refused to enter and speak with Esteir, at which point they began to fast and pray themselves (which is the topic of the very next pasuk, 4:3).
This in turn explains why we find Mordechai sitting in the gateway as early as when Haman leaves Esteirs first party (5:9), for after Esteir invites Haman to her party, Klal Yisrael assumed that she was not on their side anyhow (see Meseches Megila 13b), in which case it made no difference whether Mordechai wished to speak with her or not.
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