In the beginning of this week’s parsha the Torah discusses the avoda of the korban Olah. The pasuk tells us that the entire korban is burned on the Mezbeiach all night long. The Torah then tells us that the kohen must don linen Tunic and linen pants and separate the ashes and place them on the side of the Mezbeiach. Then he must remove his garments and don other garments, and remove the ashes to outside the camp, to a pure place.
The Gemara in Yoma 23b tells us that the other set of clothing that the kohen must change into to remove the ashes are also bigdei kehunah, however, they are less chashuv. The Gemara brings a mashal to explain the reason for this. A servant would not serve his master in the same garments that he prepared the food in. This is because his garments may have become dirty in the process of preparing the food. Similarly, a kohen should not wear the same clothing that he wore when removing ashes as when he serves his master in other avodas.
Rashi on the pasuk here explains that this is not an obligation; rather the Torah is teaching proper derech eretz. Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin zt”l explains that if a kohen would wear the same clothing during while removing the ashes and then performed a different avoda, the aovda would be kosher; it is only lacking in derech eretz.
The Maharam Shik, in his sefer on the Chinuch mitzvah 132, writes that even if a kohen believes that he can remove the ashes without dirtying his clothing he still must change. He explains that this is because others who are watching him may not know that he can be meticulous and not dirty his clothing, and suspect that he lacks the proper derech eretz.
I would suggest that even if one is confident that he can keep his clothing dirty, there is still reason to change one’s attire. Even if one can remove ashes without getting his clothing dirty he is nonetheless still performing an avoda that is more menial, similar to preparing the food. Such a job should not be performed in fancy clothing even if one believes he can keep them clean. It is similar to one who overdresses for an occasion. If one is doing gardening or construction or the like, he should not dress in a suit and tie. I believe that this is the purpose of the mashal that the Gemara brought from preparing food. It is not only because the clothing may get dirty, but because the clothing may get dirty that defines the avoda as one that should not be performed in a “black tie” affair.
An avoda that could theoretically dirty ones clothing is an avoda that is to be performed with less quality clothing. Therefore the kohen must change even if he believes that he can keep his regular bigdei kahuna clean.
As an interesting side note, the Gemara in Yoma ibid derives from this pasuk that a kohen who is a baal mum may remove the ashes. The drasha is from the words “acheirim… v’hotzi” that other kohanim, i.e. a kohen who is a baal mum, may remove the ashes. The Baal Haturim on this pasuk points out that the gematria of the words acheirim… v’hotzi is kohanim baalei mumin. Perhaps there is another lesson here that even a baal mum must still act with derech eretz.
The sefer Zera Shimshon says that he saw that people ask why it was necessary for the Torah to write this halacha. Since it is derech eretz and common sense, why did the Torah have to write it?
The sefer Zera Shimshon answers that the Gemara there derives that the “other” set of clothing that the kohen must change into are also bigdei kehuna and are sacred; only less valuable than his regular begadim. Since the second set of clothing is also sacred clothing the pasuk needs to teach us that the second set should be of less value than his regular clothing.
I believe that the question does not begin. We find in many circumstances the Torah teaches us proper etiquette (see Chulin 84a). The Torah does not only teach us laws, but it is a guide for every aspect of our lives. Pirkei Avos is the Torah Shebaal Peh that teaches proper etiquette, but there are many pesukim in the Torah that teaches it as well. Even if certain things may seem obvious to us and should really be common sense, the Torah is the reason and the basis for those standards.
That is the lesson that the Torah has taught us regarding changing one’s clothing when serving in the Beis Hamikdash and removing the ashes from the Mezbeiach.